Good Morning Restored, Refreshed, Resting in the Lord Friends! Amen! I'm pronouncing that salutation over Karen and me and all of you this morning. We are dog sitting for a friend and the dogs decided that 2:30 am was rise and shine time. Just what we needed during this busy season. Many of us have plates full of busyness during the hectic last rush to Christmas. We need to remember to pause, refresh, rest in the Lord and allow Him to restore our focus and direction and us. Think about it, in one week it will all be over! PTL! Yet many of us will need to return to work, stress, making up for lost time, etc. Isn't it better to determine to be still, rest in the Lord, focus on him and His plans and die to self and our self-imposed agendas of holiday craziness and allow Him to refresh and lead us? Next Thursday the truth of Immanuel will still be fact--God is with us. He always is! PTL! Doesn't it make sense to exhale all the anxiety of the season and give it to Him? Doesn't it make sense to be still and know that He is God, He is with us and His yoke is easy? He promises to bring rest to the weary. Receive it! Amen!
So before this last push towards all we think we need to get done before Christmas, why not stop, be still, release your agenda to the One who Cares for You, the One who has perfect plans for you for such a time as this and focus on that, and refresh in Him? Then ask Him to come be the Lord of your schedule and plans and to lead you beside the refreshing still waters and lush green pastures of His calming, refreshing, restoring presence. Where is your focus and priority today? How might you be ready to get at it refreshed and ready? Start with being still, turning off the noise and inviting God to come be the Lord of today. I think of Martin Luther who said that he had so much to do that he had to get up early to spend hours in God's presence to be ready for the day. Maybe you don't have hours, but you surely have a few minutes to be still, refresh in Him and invite Him to be the Lord of your choices for today. Then at the end of the day, you may not be so weary and anxious. Try it! Maybe even do what Jesus did in the storm...take a nap!
My agenda for today is to continue some homebound visitations, do some shopping and to invite and allow God to be my Lord and step director for His glory today. I know a nap may be required before I start. Funny how the dogs calmed down now that Karen and I have calmed ourselves in God's presence. We are trusting Him to bring His will and plans alive in and through us today and maybe even to be able to take a nap, trusting that He is working all things together for good. Amen! I'm praying for you. Below are a few of my devotionals that may thread through all of this or be included because God wants to speak to you through them as you prepare for the day ahead with Him as your Lord and Shepherd. Be still and know. Be refreshed then go in His grace and power for the plans He has for you today. They are plans for good! Amen! And don't forget to worship as you go! Rejoice! Be still, know, then go. Amen! I have prayed for you and we covet your prayers for us. Thanks! And may His peace beyond understanding overwhelm you right now! Shalom shalom!
ODB:
|
It was 1968, and America was mired in a war with Vietnam, racial violence was exploding in cities, and two public figures had been assassinated. A year before, fire had taken the lives of three astronauts on the launchpad, and the idea of going to the moon seemed like a pipe dream. Nonetheless, Apollo 8 managed to launch a few days before Christmas.
It became the first manned mission to orbit the moon. The flight crew, Borman, Anders, and Lovell—all men of faith—broadcast a Christmas Eve message: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). At the time, it was the most watched TV event in the world, and millions shared the God’s-eye view of Earth in a now iconic photo. Frank Borman finished the reading: “And God saw that it was good” (v. 10).
Sometimes it’s hard to look at ourselves, all the hardships we’re mired in, and see anything that’s good. But we might return to the story of creation and see God’s view of us: “In the image of God he created them” (v. 27). Let’s pair that with another divine-eye view: “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16). Today, remember that God created you, sees the good despite the sin, and loves the you He created.
By Kenneth Petersen
REFLECT & PRAY
|
|
What hardships and sins are you mired in today? What does it mean that you're created in the image of God?
Dear God, I'm struggling these days. Please help me to see what You see in me—You’re the God’s-eye view.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The word genesis means “origin” or “beginnings.” The book of Genesis is about beginnings: the beginning of the world, of God’s chosen people, and of His plan to save us. It begins: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1). The gospel of John has a similar opening: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (1:1-2). These verses reveal much about the world’s origin: The Word (Jesus) was with God in the beginning—and is God. Not only was Jesus with the Father and Spirit from the very beginning, He gave life and created all things (1:3; Genesis 1:2). In Genesis 1:3, God speaks light into the world; in John 1:4, we read that Jesus is “the light” (see also 8:12).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charles Stanley
Upper Room: Not Shaken
I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. - Psalm 3:4 (NIV)
I was first diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when I was 15. Sometimes anxiety strikes me like lightning, and I feel like I’m gasping for breath. My heart pounds, and I feel like electricity is coursing through my veins. My mind plays the same worries over and over again. What if I’m not good enough? What if people don’t like me? What if God is mad at me?
Today I’m in my thirties. Years of psychological treatment have improved my life immensely, but my anxious tendencies have never fully left me and likely never will. While I would never wish these moments of intense, painful worry on anyone, through them I have grown in my relationship with God. My connection to God feels more raw and real when I cry out to God in moments when I am powerless against my thoughts. When my coping mechanisms fail me, my Lord does not.
Psalm 3 inspires me to pour out my worries and lay them at God’s feet. God is not shaken by our worries. In the depths of our despair, God is a secure presence we can hold on to. We don’t have to pretend that everything is fine. God does not require pretty, upbeat prayers but can bear the weight of our heaviest burdens.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord God, thank you for hearing us when we call out to you. Help us to trust in your strength to sustain us through any trial. Amen.The Word for You Today
LISTEN ONLINE
