“And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.” Genesis 1:5

Even in the beginning, did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? From today’s scripture reading we can see that it did. Therefore it’s little wonder that we also have changes in our circumstances, wavering from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. My world will not always blaze brightly like the sun of noon. I must expect, at times, to mourn the absence of my former joys, and seek my Beloved God in the night.

I am not alone in this, for all the Lord’s beloved ones have had to sing the blended song of judgment and of mercy, of trial and deliverance, of sadness and of delight. It is God’s foresight that day and night will not disappear, either in the spiritual or natural creation, until we reach the land of which it is written, “there is no night there.” What our heavenly Father prepares for us is wise and good.

What, my friend, is it best for you to do? First learn to be content with God’s providence, and be willing, with Job, to receive from the hand of the Lord as He choose, both in the morning and the evening.

Next, study God’s Word and train yourself to make both the morning and the evening opportunities to rejoice. Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when it rises, and for the gloom of evening as it falls, because there is beauty both in sunrise and sunset. Sing of it like the nightingale, and glorify the Lord at all hours. Believe that the night is as useful as the day.

The dews of grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise shine gloriously amid the darkness of grief. Continue your service in all situations. If in the day you work, at night instead work at quiet contemplation and meditation on God’s Word. Every hour has its purpose, so continue in your calling as the Lord’s servant until He suddenly appears in His glory.

My friend, even if your evening of old age and death is drawing near, do not dread it in the least, for it is part of the day, and the Lord has promised to protect and love you all the day long.

Questions: Are you going through an “evening” right now? Where will you turn for support and comfort?

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http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/08/08/cs_perseverance/
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Friends phoned to say that there was a cat up a tree crying and that it had been there howling for two days. We quickly drove over to check it out. As soon as we got out of the car we could hear it howling. We ran over to the tree and looked up but we couldn’t see it. It was at least thirty feet up in a branchy old cedar tree. Somehow this cat had gotten up the tree and wasn’t coming down. We would call and it would howl but it wasn’t moving. To my amazement my wife decided to climb up the tree to try and find it in the branches. Without a thought to her own safety, or what she might find, she struggled her way up the tree and discovered a frightened little kitten clinging to a branch. Just as amazing was to see my wife climbing down the tree with the kitten on her shoulder snuggled against her neck.  It was totally relaxed. The kitten didn’t fight, scratch or holler. It just lay there. Safe! Rescued!

We too have a rescuer who will rescue us if we cry out… His name is Jesus!

My prayer for you this week: “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!” Amen. Daniel 3:28

Have a great week

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http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/07/06/an_rescuer/

“Thy will be done.�  Matthew 6:10

Will – “But how do I know what God’s will is?â€?  Have you struggled with that question?  I have – more often than not.  I long to do His will, but knowing what He wants in any of the various gray areas of my life is not so easy to determine.  Sure, I have to book of instructions (the Torah), but I am hard pressed to find anything there about retirement plans, career moves, home schooling or automobile choices.  Nevertheless, I pray, “Your will be done,â€? as if I knew what it really was.  And, since I am often quite confused about the correct choice, I add the cover phrase “if it’s Your will, Lord,â€? to most of my prayers.

That doesn’t seem to be what Yeshua had in mind.  He doesn’t appear to vacillate over direction.  In fact, there isn’t even a hint of doubt in this part of the model prayer.  Yeshua prays boldly for the exercise of the Father’s will.  Or so it seems.  Let’s take a look.

The Greek word thelema is very common in classical Greek, but it is surprisingly rare in the New Testament.  When we look at its Hebrew equivalent (rason), we find something even more interesting.  Rason is not about rational decisions like the Greek word.  It is about passionately birthed desire.  In other words, Yeshua is not talking about all the choices that make up God’s purpose and direction.  He is talking about the joy, delight and passion that belong to the character of what God does.  Did you get that?  It’s hard to re-think in a world that is saturated with the notion that will is about cognition.  We split emotion and will, but Hebrew is a lot fuzzier.  To proclaim God’s will is to announce my delight, joy and passion for His display.  It is to endorse His glorification in action.  Furthermore, this phrase commits me to His holiness because the only thing God must do is exhibit His holy character.  What God does is holy.  Therefore, when I pray “Your will be done,� I am asking that He manifest Himself as holy regardless of my agenda or interpretation.  And, of course, this is exactly what God already does.  So, my petition is really a declaration of His inscrutable righteousness.  Speaking blessings upon His will is, at the same time, my commitment to contentment.  I declare that I am content with His purposes.  I long for His holiness to be manifest.  I delight in seeing it.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  And it is good, except that it immediately confronts us with our own resistance to His will.  How can we pray for God’s holiness to be manifest and for contentment with this manifestation and then immediately ask Him to explain what He requires of us.  You see, the will of God is not found in peaceful co-existence.  It is found in obedience!  God has already revealed His moral will.  It’s called the Torah.  To pray for His will to be the passionate delight of my life and, at the same time, refuse to be obedient to the manifestation of His instructions is not only self-contradiction, it is sin.  This has nothing to do with His freely given grace.  This has everything to do with delighting in Him.  The disciples knew exactly what Yeshua meant.  Do we?

One additional clarification must be made.  Contentment is not passive.  It is self-surrender in the active pursuit of the eschatological horizon of the coming government of God.  OK, maybe that’s a bit too theological.  What I’m saying is the when I am content with God’s purposes, I do not sit idly by and wait for Him to do everything.  My declaration is a statement of my active obedience and passionate decision to do whatever is required of me to fulfill His purposes within His Kingdom.  My will is subsumed in His will.  I do the Kingdom because I live the Kingdom.  And I never rest until I am fully content in Him.

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“The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. . . . So what kind of people should you be?� 2 Peter 3:10-11 (NCV)

Great question. What kind of people should we be? Peter tells us: “You should live holy lives and serve God, as you wait for and look forward to the coming of the day of God” (vv. 11-12).

Hope of the future is not a license for irresponsibility in the present. Let us wait forwardly, but let us wait.

But for most of us, waiting is not our problem. Or, maybe I should state, waiting is our problem. We are so good at waiting that we don’t wait forwardly. We forget to look. . . . We are too content. We seldom search the skies . . .We seldom, if ever, allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt our plans and lead us to worship so that we might see Jesus.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/01/29/ml_waiting/

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Max Lucado
From: When Christ Comes
Copyright (Word Publishing, 1999)
Used by permission

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
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