Matthew 6:33
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Holy and everlasting God,
May I seek you first today. Before all else, may my heart be aware of your presence and seek to serve you and you alone. In all that I do, may my eyes look through the lens of your love and glory to see the creation you have made as the majestic and wondrous sight that it is. Lord, may I see others as made in your image, and may I be a humble servant to them.
Lord, you are my God and my King. I am unworthy to come before you, and yet I do so with boldness because of the grace Christ has poured out. May I seek to be a servant for your Kingdom and join with your mission in the world.
Amen
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Endurance
But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:22)
I was reading this last night and it occurred to me, for the 254th time, that a life of faith is meant to be a life of endurance--and that we aren't called to be fully developed by the time we get a driver's license or a mortgage. There are definite marker points in our lives of faith, but overall they're called to be a steady process of maturing and growing--filled with moments of discipleship, the pursuit of a life lived with and for Christ.
We aren't called to have it fully figured out at any one moment. We are called to grow in faith--to work at it each day and trust that the Holy Spirit is working in and through us. When we get frustrated because we don't have all the answers, we're like the Israelites crying out in the desert--they'd seen miracles, sure, but what had God done for them today?
I long for my life to be filled with tangible evidence of God's presence. And if I take the time to think about it, I recognize that it is. His love and grace surround me--but often I don't take the time to think about it, because I get caught up in what I'm doing today. I get caught up in it and start to believe that this life is all there is, that whomever has the most toys at the end wins.
But then I stop, I slow down, and God redirects my attention to the lives of those in Scripture, those who selflessly gave so that Christ's church might prosper. Their lives were filled with glorious moments, but also with the tough slog of discipleship--but they ran their face with faithfulness.
May I have the courage to run my race, and I pray for the wisdom not to give up in frustration when I haven't reached the finish line halfway through the race. I hope that I, too, may endure to the end.
I was reading this last night and it occurred to me, for the 254th time, that a life of faith is meant to be a life of endurance--and that we aren't called to be fully developed by the time we get a driver's license or a mortgage. There are definite marker points in our lives of faith, but overall they're called to be a steady process of maturing and growing--filled with moments of discipleship, the pursuit of a life lived with and for Christ.
We aren't called to have it fully figured out at any one moment. We are called to grow in faith--to work at it each day and trust that the Holy Spirit is working in and through us. When we get frustrated because we don't have all the answers, we're like the Israelites crying out in the desert--they'd seen miracles, sure, but what had God done for them today?
I long for my life to be filled with tangible evidence of God's presence. And if I take the time to think about it, I recognize that it is. His love and grace surround me--but often I don't take the time to think about it, because I get caught up in what I'm doing today. I get caught up in it and start to believe that this life is all there is, that whomever has the most toys at the end wins.
But then I stop, I slow down, and God redirects my attention to the lives of those in Scripture, those who selflessly gave so that Christ's church might prosper. Their lives were filled with glorious moments, but also with the tough slog of discipleship--but they ran their face with faithfulness.
May I have the courage to run my race, and I pray for the wisdom not to give up in frustration when I haven't reached the finish line halfway through the race. I hope that I, too, may endure to the end.
2/7/2012
Holy Father,
You are all powerful and eternal--there is nothing that you cannot do. You have established the sun in the sky and the earth in its orbit, and then you filled the earth with good things. All of this you did by your complete power and majesty, declaring everything good and reveling in its beauty.
Lord, open my eyes to see the beauty of your creation on this morning. May the miracle of the sun's rise be to me a moment of worship, and may the day that slowly reveals itself to me be filled with awe and worship--may I pause to drink in your glory, that it may so fill and satiate me to the point that I want nothing else but to life before you in obedience and submission. May I not be afraid to kneel in prayer, to sing out in worship, to quietly listen. You are my King, my Lord.
Thank you for the gift of life, for the gift of joy, for the love and grace that fill my heart. May I freely offer back this life to you.
Amen
You are all powerful and eternal--there is nothing that you cannot do. You have established the sun in the sky and the earth in its orbit, and then you filled the earth with good things. All of this you did by your complete power and majesty, declaring everything good and reveling in its beauty.
