We Need a Reset
A beautiful day, proceeding a misty morning – thank You, Father, for the beauty of the world that You have created! Praise and honor to You!
Romans 1:8-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Yesterday, I spoke of Not Loving Out of Obligation. If we are striving after Christ, there are many things that fit into the category of not doing out of obligation. For example, service.
Paul says in verse 15,
So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News. NLT (emphasis mine)
Many of us would be hard-pressed to serve Jesus in a spirit of eagerness. I feel that way sometimes but, I’m afraid that too much of the time, as my study Bible* suggests, I serve out of habit, a feeling of obligation, or perhaps even with a feeling of reluctant duty.
How many of us as children relished brushing our teeth and bathing every day, whether we “needed” to or not? Talk about reluctant duty! Those things may not have led to life-or-death situations in our lives, but not doing either for a time could have led to severe tooth decay and possible serious skin conditions, not to speak of all the friends we would have lost!
But serving God is a life-or-death situation. It can mean life or death for us as well as others. We all need God. And God uses us all to reach those who don’t know Him. He needs us to eagerly serve Him.
The same motivators for loving Jesus apply to serving Jesus. There’s an unending list of things that Jesus has done for us, foremost our salvation – which we could not possibly have achieved on our own. The list would be endless if we began to write out all the things we benefit from every given day that come from His boundless supply of blessings. To name a few: the roof over our heads, food on our table, loved ones – near and far, our health, our bodies, the entirety of creation both great and small!
So why aren’t these things motivation enough to prompt us to proclaim the wonders of the gifts He extends to us all? Even with prompting, I doubt that eagerness would describe any of our approaches to sharing His amazing provision.
Maybe what we need is a reset – a mental reset.
I recently watched some TikTok posts featuring the lead pastor of a large multi-church organization. He began by saying that he had gone to a counselor because he was in pretty “bad shape”. The counselor put him through a barrage of tests, and everything came back great – physically, spiritually, and relationally he was healthy. His problem was that he was mentally exhausted.
When asked about the greatest commandment, he was challenged. “Are you loving God with all your heart?” “Yes” “Are you loving God with all your soul?” “Yes” “Are you loving God with all your mind?” …and then the pastor paused and said, “Interesting. How do you love God with all your mind?”
Long story short, it took him over 18 months to get his mind to shut down on “church, church, church” which for him meant “work, work, work”. He changed as he focused on God and His word, finally getting to a point where his mind was reset.
Maybe we are stuck in a rut of uncertainty and doubt about what we can and cannot do for God. He’s our Creator, right? He knows who we are down to the molecular level, down to every neuron that zaps through our brain. He knows what we can do! Ask God to help you reset your mind so that a fresh eager attitude is born that wants to obey him and tell others about Christ. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Sept 20th, 2022, Tues, 12:31 pm
O How I Love Jesus
A beautiful addition to today’s post. An old hymn arranged by my friend, Geri Rosser. The lyrics are included on herp YouTube post. Enjoy!
Not Loving Out of Obligation
An excerpt from Christ Is All of The Valley of Vision:
Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,
….may I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me,
….may I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me,
….may I live to thee,
……..in every moment of my time,
……..in every movement of my mind,
……..in every pulse of my heart.
********
I had a bus trip this past Saturday. I drove one of two buses that took our band to a competition. Also, I changed routes this year. Since I began driving at the end of 2018, I have driven bus #25. To compact and make our schools routes as efficient as possible they moved some things around. #25’s high school/middle school route didn’t change very much but the elementary route changed totally. I figured the older kids wouldn’t care a whole lot, but I felt the need to keep the connection with the younger ones, so this year I am driving #18.
Anyway, back to the band trip. Several of the students from #25 are in the band and (supposedly) I drove the “quiet” bus. All but a couple of #25’s students got on my bus! The fun thing was, they were all happy to see me! And, every single one of them spoke to me getting on the bus before we left! (High school students for the most part don’t say a whole lot, getting on or off the bus.) It definitely brought a smile to my face.
I remember in my first full year of driving, I had a high school student who never responded to my, “Good morning!” That is until one day, I got what I think was a grunt – I was thrilled! He hadn’t said “boo” in all the months he’d been on my bus!
Affirmation…communication…it is all important! Karen gets the same thing as a teacher. Her classroom is in the hallway where most of the kids pass to get to and from the buses, she has several students that will stop to hug her. It gives you a little “I did something right! I obviously had an impact on that kid!” kind of feeling.
As a child of God, I pray that the way I live my life reflects my Heavenly Father’s love and compassion for me! He’s known me since before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and though I’ve known him for a relatively short time (comparatively!), I wholeheartedly believe that when I communicate with Him, when I affirm His love and compassion for me, it brings Him abundant joy!
I don’t think any of those band kids said what they said out of obligation. No one told them that they had to say anything when they saw me. It was a natural response. It was an action based on “love” (if I can use that term loosely. 😊)
God doesn’t demand that we love him. And though we should proclaim our love for Him, it definitely should not be out of obligation. Instead, it should be because there is a genuine, heartfelt love for Him and all He does for us! Regarding our love for Him, as His love for us, “loosely” should not apply!
