Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. v1-3

John Piper offers - in my view - an extraordinary encouragement on these verses, particularly with respect to how we should not run aimlessly.

Piper says:
- "So into the church has crept the disease of drifting and neglecting. People are growing careless, spiritually lazy, and negligent." 
- "They have begun to have a kind of lazy sense of security. A false notion that nothing really huge is at stake in their small group meetings or whether they meditate on the Bible or take time alone to pray or fight sin. They assume all will be well. Hebrews is written to teach them otherwise."
- "They made a profession of faith and went into a passive, coasting mode. This is utterly wrong."
- "Endure, persevere, run, fight, be alert, be strengthened, don’t drift, don’t neglect, don’t be sluggish, don’t take your eternal security for granted".
- "Don’t stroll, don’t meander, don’t wander about aimlessly. Run as in a race with a finish line and with everything hanging on it."
- "Then along comes a text like this which says that passivity and coasting and drifting are mortally dangerous."

We must RUN...and FIX OUR EYES on Jesus - this requires focus!  Focus implies a plan.

Piper suggests we "plan [a] fall run with Jesus".

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has provided MANY great witnesses, Your Word, The Holy Spirit, the church, my brothers and sisters in Christ, all of which give me coaching training, etc. - thank You Jesus!  I know You are always with me.  I am undeserving of such love.  I am harsh with my words and actions.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day. 

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. v23-24

We exist to glorify God - it is as simple as that. 

 

[The people] are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.  Isiah 60: 21

 

If we exist to glorify God - if our mission is to glorify God, then we should have a vision to accomplish this, and we should seek God's guidance in prayer to ensure that our plan is aligned with His desires.  If we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and we have sought renewing of the mind by studying and knowing God's word, then we "will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

 

Although we might not welcome tests such as those experienced by Job, we should have no problem asking God to test us, to perfect us, to refine us.  After all, this process will be good for us, pleasing to God and it helps us further our mission which is to glorify Him.

  

God - test me, purify me, refine me.

My Prayer: Lord You are an awesome God full of love and compassion for me...even though I very often lack compassion for others.  Please forgive me!  Thank You for Your patience but I am not worthy.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.

Psalm 99

He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them. v7

We all want to know God's will for our life - yet many people struggle with this question.  We often continue struggling with this question yet we miss something key in the process - our life is not about us but about glorifying God and if we are to glorify God we must take the time to know and understand all about Him, His character, and His attributes.  Check out these resources:

• Focus on the Family
• PurposeDriven.com

 See also Romans 12:2:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

In today's Psalm, what is clear is that God spoke to Moses, Aaron, and Samuel because "kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them".  Now God may and does choose other times to speak to His children, but He is more likely to speak to you if you draw near to Him and desire to follow Him.  See also my post from a couple of days ago.

My Prayer: Lord You are a great God worthy of my praise and worship.  You are perfect in all that You do, and You created all things, are in all things,and hold all things together.  You left heaven to suffer and die for me, knowing everything about me including my sin and broken-ness.  Thank You Jesus!  What a great God You are.  I am not worth such efforts as I continue to struggle with inaction.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome such sin and turn towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. v12

Moses' words, as divined by God, highlight how our life here on earth is fleeting, and that we should respect God's sovereignty and power because He holds our lives in His hands.  We are then encouraged to live with the end in mind.

One of the implications of numbering our days is that we have a plan.  If our days have numbers than we are focused on completing something, something that God intends for us.  For Moses it was leading the Israelites to the promised land.  From Deuteronomy 34, we know that Moses left everything "on the table":

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. Deuteronomy 34:10-12

I desire to live a life like Moses - one where the days are numbered - one where we live with a plan to finish the race (2 Timothy 4:7), living with the end in mind and living out the life that God intends for us.

My Prayer: Lord, You are an awesome God, worthy of my praise and worship...and so much more.  You are the beginning, the end, the Creator, and the One who holds all things together.  Thank You for being my God and for adopting me as Your son.  I am not worthy of such love as You have poured out and continue to pour out for me.  I am harsh with my thoughts and actions towards others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me turn from such sin and turn towards others.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength. Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

To Catch a Thief
Psalm 119

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. v105

Today's devotion once again focuses on sin and how it "easily entangles" us (Hebrews 12).  As the devotion states, we should be able to identify Satan, and my recent posts point to how scripture (in our heart) serves as a key defense against Satan.  Prayer and the assistance of my brothers and sisters in Christ are also key defenses.

A key way that Satan has been able to distract me is through worry - worry about the future.  Although I should plan for the future, I should not worry - these are two separate and mutually exclusive actions.  You can do both but you should not do both.  I fall down by doing both.  Forgive me Jesus!  I know You have blessed me despite my worry - thank You Jesus!  Please help me turn from my sin towards You.  Help me take encouragement from Your words, such as those from the Psalms.  I know that "no word from God will ever fail (Luke 1:37)"; I also know that if I "[c]ome near to God, ...he will come near to [me] (James 4:8)". 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and I know You will never leave me or forsake me.  Thank You for being a God that loves me so much - You love me despite my brokenness.  Help me overcome my worry and turn towards You Jesus.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer, including the side effects from chemo and radiation.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin.  Help me trust in You and not worry. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” v14-15

James 4

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” v14-15

Lord, You are over everything - You reign!  I don't know what will happen tomorrow and I know that You hold my life and the lives of those around me in the palm of Your hands-for this I need not just forgiveness for my arrogance, but also for Your protection...

I do know also that You have great plans for me...help me place my hope and trust there.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

... 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

My Prayer: Lord You are a great God...full of love, peace, patience, kindness, compassion, etc. (and more) for me!  How awesome...this despite my sin.  You know it all yet You love anyway.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love and blessing.  I am weak and I worry.  Please forgive me and help me turn from such sin and towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith and become more like You.  Help me place my faith and trust in Your plans alone.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength, comfort, and freedom from pain.  Please heal and cure her of this cancer.  Help me lead and serve, Lisa, Zach, and Dustin.  Please heal Kay, Robert, Lacey, Warren's wife and others that need Your healing....give them all peace and encouragement that You can and will heal them.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air

1 Corinthians 9

Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. v25

God has a plan...we know that...and God wants You to have a plan...one grounded in God's guidance for You (through the word, wise counsel, prayer, confirming circumstances, etc.).  We are to be intentional in our lives to live out what we believe is God's plan for us.

See also the following link:

"For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

Once we understand God's will for our lives we are to be intentional...instead of running aimlessly.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God, just and merciful.  I don't know why things happen but I know that You have a plan and it is not for harm, but to prosper Lisa and myself.  Thank You Jesus so much for being the great God that You are...to me personally.  I am not deserving of a great God yet You are there...and You always have been and always will be.  I am selfish, my thoughts are often evil and sinful...please forgive me for such sin Jesus and help me turn from such sin.  Help me turn towards You instead and help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  Help me lead my household and Lisa through this difficult journey.