Lord, open my eyes to see the beauty of your creation on this morning. May the miracle of the sun's rise be to me a moment of worship, and may the day that slowly reveals itself to me be filled with awe and worship--may I pause to drink in your glory, that it may so fill and satiate me to the point that I want nothing else but to life before you in obedience and submission. May I not be afraid to kneel in prayer, to sing out in worship, to quietly listen. You are my King, my Lord.
Thank you for the gift of life, for the gift of joy, for the love and grace that fill my heart. May I freely offer back this life to you.
Amen
Monday, February 6, 2012
Wellness
Have you ever been sick?
I imagine that when you recovered you spent a few days appreciating your good health.
As someone who has been struggling to feel healthy for the better part of the last three weeks, I'm really looking forward to the days when I can be healthy once more--I will be truly grateful for my good health.
All the time I've spent moaning about how sick I am makes me think about my spiritual health--and it makes me wonder if I spend enough time paying attention to it, or if I take it for granted and don't reflect upon it like I often do with my physical health. When you're healthy, you don't worry about being sick, just like when life is grand and all is well, we have a tendency not to think about God. As soon as the house comes crashing down around us, though, we run to him and remember how important he is in our lives.
But the truth is that we need to spend just as much time with him when life is good, because that's who we're made to be. It doesn't mean that we won't have tough times, but it does mean that when those tough times come we will be able to face them better, because our relationship with God will be deep enough for us to remember God's promise to be with us in good times and bad. The work we do on life's mountaintops pays dividends when we're in the valleys.
Lately, insurance companies and doctors and those who know things about health (and how expensive it is to be sick!) have been pushing 'wellness'. Our insurance company doesn't pay for 'wellness visits' to the doctor, which includes yearly physicals and things that we do when we're feeling good, in the hopes that we'll establish practices that will prevent us from getting sick often.
Perhaps it's time that pastors and other leaders in the church spent more time emphasizing 'wellness spirituality', a spirituality focused on deepening our relationship with God while life is smooth sailing, so that we'll be better prepared when the storm hits. Perhaps it's time that all Christians dedicate themselves to a serious spirituality of work and play, so that we won't be too busy enjoying the sunshine to recognize Christ's presence with us, so that we'll see God's handiwork in the glorious spring days when all is right with the world, so that we'll have a deep and life-sustaining faith that walks with us every day of life, good and bad.
May our faith be well, that each day may draw us deeper into the life-giving arms of the Holy Spirit.
I imagine that when you recovered you spent a few days appreciating your good health.
As someone who has been struggling to feel healthy for the better part of the last three weeks, I'm really looking forward to the days when I can be healthy once more--I will be truly grateful for my good health.
All the time I've spent moaning about how sick I am makes me think about my spiritual health--and it makes me wonder if I spend enough time paying attention to it, or if I take it for granted and don't reflect upon it like I often do with my physical health. When you're healthy, you don't worry about being sick, just like when life is grand and all is well, we have a tendency not to think about God. As soon as the house comes crashing down around us, though, we run to him and remember how important he is in our lives.
But the truth is that we need to spend just as much time with him when life is good, because that's who we're made to be. It doesn't mean that we won't have tough times, but it does mean that when those tough times come we will be able to face them better, because our relationship with God will be deep enough for us to remember God's promise to be with us in good times and bad. The work we do on life's mountaintops pays dividends when we're in the valleys.
Lately, insurance companies and doctors and those who know things about health (and how expensive it is to be sick!) have been pushing 'wellness'. Our insurance company doesn't pay for 'wellness visits' to the doctor, which includes yearly physicals and things that we do when we're feeling good, in the hopes that we'll establish practices that will prevent us from getting sick often.
Perhaps it's time that pastors and other leaders in the church spent more time emphasizing 'wellness spirituality', a spirituality focused on deepening our relationship with God while life is smooth sailing, so that we'll be better prepared when the storm hits. Perhaps it's time that all Christians dedicate themselves to a serious spirituality of work and play, so that we won't be too busy enjoying the sunshine to recognize Christ's presence with us, so that we'll see God's handiwork in the glorious spring days when all is right with the world, so that we'll have a deep and life-sustaining faith that walks with us every day of life, good and bad.
May our faith be well, that each day may draw us deeper into the life-giving arms of the Holy Spirit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)