Tuesday, December 7
Isaiah 5:13-17, 24-25
Psalms 26, 28, 36, and 39
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Luke 21:29-38
Luke 21:29-38
It’s funny how life goes. We spend 8 months of the year “getting by,” the last 2 months of the year stressing about buying gifts and how to get to every party while not getting run down in the process and “resolve” NOT to do what we have done for the last 8 months. Then the first 2 months of the year we work hard to establish good habits to meet all the resolutions we did not complete the year before and by March 1st we are so exhausted, we are back to “getting by.” It is a cyclical pattern that quite honestly makes it hard to break free. We get so consumed in foolish behavior that the one thing that is consistent in our lives, GOD, gets lost. Diets will come and go, resolutions will start and end, but God never waivers, he is always by our side. He supports us on our darkest day and rejoices with us in our greatest triumph. He loves us for who we are -- despite our weight, what we wear, what we know -- yet we let our relationship with him suffer. We lose sight of God in our daily life, just like we slip on the diet, go over budget and never register for that Spanish class that we resolved to take in 2010. Imagine our year if we put God first in ALL that we did. If we walked his path everyday and relied on him to carry us instead of worrying about all the stresses of the world we live in today. Imagine if we worked on being spiritually “in shape” and that motivated us to be more self confident and happy in our day-to-day work. Imagine if we were obedient to God’s word versus socially suffering on a daily basis. We need to be able to act on God’s command and be ready for his coming again and what eternal life has in store for us. Revelation 21:1-4 reminds us that God has given us eternal life – will we be spiritually fit? This year I challenge each of us to resolve to become spiritually healthy ~ to be ready for God’s coming and to walk each day with God by your side.
Courtneay and Kevin Odden