In today's blog I am changing my style and will be interested in your comments concerning the change. Thanks, Jim
God is my provider and protector. God is my constant companion. Anything that is good, filled with hope and promise that happens in my life is by God’s design. I acknowledge that and accept it with open and willing arms with a heart of gratitude.
Scripture: Ezekiel 36:22-36
God is promising to Israel that God will restore their land, their cities, their standing among the nations. God will bring back from ruin that which was destroyed and desolate. God is the doer. These things will happen not because the people are faithful or devoted nor (and this is the interesting point) for their sake, but so that the people of other nations will know that God is powerful and mighty worthy to be praised.
Reflection:
So much of our (my) thinking is about God blessing our (my) lives. Do this, O Lord, because we are (I am) (fill in the blank). The old nemesis of Works Righteousness is just below the surface. We get to the point of thinking that somehow we deserve the goodness of God. When not-so-good things happen we are quick to cry out, “Why me? Why us? Why now?” We want (and think we deserve) justice … justice as defined by: bless us, damn others … justice as in “we are faithful and deserving” and “thank God we are not like those other people” … justice as in this is our country and we have earned the material blessings that surround us … justice as in God bless the USA … justice!
And yet, vs. 36 stands as a reminder it isn’t about us nor about our faithfulness nor about who we are or what we have done/accomplished … it is about God. It is by his actions and decisions that blessings and restoration comes. It is God acting as the gracious and forgiving God. It is God fulfilling the very nature of his being. “I will do it.” End of story!
Prayer:
Eternal God, keep me focus on your kingdom. Help me to live beyond myself. Give direction to the path that you have laid before me. And, may all the glory be yours! Amen.
Further reflection from William Law’s book, “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”:
(One) who dares not say an ill-natured word or do an unreasonable thing because he (or she) considers God as everywhere present performs a better devotion than (one) who dares not miss the church. To live in the world as a stranger and a pilgrim, using all its enjoyments as if we used them not, making all our actions as so many steps toward a better life, is offering a better sacrifice to God than any forms of holy and heavenly prayers.
The Struggle: I am in the midst of trying to determine the direction that my ministry is (will be) taking. Opportunities are just over the horizon. My desire is to be God’s servant. It will mean less freedom in my retirement years. Am I willing to forgo the relaxation and freedom that have come with the retirement? Just what does God wish to accomplish in and through me for his church? In the middle of all this is a constant reminder than it isn’t about me nor my abilities nor the restoration of my ministry … It is by God’s design and for the further purpose of God’s kingdom.
O Come and Dwell in Me by Charles Wesley:
O come and dwell in me,
Spirit of power within.
And bring the glorious liberty
From sorrow, fear, and sin.
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