On the 12th day of Christmas...

On the twelfth day of Christmas, the Father gave to all --
  the work of the disciples,
  the power of faith,
  rules to guide our lives,
  the fruits of the Spirit, 
  the beatitudes of Christ,
  rest from our duties,
  the days of creation,
  the miracle of the loaves,
  the truth of the Gospels,
  prayers at Gethsemane,
  the veil torn in two, 
  and His Son to save us from our sins. 

Today, 2017 January 6th, is epiphany.  And with epiphany, my "song" comes to a close by talking about the disciples of Jesus.  The disciples were the men Jesus called out specifically to mentor and to witness His work during His ministry on earth.  There were 12 disciples in all (emphasis in the Scripture below is mine).

Matthew 10:2-4 NASB

² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him. 

Jesus spent time with these men, teaching them by example through the activites of His life.  After Jesus was resurrected and before He ascended into heaven, He gave them a command to spread the word of His life and salvation to all the earth.  In the Bible, this is known as the Great Commission.   Note that Judas betrayed Jesus, and subsequently was not part of the final group of men mentioned in Matthew 28:16-20.

Matthew 28:16-20 NASB -- The Great Commission
¹⁶ But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Because the disciples heeded Jesus' call on their lives, they went forth and shared the Good News of Jesus in many countries and to many peoples, giving Christianity legs into much of the world today.  If you have faith in the LORD Jesus, you can point all the way back to the seeds planted by these men and their faithfulness to do what Jesus requested of them.

Out of the 11 disciples whom Jesus sent forth, only one, John, died a natural death and he died on the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation.  History recounts that the other 10 disciples were all martyred for their faith in various parts of the world as they traveled.  You can find further information in this National Geographic article or this Christianity Today article.  For brevity, I won't list them all here, but I do encourage you to read of their lives and fates.

I cannot possibly make all the connections of the people in my life who led me to a saving knowledge of Jesus.  All along, there were seeds being planted that, one day, were watered willingly by a wonderful lady I knew when I was in my 30s.  She lovingly took time with  me, and her guidance brought me to a place of faith that I am forever grateful for.  

But consider this -- if you have faith, someone took the time to share.  Like the disciples, they made it their mission to let others know of the promise of heaven, a relationship with the Creator of all things, through faith in Jesus Christ.  Could there be someone you are near who is waiting to hear from you?

 
Abba Father, as I wrap up the song You gave me, I thank You for the strength to see it through.  I thank You for Your word and the guidance it provides to our lives.  But I most especially thank You for Jesus, who made it possible for us to have a promise of eternity in heaven with You.  Right now, Abba, I pray that if there is someone in my life, or in the lives of those reading, who need to hear this promise, that You will lay them heavy on our hearts and guide us to that moment to share with them.  I also pray, Abba, that if there are those who don't have Christ as their Savior reading this, that You will lovingly wrap Your arms around them and lead them to a loving Christian who can share.  Abba, You are Almighty God, the Great I AM, and Creator of everything.  I love You.  I praise You.  And I thank You. 
 

*Graphic at beginning of page is from the website The Graphics Fairy.  All credit for the lovely image belongs to them.

On the 11th day of Christmas...

On the eleventh day of Christmas, the Father gave to all --
  the power of faith,
  rules to guide our lives,
  the fruits of the Spirit, 
  the beatitudes of Christ,
  rest from our duties,
  the days of creation,
  the miracle of the loaves,
  the truth of the Gospels,
  prayers at Gethsemane,
  the veil torn in two, 
  and His Son to save us from our sins. 

Faith is a powerful part of my life.  Faith is what keeps me walking when I don't want to move a muscle.  Faith drives away fears that threaten to overtake me and consume my thoughts.  Faith powers me to lean on a risen Savior when my strength has failed me.

Hebrews 11:1 NASB -- The Triumphs of Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance (substance) of things hoped for (expected), the conviction (evidence) of things not seen.

In the verse above, I've placed in parenthesis the deeper meanings of the words that are often marked in my Bible.  

