Seasoned with Salt
Good morning, Father! It is early and I’m still a bit bleary-eyed but I am glad that once again I have the opportunity to come and sit at Your feet. I know You love me and absolutely nothing can separate me from Your love! (Romans 8:38-39) Please, bless our time together, may it be profitable for my soul. I give myself over to You – teach me, motivate me and make me act according to Your will.
Colossians 4:5-6 (<<click here)
Dictionary.com defines “wise” as “having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right, processing, discernment, judgment or discretion.” Lord, You direct us to live in this mindset. I cannot say that I have always succeeded in doing so. I truly believe that You are constantly working with me to be wiser in my day to day interactions with others. Discernment is a trait with which the Holy Spirit surely helps me. At work, at church or at home discernment helps things go along much more smoothly. Thank You for helping me to see things that make for wise interaction. Help me to make the most of every opportunity you bring my way.
After You help me to apply wisdom, discerning the situation in which I find myself, help me to be gracious. So many times extending grace to others has diffused a potentially volatile situation. Being kind and courteous goes a long way. In doing so what I then say is much more attractive to those with whom I am interacting. This whole directive is beneficial in working with others overall but Lord help me to think this way in sharing You with others.
I really don’t think I would enjoy French fries nearly as much without salt. Salty things appeal to my palate. In fact, I often crave salty things – chips, crackers, nuts, etc. Where the New Living Translation translates a portion of this passage as “attractive” others translate it as “seasoned with salt.” Lord, help me to be SALTY! May others crave my presence because I am seasoned with You. Enhance my interactions so much so that people are directed to You. Bless me today and in the days ahead with “saltiness” so I might have a “right response for everyone”.
July 4th, 2015, Sat, 5:45 am
Prayer and a Good Grilled Cheese
Father, thank You for a good night’s sleep and for gently waking me this morning. Your love is such a constant in my life. It is a river of peace and encouragement which never runs dry. What an awesome source of refreshment and sustenance! Help me to drink from it throughout this day. Remind to “jump in” when I need to be revived. Enable me to be a beacon shining bright, so others may share in this great Resource, too!
Colossians 4:2 (<<click here)
“Devoted to prayer” “alert mind” “thankful heart”
Some of the best things in life are not complicated. We can make them complicated but at their core, they are quite simple, sort of like a grilled cheese sandwich. Even I can make a good grilled cheese. All it takes is bread, cheese, and butter. It’s not that difficult.
Prayer – it’s not that difficult. Paul’s recipe is quite simple – devotion, an alert mind, and a thankful heart.
Lord, help me to pray. Sometimes we feel like it has to be this huge list of requests that are tough to get through and we just can’t take the time to go through it in one sitting. Paul elsewhere directs us to “never stop praying” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and our initial response is usually “I can’t pray all the time – I have way too much to get done!” When Paul says to “devote ourselves to prayer” it’s more of a mindset. “Lord guide and direct me throughout this day.”
Prayer is not just about talking – it’s also about listening. Getting in the habit, devoting ourselves to prayer helps us to be more attuned to hearing God’s voice of guidance. And that’s where an “alert mind” comes in. Lord, we have to pay attention! So many things distract us! And we have to be alert because as Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8 our “enemy the devil prowls around like a raging lion looking for someone to devour” Prayer helps us to pay attention to do good and to avoid and/or stand up to evil.
The last ingredient then is a “thankful heart.” There is nothing better to keep us focused in life. Humble gratitude enables us to realize that we didn’t get where we are through sheer talent and hard work. Those are surely elements but they are also gifts our Creator has given us. Understanding that keeps as focused on Him – we need His support and guidance to get us through this life. Being thankful also goes a long way to keep our own pride in check. Acknowledging God’s generosity in our lives keeps us humble. This makes us better servants, too. We all are part of God’s loving creation and we are called to love each other.
Lord, this day and in all the days ahead, may I be devoted to prayer, help my mind to be alert to You and what’s around me and help me to give thanks when it is due and to humbly serve You in my interactions with others. Amen!
July 2nd, 2015, Thurs, 6:59 am
White Flags
Father, this morning I gratefully come to be with You. You are with me every minute of the day and I am sorry to say that I don’t always acknowledge You. I strive to not ignore You when You prompt me to act or speak but so many times the world is loud and I cannot hear. Sometimes I am just running ahead of You. It makes me think of a child and his mother. But even a child learns to hear his mother’s voice over the din of the crowd. And even a child learns not to run too far ahead so as to separate himself into danger.
