Psalms 25:6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
My span of attention is not what I would like it to be. I guess it is part of aging, or it could also be the proliferation of distractions in my life. In any case, today is a day to focus, focus, focus. It's time to get serious about the short span of attention, just as soon as I go check facebook & twitter, then....
There is a part of our lives that is very short in duration. It would be the time we have with those who surround us. The people who are a part of our lives are temporary in nature. They are loaned to us, if you will. We start out with childhood friends, progress to college friends or friends from our time in the military. Then there are those we meet early in our lives, then later on in our lives. And most certainly we count our family too as people in our lives. Our parents, grand parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, spouses, and our own children. They are all part of the blessing that God gives us in our lives. They are there next to us, or we are connected via phone calls, letters, e-mails, Skype, Face Time, etc. And as time moves on, we lose those we are connected to. Their time on earth, like our time, draws to a close and we are left without their presence in our lives. The loss of these loved ones can leave a hole in our lives. It can be as if something is missing. And in reality there is a part of our life that is missing when they depart. We often celebrate their lives in memorials, celebrations of lives, wakes and other forms of celebrations. And when the celebration is over, we are left with our feelings and emotions. We reach out to others for comfort. And we look to the Lord for strength and courage to continue on with life. We seek the ability to cope with the loss of the departed from our lives. We turn to the Lord because we know, without a doubt or reservation that His love is a "steadfast love." His love never waivers, it never fails and it never diminishes for us. It is the one constant in our lives that we can absolutely count on. In the midst of our mourning, our trials and our tribulations He is always there. He is just a prayer away. We can pour out our hearts to Him. John 3:16 reminds us that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." His is a love that has "been from of old." And it will be there for all times. We can find comfort in this constant in a life of constant change.
PRAYER: Lord God, Heavenly Father we cry out to You in times of loss, trial and tribulation. We reach out to You who have shown steadfast love for man when condemnation was most certainly warranted. We praise You and thank You for Your love. You gave us Your Son that might live once again. For that Father, we are grateful beyond measure. Praise by to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
This Is Where Everything Changed
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Without Grumbling
Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
There is an old saying amongst sailors. A happy sailor is a complaining sailor (or words to that affect). If the sailors are complaining, things must be okay. If the complaining stops, the sailors have decided to do something about it. That is when you need to worry.
Often times in ministry we may find ourselves involved in a less than glamorous task. It may not shine the light on ourselves or our efforts. We may even be doing something that is repetitive in nature and seems to have no real purpose. One of the above, some of the above, or all the above may apply to your situation right now. There are a few thoughts that can be shared to help put a better light on serving in some situations. We are in a world where self-gratification, elevating oneself or shameless self-promotion are an expectation. Humility is not an often used word today. Yet that is exactly the type of servant we should be, and service we should be rendering to God. We are worshipping God, and not ourselves. We need look no further than verse 14 of Philippians 2 (children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation) to see that in Paul's day, as in our time, we are living counter to the popular culture by worshipping and serving God. If we look to Christ, for instance and for an example, all he did was in worship to His Father in Heaven. All that He did was to fulfill the will of the Father. He did not heal the lame, give sight to the blind or hearing to the deaf to promote himself. He did these things out of love for others and in serving the will of His Father. When we serve in humility we close the door to that easy to fall into trap of sin that comes from pride. We give our Father all that we have to give out of our love for Him. And when we do these seemingly insignificant, repetitive or seemingly boring tasks in ministry we can "shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life." We, as Paul, do not labor in vain. We have a purpose in serving because we serve out of love and not out of obligation in order to earn our salvation. Jesus paid for that on the cross in his humble service to all mankind. We cannot better that which has already been freely given. We have been saved by grace and serve gracefully. To God be all the glory in all that we do.
PRAYER: Almighty and Everlasting God, our tasks may seem minor and repetitive. They may not have the glamor of preaching or serving in a public setting. Yet these simple acts of service are nonetheless carried out in love of You Father. Just as Christ served out of love for sinners, we sinners serve you in love. May all our service be received as a fragrant offering by You O God. Amen.
There is an old saying amongst sailors. A happy sailor is a complaining sailor (or words to that affect). If the sailors are complaining, things must be okay. If the complaining stops, the sailors have decided to do something about it. That is when you need to worry.
Often times in ministry we may find ourselves involved in a less than glamorous task. It may not shine the light on ourselves or our efforts. We may even be doing something that is repetitive in nature and seems to have no real purpose. One of the above, some of the above, or all the above may apply to your situation right now. There are a few thoughts that can be shared to help put a better light on serving in some situations. We are in a world where self-gratification, elevating oneself or shameless self-promotion are an expectation. Humility is not an often used word today. Yet that is exactly the type of servant we should be, and service we should be rendering to God. We are worshipping God, and not ourselves. We need look no further than verse 14 of Philippians 2 (children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation) to see that in Paul's day, as in our time, we are living counter to the popular culture by worshipping and serving God. If we look to Christ, for instance and for an example, all he did was in worship to His Father in Heaven. All that He did was to fulfill the will of the Father. He did not heal the lame, give sight to the blind or hearing to the deaf to promote himself. He did these things out of love for others and in serving the will of His Father. When we serve in humility we close the door to that easy to fall into trap of sin that comes from pride. We give our Father all that we have to give out of our love for Him. And when we do these seemingly insignificant, repetitive or seemingly boring tasks in ministry we can "shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life." We, as Paul, do not labor in vain. We have a purpose in serving because we serve out of love and not out of obligation in order to earn our salvation. Jesus paid for that on the cross in his humble service to all mankind. We cannot better that which has already been freely given. We have been saved by grace and serve gracefully. To God be all the glory in all that we do.
