“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Yesterday was a little bit sad. After all the work of setting up and enjoying the Christmas decorations, and without warning, Katie started taking them down. All those 23 boxes that were unpacked had to be RE-packed and placed into storage until next year. And the celebration of Christmas, at least according to the school calendar, isn’t even over!

If you’ve been to my house you know how beautiful Katie decorates it. With 8 Christmas trees and lights and decorations everywhere, it’s like a wonderland to me. But now, the bright corners have started to become dark. I am remembering that DE-lighting Christmas is NOT delightful! It feels kind of like the last day of a great vacation where the inevitable has arrived! It’s times like this that I envy the Old Testament celebrations God gave to Israel!

Today, Americans go Ga-Ga over Christmas for all the wrong reasons! It is SUPPOSED to be a time that we celebrate the birth of our Savior! Sadly Easter, our next Christian celebration, barely registers as a celebration in the non-Christians world. But back in the days of the Old Testament, God established SERIOUS celebrations with SERIOUS purposes in mind! SEVEN of them to be exact!

A study of the Festivals is an in depth look into the heart of God. I’m not going to go through them here, but you can see them at the link below. The point of all of God’s instructions is to show that God WANTS us to join Him and celebrate His love, grace, forgiveness and presence. And actually He wants us doing it ALL THE TIME!

How can ANYONE honestly not believe that God isn’t like a party animal! Even the Bible verse today encourages us to FORGET what was yesterday, and PRESS ON toward a PRIZE! An ETERNAL Christmas where Christ WILL be EVERYTHING…ALL THE TIME. And WE will be WITH HIM FOREVER! Light celebrating Light!

Admittedly, I don’t care for the de-lighting after Christmas because it reminds me that a special time is over. But I LOVE God’s idea and motivation to LOOK FORWARD toward an even BIGGER celebration that will never end. THAT kind of anticipation gives me cause to serve Him even more in the here and now!

So… what are YOU looking forward to?

https://bibleproject.com/podcast/seven-festivals

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” Hebrews 12:7

Since Katie is off work, we decided to do what we don’t normally have, or take, the opportunity to do. We went for a bike ride along the beach. It sounded SOOOO relaxing, romantic and fun. But the sounds and feelings soon gave way to something COMPLETELY opposite…the sound of whining!

Packing the bikes into the truck and driving to the beach started off well, but it didn’t take long to figure out that SOMETHING was WRONG. My bike had a problem in that it wouldn’t coast! Clearly something was causing friction in the wheel and it was clear that this trek was going to be a WORKOUT! Every time I stopped peddling, the bike would slow to a stop!

The weather was cooler and breezy, but I was sweating and hot. Katie started making comments, “you look like you’re pedaling 100 miles and hour but going nowhere!” Huffing and puffing I just wanted to stop. But we were SUPPOSED to be ENJOYING this! So I forced myself to try to keep up with her and finished. All that was left… was a nap!

The Bible verse today is in the New Testament book of Hebrews. But the idea isn’t new! In fact, King Solomon, the wisest person ever to live, had written about it in Proverbs 3! In essence it says, ‘life is hard…and with God as your father, it’ll be even harder!’ If God is trying to gather a crowd, He just lost a pile of recruits!

In 1969 Peggy Lee had a hit with “Is That All There Is.” The chorus goes, “Is that all there is, is that all there is? If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing. Let’s break out the booze and have a ball…If that’s all there is.” Tonight being New Years Eve, DROVES of people will search for just that kind of scenario to satisfy an end of year itch! And I’m peddling!

God loves ME! When I voluntarily joined His family, I thought it’d be fun and make life easier. Like riding a bike with something wrong…I quickly found out that “I” am the thing that is wrong! Father God is trying to FORM me into His Son’s image. That takes discipline and work to become better.

But discipline is NOT PUNISHMENT.. It is character building! And I have found that the results of His hand on me makes me more joyful, loving and tougher to discourage. So I press on and grow in His Grace…realizing that becoming a son is a journey… not a destination! Effort, cooperation and obedience are the pedals.

Where are YOU going?