Day 28: Offering All To God (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 4. Ch. 8-10)

• 
  What does God want from you? From me?
• Jesus gave all of Himself to me, how shall I respond?
• Do I do a thousand other things to avoid giving God my whole self? 

Ch. 8: Christ's offering on the cross and self-resignation. Christ offered all of Himself on the cross to God as a total sacrifice for our sins until there was nothing left of Himself. Nothing of ourselves interests God unless we resign ourselves wholly to God. You cannot please God no matter what you give to God if you do not offer yourself. [What is the main thing? It is our problem. What is our problem? We give God everything ezcept the one thing he wants: ourselves--our hearts, our complete selves.]

Day 27: Receiving the Lord Worthily (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 4. Ch. 4-7)

• 
  Should you go to church, to communion when you know you have committed a sin?
• Do you devoutly approach God?
• With awe, fear and trembling? How?
• Do you have a sense of how good, holy and just God is? How do I compare with God?
• Do I know who I am in approaching God? 
• Do I go over my life regularly? Daily? 
• Do I examine my conscience against the Commandments, the Beatitudes and the godly virtues? 
• Have I violated any of them? Where am I failing? 
• Does God prompt me to think, speak and act in big ways only? In small ways also?
• Am I the person I should be? That I want to be?

Day 26: The Miracle of the Eucharist (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 4. Ch. 1-3)

• 
  You are the Holy of Holies and I am sinful trash.
• How shall I bring You into my house when I have so often offended Your most kindly countenance? 
• How can I, a wretch and the poorest of men bring You into my house when I barely know how to spend a ½ hour in devotion (devout prayer)?

Day 25: The Hidden Wisdom of God (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 58-59)

• 
  Why is one soul flooded with grace while another is left in difficulty?

• Why is one person greatly afflicted and another greatly exalted?

• Is it productive for you to figure out God’s hidden judgments?

• Are you humble enough to trust God’s heart even when you can’t trace His hand?

• What confidence do I have in this life or what greater solace is there?

• Could things ever go badly with you present? 

Day 24: Persevere With Courage (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 56-57)

• 
  To resist discouragement is to resist pride.
• Notice your great frailty, which you very often experience in trivial matters.
• I'm nowhere near the man I want to be or hope to be.

Ch. 56: The Cross is how we must deny ourselves and imitate Christ. Without the Way, there is no going; without the Truth, there is no knowing; without the Life, there is no living (Jn 14:6). Christ is the Way to follow, the Truth to believe, the Life to hope for. If you would possess (enjoy) the blessed life, despise the present life (Jn 12:25). 

Day 23: Nature and Grace (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 54-55)

• 
  Why does it often feel like you’re torn between what you want and what you know is right?
• What is the contrast between nature and grace?
• Why does our fallen nature seek comfort, recognition, and self-gain?
• Does grace call you higher, toward humility, sacrifice, and love?

Day 22: The Necessity of Purification (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 50-53)

• 
  Nothing happens without God allowing it or without a reason.
• What am I attached to? If I have a taste for earthly things I will not be open to God.

Ch. 50: How a person in desolation should give himself over to the hands of God. Nothing happens on earth without your plan (wisdom) and providence or without a reason. It benefits me that shame has covered my face (Ps 69:7), that I may rely on you rather than human beings for my consolation. 

The River of Life from the Temple (Ezekiel 47:1-12)

"Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing” (Eze 47:12).

This passage is Ezekiel's vision of water flowing from the temple, growing deeper as it flows, bringing life and healing wherever it goes. It depicts a miraculous river flowing from the throne of God in the temple, bringing healing, sustenance, and abundant life to everything in its path. It is a powerful vision of spiritual renewal, ultimate salvation, and the restoration of all creation, showing the transformative and life-giving power of God's presence.

Day 21: The Longing for Heaven (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 47-49)

• 
  Do you ever imagine what heaven is like? What will it look like? 
• Are you excited about heaven? What will it be like to be there?
• Do you desire heaven enough to fight for it? What will God's presence be like?

