I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Psalm 40:1-2, ESV
The world will tell us we are meaningless accidents, and the devil will have us focus on being animate dirt. Yet, we know God has made us in His image, giving us value and purpose. We can trust our Creator.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26, ESV
The world will tell we are all we need. The devil will try to convince us we can save ourselves. Only in Jesus can we be saved, and only God can accomplish anything.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14, ESV
The most impossible thing happened: God became like us, God the Son taking on flesh to share His grace and truth with us to the glory of God the Father and for our salvation from wrath against sin.
for those who guide this people have been leading them astray, and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.
Isaiah 9:16, ESV
At Advent, we look back at why Jesus had to come, that He came, and then that He will come again.
We do horrible things to ourselves, to each other, and against God.
We want to hear about the good things in this world and that good things will come to us.
We want to surround ourselves with people who will tell is what we want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
And there are people who are willing to tell us those happy things, saying many of the right things while also ignoring or omitting the things that don’t sound as good.
In other words, there are teachers willing to teach what others want to benefit themselves. (1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9)
But this is not new. Many of the prophets and priests of Israel had done that for centuries (which is something Isaiah is talking about), and it clearly stretches throughout history.
The religious leadership added rules to or new interpretations of God’s Word. Balaam accepted money to speak and fight against Israel (even if he still only spoke blessings). All the way back to the beginning, the serpent twisted God’s Word to “help” people be more like God.
And we have allowed ourselves to be consumed with selfish lies.
Yet, God came to give us the truth and lead us back from false teachings by revealing Himself as the Truth.
May we seek the Lord who has given us truth through His Word (The Bible) and His life, death, and resurrection.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6, ESV
We cannot know nor please God if we do not have faith that He exists and sent His Son to live, die, and rise again for our redemption.
Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
1 Corinthians 13:6, ESV
We can feel self-righteous when we see others messing up and sinning, or we can find ways to justify sin. Love, however, obeys God and rejoices when we do well and right.
The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 22:4, ESV
We think too highly of ourselves far too often, but if we truly “look inside our hearts,” we would see our need for God. Seek Him today and find eternal life.
Do we truly love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths? Maybe I can help with the mind part, at least! This is Daniel M. Klem, apparent poet, reluctant yet passionate Disciple (Peter?), and foolish man attempting to understand theology!