When I'm out of wisdom or when I feel I'm in the dark, the Holy Spirit is there to give wisdom and to guide me into all truth (John 16:13) This means, that I can know what I need to understand about Him and His Word. James 1:5 says I must ask in full trust and reliance and God will grant the wisdom that I need to understand and to make decisions that will not go against His Word. I like it that the verse says that when I come, God won't shame, ridicule, or think low of me for not knowing the things I don't know. He knows my limitations, He is not at all surprised so I don't need to hide nor make excuses. When I ask, He will be there to empower and equip me.
Today I pray for diligence and tenderness to come to God so I can grow from ignorance and immaturity.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Friday, April 29, 2016
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Christmas Night
From 'God Came Near' by Max Lucado
It's Christmas night. The midnight hour has chimed and I should be asleep, but I'm awake. I'm kept awake by one stunning thought.
The world was different this week. It was temporarily transformed. The magical dust of Christmas glittered on the cheeks of humanity ever so briefly, reminding us of what is worth having and what we were intended to be. We forgot our compulsion with winning, wooing, and warring. We put away our ladders and ledgers, we hung up our stopwatches and weapons. We stepped off our race tracks and roller coasters and looked outward toward the start of Bethlehem.
It's the season to be jolly because, more than at any other time, we think of him. More than in any other season, His name is on our lips.
And the result? For a few precious hours, our heavenly yearnings intermesh and we become a chorus. A ragtag chorus of longshoremen, Boston lawyers, illegal immigrants, housewives, and a thousand other peculiar persons who are banking that Bethlehem's mystery is in reality, a reality.
"Come and behold Him" we sing, stirring even the sleepiest of shepherds and pointing them toward the Christ-child. For a few precious hours, He is beheld. Christ the Lord.
Those who pass the year without seeing Him, suddenly see Him. People who have been accustomed to using His name in vain, pause to use it in praise.
Eyes, now free of the blinders of self, marvel at His majesty. All of a sudden He's everywhere. In the grin of a policeman as he drives the paddy wagon full of presents to the orphanage. In the twinkle in the eyes of the Taiwanese waiter as he tells of his upcoming Christmas trip to see his children. In the emotions of the father who is too thankful to finish the dinner table prayer. He's in the tears of the mother as she welcomes home her son from overseas. He's in the heart of the man who spent Christmas morning on skid row giving away cold baloney sandwiches and warm wishes. And He's in the solemn silence of the crowd of shopping mall shoppers as the elementary school chorus sings "Away in a Manger."
Emmanuel. He is with us. God came near. It's Christmas night. In a few hours the cleanup will begin-lights will come down, trees will be thrown out. Size 36 will be exchanged for size 40, eggnog will be on sale for half price. Soon life will be normal again. December's generosity will become January's payments and the magic will begin to fade. But for the moment, the magic is still in the air.
Maybe that's why I'm still awake. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. I want to pray that those who beheld Him today will look for Him next August. And I can't help but linger on one fanciful thought: if He can do so much with such timid prayers lamely offered in December, how much more could He do if we thought of Him every day?
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