24 Jan 07

Proverbs 24
:12 Don't try to shrug off responsibility. As the Men's Fraternity mantra goes "reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead couragiously, and seek God's reward."
:30-34 Laziness is bad. Another proverb somewhere else says "a lazy person is as bad as one who destroys things." It's like we are swimming upstream all the time; if you stop swimming, you are regressing. It's like energy & entropy (thermodynamics): we have to invest energy to preserve organization (lack of entropy).

Luke 11
:2-4 The Lord's prayer: some people reorganize/categorize it into ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication). For some reason, I recently have been struggling with adoration. I think I'm going to read the book of Psalms next month.
:34-36 "Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness... If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you." These verses make it clear that we need to take serious our childhood song, "Oh, be careful little eyes what you see ..." 1 Cor. 6:19-20 comes to mind as well. I pray that I will honor the Lord as I assymtotically approach perfect Holiness (i.e., pure and blameless life).

Revelation 14-16
I am impressed by the difference in which the 144,000 are spoken of as compared to the wicked people of the earth that reject Christ Jesus as Lord. Also, if this digital text is still around during the tribulation (a whole bunch of terrible plagues, earthquakes, and other craziness), then let me give some advice: DO NOT accept the mark of the beast (666) on your wrist or forhead; God is going to pour out even more wrath on those who ally themselves with Satan. This text really makes a stark contrast between God's Holiness, Perfect Righteousness, and Sovereignty as opposed to the wickedness of Satan and his followers; it really paints a clear picture for God's Just Wrath.

May these words from Rev. 15:3-4 be my lifesong, "Great and marvelous are your actions, Lord God Almighty. Just and True are your ways, O king of the nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed." Praise our Father in Heaven for His Mercy and Grace through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.