Father, Fanny Crosby said it well, “I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, And it told thy love to me; But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord…”
Father, with all my heart I want this to be my cry. I’m Yours, Lord, I hear Your voice and it says You love me. But I don’t want to stay where I am – I want to be lifted up “in the arms of faith” just to be closer to You. Pull me closer to You every day. Show me Your heart so that I’m drawn to You. Amen – so be it.
Colossians 3:18-19 (<<click here)
Lord, this is definitely one of those passages that has been misunderstood on a lot of fronts. We see words like “submit” and all kinds of red flags go up! Lord, You didn’t intend for there to be red flags but white flags. When we surrender ourselves to Your love, You call us to serve You in love. And in so doing we will love others and serve them in love. All of our relationships should be driven by love! – husband/wives, parents/children, employers/employees. Whatever relationship we find ourselves in must be governed by love.
I will not demand my own way if I truly love. I will not hurt, I will not tear down, I will not berate. I will help, I will lift up, I will encourage.
Lord, fill up my love reserves! Help me today to love – no hesitations, no holding back, no limits! Help me to love, for You surely love me – it’s the least I can do!
June 26th, 2015, Fri, 6:30 am
Yeilding
Father, thank You for a good night’s rest, I would ask that Your hand would be upon me this day and that I would be focused and that my preparations for worship Sunday would align with what You want to accomplish. Work through me to advance Your kingdom here on earth.
Colossians 3:16-17 (<<click here)
Lord, may I never cease to be astonished at how You work in my life! I sit down and write out my opening prayer, before reading this morning’s text and already You are guiding my thoughts in the directions it should go! Praise You, Lord!
I’m to “Let the message about [You], in all its richness, fill [my life].” I’m to “teach and council… with all the wisdom” You give me. You direct me in my song selections for worship. I am so grateful that You work in my life. Help me to keep in mind at all times that I am Your representative to the world.
As I sit here this morning my mind touches on many words that deal with yielding to You – submission, control, direct, guide, give over myself; and I’m sure there are many more. From a human perspective they, many times, have a negative connotation, slavery and servitude come to mind. But in my relationship with You, the words are not negative but bring a sense of peace and security. For this relationship is not based on fear, or greed or hate or with intent to hurt and destroy. Our relationship is based on LOVE! I yield to You because I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that You want what is best for me. And even though I may not always understand, You see the big picture of my life. I love You. I trust You. What better reason do I have for giving my life to You!
June 25th, Thurs, 7:29 am
Referee of Peace
Father, the weekend has been much fuller than I had planned. With my father-in-law taking a fall and us all spending the last two days in the hospital schedules have been a bit askew, to say the least. We are so grateful that things have turned out much better than we thought they might. He is not totally out of the woods yet but we are placing our trust in You. Thank You for Your watch care over us all.
Colossians 3:15 (<<click here)
Lord, yesterday we looked at a harmony of love and today’s verse begins with “and” so it continues that progression of thought. When we do the clothe ourselves with love we are called to “let the peace that comes from [You] rule in our hearts.”
Now, Lord, You know that unlike many of my friends and family, that when it comes to sports I am a take it or leave it kind of guy. But I do think Paul, the writer of Colossians, liked sports. According to my NLT Application Study Bible, the word rule is “from the language of athletics” and it’s saying that peace, Your peace, should rule in my heart – peace is to be the umpire or the referee when I “play” with others, if you will. Even I know the importance of officials in sports. They make sure the rules are followed, they settle disputes and they do all of this while in the middle of all the action.
So Your peace, wrapped in Your love, should be the guiding force in all I do – period. By nature (as You well know!) I quite often want things my way and it’s quite easy to follow that train of thought but from experience that is not the way of love or peace. If I let this mindset carry me along I will have some pretty blatant “personal fouls” along the way but usually, it is subtle. I quite often will bend the rule of peace to get my own way; to get what I want. I try to get away with it hoping nobody notices. But when I do that, my garment of love slips off and peace is shattered.
Lord, help me to keep love securely in its right place in my life – enshrouding my whole being. And with that in place may peace be my rule and my guide – not the world’s shallow and temporary peace but Your peace – eternal and secure.
So many times in my life my choices are made with split-second decisions. The good I could do is either ignored or it is outright shoved out of the way for selfish reasons. Sometimes my actions are subtle, many times no one has any idea what I have done or not done. Sometimes my actions are blatant and people get hurt.
Jesus, please rule in all things of my heart even in those split-second decisions. Give me a bent to the right, give me a leaning to love. Help me to place others before myself. They will truly know I follow You by my love and by the peace that rules my actions.
June 24th, 2015, Wed, 6:15 am