Ch. 47: One must endure all burdens for the sake of eternal life. Do not let the tasks you have undertaken for my sake break you, nor trials totally get you down. Lower yourself to the ground and desire to be beneath everyone rather than be over even one single person. God is enough to give back to you beyond all measure. 

Day 20: Learn What Truly Matters (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 43-46)

We are called to something deeper than human learning or worldly approval.

• What is the difference between worldly knowledge and supernatural wisdom?
• Are you overly attached to the opinions of others?
• How do you react to criticism or insult?
• Does your “old self” within you still cling to vanity and pride?

Day 19: Everything is Gift (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 38-42)

• 
  Do you own your possessions or do your possessions own you?
• Who controls your life and future? You or God?
• How truly free are you?
• You should diligently aim at being free within and having self-control in every place and in all your outward actions or activities. Everything should be under you, not you under them. 

Day 18: Vulnerability Before God (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 34-37)

• 
  If you seek rest in this life, how will you reach eternal rest in the next? Set yourself, not on much rest, but on great patience. Seek true peace, not on earth but in heaven, not in men or any other creature, but in God alone. (Ch. 35)
• [On the cross Jesus did not have a full suit of armor, nor any clothes, i.e., no protection--but was stripped naked. So should we be on the cross with a suit of armor? Embrace our cross when all that we sought for--comfort and consolation, safety and security--is stripped away from us. God leaves us stripped because that is exactly where you and I need to be, so that the only thing we need is God's grace.]

Day 17: Fixing Your Heart on God (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 31-33)

• 
  How do you fix your heart on God and conform your life to Christ?
• Have you reached the point where no person or creature obstructs your way to God?

• What/Who are the rivals in your heart that keep you from loving God first?

• How do you fix your heart firmly on God, rather than on fleeting emotions or excess desires?

Day 16: Detachment to Finite Things (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 26-30)

• Someone who does not yearn to please people and is not afraid to displease them will enjoy much peace. [If you put God first, you'll never worry about what people think of you, while vanity is the inordinate preoccupation of what other people think of you.]

• Love of yourself is more harmful to you than anything in this world.

• I am in trial now and things are not well with my heart, for I am greatly afflicted by the present suffering.

• What blocks heavenly consolation most of all is that you are slow to turn to prayer.

Day 15: The Path to Peace (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 22-25)

1. 
   Explain the 4 things that Thomas Kempis states will bring you peace: Mt 26:39; 10:10; 6:10; Lk 14:10.
2. What else will bring you peace (1 Th 5:18; Gen 32:10)? What will not (1 Jn 2:15-17)? Explain why:
• "There is no peace in the carnal man...but there is peace in the fervent and spiritual man."
• "True peace of heart is to be found in resisting passion, not in yielding to it."
3. How should you think about yourself (Gen 18:27; Job 42:6; Lk 5:8)? How should you not (Rom 12:3)? Consider:

Day 14: Patience in Suffering (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 18-21)

• How do you bear the daily sufferings of life?
• How do you follow Jesus in bearing life’s miseries with patience and love?
• What does it mean to embrace both chosen and unchosen sufferings as a share in Christ’s own Cross?

Ch. 18: Temporal miseries (sufferings) must be borne calmly after the example of Christ. [Jesus left the joy heaven to become a man of sorrows to suffer miseries on earth for us. So if we are going to be like Jesus we have to have miseries like Him. Acknowledge and embrace your miseries with patience and unite them to Jesus, for those miseries are meanigful and those sufferings are salvific.]

Day 13: Solace in God Alone (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 14-17)

• How do you find solace in life? 
• How do you surrender every desire, plan and anxiety into God's hands? 
• How do you find solace not in human praise or comfort but in the steadfast love of God?

• I am nothing other than nothing and nothing more. There is no holiness if God draws back his hand.

• Not every desire proceeds from the Holy Spirit.

• All human solace (consolation) is vain and fleeting.

Day 12: Examine the Heart's Desires (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 11-13)

Day 12: Examine the Heart's Desires (Imitation of Christ. Bk. 3. Ch. 11-13). Our hearts’ desires need to be purified. Examine your desires and align them with God’s will. Practice patience and obedience in your vocations. [I am nothing, yet God continues to choose me.]