For me, faith reminds me that God made promises in the Bible and that I can expect Him to keep them, even if I don't see them working.  I am assured they will happen.  My faith also says that although I may design how something can come about, God's infinite wisdom is greater and He may have a different way for something to occur.  I need to have faith that His way is the right way, even if I don't understand why.

Having faith is an important part of being a child of God. 

Hebrews 11:6 NASB

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 

We need faith to please God.  We need faith to believe He is who He says He is.  And we need faith to know that He will stand by His promises in the Bible.  Since He's likely to never speak to me with His voice, I need faith to "hear" His call on my life and His direction to order my steps.  

And even a small faith is powerful. 

Matthew 17:20 NASB

²⁰ And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 

Somewhere, a while back, I read that the people of Jesus' time viewed mountains as having "deep roots" into the earth, and as such the idea of "moving mountains" was equivalent to the impossible.  I'm not educated in theology enough to know if Jesus was alluding to that deeply held belief here, but I do like what he's saying.

Even a very small faith can do impossible things.  Faith can do things human hands and means cannot.  And just imagine that, as that faith grows, it will do other greater "impossible" things.

I'm not going to pretend I have this "Superman-like" faith that never wavers.  Oh boy, does mine waver.  My faith is battered by the reality of life after Benjamin's death.  My faith is battered by sleeplessness, by regrets, by memories that haunt me.  But the truth is that when I feel beaten, I can cry out for strength and God *will* answer.  He wants to help us strive to grow toward His Son Jesus, so that He can do great works through us.

It just takes faith.

My prayer tonight is simple: I pray that you will feel a great strengthening of your faith.  I pray that your mustard seed of faith will put forth small shoots, that become larger shoots, until the birds of the air can sit in its branches.  And I pray that, as the LORD works in your life in whatever what He's chosen, that He will bless you and keep you at peace.  <3

*Graphic at beginning of page is from the website The Graphics Fairy.  All credit for the lovely image belongs to them.

On the 10th day of Christmas...

On the tenth day of Christmas, the Father gave to all --
  rules to guide our lives,
  the fruits of the Spirit, 
  the beatitudes of Christ,
  rest from our duties,
  the days of creation,
  the miracle of the loaves,
  the truth of the Gospels,
  prayers at Gethsemane,
  the veil torn in two, 
  and His Son to save us from our sins. 

After the LORD worked through Moses to free the Israelites from slavery, He gave Moses the 10 Commandments to help guide their lives.

Exodus 20 NASB -- The Ten Commandments 

Then God spoke all these words, saying, 
² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 
³ “You shall have no other gods before Me. 
⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 
⁷ “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain. 
⁸ “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. 
¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 
¹³ “You shall not murder. 
¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.
¹⁵ “You shall not steal. 
¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 
¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Over time I've learned that the first 4 commandments govern our relationship with the LORD, and the last 6 commandments govern our relationship with other people.    A far more detailed discussion of the 10 commandments can be found in Matthew Henry's Commentary, which is apparently part of the public domain.

God wants us to give Him all of ourselves and the first 4 commandments tell us what He desires of us to strive toward this goal.  Interestingly, when I confessed that I don't always rest on the Sabbath, I admitted that I'm falling short of honoring the 4th commandment.  This is something I often bring before the LORD, and am praying that one day the Sabbath will be nothing but rest for me, in the way that the LORD intends it for me.

The last 6 commandments are for our relationship with other people.  God wants us to love others, and by honoring the call of the last 6 commandments that helps us to treat others as God desires.    Jesus even emphasized, perhaps summarized, the commandments in Matthew 22. 

Matthew 22:35-40 NASB

³⁵ One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the great and foremost commandment. ³⁹ The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

It's very simple:

LOVE God.
LOVE people.

Today, friend, if you are struggling to love someone as God desires, I pray that the LORD will give you the guidance, wisdom, and strength to handle that relationship in a way that honors Him.  If you are struggling to honor God in some area of your life, I pray that you would be reminded to seek Him every time you feel tempted to stray, that you would ask Him for strength, and that you would walk victorious away from temptation. If, friend, you have been hurt by Christians in the past, I pray that you would find healing for that hurt.  I pray that  you would be loved on by God, or one of His children, so that you can experience healing of that hurt.  I pray that you would feel the extraordinary love of the One True God, and be drawn to Him into a place of worship He's personally selected specifically for you.

