New Year and Perspective
New Year.
A new year has come, and now we have choices as did the Wise men in last week's Gospel lesson. We can choose to follow and worship or maybe not. Profession of faith is not a lively faith necessarily. People do this all the time, to please ...? Of course God is pleased when we do what we say, and follow. Samuel was listening in the service of the Lord as he did service for him. But Eli told him to go lie down and listen to what God was going to say.
Listening is the first part of our responsibility in the service to Christ. Others beckon to us to follow them. The culture has its way of belief. Those who turn to the Lord find it very needful to turn and listen to the Word of the Lord as there are many voices trying to turn us to listen to them. Those of us who serve in this place can find our own perspectives needing refreshment in God's service.
I would say perspective is either a great strength for us or a great weakness. We are all in need of God's faithful perspective on our work and lives. It is easy to fall into the pattern of hopeless drudgery without meaningful prayer, life and work. Patterns and habits need refreshing from time to time. It is difficult to look right into the sun but we can gain much from sunny days. God is not fully visible until we arrive in the next world, but His Word illumines our path. " In His light , we see light" as the Psalmist says so well.
Some of the gifts we have been given were unwrapped at Christmas, but we should should unwrap other gifts as well, for ex....in his little pamphlet, " Living Under Pressure-the Christian Way" by Powell he enumerates things every believer should do to grow in grace.
Rest. Mark 6:31 " Come apart ye yourselves and rest awhile into a deserted place; for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."
Luke 10:41 "...Martha, Martha, you are fretting and fussing about so many things; but one thing is necessary.” Reduce your duties and interests for the one thing is necessary.
Live One Day at a Time. Matthew 6:34 “ Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day.”
Rest One Whole Day Every Week Exodus 20:8 “ Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.”
Get Your Mind off Yourself and on to God. “ Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” Isaiah 26:3
Seek Cleansing. “ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I Jn 1:9
Learn to Enjoy Your Work. “ Not slothful in business: fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” Ro. 12:11
Secondly, Jesus told Philip, " Follow me." Jn 1:43 Again, others have an agenda for us that may be God's. We need to follow Christ, and His Word. The other things can follow that. Richard Rohr said, " One of the safest places to hide from God is religion." The Chief priests, the scribes and the scholars all knew Micah 5:2 about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem but they failed to follow the wise men there to see the new born Child to worship Him.
Having the right ideas usually come from the right sources. The Scriptures illumine our paths. " Thy Word is a light unto my path..." The Lord Christ is the Light. He and the Holy Spirit illumine my choices and my life decisions as we seek wise solutions to the problems and concerns of life.
It may be we change our ways and our vocation . John Newton was a slave trader before he became a priest in the Church of England and wrote that great hymn, " Amazing Grace." " Lord, whatever destiny you have in store for me , help me to greet it with the simple trust of the boy who wrote so long ago: ' The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. " in A Pilgrim's Way by J. Barrie Shepherd.
Our perspective changes when the veil is removed 2 Cor 3..." Whoever turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." It is done away in Christ. The law says do this and live, but the word of God's grace says live and do this. We are redeemed through the blood of Christ , a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. How great a salvation we have. This perspective allows us to go through multiple trials and say, " The Lord gives and the Lord takes away . Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Perspective is everything.
A new year has come, and now we have choices as did the Wise men in last week's Gospel lesson. We can choose to follow and worship or maybe not. Profession of faith is not a lively faith necessarily. People do this all the time, to please ...? Of course God is pleased when we do what we say, and follow. Samuel was listening in the service of the Lord as he did service for him. But Eli told him to go lie down and listen to what God was going to say.
Listening is the first part of our responsibility in the service to Christ. Others beckon to us to follow them. The culture has its way of belief. Those who turn to the Lord find it very needful to turn and listen to the Word of the Lord as there are many voices trying to turn us to listen to them. Those of us who serve in this place can find our own perspectives needing refreshment in God's service.
I would say perspective is either a great strength for us or a great weakness. We are all in need of God's faithful perspective on our work and lives. It is easy to fall into the pattern of hopeless drudgery without meaningful prayer, life and work. Patterns and habits need refreshing from time to time. It is difficult to look right into the sun but we can gain much from sunny days. God is not fully visible until we arrive in the next world, but His Word illumines our path. " In His light , we see light" as the Psalmist says so well.
Some of the gifts we have been given were unwrapped at Christmas, but we should should unwrap other gifts as well, for ex....in his little pamphlet, " Living Under Pressure-the Christian Way" by Powell he enumerates things every believer should do to grow in grace.
Rest. Mark 6:31 " Come apart ye yourselves and rest awhile into a deserted place; for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."
Luke 10:41 "...Martha, Martha, you are fretting and fussing about so many things; but one thing is necessary.” Reduce your duties and interests for the one thing is necessary.
Live One Day at a Time. Matthew 6:34 “ Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day.”
Rest One Whole Day Every Week Exodus 20:8 “ Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.”
Get Your Mind off Yourself and on to God. “ Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” Isaiah 26:3
Seek Cleansing. “ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I Jn 1:9
Learn to Enjoy Your Work. “ Not slothful in business: fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” Ro. 12:11
Secondly, Jesus told Philip, " Follow me." Jn 1:43 Again, others have an agenda for us that may be God's. We need to follow Christ, and His Word. The other things can follow that. Richard Rohr said, " One of the safest places to hide from God is religion." The Chief priests, the scribes and the scholars all knew Micah 5:2 about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem but they failed to follow the wise men there to see the new born Child to worship Him.
Having the right ideas usually come from the right sources. The Scriptures illumine our paths. " Thy Word is a light unto my path..." The Lord Christ is the Light. He and the Holy Spirit illumine my choices and my life decisions as we seek wise solutions to the problems and concerns of life.
It may be we change our ways and our vocation . John Newton was a slave trader before he became a priest in the Church of England and wrote that great hymn, " Amazing Grace." " Lord, whatever destiny you have in store for me , help me to greet it with the simple trust of the boy who wrote so long ago: ' The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. " in A Pilgrim's Way by J. Barrie Shepherd.
Our perspective changes when the veil is removed 2 Cor 3..." Whoever turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." It is done away in Christ. The law says do this and live, but the word of God's grace says live and do this. We are redeemed through the blood of Christ , a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. How great a salvation we have. This perspective allows us to go through multiple trials and say, " The Lord gives and the Lord takes away . Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Perspective is everything.
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