Vitamins & Antibitics

SCRIPTURE: PSALM 143:8

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

OBSERVATION:

I am finding more and more that David is on to something with his theme of morning time with God. I am not legalistic, nor do I pretend that David is presenting a commandment or a doctrine. He is simply providing wisdom that comes from a close walk with God.

I lived for many years saying that I am a night person and that I think better at night. The truth is that while I think more and do seem to be more talkative at night, it is not necessarily better thinking and better conversation. My thoughts are usually clouded by the day’s events. My conversation with God is mostly about how I need God to fix me after a hard day’s work.

APPLICATION:

When I spend time with God in the morning I find that I am strengthened for the day. I find what I need to fend off irritation and sickness before the work even starts. The day finds me in Christ and so I easily find Christ in my day. My morning time focuses me on the goodness of God which gives me strength.

To me it’s the difference between taking a daily vitamin and taking your bed time antibiotic. One is preventative while the other is corrective after the damage is done.

PRAYER:

Father, thank you for goodness and for your faithfulness. Your mercies, godness, faithfulness, strength, and forgiveness can be found afresh every morning. Lord, help me to be consistent in my devotional life - that I would your Word into my life like a vitamin so I am not desperate for an antibiotic at night. I love you and give you my day. In Jesus name, AMEN!

Borrowing Trouble

SCRIPTURE: JEREMIAH 51:46

“Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.”

OBSERVATION:

There is no doubt that there is a lot to be concerned about in the world. There are many realities that are less than positive that we will need to navigate in our life time. The truth is that is normal life. The Bible says that God will not give us more than we can handle, and that when it is too much for us He becomes our strength. So the real hardships in life are doable - not easy or quick but doable.

I’ve found that most of the people I have counseled as a pastor, as well as observing my own life, that most people who are stricken with fear, stressed out, depressed (emotionally, not clinically), are so not because of the hardships they face but because of all of the possibilities that surround their hardship.

These possibilities are nothing more than rumors. It is funny how much weight we give these things as we draw conclusions regarding our circumstances. Most rumors and possibilities never come true. Some my not be based on reality while others may be real possibilities, but most are not probable. Yet we let those things cause us to lose heart or be afraid. It’s the borrowed trouble that usually takes its toll on us. It’s the borrowed trouble that overwhelms and distracts us from dealing with the real problems in life. It is the borrowed trouble that paralizes us with fear and stress and causes us to throw our hands up in defeat.

APPLICATION:

If I am stressed, it has to be becasue I am taking on more than God has given me. If my circumstances are too much to handle, it is because I have taken more than my share of the burden. If I am afraid I have most likely borrowed trouble somewhere along the way - trouble that may never happen or trouble that is God’s to cary. I need to concern myself with what I can do to navigate my circumstances today with God, and not borrow trouble for tomorrow.

PRAYER:

Father, thank you for giving me what I can handle and for carrying the things that are beyond me. Help me to not borrow trouble by listening to rumors - whether they be from people who mean well or the enemy whispering doom & gloom into my ear. Help me to remember that every circumstance contains the potential for you to be glorified and for me to transformed into your image. Help me to face my days with faith in your word and not fear rooted in rumors. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!

I'm My own Mother???

SCRIPTURE: 2 JOHN 1:1-4 

 “To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth - because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:  Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.  It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.”  

OBSERVATION:

One of the beautiful metaphors of the Bible is the Church as a family.  John is writing the “chosen lady” (the church) and her children (the individual believers).  What stands out is that the community, the unified believers, together are deemed the mother while those same people on an individual level are her children.

When we are looking at the task of making disciples we see that each person is part of the nurturing, caring, and teaching mother who brings discipleship to her children, and at the same time those same people are the individual children who receives nurture, care, and teaching from her.  This really spotlights our interdependence.  It amplifies how we truly need each other in our journey with God.  We are at the same time dependent and depended upon - caring and being cared for, nurturing and being nurtured, teaching and being taught.

APPLICATION:

What I see here is that while we may mature in relationship with Christ, we never outgrow our place as child and our need for our mother.  We may become more engaged in our role in the church as one who nurtures, cares, and teaches.  We may become more stable in our personal relationship with Christ, but we never outgrow our relationship with Jesus.  I need to make myself available for service and open to be cared for by others.  The second for some reason is harder than the first.  The “for some reason” being pride.  So much so that I had to say “for some reason” than to readily admit my pride.  So the focus God wants me to take today is to lay down pride, walk humbly before him, and call on the church for help when I need it.

PRAYER:

Father, thank you for providing so much in my life through your church.  Your people have provided teaching, care, nurture, provision, direction, correction, among many other wonderful things to my life.  I also thank you for the honor and the privilige of being able to walk with others in that role of teacher/caregiver.  I pray for the community of Crosspointe, that you would help us to collectively make up a healthy mother, who produces healthy children.  In Jesus’ strong name, AMEN!