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Never forget.

Freedom comes at a cost.

155 years ago, on the very first National Decoration Day, President James Garfield made this statement to those gathered at Arlington Cemetery: For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue. For the noblest man that lives, there still remains a conflict. He must still withstand the assaults of time and fortune, must still be assailed with temptations, before which lofty natures have fallen; but with these the conflict ended, the victory was won, when death stamped on them the great seal of heroic character, and closed a record which years can never blot. (James Garfield, May 30, 1868)

We are forever grateful for the selfless sacrifice that soldiers gave to carry out the missions to which they were assigned and to protect the freedoms they treasured for future generations to enjoy.  To honor their sacrifice is to honor the freedoms we have been given in our country without abusing them or using them to impinge on the freedoms of others.  To honor their sacrifice is to never take our country for granted, but take time to remember our past, its failures and successes, to repent of our national sins that have created discord and division, to understand and protect the moral fabric which truly protects life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to encourage values of hard work, personal responsibility, and excellence that allow our country to prosper as well as stand ready to help others less fortunate than we. 

We live in memory of many military giants who traversed the fields at Gettysburg, navigated the trenches of Europe, stormed the beaches of Normandy, slugged through the marshes in Vietnam, walked the roads in Afghanistan, traveled the convoys in Iraq, and engaged in many other points of combat around the world.  Many of those that perished were young men and women who lost the life they had and the life yet to be lived.  All who perish leave behind parents who grieve, spouses who live alone, children who miss a parent, and friends and fellow soldiers who feel the empty hole in their hearts.

A day of remembrance doesn’t fill the hole these men and women have left, but I pray it gives pause to give significance to the sacrifice they made.

I am forever grateful for those who serve in our armed forces, men and women, who stand ready, stand proud, and stand strong to give me and my family the blessing of peace and freedom to enjoy today.  Thank you.  I and our nation are forever grateful for the sacrifice you have made.  You are a gift from God.

^{Psalm 118:29} Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Apply: In grateful reflection and prayer, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6OS-gR-zqI

 

Prayer: God of all nations and ruler of all.  We give you thanks for the nation in which we live and for the freedoms which we enjoy.  May we use this gift to not just preserve the freedom of our country, but to proclaim and preserve the freedom of forgiveness which you have given to us through the ultimate sacrifice of your son, Jesus Christ.  In his name we pray. AMEN.

(This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s message: Win the Day…Wind the Clock – LISTEN HERE)

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What does it mean to be alive?

Breathing? Heart pumping? Mind working?

The question isn’t intended just to spark the physiological evidence that determines if someone is alive or dead, it’s meant to be more of a philosophical question.

What does it mean to be alive?

Some may speak of being “present in the moment.”  Others might speak of “conscious awareness” or similar concepts.  Perhaps these have some practical value to get the most out of each day, but let me proposed this as what it means to be alive.

Always Living In View of Eternity = ALIVE!

While each day has tasks, activities, relationships and more to enjoy, each day is one step closer to your death and the end of your experience on earth.

So what are you doing today to be ready for that day?

The younger one is, perhaps the farther from one’s mind that question is.  The older one is, the more real death becomes.  However, while actuaries give averages of life spans, there is no guarantee for any age the number of days one has left.

So live ALIVE today!

What does that look like?

First, invest in things that last.  The Prophet Isaiah wrote (40:8), The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.  The one reality that moves past this life is the One who created time and the One who spoke his Word into time.  Investing in that eternal word of truth is so important to do on a daily basis.  Your soul needs it!  

Yesterday morning I was listening to a podcast my wife invited me to listen to.  Honestly I didn’t get much of it, but toward the end the presenter was speaking about leadership and how leaders were to create the vision and direction for the future, but also create an environment of creativity and innovation to bring that vision to reality…not get caught in the weeds of the day to day operations, which is easy for leaders to do.  The topic wasn’t as important as the question he posed, “What does the future need you to do today?”  Great question!  Especially as a Christian, the future needs you to invest in your relationship with the Lord today!