PRAYER: Almighty and Everlasting God, our tasks may seem minor and repetitive. They may not have the glamor of preaching or serving in a public setting. Yet these simple acts of service are nonetheless carried out in love of You Father. Just as Christ served out of love for sinners, we sinners serve you in love. May all our service be received as a fragrant offering by You O God. Amen.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Speak Lord For Your Servant Hears
1 Samuel 3:9-10 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears."
There is a quote from Star Trek - from a character (Zefram Cochrane) that makes a great deal of sense. "Don't try to be a great man. Just be a man, and let history make its own judgment." Being humble in what I do is important. It is a characteristic I have to constantly seek to hold onto. Pride is easy to embrace and pride goes before the fall.
These devotionals are fairly simplistic in their theology. I am not a biblical scholar. I am not a theologian by schooling or trade. I guess all I am is someone who the Lord would use. And I am no different than the next person. Each and every one of us is someone the Lord would use to serve. Each and every one of us can serve the Lord. It really comes down to, are we listening? Are we taking the time to discern what the Lord is saying to us? This is a fundamental question we need to ask of ourselves. Much of the distraction we impose on ourselves, or is imposed upon us, diverts our concentration from listening to what the Lord is saying. The Lord is always speaking, but are we listening? Having a rich prayer life is a goal of mine. Being able to focus not on what I want the Lord to do but to discern what the Lord would have me do is the goal I have. There are times when it is very easy to hear the Lord. And there are times when it is not so easy. My best analogy is a Christmas gift I was given. Pam, my wife, gave me a set of noise cancelling headphones to wear on my daily commute on the bus. They reduce the noise when I set them over my ears. But, when I activate the noise cancelling function the background noise goes away. All I can say is WOW! I can hear the music playing very clearly. The rumble from the engine and the road is gone. The ability to discern the notes or the words is greatly improved.
And so, what are you and I doing in our prayer life to eliminate the background noise that distracts us from hearing the Lord clearly? I would offer that each of us needs to look deep within to root out the distractions. It is imperative that we find a place (physical and mental) to go to and spend time in prayer. We need to connect to God in a deep and meaningful way. Our soul cries out to the Lord! The Psalm of David is a gentle reminder of how we should be. From Psalm 143:5-6 we read "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah." We seek to reconnect with the Lord. We seek to do the bidding of the Lord, and not our own bidding. But first we need to connect with the Lord. The great man is the man who puts aside his foolish pride and does the will of the Lord. My friends, that is the man history will judge kindly. That is the man that history will call a truly great man for he placed the Lord first in his life. Let each of us glorify the Lord in all that we do.
PRAYER. Father of all Creation, we seek You Lord in thought, word and prayer. Open our ears so that we might hear. Open our eyes that we might see. Clear our minds to that might discern. Let Your will be done in our lives and Jesus carried out Your will on the cross. This we ask in Jesus' name, Amen.
There is a quote from Star Trek - from a character (Zefram Cochrane) that makes a great deal of sense. "Don't try to be a great man. Just be a man, and let history make its own judgment." Being humble in what I do is important. It is a characteristic I have to constantly seek to hold onto. Pride is easy to embrace and pride goes before the fall.
These devotionals are fairly simplistic in their theology. I am not a biblical scholar. I am not a theologian by schooling or trade. I guess all I am is someone who the Lord would use. And I am no different than the next person. Each and every one of us is someone the Lord would use to serve. Each and every one of us can serve the Lord. It really comes down to, are we listening? Are we taking the time to discern what the Lord is saying to us? This is a fundamental question we need to ask of ourselves. Much of the distraction we impose on ourselves, or is imposed upon us, diverts our concentration from listening to what the Lord is saying. The Lord is always speaking, but are we listening? Having a rich prayer life is a goal of mine. Being able to focus not on what I want the Lord to do but to discern what the Lord would have me do is the goal I have. There are times when it is very easy to hear the Lord. And there are times when it is not so easy. My best analogy is a Christmas gift I was given. Pam, my wife, gave me a set of noise cancelling headphones to wear on my daily commute on the bus. They reduce the noise when I set them over my ears. But, when I activate the noise cancelling function the background noise goes away. All I can say is WOW! I can hear the music playing very clearly. The rumble from the engine and the road is gone. The ability to discern the notes or the words is greatly improved.
And so, what are you and I doing in our prayer life to eliminate the background noise that distracts us from hearing the Lord clearly? I would offer that each of us needs to look deep within to root out the distractions. It is imperative that we find a place (physical and mental) to go to and spend time in prayer. We need to connect to God in a deep and meaningful way. Our soul cries out to the Lord! The Psalm of David is a gentle reminder of how we should be. From Psalm 143:5-6 we read "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah." We seek to reconnect with the Lord. We seek to do the bidding of the Lord, and not our own bidding. But first we need to connect with the Lord. The great man is the man who puts aside his foolish pride and does the will of the Lord. My friends, that is the man history will judge kindly. That is the man that history will call a truly great man for he placed the Lord first in his life. Let each of us glorify the Lord in all that we do.
PRAYER. Father of all Creation, we seek You Lord in thought, word and prayer. Open our ears so that we might hear. Open our eyes that we might see. Clear our minds to that might discern. Let Your will be done in our lives and Jesus carried out Your will on the cross. This we ask in Jesus' name, Amen.
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