Christmas Countdown 2018 Day 17
Day 17 of our Countdown…
7 days until Christmas eve…
John 17:17….
so many seven’s.
The number of completion.
We are on the home stretch in our time together in this passage.
Have you ever run a race?
Whether a 5K up to a full marathon?
Or for me….just around the block would qualify…
There is a point where you have run long enough and yet the finish line is still far enough away that weariness can set in.
A mental game is played where you talk yourself out of just quitting the whole thing and a battle is waged, and hopefully won, so you can dig in and finish well.
I often feel this way about this time every year in mid December as others have been talking and posting and advertising and celebrating the Christmas season since November 1st.
As someone who works in retail, all the hubbub of the holidays can start to take a toll on the quiet places of remembering during the season of Advent.
Even the faithful voices who whisper … slow down…don’t over do…remember the reason for the season can begin to all sound like part of the din of excess.
And so we do what runners do to keep pressing on as we maintain our focus on why we started this thing.
We continue to draw our hearts back to the humble nature of Christ’s first entrance into our world.
We seek ways to sincerely and genuinely reflect on how we can make room for Him still in the exact setting of our modern world and busy lives.
And we surrender again our hearts to Him who prayed…
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
John 17:17 NKJV
Make them holy – consecrated – with the truth. Your word is consecrating truth.
John 17:17 The Message
I still have my dictionary resting on the stack of Bibles near our computer so let’s explore the depth of this by fleshing in the phrase with deeper meaning.
Lord, set these disciples apart to a sacred purpose, purify them and free them from sin with the truth, the fidelity and sincerity and character of Your Word because Your Word is the real deal. It is factual, actual, constant, and faithful.
We live in a world where truth is increasingly pawned off as something that cannot be pinned down to any one thing or person or being.
But Jesus clearly states that there is Truth and that Truth is the Word of God.
So if you are finding yourself confused today, turn to the Truth found in His Word and believe that He will sanctify…purify your heart and mind and spirit…through His Word <3
Be consecrated…made holy by and in His Word…and continue on.
Walk in the light of His truth as He is in the light and find fellowship with others who also walk in His truth. 1 John 1: 7
Be refreshed in the study of His Word today as you are strengthened to journey onward through this season and into the next <3