Some Time Away
Wanted to let everyone know that I’m taking a few days off from the blog. Massey (my son) will be having a sinus procedure this morning – prayers are appreciated – and with Christmas and everything, I figured it would be OK to do so. I’ve been faithfully posting now for over 18 months – 5 days a week – and I continue to enjoy it. I hope to be back at it the first of the year. God bless and Merry Christmas to you all!
Live It Out
Father, it is very quiet this morning and for so little happening in the half hour, I’ve been up, my mind is darting here and there. Help me to focus on You – not the weather, not the work day ahead, not even church tomorrow. May I focus on You and our relationship and what You would have me hear today.
1 Peter 3:1-6 (<<click here)
Lord, when it comes right down to it our relationship with You is what is most important. Sharing our faith is important but if our relationship with You is wishy-washy how effective will we be? So many times all of our emphasis seems to be on the external when again the internal is of utmost importance.
In this passage, Peter was speaking directly to women. In the culture in which they lived, men, by far, held the dominant role. They were in charge – women had no say. So Peter’s advice to women who came to saving faith in Christ was to live it out. Harping, preaching, nagging, brow beating would only result in problems. Living out “godly lives” would “speak… without any words.” By cultivating their relationship with You, Lord, wives could “win over” their husbands when the husbands observed their “pure and reverent lives.”
Lord, that is sound advice for us all. It seems that many in our culture are becoming more and more intolerant of any reference to You, Jesus. In many situations harping, preaching, nagging and brow beating only results in problems. But a life wholly devoted to You, one in which our goal is to emulate You in every aspect of our lives – that speaks volumes. “Without any words” we are able to proclaim the difference that You make in our lives.
Lord, enable me to “win over” those around me as they observe my “pure and reverent” life. Amen.
Dec 17th, Sat 4:48 am
Hang onto Your Hats!
Father, this is such a hectic time of year! Of course, it often times is much to our own making. One of the biggest struggles in being a bi-vocational pastor is that I have the combination of two vocations which have the craziest schedules during the Christmas season – pastoral ministry and retail! Extended hours for one and a fuller calendar with the other are challenging, to say the least. Don’t get me wrong I am blessed to have the struggles. Then on top of those to add family (one of the greatest blessings of all!) and the complication of sickness and surgery into the mix and, oh, talk about a simple sleigh ride turned into a luge run – oh, my – hang onto your hats!
Lord, there are only a couple weeks of craziness left. I must admit the whole combination is taking its toll. I am physically and emotionally weary and my heart’s desire is to remain spiritually buoyant. I don’t want the negative elements to suck all the joy out of everything. You coming to this dusty globe some 2000 years ago give us every reason to be joyful. May I never cease, in every aspect of my life, to proclaim
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And Heaven and nature sing!
And may the third verse of this beloved carol come to fruition in a mighty way, as well…
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
Lord, may Your presence override all the “thorns” in our lives and may Your “blessing flow” that we all may find You, our Savior and Redeemer, for that is why You came. Praise Your holy name! Amen!
Dec. 16th, Fri, 5:29 am
A Gate for the Sheep
Father, thank You for a good night’s sleep and for reminding me to get by blog ready to post right after I was up. I appreciate Your touch in my life – having that guidance and direction is most definitely a blessing. Amen.
1 Peter 2:25 (<<click here)
“Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.”
Lord, thinking of You as my Shepherd bring only good thoughts – comforting thoughts. The 23rd Psalm and Your teachings in John 10 come to mind. Peter’s words of shepherd and guardian make me think of John 10:6-10 which speak of you being the “gate for the sheep.”
In biblical times shepherds would construct a corral quite often topped with thorny brambles to ward off thieves and predators. These corrals would have narrow entrances through which a single sheep could enter and exit. Once the sheep were safely in the fold the shepherd would often place his body over the entrance to protect them.
Lord, that’s what You do for me. You are my shepherd. You are my guardian. You laid down Your life so that I might live.
Once again (and I don’t think this will ever cease to amaze me!) You tied in my opening thoughts with what you want to teach me. As my Shepherd, You guide and direct me. Life does not cease to unfold around me and just because You are my Shepherd does not necessarily mean that calamity or suffering will not come – but You will be by my side through it all. Things and people may attack – my body and mind may be injured or I may even be killed but you are the Guardian of my soul. Nothing can ever separate me from Your love (Romans 8:31-39). I am secure in Your hands.
Dead to Sin
Father, I need more of Your help this morning. I praise You for Your touch earlier but I am dependent upon You to get me through the rest of this day. You are the solid rock upon which I build my life. I know I will not fail if my eyes are kept on You. Thank You, Father.
1 Peter 2:21-25 (<<click here)
Lord, we don’t like anything that makes us uncomfortable but this life is full of struggle and pain. Many things come our way that we have no control over. There are times, too, when we bring suffering upon ourselves – we sin and often it is just because we do things that are not too bright. But as my study Bible* points out we often suffer but that’s not what Peter is speaking of here.
Using Christ as the ultimate example, he is speaking of suffering for doing good. Christ did not sin. He led a life of service and love. Even when he was confrontational with the religious leaders of his day, it was not done out of hate but out of love. He was trying to wake them up – trying to bring them from the darkness into light.
So, You Lord, were sinless but just because You did everything right that didn’t mean You could avoid suffering for the good You did. And no one could have blamed You if You had struck out in retaliation or revenge. You surely had the power to do so…but You didn’t. You left the judging to Your Father – who always does so fairly. Regardless of the pain, You did what needed to be done – You carried our sins to the cross – every single one of them. So that, as Peter says “we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.”
Lord, help me to die to sin and to “live for what is right.” It will not always be sunshine and roses but You will be with me all along the way, for You have already traveled the path and You will not forsake me. Amen.
Dec 13th, Tues, 5:25 am
*New Living Translation Life Application Bible