• Your desire is often inflamed and drives you strongly.
• Not every affection that seems good should be followed right away.
• You must sometimes use violence and manfully oppose the appetites of the senses.
• True peace of heart is discovered by resisting passions rather than indulging them.

Day 11: The Way of Humility (Imitation of Christ. Book 3. Chapter 7-10)

Day 11: The Way of Humility (Imitation of Christ. Book 3. Chapter 7-10). Humility is keeping God’s grace quietly hidden, trusting His timing, and placing Him above all else.

• Purify your affection, which is so often badly bent back on itself and toward creatures.

• Those who cast aside all fleshly (bodily) pleasure for love of you will discover (enjoy) the most tender (sweet) consolation of the Holy Spirit. 
• [I easily find comfort and consolation in my work, my family, my favorite food--which comes 1st and God 2nd. Lord, have mercy!]

• Left to myself I am nothing (but a zero) and totally weak (abound with frailties). [Hold on to this.]

The Imitation of Christ. Day 10: Walking in Truth. Book 3. Chapter 4-6.

Day 10: Walking in Truth (Book 3. Chapter 4-6 emphasize humility, the vanity of worldly knowledge and possessions, and the importance of a pure conscience and a virtuous life over intellectualism.) Walking in the truth is to see reality clearly: who God is, who we are, and how deeply we need His grace. [The sad truth is I want God, but I also don't want God.]

Ch. 4: We must live before God in humility and truth. The one who walks in truth will be safe from the assaults of the wicked. Think of your sins with great displeasure and grief. Never consider yourself to be something because of good works. Let what you most dislike be your own great baseness. Fear and flee nothing like you do your own vices and sins. [There is good in me and brokenness in me. Both good works alone {leads to pride} and brokenness alone {leads to despair, discouragement, despondency, dejection, depression, defeat} are lies.]

The Imitation of Christ. Day 9: Listening to God's Voice. Book 3. Chapter 1-3

Day 9: Listening to God's Voice (Book 3, Chapter 1-5). God is always speaking—but we're too distracted to listen by noise, vanity, or even good things. Quiet your hearts so we can truly hear and act on God’s voice.

Ch. 1: Christ speaks within to the faithful soul. Truly blessed are the ears that listen, not to a voice making noise outside, but to one that teaches the truth within.

The Imitation of Christ. Book 1, Chapter 1-25. Day 1-5.

Day 1. The Ultimate Good (Chapter 1-7).

• Ch. 1. Because there is so much good in the world God made, we are always tempted to make good things ultimate things (Exo 20:3-4). Even knowledge of the Trinity without humility displeases God; only a virtuous life makes you dear to God.

The Imitation of Christ. Day 8: When the Cross Finds You. Book 2. Chapter 10-12.

Day 7. When the Cross Finds You (Book 2. Chapter 10-12). The only way God makes us more like His Son is through the Cross. It is through both active and passive mortification that the Cross finds you.

• Ch. 10: Gratitude for God's grace. Grace is always offered to one who gives proper thanks. It is given to the humble and taken away from the proud.

• Seek patience more than consolation and carrying the cross more than enjoyment. Spiritual consolation surpasses all wordly delights and the bodily pleasures. I do not want any consolation that would take away my repentance/compunction.

• Be grateful even for punishment and chastisement.

The Imitation of Christ. Book 2. Chapter 6-9: The Joy of a Clean Conscience. Day 7.

Day 7. Book 2. Chapter 6-9: The Joy of a Clean Conscience. A clean conscience always brings peace. Profound freedom is found in detachment from praise and criticism. Accept the truth of who you are before God.

• Love God more than yourself, more than what you desire. (Dt 6:5)

• God wants you for Himself and will tolerate no rivals. (Exo 20:3-4)

• With Jesus everything is good; without Him everything is hard. (Rom 8:28)

• Blessed are you to disregard yourself for Jesus' sake. (Lk 9:23)

• A clean conscience is a good man's pillow.  If you have a good conscience you will always have joy, even in adversity (Ac 24:16; 1 Pet 3:16; 1 Tim 1:5; 2 Cor 7:4)

• Don't rejoice when you're praised or be depressed when you're criticized or rejected. (1 Cor 4:3-5)

• Who you are right now is who you actually are. You are not greater than what God knows you to be. (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20; Eph 2:10; Col 3:3)

• If God gives you consolation, know that it's a gift and not what you deserve. (Eph 2:8-9)

The Imitation of Christ. Book 2. Chapter 1-5: Distrust of Self.

