January 19: Rachel Weeping & Quitter’s Day

Affirmation: I am blessed, grateful and abundant.

““But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:7‬ ‭NIV‬

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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: Recite or read these verses. Today ponder the promise of verse 7: 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“

”Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Praying the Message of Jesus: A Year of Thoughts and Prayers

by Eugene Petersen 

                        Jan 19

Rachel Weeping

Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he'd gotten from the scholars.) That's when Jeremiah's sermon was fulfilled: "A sound was heard in Ramah, weeping and much lament. Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace, her children gone, dead and buried."

MATTHEW 2:16-18 

The slaughtered children participated in the messianic birth pangs: Christ entered a world flailing in rebellion. Herod, in a tantrum, hysterically tried to hold on to his kingdom. The voice in Ramah reverberates in history's echo chambers and gets louder every year. 

 

What is the worst crime you are aware of? 

Dear God, so much weeping! Such a burden of lamentation! I will not gloss over the terrible pain and sorrow that comes from vanity and anger, but neither will I forget the final word of resurrection. Amen. ~~~~~~

Catching Whimsy by Bob GoffJanuary 19

Quitting can be a superpower

Jesus straightened up and asked a woman caught in the active adultery, “Woman where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one sir, “she said “then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

John 810–11.

Did you know January 19 is Quitter’s Day? This is evidently the day most people bail on their New Year’s resolutions.

I grew up hearing various axioms from my parents. Some were good and helpful and others were just annoying. One of their all-time favorites was “Goffs aren’t quitters.” I learned later that my parents had inadvertently lied to me, because Goff‘s indeed are quitters. Let me tell you what I mean.

Quitting important, necessary, lasting things might be a bad idea, but quitting the right things is really a good idea. Now I quit things all the time and let my kids know that Goff’s are quitters. The more I quit doing things that are distractions, the better my life becomes.

There are a couple of times in the Bible when Jesus told people to quit doing something. He said to the woman caught in the act of adultery to knock it off. Jesus saved her from the crowd and he told her to quit doing what she was doing. He said the same thing to the guy at the pool of Bethseda who once was paralyzed but now wasn’t.

Here’s my question for you. What do you need to quit? Is it a job or a relationship or a hurt or a grudge? Sometimes leading means leaving. Is it your time to quit something you have been hanging onto?

I get it. Quitting something you are good at can be hard, but don’t let your caution get in the way of your obedience. Keep being strong and courageous and when you quit, go big.

Today, stop taking half measures or spending your time practicing your announcement speech. Just say “I’m out” and call it good.