|
|
Dad’s Choice
God of life and love, forgive us, we pray, for our unwillingness to follow your lead in our lives. We are here today to watch and wait for the movement of your Spirit among us, O God. Pardon us for our selfish ways that seem to be all about us and have little to do with anyone else. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear what you would show us and share with us as we seek to worship you in spirit and in truth. Remind us that when our lives become separated from the movement and work of your Spirit that we are lost and divided from the source that gives and breathes life! Stir our hearts with your love that we might be willing to go where you call us to go and to do what you call us to do. Move us beyond our preoccupation with ourselves and the idols of our culture. Shatter our illusions and our tragic games that lead us nowhere. Help us to accept that which must be the source of our living your will: nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Create in us clean hearts, O God, and restore our soul to hope and life. Amen.
All of us are seeking “Peace” — that feeling of satisfaction, accomplishment, contentment, joy. What is your description of “Peace”? Today’s challenges, changes, corrections are causing us to rethink what “Peace” means to us as individuals. The Bible tells us God is the same yesterday, today and forever. That offers some reassurance. The phrase from the above paragraph offers the answer.
In the Old Testament in I Samuel 15 King Saul was not at “Peace”. He had been given directives from God and King Saul thought he would slightly modify what God wanted him to do. Sound familiar? Have we ever modified what we know to be the right thing, because it’s more comfortable to “modify it” just a little? Saul became angry and depressed, he was not handling the pressure very well ... . Could it be for us as the scripture in verse 11 ... ? “Saul has turned back from following me”. Why do you think the story of King Saul sounds familiar? Because we, you and me, are doing the same thing now!! And God feels the same today as he did at the time of King Saul. Saul became jealous of David. The scripture says “Saul eyed David”. Do we do that?? We say we are “paying attention to someone’s words and actions. We are doing it out of concern, or are we trying to prove a point — because we are angry and jealous? In verse 10 — the next day a distressing spirit from God came upon Saul. Saul had chosen not to follow God’s direction and the bad became worse. So if we have the right attitude to see and acknowledge God’s gifts, does that mean we’re OK with God? No, we need to be doing God’s will: nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
In the New Testament, the Book of Mark chapter 4, Jesus and his disciples were with crowds teaching and Jesus wanted to get away from the crowds. The disciples and Jesus were crossing the sea to the other side when a sudden storm came up. The boat ride was getting scary so the disciples called out to Jesus in verse 38. Jesus took care of them and then spoke to the disciples ... ”How is it that you have no faith?”[Verse 40] There are three elements of this word picture that Mark has painted for us that we need to ponder this day. First, we deal with personal storms daily. Many are non-challenging, but like the weather in the scripture, life changes quickly! Second, the disciples, Jesus’ followers, most of them had been experienced fishermen and they were afraid. Third, believing Jesus Christ is our savior sent by God provides faith that saves us from spiritual fear. The absence of fear — allows us to receive “Peace”. We are all in “our boat of life” and have faced fearful storms. Keep Jesus in the boat! Follow his leadership! That’s the source of living God’s will: nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
Pray you are touched by the Peace that Passes All Understanding!
Pastor Dorothy Hotchkiss of Webster’s Crossing UMC and Groveland Federated Parish.
dhotch2@frontiernet.net 585/406-7030 cell/text
|
|