Book 2. Day 6. Chapter 1-5 (Distrust of Self) focus on the vanity of worldly things, the importance of humility, and the pursuit of inner peace through God. The 2 movements of conversion are distrust of oneself and trust in God.

• Ch. 1. Learn to disregard externals and give yourself to what is within, for the kingdom of God is within you (Lk 17:21).
• When Christ is within you He is enough for you...and you will have no need of hoping in human beings. Do not have much confidence in human beings, who are frail and mortal and soon change (Jn 2:24-25).
• If you love Jesus you will disregard your very self, and totally disregard personal convenience or inconvenience.
• Nothing stains and binds the human heart quite like an impure love for creatures (Exo 20:3-4, 17; Rom 7:8, 24).

Christians were Never Meant to be Normal. Extremism. Evil People.

“Christians were never meant to be normal. We’ve always been holy troublemakers, we've always been creators of uncertainty, agents of dimension that’s incompatible with the status quo; we do not accept the world as it is, but we insist on the world becoming the way that God wants it to be. And the Kingdom of God is different from the patterns of this world.” Jacques Ellul. 1912-1994, died 82. 20th-century French social theorist and resistor against Nazi occupation.

The Cross of Christ, A.W. Tozer

The cross of Christ is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men. The cross of old Roman times knew no compromise; it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, but slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross and completely dead when they took Him down 6 hours later. That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian history.

God's Object in Sending Trials, Andrew Murray

"...every branch that does bear fruit he prunes [purges] so that it will be even more fruitful" (Jn 15:2).

The Father's object in sending trials is for us to Abide in Christ--"remain in me" (Jn 15:4). In the storm the tree strikes deeper roots in the soil; in the hurricane the inhabitants of the house abide within, and rejoice in its shelter. So by suffering the Father would lead us to enter more deeply into the love of Christ. Our hearts are continually prone to wander from Him; prosperity and enjoyment all too easily satisfy us, dull our spiritual perception, and unfit us for full communion with Himself.

DARKNESS (Psalm 88)

Psalm 88 is considered one of the most despairing and bleak passages in the Bible with its themes of darkness, suffering, and the apparent absence of God. It is a profound expression of anguish and despair in the OT. It doesn't contain the uplifting or hopeful themes often associated with other Psalms, yet it still holds a significant place in religious discourse.

"Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you" ["by day I have screamed, by night, in front of you" {Motyer}] "...darkness is my closest [best] friend" (Ps 88:1, 18).

• Can you live a life without comfort (1-9a)? Die without hope (9b-12)? Have questions without answers (13-18)?
  
• How do you live when there is no light at the end of the tunnel?
• How do you go on when you feel abandoned?
• How do you live by faith when the future seems dark and bleak?

REJOICE (2025 Key Verse)

Forsaken was the theme based on my 2024 key verse, Ps 22:1: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Because Christ was utterly forsaken on my behalf, I never would. I am encouraged by Anne Frank, who died in a concentration camp of typhus fever at age 15. In just her early teens, the age of my oldest grandchildren, it is remarkable that she wrote in her diary, "God has not forsaken me, and He never will."

Rejoice is the theme based on my 2025 key verse, 1 Th 5:16: "Rejoice always," which is the shortest verse in the Bible. Through my ordeal and predicament I learnt that joy and sorrow, peace and pain can coexist peacefully, even perfectly. This was exemplified by Jesus, who was simultaneously all of the following: 

• a man of sorrows who was familiar with pain and suffering (Isa 53:3; Mt 23:37; Lk 13:34), 
• a man of peace, for he is the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6), and the giver of peace (Jn 14:27) that transcends all understanding (Phil 4:7), and 
• the happiest man who ever lived, for he was a man of joy, happiness and contentment (Jn 4:32; 10:30; Mk 1:11; 9:7; Lk 9:35; Mt 3:17; 17:5; 11:25-30).