Second, be ready and keep watch.  Vigilance is so important, but hard to maintain.  Jesus taught in Matthew 24:42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”

Being ALIVE means spending today working, serving, learning, to the glory of God and the building up of your faith.  

Enjoy your day.  Invest in that which is eternal.  Your future will thank you for it.

 

Apply: What can you do today that invests in your eternity?

Prayer: Lord keep my hearts and eyes focused on you…always living in view of eternity. AMEN.

(This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s message: Win the Day…Wind the Clock – LISTEN HERE)

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Days and seasons…

King Solomon, the son of King David and third king of Israel, had everything one wanted from an earthly perspective.  He held the top position in the country.  He held more wealth than anyone in the world.  He was granted godly wisdom to make decisions that were fair.  He had relationships with other world leaders and respected around the known world.

Yet he too struggled at times to figure out the meaning and significance of day to day life.  The book of Ecclesiastes reflects on the years he had and observations that make life sometimes seem without deep significance.  The word that appears often is “Meaninglessness.”  The word that is translated in this way is a word that means “breath” as well.  Like your breath you “see” on a cold day, so are the days of mankind.  They come and they go like a breath.

This term puts life in perspective so that I realize first that every day has the opportunities mentioned in yesterday’s devotion.

It also helps me realize that not everything will continue.  As an example, after dropping our daughter off to school this morning, I realized that these days of spending the morning with her and driving her to school will soon fade as she gets her driver’s license sometime next school year.  It caused a reflective moment, but also the reality that seasons of life change and each one has its blessings.  The change in seasons isn’t bad or wrong, it just is.  Solomon reflected this sentiment too:

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything,  and a season for every activity under heaven:  2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,  3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,  4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,  a time to mourn and a time to dance,  5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,  a time to embrace and a time to refrain,  6 a time to search and a time to give up,  a time to keep and a time to throw away,   7 a time to tear and a time to mend,  a time to be silent and a time to speak,  8a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.  

Yet as we go through the seasons, some we can’t wait until they are over, and others we want to last.  But here’s another observation Solomon makes.  God has set eternity on our hearts.  We WANT to live forever!

Ecclesiastes 3:9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

While we live life in a linear fashion from beginning to end.  God is engaged in time from the end to the beginning.  He knows the end and sets the desire on the hearts of people to live. And so he give us us each day to live, to enjoy the moments of each day, to see the beauty of creation, the blessings of relationships, and the satisfaction of work.  

We also live with the understanding and confidence that life on this earth is simply a precursor to life in heaven forever.  We don’t just have the desire to live forever, we have the promise through Jesus we WILL live forever!

So today, embrace today and the season you are in.  While it may not be the most favorite season or set of events you will be facing, engage in your day to see the beauty, mercy and favor of God at work in your life!

 

Apply: What “season” are you in?  What beauty do you notice in this season of life?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the days that accumulate into seasons of life.  Forgive me when I complain of the season I am in and direct my heart to see the beauty of each day and of each season you give me.  AMEN.

(This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s message: Win the Day…Wind the Clock – LISTEN HERE)

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I’m growing to appreciate the phrase used in this series:

“Yesterday is history…tomorrow is a mystery…so win the day!”

If you are like I am, I can spend a lot of time looking in the rear view mirror not always appreciating the past, but looking at decisions, activities, or tasks that I wish I could change, do differently or just have a mulligan for that day or season.  I can spend time thinking about the future and desiring a certain outcome for myself, my family, our church, and many other things.

With all the focus on the past and future, I forget about living today.

Really living.  Like engaging in the events, the relationships, and tasks to enjoy them, take them in, and see the importance of the moment of the day rather than being frustrated at what I’m not getting done or the time I need to spend on something that interrupts what I think I want to do.

The Apostle Paul wrote this:Ephesians 5:15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 

Make the most of every opportunity.  He’s not saying you have to DO every opportunity, but whatever opportunity is in front of you, make the most of it.

What does that mean?  And how does it affect my day?

