Tag: Forever

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For Awhile or Forever

Daily Reading

Isaiah 9-12

Daily Thought

Midway through The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is pulled off a bridge into a seemingly bottomless chasm. Frodo and his companions are certain he plunged to his death, but I did not think so. I tried to continue reading, turning the pages one at a time, but curiosity won and I peeked ahead, flipping through future chapters to see if the name Gandalf showed up again. I wanted to know if their leader would be with them to the end.

Prophets peek ahead. Israel will fall, seemingly to its death. “The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth” (Isaiah 9:12). God will use godless nations to punish sinful Israel; then God will punish the punishers for their arrogance. They think they are in charge. They are not; God is. This is his story.

God had promised a kingdom forever, but Israel fears its sin has been greater than God’s promises. So the prophet Isaiah flips forward the pages, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him” (Isaiah 11:1-2). Israel has a future in God’s story; from the family of Jesse, a King will reign. His name is Jesus. Nothing is greater than God’s promises.

There will come yet another day when “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.” ~Isaiah 11:6-9

This day has not yet come. It will.

Daily Prayer

Righteous and mighty God, You created and called it good. Following You is good. But I keep following the crowd. And it works …for awhile, but not forever. I want forever.

I trust You, my God. Your Word is certain. You have kept and will keep Your promises, and I will rest in Your strength. May my own words reflect the faithfulness of Your Word.

Amen

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Reach for the Stars

Daily Reading

Ecclesiastes 5-8

Daily Thought

Ecclesiastes is the writing of a wise man looking at life “under the sun,” this life short of eternity, and he alternates between despair, and making the best of it. “All are from the dust, and to dust all return” (Ecclesiastes 3:20), so “there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil-this is God’s gift to man” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13).

On the side of making the best of it, he occasionally offers good advice, such as, don’t go it alone; “two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). After the Los Angeles Lakers won an NBA championship, retired UCLA coach John Wooden was asked how many championships he thought Kobe Bryant could win. “None,” said Wooden. “Kobe doesn’t win championships. The Lakers win championships.” And so it is with wisdom, “though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him–a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). We need others, we need teammates, we need friends, says the wise man. 

That being said, he adds, everyone dies. The wise man of Ecclesiastes rains on parades; do not invite him to the party, but do not ignore his words. His aim is to lift our heads above the clouds. As long as we live under the sun, life is ultimately futile, and he takes pains to point that out. Then he points upward, “for God is in heaven and you are on earth” (Ecclesiastes 5:2). Life on earth is brief and not fair; and God is good and forever. He sees the way of the world, “a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God” (Ecclesiastes 8:12), so he reaches for the skies, and you should, too.

Daily Prayer

Father God, may I be heavenly-minded, my head above the clouds. May I think Your thoughts and see life through Your eyes because that is the only I will be earthly-good. You created us for relationship, with each other and with You. Teach me to value and love people the way You do, to lift their heads up and point them to Your glory and Your goodness.

May I live each day with eternity in mind. My security, God, is in You; keep me from relying on things that simply do not last. Each day is a gift, I will open it and enjoy it and let everyone know Who gave it to me.

Amen