*Graphic at beginning of page is from the website The Graphics Fairy.  All credit for the lovely image belongs to them.

On the 9th day of Christmas...

On the ninth day of Christmas, the Father gave to all --
  the fruits of the Spirit, 
  the beatitudes of Christ,
  rest from our duties,
  the days of creation,
  the miracle of the loaves,
  the truth of the Gospels,
  prayers at Gethsemane,
  the veil torn in two, 
  and His Son to save us from our sins. 

The LORD worked in an amazing way in Paul's life, and he became a powerful missionary sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the early years of the church.  He often wrote letters to believers in various parts of the world he traveled, and in one particular letter to the Galatians, he wrote about the fruit of the Spirit.  

Galatians 5:22-23 NASB

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Previously, in the chapter, Paul had spent time discussing how the flesh and Spirit work in opposition to each other.  He then enumerates the deeds of the flesh that we are to avoid and resist. 

Galatians 5:16-21 NASB  
¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. ¹⁹ Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, ²¹ envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

In verse 22, it should be noted that the it's not the fruitS of the Spirit.  Instead, it is the fruit of the Spirit.  It is singular.  In our lives, walking with the Spirit and against the flesh we should bear fruit with many positive properties, all working together to accomplish the work of the LORD through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

For further reading, you can consider this commentary entitled Freedom for Moral Transformation found on the Bible Gateway.  It's quite long, but it felt like a good springboard for beginning a deeper understanding of the fruit.

My thought is simpler.  I *want* to bear this fruit.  I want my life to show this fruit.  I want to show love, I want to be filled with joy, I want to be at peace... and the list goes on.  But while grieving, I definitely struggle for my fruit to demonstrate all of these properties.  

So, I have to learn to fix my eyes on Jesus instead of my problems.  An easy-sounding task, to be sure, but a tough one to implement daily.  

Maybe you are like me.  Maybe you want this too, but you find yourself struggling?

I pray right now that the LORD would give you clear guidance for the fruit coming out of your faith.  I pray that you would lean on the LORD as you strive toward trusting the Spirit and denying the flesh.  I pray that your eyes would be fully fixed on Jesus, so that you can walk on water when He calls you out of the boat.  I pray that your trust would be fully in the LORD, the Creator of all things.  

*Graphic at beginning of page is from the website The Graphics Fairy.  All credit for the lovely image belongs to them.

On the 8th day of Christmas...

On the eighth day of Christmas, the Father gave to all --
  the beatitudes of Christ,
  rest from our duties,
  the days of creation,
  the miracle of the loaves,
  the truth of the Gospels,
  prayers at Gethsemane,
  the veil torn in two, 
  and His Son to save us from our sins. 

In the Gospels, we are given a teaching of Christ in which He described eight different blessings for us.  We call them the beatitudes because that means "supreme blessedness" or "exalted happiness".  

Matthew 5:1-12 NASB -- The Beatitudes

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ² He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
⁵ “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

There are generally considered to be eight beatitudes.  The ones listed in verses 10 and 11 are considered to reference the same thing.  

After Benjamin's passing, I would often ask the LORD what verse 4 would look like for me.  I asked Him to show me Himself during this comforting so that I would not miss His hand on my life.  He was very faithful to do so and I recounted my experience in the blog post entitled The Empty Chair.  In short, the LORD's comfort came to me through the hands and feet of His beloved children.

I am not theologically instructed, so I cannot take each beatitude and dissect it to help you (and I) gain understanding.  I found a nice in-depth study of the beatitudes here, which gave me better insight on verse 4.  Dr. Allan Ross, of the website just linked, summed up the beatitudes as the following:

The sermon begins with the beatitudes. These qualities give a picture of the character of the true people of God, those who are a part of his kingdom and have the full blessings of the kingdom to look forward to. Taken together they give the picture of the perfect disciple of Christ who is the heir of the promises. Jesus does not here tell people how to become like this; that will come in subsequent teachings.

