WATCHWORD:
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.” Psalm 34:15
Commentary: If we have a right relationship with God and are earnestly seeking to follow and honor him with our lives, we never have to wonder if he’s listening to our prayers.
Meditation:
Knowing God Better
Knowing God better? What does that mean? And how do you do that? Have you ever asked yourself that? Maybe in the course of a morning time with the Lord, reading of scripture or simply praying and thinking about the role of God in your life, did you ever come to that question of how do I know you better, lord?
Knowing and serving the Lord is not easy. If we look back at the history of the Christianity we see that a lot of blood was spilled, not just in the crusades, but something as simple as translating the ancient scrolls into Latin, then into German, then into English. Each step of the way was fraught with violence. Wycliffe was the first to translate the Bible into a language that common people could read. His hand-written text was finished in the 1370s. Then he was burned alive at the stake.
In 1536 Tyndale was executed by strangulation and then burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English, and having it printed on the Gutenberg printing press. At the time of his death, 18,000 copies of his New Testament had been printed.
Yes serving the Lord is not easy. If we can get beyond the violence of the Crusades, and the assassination of believers along the way, the deaths of the disciples and the modern day hatred of Christians in many parts of the world, and focus almost exclusively on our own day by day peaceful living, would we say following the Lord is easy?
Some years ago I wrote a Watchword with the title Spiritual Balance. And in that meditation I raised the question of how do we get out of balance between our spiritual life and our everyday life even when things are running smoothly? I think there’s got to be balance between our spiritual life, which includes time we spend in prayer, in devotional readings and our earthly responsibilities.
So, how do we get out of balance between our spiritual life and the life that we are living? I have been told that I spend too much time sitting, writing, and not much time exercising, organizing my garage, doing laundry or otherwise being active. What a revelation! But, in the midst of all of that, I believe if I have balance in my spiritual life. It begins early every morning with the Lord. My prayer-time, devotional readings, evolve into a conversation with God. If you were sitting on my porch you could probably hear me talking, and if you listened carefully with your heart, you might hear His reply.
Here is THE TEST: Do you love God, and love others? Pure and simple, and all inclusive. Do you?
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Amen.
Just a Thought:
Pastor Allen Jackson was asked what is the best version of the Bible for study. His answer was, “The best version of the Bible is the one you will read. The version is secondary.”
Closing Prayer:
Dear God, at the start of each day, help us to recognize you above all else. Enlighten the eyes of our heart that we might see you, and notice how you’re at work through our lives. Give us wisdom to make the best choices, fill us with a desire to seek after you more than anything else in this world. Let your Spirit and power breathe in us, through us, again, fresh and new. Thank you that you are greater than anything we may face in our day. Thank you that your presence goes with us, and that your joy is never dependent on our circumstances, but it is our true and lasting strength, no matter what we’re up against. We ask that your peace lead us, that it would guard our hearts and minds in you. We ask for your grace to cover our lives this day. We love you Lord…we need you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
