Our minds and spirits are drawn to the extraordinary.  We marvel at the spectacular, often excited about that which we haven’t seen or experienced before.  It’s even more special when that which is truly extraordinary catches us by surprise.  We tend to become numbed to often repeated experiences, but when it happens to us for the first time, we remain captivated.  If it’s extraordinary enough, we’ll try to memorialize the event by creating something special to remember it by.  In our day and age, we have gone from building monuments to special events and resorted to the selfie — something we can share with others to revisit and celebrate over and over again.

         And yet, what if our extraordinary event involves someone else who doesn’t want it known that they were involved — not because their necessarily hiding their participation in the event from everyone else, but because there’s something bigger and better and more extraordinary that’s coming where the focus is not so much on them, but on you (us).

         What temptation is it that tempts us to remain quiet about who we are?  Is it our humility?  Is it our fear of living up to what others expect us to be?  Or perhaps it’s because we are — in some ways — unaware of who we really are.  Or perhaps we’re not aware of who God is calling us to be.  We think of the disciples seeing Jesus transfigured and being tempted to memorialize the event and then being told not to tell anyone.  The event was extraordinary, but perhaps not as extraordinary as the event that allows his spirit to live within us — for the express purpose of enabling others to see Christ transfigured by our lives.  That the life of one God/Man, Jesus, could be so enlightening that even after his death his radiance could shine in us, is one of the most extraordinary things there is.  His light alive in us is what makes us extraordinary.  But don’t tell anyone.  Just let his extraordinary light shine in you for others to see.

• Had you ever considered that one of the tempting temptations is to not allow Christ’s light to shine in us?
• What could you do to fight the temptation to hide the glory of Christ in you?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Loving Christ, Your glory has been revealed to Your disciples. Keep me from being tempted to hide Your glory shining in me form others so that they may come to know You as God’s beloved Son.

         It is God’s nature to take care of us.  And our faith perspective never says much about guardian angels.  And yet, for all that angels (guardian or otherwise) might do to protect us, it’s important for us to remember that those ministering spirits only function at the direction of God.  It’s easy for us to get swept up in the study of angelology — searching for the powers that have protective oversight for us.  And yet, that, too, is a distraction.  It’s a distraction designed to take our attention off of the one true God who has power and authority over everyone and everything.

         We’re tempted by our curiosity to search for the spiritual meaning behind angels and God in an effort to grow in our understanding of spiritual matters.  But the most important spiritual matter is that our temptation to search beyond our humanity and the events that protect us will always end with God’s love and compassion for us.  Whether we believe in angels, or not, the one to whom God said, “Sit at my right hand … “ will always be our most powerful protector.  Jesus sits at the right hand of the father to shield us from spiritual temptations and to protect us from death and offer us life eternal.

If you’ve ever been led to believe in guardian angels assigned to protect us, what stopped your belief or prompted your belief?

If they are simply agents of God, what does that mean for your faith journey?

Since angels are lower than Christ, who is really our protector?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
Gracious God, continue to use whatever means You have to protect me from harm. Keep me mindful that You are my Jehovah Jireh — my provider, and that You have protected me by the power of Christ.

         Other gods are in plentiful supply, each reaching out, calling out, desiring our loyalty and service to them.  However, there is some truth to the statement that no one can serve two masters.  Divided loyalties always require some degree of unfaithfulness.  And if there is unfaithfulness, there is also distrust.  And if there is distrust there is always the temptation to waft from one God to the other, never relying on either god to provide what we really need, in some ways inviting each god to make an appeal to our need of the moment.  Our gratification always becomes momentary and circumstantial.  But it also leads us to never know which God can be trusted.

         For those of us who seek stability in our lives, it’s important for us to choose which God we will serve — the God who is consistent in fulfilling us, providing for us, caring for us with understanding and compassion, or the god who tempts us with momentary pleasures but in the end leaves us empty and unfulfilled.  One God has a track record for being faithful.  The other gods tempt us for a while with immediate gratification, but in the long run, always leave us desirous of something more.  It’s those tempting temptations of immediate gratification that war against our need to deny ourselves of immediate gratification and cling to the certain promises of God that come with being faithful to Him. 

• What other gods are in your life that — at times — draw you away from faithfulness to the God of your salvation?
• What “itch” do you have that needs immediate attention (scratching) that’s most difficult to deny waiting on God’s faithfulness?

Todays Prayer

Today’s Prayer —
God of faithfulness, give me a heart to trust only you with my life and my circumstances. Teach me the art of self-denial, avoiding those tempting temptations that lead me away from You.