What I Need Today

 James 1:20 -19-- "You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires."

So simple! So easy to understand! So hard to do!

Anger does not fix anything...and God wants us to fix things!

There is ample reason to get angry these days. Much of what we feel we call "righteous indignation."

I have found that much of what we call "righteous indignation" isn't! It's pride and empty ''virtue signaling' -- showy and self-serving.

The righteousness God desires is not produced by our anger. It takes intentional actions of calm resolution and persevering determination. It takes planning, organizing, stubbornness and relentless energy.

Since we are the ones who messed up God's perfect creation, it only makes sense that we fix the problems in front of us!

What's on your list of things to fix?

[P.S. I also need the first parts of that verse, "quick to listen and slow to speak."]

This Only Do I Seek

Psalm 27:4  -- "One thing I ask of the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD."

David's supreme priority is to 'gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.'

Gazing is not a one-time glimpse,  but a steady sustained focus.

David finds God Himself beautiful, not just a bestower of gifts.

'This only do I seek,' says David.   

Father, I know there is only one thing I need in life and I choose to want You above all else. I want to see and sense Your beautiful holiness  and love You for Yourself alone. I want  David's prayer to be my prayer, my gracious, kind Father.

"Give unto the LORD the glory due His Name. Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness" Psalm. 29:2

Don't Think Less of Yourself!

 

                                        Don't Think Less of  Yourself!

Thinking about humility this morning. Praying about it, to be more accurate.

Paul tells us in Romans 12:3 -- "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think."

And we have Christ's supreme example of taking a servant's role continually.

So are we supposed to sit around counting our faults, listing our failures, considering how we don't (ever) measure up to what Christ wants?

I turn to C.S. Lewis who says the key is "not to think less of yourself, but to think of yourself less"!

Pretty smart, right?

We should stop thinking of ourselves so much! Keep our focus on Jesus. His beautiful holiness, His humility, concentrate on Him. Just stop thinking so much about ourselves, good or bad.

I think this is good advice! Just think of ourselves less and Him more!

So How Should We Live?

 

Just a reminder of how we should live these days --

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to prove what God's will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2)

   Paul wrote this to the Christians in Rome about 2000 years ago! (Remember the old saying, "The more things change, the more they remain the same''? Perfect example!)

  What happens when the Spirit renews our mind? We can see Christ as who He really is, in all His perfect beauty, and also see ourselves as we really are -- broken and hopeless and helpless -- in dire need of a Savior!

  But that is good news! It rids us of our pride and arrogance -- it throws us back on the mercy and grace of God. 

All of life becomes centered in God - charged and energized by His presence. And we begin to focus on Jesus. 

As we do that the Spirit renews our thinking and our behavior and we start to become like Him. He will actually transform us into the image of Jesus. We will know and obey His will... all of our life activities will become acts of worship!

And His love will overflow fro our lives into the lives of others...and we will help bring God's Kingdom to earth, as Jesus prayed."Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."

Maybe we should give it a try -  starting right now!

Be Reconciled to God

 

                                                           Be Reconciled to God!

He told us to do it, and He did all the work!

 Paul wrote to his friends in Corinth, "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: 'We implore you, on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God'" (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Then he said, "For He made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

So that's how God Himself arranged for us to be reconciled to Him! He took the punishment His holiness required, paid our debt  for us - and gave us His favor! All we do is thank Him and praise Him!

Father, You have done it all. You  my took my sin and paid the penalty. You tore open the veil that kept me from You. You allow me to come to You --  I  can approach You ANYTIME!

You will never let go of me! How could I forget that? Forgive me, Father, for forgetting that sometimes. You are standing right here beside me -- eager to be my  Friend and Helper. You will never let go of me. How could I forget that?

Forgive me, Father, for letting distractions cloud my thinking. My greatest joy in life is knowing and loving You. All else is 'trivial pursuit.'

Hold me close today and help me remember how much You love me, my abba Father. 

Amen!