All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear… We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:15-18a, 19 NLT
Sept 19th, 2022, Mon, 12:42 pm
Tear Down Those Walls!
In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
….and the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
….What can mere people do to me? Psalm 118:5-6 NLT
Romans 1:8-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Growing up I went to kindergarten through 5th grade, initially in West Virginia then finished in North Carolina. We then moved to Ohio where I attended middle school.
Younger readers won’t get this reference, but in Ohio, many of my classmates called me Gomer Pyle! (Remember these colloquialisms? “Shazam!”, “Gooolly”, “Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise!” If you recall his character, I’m sure you heard his accent loud and clear in your head!) So unsurprisingly, I had a bit of a southern accent. I wasn’t labeled for very long, but obviously, it impacted me, because I still remember it after all these years.
Unfortunately, one of the worst traits of humanity is not accepting others who are different. It is an ancient habit that is just as prominent today as it has ever been. It is a very complex mentality that plagues us all.
It is most disheartening in that, though you’d think it wouldn’t be, the church is not exempt from these thoughts and attitudes. If anything, we tend to expand the criteria of separation. We don’t just hold at arm’s length those who differ from us along cultural, social, racial, and economic lines, but we also throw in all the religious issues.
Some may be pretty vocal, but I think, instead, many have this underlying mentality of distrust – even fear – of those who aren’t like them. And the list of “problematic” characteristics then goes on forever – they may not speak the language we know, the customs of their culture exclude some of our traditions and add things that are totally foreign to us, they may come from way more money than we’ve ever seen, or they may be dirt poor and lack the fastidiousness of our hygiene, and of course, having any other skin tone may automatically throw up red flags.
Then to make matters worse, they may adhere to different faith practices than we do. They may speak in tongues, or partake of communion from a chalice, they may follow a strict liturgy of worship, or be entirely led by the Spirit in their worship style…and on and on it goes.
It’s not necessarily intentional, but walls go up…dividers are set into place. But isn’t that what Jesus came to tear down? The Apostle Paul said it this way,
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. Ephesians 2:14-16 NIV
In verse 14 of today’s passage he stated,
For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world… NLT
My Life Application Study Bible says, regarding this verse,
Paul’s…obligation was to people of the entire world. He met his obligation by proclaiming Christ’s salvation to people – across all cultural, social, racial, and economic lines, both Jews and Gentiles. We also are obligated to Christ because he took the punishment we deserve for our sins. Although we cannot repay Christ for all he has done, we can demonstrate our gratitude by showing his love to others.
Lord Jesus, help us tear down those walls. May we too feel that obligation to people of the entire world…not just those near and dear. Amen.
Sept 15th, 2022, Thurs, 6:08 pm
Don’t Pray for Patience…
Father, I am grateful for the opportunity to get back in sync with You. You remain steadfast and sure, and I have been anything but! May I continue to be conscious of Your ever abiding presence, and may I live accordingly – much to my delight! Amen.
Romans 1:8-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Years ago, someone introduced a concept into my brain that has stuck…and that is not necessarily a good thing. The statement made was “Don’t pray for patience, or God might just give it to you.” The problem is most of us struggle with patience, especially in the “instant” world in which we live. So, praying for patience would have a good chance of bringing multiple “opportunities” to develop patience.
Looking at today’s passage, for example, verse 10 read,
One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. NLT
Acts tells us that Paul’s prayers were most assuredly answered, though it did take a while for it to all come together. Remember after writing his letter to Rome while in Corinth, he spent two years languishing in a prison in Caesarea Maritima (see Yes, No…or Wait). He prayed for the opportunity to minister to the faithful in Rome, but it was not an easy journey. My Life Application Study Bible says:
When he finally arrived in Rome, it was as a prisoner. Paul prayed for a safe trip, and he did arrive safely – after getting arrested, slapped in the face, shipwrecked, and bitten by a poisonous snake. When we sincerely pray, God will answer – although in his timing and sometimes in ways we do not expect.
My challenge for myself as I write, and for you as well, is that we would cast aside the statement from my early years. Instead of avoiding praying for patience, we should embrace it. Paul’s journey to Rome didn’t weaken him – it strengthened him (maybe not physically, but spiritually for sure!) And look at all the lives that were touched, guards and sailors, all those on the Island of Malta – not everyone took to what Paul was proclaiming but there were lives that were definitely changed because Paul embraced his patience-laden journey. He didn’t buck it, he didn’t complain, he just faithfully followed God all…the…way.
Lord Jesus, You know that trials are not easy, for You experienced many Yourself. But enable us to understand that though our journey may be fraught with tribulation that when all is said and done, when on that final day we cast our crowns at Your feet and hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21 AMP) that our prayers, too, will have been answered. Amen!
Sept 14th, 2022, Wed, 7:36 pm