During
one of our snuggle times, my husband and I discovered a peculiar
similarity that we did not realize that we shared. We both dislike using Times
New Roman lettering in my blogging and His sermon prep … and … now, we both
prefer Verdana, although we used to both prefer Tahoma.
With
all of the various type settings, what are the chances that we would both dislike
and prefer the same style, and even change styles to the same ones? A small
fact, but heart-warming nonetheless. We smiled a little brighter and snuggled a
little deeper after realizing this truth.
He
also plans his three sermons for the week, and I write my five devotions for my
blog, often with the same topic, verses and/or lessons and revelations on the
same Biblical passages without even knowing what the other has written. We
often tease that we read each other's mind, but I think this just might be
true.
In
our busyness, we humans often fail to discover similarities that we also share
with Jesus. Our schedules are full of foolishness, about which we fail to
consult the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6). This prevents us from walking in His perfect
plan for our life (Ephesians 2:10). Yet, God is always waiting to speak to us
in the midst of our to-do lists.
God
sent Jesus to earth to destroy the works of the devil, and to take back
dominion of the earth from him that used to belong to Adam and Eve prior to their
willful sin (1 John 3:8). He had to leave His home in the glories of Heaven,
and endure the suffering of this sin-filled earth for our sake (Philippians
2:5-8).
For
three years before His crucifixion, Jesus spent His days healing the sick,
casting out demons, instructing his disciples, feeding the multitudes, playing
with the little children, ministering to the misguided souls around Him,
showing compassion on the bereaved, etc.
Jesus
told His disciples that His food - His substance for His life - was to do the
will of our Father God (John 4:34). Do we see, in our life, this same focus
that Jesus had? If not, then we can follow Jesus example to get there.
Jesus
spent enormous amounts of time in our Father's presence, listening to God's
direction and obeying His will, and we can too. Jesus called us to a ministry
of greater works (John 14:12), and we can walk in them through the guidance of
King Jesus by His Holy Spirit.
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us to listen to Your direction for us each moment of our day
(Proverbs 3:5-6), so that we will accomplish the works that You created for us
to do before we were even born (Psalm 139; Ephesians 2:10). Subjects of Your
divine appointments for our life are people in the retail store that we feel
drawn to speak to, those waiting in an office in the chair close to ours or
even across the room, people who move into our neighborhood or community, the
stranger who visits our church worship service, etc.
Teach
us that our plans for our day are never as important as Your direction for our moments
of time. We accomplish so much more of our required tasks when we do them in
Your order rather than in our own. Help us to realize that we can trust in and
rely on You as our source, security, direction and empowerment every moment of
every day.
Thought
for the Day:
Jesus
took every opportunity of divine guidance to change His world around Him; if we
spend more time walking in the Spirit, we would encounter more divine appointments
in our life as well, and we would discover those around us whom we have more in
common with than we realize.
