After a couple weeks of observation and reflection it is obvious to me that Satan is alive and well and is seeking to do all he can do to destroy people's lives (or at least disrupt them). I see it in the lives of our youth. I see it in the lives of parents. I see it in families. I see it in the erosion of commitment to Christ and His church. I see it in the exchange of priorities to where God is placed upon the back burner because of things seen as more important. Meanwhile - Satan smiles.
And this is not just on a local level. I've been in contact with many clergy and laity from other places and many can relate to the spiritual battle that we face. So what do we make of it? Is it a sign that God is at work and so the devil is working that much harder to defeat what God seeks to do in and through us? Or is it because we have disarmed ourselves, perhaps lost our focus, maybe even become lukewarm as it pertains to our passion for Christ? You can be sure Jesus has not lost his passion for us.
Whatever the answers to these questions are, I would like all who are reading this (local or otherwise) to seriously consider some of the following questions:
What is my priority as it relates to the Lord's Day?
How intentional am I regarding spiritual discipline? (Prayer, reading Scripture, meditation, attending worship, praise, etc.)
If a parent - what do my kids see in me that reflects Jesus as my #1 priority in life?
What do our neighbors or community have to say when it comes to our Christian witness?
Am I listening for God's voice on a daily basis?
How have I been obedient to the Lord this past week?
Have I reached out to others in love this past week?
There are more questions but these should get us to thinking. If these have not been a part of your reflective process, you can be sure the devil will replace these with other thoughts, other "things to do", other priorities.
Let me encourage you to be "strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (Eph. 6:10-11). It's a battle out there. Let's be reminded that our victory is in Jesus. But we may need to make a few adjustments to be victorious. Onward Christian soldiers!!
3 comments:
Now you're meddling. We have a Wednesday eve. meeting that just can't seem to get off the ground and we are discouraged and not very optomistic about it. So just before I checked out this blog, we had decided it was more important to mow than to go and be disappointed and discouraged. Then... I read your blog. I told my husband " Rick says we have to go to church tonight". So we're going. Thanks for the kick in the attitude.
I agree, Our kids are watching our every move and if we are not praying as a family, going to church, helping those in need what are we wasting time on? Sports, sleeping in, TV, mowing? How will that help God in the End. Our kids are in trouble and unfortunately we are not helping them if we are "forgetting"to put God FIRST. As a parent we need to keep the focus, be a witness and stop kidding ourselves and our kids!God should always take precidence. Thank you RICK for standing up for what is right. We all need to be reminded.tc
good questions. i'll address the first one - What is my priority as it relates to the Lord's Day?
i've been thinking a lot about this lately and how as vocational ministers we like to use Sundays as days to meet and get more things done. i'm not sure that is what God meant by observing the Sabbath and keeping it holy. in a book i'm reading called Working the Angles, Eugene Peterson talks about observing the Sabbath through praying and playing. he talks about his weekly routine of taking a hike with his wife and spending time in prayer during his Sabbath.
Peterson directly addresses clergy and suggests that sabbath-keeping is not complex. All we have to do is pick a day of the week and then protect it. not only should we protect our own, but we should also protect others as well.
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