Happy New Year of Hope

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. - Genesis 1:3-5

From the beginning, God has reminded us of His unfailing providence. Just as we never doubt the sun will rise again in the morning, and we schedule events and set up 401k's for several decades in the future knowing the world will continue to turn. In the same way, we should have eternal hope in God because He's even more reliable than the rising and falling of the sun. Notice a day for Him starts in the darkness and ends in the light. Just like this, the world started in darkness. Yes, we are still there, yet we see the hues of the sky lightening with the coming day. Have faith, because hope will come in the morning, and it surely will, in a blaze of glory like a sunrise.

Genesis states with each new day of creation, "And there was evening, and there was morning." Yet, when he comes upon the seventh day, the sun never rises. We are told the following:

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. - Genesis 3:2-3

Let us look to the sky with anticipation and joy. The morning is coming, and it will be good.

Happy New Year and God bless!

(Don't) Follow Your Heart

"Just follow your heart!" That saying has popped up in every thing from movies, shows, music, everything as if it were a wise saying. It's shown up in the moral of the story even in places that don't say it outright. So, what's my problem with this worldly proverb?

It's in direct opposition to every truth uttered by God.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? -Jeremiah 17:9

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. -Romans 13:14

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. -Matthew 15:19

Your heart was not made to be your master or your leader in anything. Your heart was meant to be led. It's full of every corruption that it has been exposed to since your birth, and if you follow it, you follow it straight into the hornet's nest.

What does my heart say? It gets irrationally angry when someone cuts me off in traffic, thinks working for a living is a complete waste of time, and falls for every commercial's idea for what I need to be happy in life (ooh, that burger would fulfill me, or wait maybe it's the newest dieting plan? Nope, it definitely the burger). This is on a good day when the darkness of the world doesn't encroach on me quite as much.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. -Proverbs 4:23

Murderers, rapists, adulterers were all struggling with the desires of their heart. What kind of leader is that? I really don't want to follow something that's brought me several times to the icy fingers of depression. I've heard its words when I've been overcome with anxiety, lying about my worth and exaggerating the importance of others' opinions. When you follow your heart, you follow the world.

If your heart isn't the leader, who needs to guide your heart?

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. -Psalm 23:1

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

God's words and guidance can be found, first and foremost, through the Bible. Do what it takes to be reminded of God's ways and truths. The world is quick to encroach upon you. Let God's light in daily through reading the Bible, speaking to loved ones of God, singing Christian music, or praying often.

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart. -Proverbs 4:20-21

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be multiplied in the land the LORD swore to give your fathers. -Deuteronomy 11:18-21

The heart is a liar. Put on God's armor and pick up His sword to fight the darkness within and without. You may tire, but God never will.

God bless.

God's Hygge

In Me, you may have peace, but in the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. - John 16:33

If there's something that the world is in deep, desperate need of, it's peace. An Earth without war, sickness, division, abuse, and darkness of other kinds is coming. However, in the meantime, there's a kingdom of God that can live in and through you if you let it.

Sometimes, trends are just a mindless scrambling for something otherwise missing in our souls, but sometimes, they stumble into a lighter place, allowing people a glimpse of what can be with God.

Hue-gah - Danish word

Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things. It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of home. A feeling that we are safe, that we are shielded from the world and allow ourselves to let our guard down (2017, p. vi). - The Little Book of Hygge

Hygge is a semi-new trend, but it started with a Danish and Norwegian concept. No doubt this concept has always existed in some form throughout the world for ages now, but it's now been commercialized and deemed "in." It's a nice idea. Most people imagine fireplaces, fuzzy socks, a warm drink in hand, and family or a book to keep you company. It can be part of those things. It can also be part of a warm summer's evening, a dark front porch with the stars overhead, a crowded bus station, a DMV lobby, or just another day at work. Why? In reality, it exists within you, not in your environment. It's peace and joy.

Joy is not necessarily related to happiness, as it's defined by the Bible. This emotion and mindset settles into the marrow of your being as an ever present hope and solid rock on which to stand during the crashing waves of life. It's the knowledge that, no matter what else you may be feeling and experiencing at the moment, there is a true love that has prepared you for a home with many rooms.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. - James 1:2-3

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. - Psalm 47:1

Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. - Ecclesiastes 9:7

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. - 1 Peter 1:8-9

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. - Psalm 27:6

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, - Romans 14:17

The kingdom of God resides in the Children of God and among them, in their fruits, in their peace and joy, and in the light of truth they spread with His Word. During our last blog post, we spoke about how making a change externally must begin with a change internally. This is what God is doing to heal the world. He brings His love and light-filled kingdom to our hearts first and, eventually, His kingdom will be on Earth.

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. - Luke 17:20-21

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. - Colossians 3:15

Gratitude is a large part of hygge and the joy we find in God. We are surely thankful for all of God's blessings, including a warm, safe home to come back to, even if that home only exists as the kingdom thriving in our souls. It's good to take a moment to disconnect from the rat-race and connect with the moment you're in. You may hear God speaking. May you find God's hygge waiting for you.