A prayer for the day:
We are constricted by stories of scarcity. Break through these false tales with the surprising truth of abundance. May we bask in your shalom and then perform your story of generosity over and over again. Amen. (Walter Brueggemann, A Way Other than Our Own)
Reading for today:
Psalm 42, 43, 85, 86
Gen. 46:1-7, 28-34
1 Cor. 9:1-15
Mark 6:47-56
Our need is to turn our minds to Christ. Our problem is that we are self-obsessed.
“Teach me your way, Lord;
so that I can walk in your truth.
Make my heart focused
only on honoring your name.” — Ps. 86:11
Some thoughts from Life Without Lack, Dallas Willard’s newest book:
We need our hearts and minds turned toward Christ. Our trouble is… ourselves. We too often operate out of hurt. Wounds we have received become our focus. (Hit your thumb with a hammer and notice how much you think about that thumb for the next few days.)
Hurt in our lives can become a prison. That, in turn, becomes our frame of reference as we turn to others. What flows out of us? Hurt. We end up wounding others and cause a literal “world of hurt.”
We are a world of individuals trying to become our own saviors.
The need in our lives is the fullness of the gospel. It’s not the transactional gospel of “say the right words and you get into heaven.” It’s not the social justice gospel of filling in the gaps we think Jesus left behind on this earth. It IS the gospel of the availability of the kingdom of the heavens through trust in Jesus Christ.
In is about Christ with us. It is about the abundance of the kingdom of heaven (John 10:10). Our minds need to dwell on the richness of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our hearts and minds are incredible. We can absolutely think on Christ. We can choose where our minds dwell. That is the incredible beauty of the mind created by God in the first place. We are magnificent beings with immense possibility. That is what God has created!
I am tired of being my own savior. It’s worn me out. Trusting Christ? The focus is truly “mind blowing.” The Kingdom is vast. it is beautiful. And I have decided I simply won’t settle for anything less.
In my reading list, I moved from the end of Romans 8 to the beginning of Psalm 23. Continue reading “The blessedness of his presence”
Imagine a life where you have wealth and satisfaction! Your children are serving God! Your enemies can’t win! You build a legacy!
All YOURS!
There is something in me that now wants to say, “All yours for a seed faith offering… operators are standing by!”
But audacious claims like that can happen. They can feed certain desires in our own lives.
Yet… in another sense… there are some incredibly bold claims for those living in the Kingdom.
Psalm 112 gives some bold claims.
But you have to know where it STARTS:
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands. (Ps. 112:1, NIV)
It’s HIS agenda. It’s HIS Kingdom. When I am delighting in his word and longing to do his will, I will see his abundance flow into my life. The abundance isn’t on my terms, and it is not according to my definition. It’s his call all the way. Yet, why should I settle for anything less?
Let me walk in the fear of the Lord!
Growing into adulthood in the age of the “prosperity gospel” there was the misuse of 3 John v. 2 about prospering “as your soul prospers.”
A newer translation says this:
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (NIV)
I don’t know about the whole “name it claim it” deal, but I do know there is a prosperity spiritually I carry with me. That carries over into the rest of my world when it seems I am being driven to despair.
This current week has been a weak when anything that could go wrong just about has gone wrong. Major things. Our van bit the dust so we needed to get another one. Our old furnace finally bit the dust and we have gone two nights without heat during the coldest week of the winter thus far. All at a time when we were finally getting our heads slightly above water financially.
Several things play into this. There are some spiritual attacks that directly aim at physical and financial issues. Our church is aiming at some pretty daring things spiritually, calling people into a level of spiritual maturity, growth, and prayer. Raise up American Christians who actually take their Christianity seriously and there are ensuing skirmishes that happen. They are little battles meant to drive us back into mediocrity.
We are aware of those battles.
But another thing I am so acutely aware of today is the wealth I truly have in my life. When my wife put on Facebook that our furnace was out, we immediately got responses through Facebook and texts and phone calls. Incredible friends who offered us a place to stay, space heaters to borrow… anything. My wife’s boss offered to go stay with her parents just so we could use her house for a night.
Friends walked me through diagnosing the problems on my furnace before I knew I needed to call a repair company.
There was so much care and compassion, I have only been immensely grateful this week. My soul prospers.
I face financial cliffs that don’t match the government, but they overwhelm me. Yet, in this, I am so full of joy. The presence of God has shown up in our friends and family. I know all the other provision will come because my soul is really getting along well.