First it’s living as a wise person.  King Solomon defined wisdom as the “fear of the Lord.”  Each day I’m living with “fear, love and trust in God above all things.”  I am seeking to leverage every opportunity to glorify God, connect someone to God, or be strengthened by the Lord.  The Apostle Paul spoke of God’s wisdom in contrast to human wisdom.  For me this means seeing the day through the lens of God’s ways, his word, his worldview.  My day is not going to be defined by the secular news, the career politician or the doomsday narrative.  My day is going to be defined by the Lord.

Second, make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.  Scroll your favorite news feed.  How many of the headlines speak of good vs. how many reflect on evil that has occurred.  I would venture about a 9-1 ratio of good news to reporting on evil.  So of course the world needs a beacon for love, joy, peace, kindness, etc.  Every opportunity we have in a day is there, set up by God, to show the love of God in what we do, in what we say, and with whom we interact.

We don’t have time to waste on foolish things or on evil things.

But we do.

And those are the regrets of the day and the regrets of the past.  Guilt can prevail when we realize we didn’t make the most of every opportunity, but rather have missed a lot of opportunities.

Which is why I am glad Jesus redeemed the day.  Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 

Jesus stepped into time to make the most of every day he lived to ensure the mission to pay for sin and assure me of forgiveness was accomplished.  Certainly we have to repent of missed opportunities and wasted days, but we have one who redeemed the day and made it perfect before our heavenly Father and gives us a reason to fall asleep in forgiveness and wake up motivated by grace to make the most of the opportunities God gives today!

So look forward to the opportunities God sends your way today and with his wisdom and grace in mind, win the day for the glory of God!

 

Apply: What opportunity have you missed that you regret?  Share it with the Lord and hear him speak forgiveness over you and the missed opportunity.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for redeeming each day by the life and death of Jesus.  Empower me by your Spirit to leverage every opportunity you present with wisdom grounded in you and goodness driven by your grace.  AMEN.

(This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s message: Win the Day…Wind the Clock – LISTEN HERE)

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“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Sounds good, right?

But what about a day I got in a car accident?  What about a day I nearly failed my semester exam?  What about the day my parents told me they were getting a divorce?  What about the day that the doctor looked at me and said, “You have cancer.”  What about the day…

Admittedly some days are hard to face or look back on and say, “Yippee!  This is an awesome day that the Lord made…I am so glad it happened!”

It’s hard to look back at the days that have tough, tragic, heartbreaking events and still say with the Psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118 provided context around the reason we can rejoice in the days that the Lord makes and gives to us.

Here’s just a few of the reasons:

1. We are loved.  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  (Psalm 118:1)
2. The Lord is with me. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6)
3. The Lord is trustworthy.  It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. (Psalm 118:8)
4. The Lord is my strength.   The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 
5. The Lord will deliver me and give me life.  I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. (Psalm 118:17)
6. The Lord answers my prayers. The Lord is my Savior.  I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. (Psalm 118:21)
7. The Lord is MY God. You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. (Psalm 118:28)

The list could go on.  Entering any day with the Lord and these truths about him certainly gains the credentials for a day in which I can rejoice and be glad!  Consider this:

If I have a day where people don’t treat me well or I feel unloved by the people around me, I have a God who loves me.

If I have a day where the challenges seem overwhelming and I’m not sure how I’m going to get through, the Lord is my strength.

If I have a day where I live in regret of past actions, I have the Lord who is my Savior. 

If I have a day where people scammed me or deceived me with lies, I have a God who is always trust worthy.

Again the list could go on.  The reality every day is a moment in time when we get to experience the very real presence, promises and power of God.  He intersects those moments.  He gives meaning to those moments.  He gives perspective to those moments.

And when he’s involved in every moment, I can rejoice and be glad…every day!

 

Apply:  Which promise from Psalm 118 resonates with you today?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being who you are and being by my side every day.  Remind me of your power, presence and promises so that every day I will rejoice and be glad in it! AMEN.