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson (1830-86) is known for her bold original verse, which stands out for its epigrammatic compression, haunting personal voice, and enigmatic brilliance.

Dickinson lived much of her life in isolation. Considered an eccentric by locals, she developed a penchant for white clothing and was known for her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even to leave her bedroom. Dickinson never married, and most of her friendships were based entirely upon correspondence.

Although Dickinson was a prolific writer, her only publications during her lifetime were one letter and 10 of her nearly 1,800 poems.^[4] The poems published then were usually edited significantly to fit conventional poetic rules. Her poems were unique for her era; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use slant rhyme** as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.^[5] Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality (2 recurring topics in letters to her friends), aesthetics, society, nature, and spirituality.

Till, Tend. Cloud-Rider. Dwelling. How long? Remember-Ps 78

Till and Tend. In the beginning, God entrusted humanity with a two-word Prime Directive (Gen 2:15) for life in the Garden: Avad and Shamar.

• Till and Tend.
• Cultivate and Care For.
• Conceive and Conserve.

This ancient wisdom holds the secret to a life of wholeness, where opposites harmonize in a sacred dance. Mastery of this rhythm of resonance requires embracing the interplay between:

• Innovation and Consolidation
• Stability and Motion
• Settling down and Stirring up
• Roots and Wings
• Being and Becoming
• Rest and Renewal
• Vocation and Vacation
• Tradition and Transfiguration

Cloud-Rider, Divine Warrior: The God "who rides on the clouds" (Ps 68:4, 33; 18:9; 104:3-4; Dt 33:26; Isa 19:1; Eze 1:4, 28; Nah 1:3; Mt 24:30; 26:64; Mk 13:26; 14:62; Lk 21:27; Rev 1:7).

Dwelling in God's/Yahweh's house: Ps 23:6; 26:8; 27:4; 36:7-8; 52:8; 65:4; 84:1-4, 10-12; 92:12-14.

How long? The question asked during the lament (Ps 4:2; 6:3; 13:1-2; 35:17; 62:3; 74:10; 79:5; 80:4; 89:46; 90:13; 94:3; 119:84). This indicates that the sufferer has been long in his pain and sees no end in sight. He thus appeals to God's pity that perhaps "enough is enough."

God’s Word says you’re lovable (John 3:16), capable (2 Peter 1:3), valuable (Luke 12:6), forgivable (Psalm 103:12), and usable (Ephesians 4:12). Psychologists say that your self-esteem comes from what you think the most important person in your life thinks about you.

Change (Romans 6:1-14)

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
• What do you wish you could cut out OR add to your life forever, instantly?

1. How might you answer someone who says that it is no big deal for a Christian to sin, since grace will cover it (Rom 6:1; 5:20)? [Why did Paul's Jewish opponents oppose his teaching of grace (Rom 6:15?]

Is this moral policing? Augustine-happiness.

Gal 6:1, 1 Cor 5:1-13, 1 Tim 5:20, Tit 3:10-11, Jas 5:19, Rom 16:17, 2 Tim 4:2, Lk 17:3-4, Ezek 33:7-12, Lev 19:17, Gal 2:11-14

“There is a joy that is not given to those who do not love you, but only to those who love you for your own sake. You yourself are their joy”

“Happiness is to rejoice in you and for you and because of you. This is happiness and there is no other. Those who think that there is another kind of happiness look for joy elsewhere but theirs is not true joy.” Augustine.

Don't Demand Your Own Interpretation of the Bible (C.S. Lewis)

A reason why I think Christians should not insist on a particular, precise, specific, narrow interpretation of Scripture or biblical doctrine, and then use it to question any other contrary interpretation or perspective or practice: "...then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it" (Eccl 8:17).

Death (Psalm 49) and Judgment (Psalm 50)

“But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself” (Ps 49:15). Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me (Ps 50:14-15).

Psalm 49: The Brevity of Life, the Certainty of Death and the Futility of Wealth.

• What are 2 unavoidable guarantees and certainties in life (Heb 9:27)?