When I look at the beatitudes, I see things that are, potentially, difficult to do.  For example, verse 7 says to be merciful.  Is it easy for you to be constantly merciful?  I know it's not for me.  I often find myself struggling to show grace and mercy, instead of jumping to wild conclusions.  But here, Jesus says, "it's worth it to be merciful because there's a reward for you -- you shall receive mercy."

And looking at the beatitudes, they seem to challenge the children of God to do things that aren't particularly easy.  But each time, Jesus says, "this is worth it for you to strive to accomplish."  And even now, as I look at them, I feel like there's a *lot* of striving ahead of me!  But the promises of Jesus are true. You can rely on them.  And He says it's worth it, and I trust that.

Abba Father, thank You for the words of Your Son at the sermon on the mount that included these wonderful beatitudes.  Thank You that You promise us that if we strive to overcome the difficult things in our lives, that You not only promise to be there, but You promise that there is a reward for trying so.  Thank You, Father, that Your word is always true.  Thank You, that we can trust in You.  We love You!  <3

*Graphic at beginning of page is from the website The Graphics Fairy.  All credit for the lovely image belongs to them.  

On the 7th day of Christmas...

On the seventh day of Christmas, the Father gave to all -- 
  rest from our duties,
  the days of creation,
  the miracle of the loaves,
  the truth of the Gospels,
  prayers at Gethsemane,
  the veil torn in two, 
  and His Son to save us from our sins. 

Yesterday's blog was about the miracles of creation, but today's blog is about what God did when He was finished.

Genesis 2:1-3 NASB
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Confession time: I don't usually rest on the 7th day.  I've often done things I consider work -- wash clothes, fold clothes, do school prep work, etc.  And while I don't want to encroach on legalism, I suspect that I really should just be relaxing, feet kicked up, on the 7th day and preparing my body for the tasks of the days that lay ahead.

So last night, I cried about Benjamin until nearly 2am.  Without him there to kiss and hug for 2017, the new year's arrival felt hollow and empty.  This morning, it was beyond me to arise for church.  I was too exhausted physically and emotionally to rise, so I didn't.  I just laid in bed, alternating dozing with staring at the ceiling.

I'm not a "resolutions" type of person, but as I lay in bed trying to force myself to just get up, I said, "for this new year, I'm going to strive to give the LORD the first-fruits of my day instead of what I've been doing, which amounts to SOS "calls" and afterthoughts."  So, I arose and spent a couple of hours reading various devotionals (I got several for Christmas) and jotting notes in a journal.  If felt quite amazing to sit, spend time in God's word, and just mull over what it means to me and my season of life.

I then decided to see what the Verse of the Day was from my Bible app called You Version.  Right there, on the top of the screen was this verse:
 
Isaiah 43:19 NASB

19 "Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, 
Rivers in the desert." 

As I read this verse, the song "Your Great Name" by Natalie Grant started playing -- a song Benjamin would play over and over at times.

This verse plus that song felt like a sweet love touch from the LORD.  It felt like He said, "yes, I want you to come to Me first every day so I can order your steps.  Stop trying to do this on your own."  And the song was a reminder of my husband's faith in Jesus and the fact that one day I *will* see him again.  It's also pretty awesome that one of my devotionals is called Streams in the Desert.

I am so glad that I took the time to rest, pray, read the Bible, and study a few devotionals.  The LORD of all creation came to visit my broken heart.  If I had neglected the rest, if I had hastily arisen without giving the LORD my first fruits, I would have missed that sweet moment.

I wonder what tomorrow morning holds?  I can't wait!

Friend, I pray that if you are struggling to give the LORD the first fruits of your day as I am, you will find an extra measure of discipline to make it happen.  I pray that you find the right rhythm, the right method that connects to your thinking and learning style so that you can absorb the amazing words of the LORD.  And I pray that you gain amazing insights from spending time with Him that will buoy you through your days. 

*Graphic at beginning of page is from the website The Graphics Fairy.  All credit for the lovely image belongs to them.