15
Jan '24
Let Me Be Frank… seek the Lord
15
Jan '24
6“Seek the Lord while He may be found;
call upon Him while He is near”
Isaiah 55:6
It’s the dawning of a new day! It’s the beginning of a new year! Opportunities abound and the promise of a reset fills our hearts with hope. So, what sets this year apart from the rest? What matters most? Where should we start?
“Seek the Lord while He may be found.” The Lord is not hard to find. Ever present, He is both intensely powerful and intimately personal. The King of Glory wants relationship with His people, but sometimes He takes a backseat to everything else in our lives. God is still there, but we stop looking. Other things come to try and fill the void in our hearts, but they won’t satisfy.
When the Lord begins to fade from our thoughts what are we to do?
- Daily Bible reading plan via YouVersion
- Worship playlists (I’m listening to a Jeremy Riddle album right now)
- Prayer requests, a gratitude journal, and specific times of prayer. (Coffee with a friend will NOT happen if you don’t schedule it. Scheduled prayer and quiet time creates routine and routine creates consistency.)
- Connection with others – Do you have people that really KNOW you? Do they hold you accountable? Do you ask for prayer, or do you try to handle it in your own? We are NOT meant to live in isolation. We need each other.
“Call on Him while He is near.” This is more about Presence and less about proximity. He is always near (proximity), but we may not always be aware of His Presence. Life will threaten to numb our hearts to Holy Spirit. We are overwhelmed with information situations. Our hearts race as anxiety sets in. There are triggers for all that, but one thing I have found to calm my spirit is take life slowly.
In “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” John Mark Comer writes, “To restate – love, joy, and peace are at the heart of all Jesus is trying to grow in the soil of your life. And all three are incompatible with hurry.”
What is God trying to grow in the soil of your life? Here are some of the things I believe He is saying to me in this season.
Live life on purpose. Be intentional with your time. Be proactive, not reactive. Think of others often. Don’t take what you have for granted. There will never be enough time. Spend it wisely.
I encourage you to spend the month of January trying to answer this question… What is God trying to grow in the soil of your life?
He is near. May we be aware of His Presence.
Soli Deo Gloria!
F –
18
Aug '20
Something Don’d on Me! 6-24-20
18
Aug '20
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
I’ve found myself reading Psalm 19 several times lately! It’s a brilliant passage from David regarding the GLORY OF GOD! I think there are parts of it you will recognize…but I encourage you to just soak in all 14 verses!
David begins by getting the focus of our Worship where it belongs: ON GOD ALMIGHTY! “The heavens declare the glory of God!” (Vs.1) – most of us know that verse and we hear it more after big storms like we’ve had lately. Many of you took pictures of the powerful lightning and the magnificent clouds…those were beautiful…THANK YOU! But David continues to talk about God’s glory!
“Day after day they (the heavens) pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words, no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth!” (Vs 2-4) Nature is SCREAMING about how great God is! From peaceful sunsets to thundering hail…nature reminds us that we have NO control over weather! No matter how smart we seem, God is still GLORY!
In the next section, David talks about the LAW of the Lord. Most people would want to say, “Yeah, but LAW is boring!” David would disagree! “The Law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul…they are more precious than gold…in keeping them, there is great reward.” (Vs. 7-11) When we look at God’s laws as precious and perfect, they aren’t hard to follow! It isn’t a drudgery to “do the right thing.” It’s FREEDOM!
And then David gets to the heart of the matter: the purity of our thoughts and our words. “Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant from willful sins.” (Vs. 12-13) Most of us can maintain good behavior MOST of the time. But a lot of us fight a battle within our own mind: the negative thoughts, the selfish ideas, the doubts and depressions that eat us up from the inside. David realizes this…and NAMES IT: keep me from WILLFUL SIN!Keep my eyes on you, God!
The passage finishes with the powerful request: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts in my head be PLEASING in Your Sight.” (Vs. 14) I’ve been quoting this a lot lately…not for your help, but for mine. May ALL of our thoughts be based on Him! May ALL of our words (and our posts on social media, and our comments to our spouses, and how we react to our children…you tracking with me here?) BE PLEASING TO HIM!
“Ok Don…why all this about the Psalms?”
It seems that in our world right now…there’s a big focus on ME! My needs, my wants, my rights, my freedoms, etc. What would it mean to our community if we STOPPED looking at our problems…and put our attention to HIS GLORY? First…you’d see a lot less of our worries…and a lot more peace! Then we’d see a lot more people are struggling and we aren’t so bad! And we would – ABOVE ALL – see that our God is FOR US!
Take time to get outside YOU…and get eyes on Him this week! And when you do…thank Him for His Glory…and for the rain!
Have a Blessed Week!
Don