stevenrealife

In just one week, my baby sister died unexpectedly and my mother-in-law died unexpectedly. My wife and I are suffering great loss. At first, we both felt numb. Now, we are able to reflect over the last month. This picture of Masada, the last hold-out location for Jewish zealots following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the location of one of Herod the Great’s palaces, is a picture of a mighty fortress. A mighty fortress is how the Bible pictures God when we suffer great loss. We can always come to Him and find relief. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you” (NLT). Coming to God as my fortress is me giving “all my worries and cares” to Him. He does indeed “care about what happens to you.”

A mentor once told me that we spend our lives in one of four places: just heading into a dark tunnel, in the middle of a tunnel seeing no light at the end, at the end of a tunnel just ready to head out, or in the sunshine. If we find ourselves living in the sunshine, we will eventually head back into another tunnel. This verse has encouraged me in my times in the tunnel: “Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8; NASB). This pic coming out of a tunnel on the Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island reminded me of my mentor’s words. We can trust the Lord, even in the middle of the tunnel.

Jesus says in Luke 12:27-28, “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (New Living Translation). These wild flowers on the trail to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park remind me of the beauty Jesus talks about in Luke 12. Worrying is telling God that He is not big enough, does not care enough, or does not know enough to take care of me. We know that He is big enough and cares enough and knows enough! At the moment we feel anxious we can talk to God. We can tell Him that we know that He is big enough to meet our needs. He is worthy of our trust.

Matthew’s list of the genealogy of Jesus (see Matthew 1:1-16) does something uncommon in the Ancient Near East: he includes the names of five women in Jesus’ ancestry. Here they are: Tamar (Genesis 38:6-26), Rahab (Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-25; Hebrews 11:31), Ruth (the book of Ruth), Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-27), and Mary (Jesus’ mother). As you think about Jesus, the God-Man, entering the world for the purpose of dying for the sin of humanity, also think about these five incredible women of faith. From their inclusion in the line of Christ, we see that anyone can take a step of faith, and God will honor it. We see God bringing good out of the harshest of circumstances. And we see Mary, a virgin, willing to accept pregnancy with the baby Jesus without regard to the consequences it might have. Christmas reminds us of the great depths of the love of God for all people!

When I looked out on Swiftcurrent Lake in Glacier National Park, I saw a picture of peace. Perfect peace! Don’t we all want to experience perfect peace! The prophet Isaiah tells us that one day there will be perfect peace on earth when Jesus Christ comes back and sets up His Kingdom. Isaiah 42:1 says, “He will bring forth justice to the nations” (ESV). Isaiah 42:4 says, “He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice on the earth” (ESV). To establish justice is to make all things right. That is what Jesus will do when He returns: He will make all things right. And when all things are made right, perfect peace results. We want perfect peace now and get discouraged when we do not experience it. That yearning within reminds us that what we experience today is not all that God has for us. God will bring perfect peace to all believers in Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 2:5 says, “Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD” (NASB). Isaiah is telling the people of the southern tribes of Israel to live their lives within the boundaries of God’s commands and standards. Since Israel will one day sit under Messiah’s reign in God’s kingdom, Isaiah tells them to live like kingdom people now. Let us live under His authority. Let us live like kingdom people. The New Testament tells Christians that we too are kingdom people. Read Colossians 1:10-14 to see how we, as Kingdom people, should also be walking “in the light of the LORD.”

Luke 6:11 records that the religious leaders of the day were so “filled with rage” at Jesus that they “discussed together what they might do to Jesus” (NASB). Isn’t it interesting that the next verse says, “It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray. . . .” Our first instinct is often to do something, to act, when we face opposition. Jesus’ first recorded response was to pray. What a lesson for us all! When adversity hits us in the face, our first response can and should be Jesus’ first response: to talk to God. God is the One who will work, even in adversity!