Observations

 

Observations

 

          So I’m going to take a different direction this week as far as the blog goes.  There’s no guide to tell you how to do a Bible study blog so I do change things from time to time.  As some of you know my dad is a pastor of a church and we talk at times about Biblical things.  As Father and son, we have a good relationship. So about a week and a half ago I sent him an email.  I wanted to first share that with you. 

          “Dad I didn’t know how to work this into a blog but I started reading through Proverbs lately and in chapter 6:16-19 it lists 6 things the Lord hates and it’s easy to read something quickly but I noticed something in those verses.  Everything it lists that the Lord hates Jesus was subjected to at his trials and death.  Before when I’ve read that I never mentally connected those things.  Also last Sunday Pastor Micah was talking about when the Roman soldiers were beating Jesus it mentions that a regiment was called for the task.  He said a regiment was about 500 soldiers and they beat him and mocked him till they got tired.  I just never thought there were that many people involved.  It’s just mentally hard to grasp that when you’re reading to get the sheer magnitude of it all.  You see movies or read books about his death but it doesn’t always seem to do justice to how many people bore witness to this one event and still didn’t grasp what God was doing even with earthquakes, sky darkening and the temple veil being split.  Sometimes we humans are so blind and stupid to what God is doing.”  For those that might be wondering about his response he said, “Good Observation.”   For the person who may be asking how does this email apply to my life.  God subjected his own son to the very things he hates because he loved us so much He made a way to cleanse us from our sins by innocent blood being shed on the cross. 

 

          The next thing I want to share is this.  I’ve been working through this Youversion reading plan called Still and it took some manipulating of technology to do this but I saved one of the days in the plan to share with all of you.  See Still is a plan by Christian musician Michael W. Smith and he reads scripture while instrumental music is playing and then you have a devotional.   I wanted to share that devotional.  This is called Hope and that has always been what the Batcave Blog has been about.  I teased yesterday on Facebook that we would have a different speaker of sorts and I would be doing something different.

Hope

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.“ - Jeremiah 29:11

I love the mountains. They are both beautiful and majestic. A taste of heaven and a glimpse of God. 

Recently when I went to the mountains, they were hidden by a thick layer of smoke from wildfires. Their beauty was concealed. I was so disappointed that I couldn’t see them! Then the next day it began to rain. The temperature suddenly dropped and the rain turned to snow. The strong winds blew the snowflakes around in heavy swirls. It looked like a blizzard in September! When the storm cleared away, the mountains were revealed in striking beauty. The smoke was gone. The trees and mountaintops were blanketed in white. 

The following day, the snow melted and the green appeared. The birds sang, the creek flowed, and the sun warmed us. As the land appeared to wake from death to life, God spoke to me and awakened my heart. 

The enemy is constantly lying to us, trying to convince us there is no hope. He says that life is too hard, that God isn’t good, and He’s holding out on us.

We give into fear as the smoke surrounds us. It clouds our vision, hiding the beauty of God (and our beauty in Him). But the truth is, there is hope. 

God Himself is our hope! When we turn to Him and trust that He has good plans for us (“plans to give us a hope and a future”), His healing rain clears away the smoke. We remember that the blood of Jesus has washed us “white as snow.” 

Our enemy wants to keep us confused and hidden. He wants us to doubt God and doubt ourselves. Why? Because he is afraid of us. He’s afraid of who we really are in Jesus and the plans God has for us. He wants to stunt our growth and stop us from being all we were made to be. God wants to reveal our true beauty as we change the world for His kingdom.

Maybe you’re lost in the smoke right now. Maybe things have happened in your life that don’t make sense. Things that aren’t fair. Maybe your heart has been broken. Run to the heart healer, the truth teller, the grace giver. Allow him to open your eyes, clear away the haze, and heal your heart. Run to Jesus, behold his beauty, and receive his love. He has never left you. There is hope in Him!