STEP UP DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS for February 16-22

Monday, February 16 -(Jeremiah 10:23 ) "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."- We like to think we are in charge of everything in our lives. In reality, we are only in charge of our choices, our beliefs, and our attitudes. Our task is to seek God through everything else, to be open to Him and to be ready to be obedient to the vision that He plants in our hearts .

Tuesday, February 17 - (Romans 4:12) …who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham…." The promises of God transcend time and lineage and are extended to all come to Him in faith. What God offered Abraham in terms of a vision of significance for His life, is available for us. We can be blessed to be a blessing to others. In your seeking and visioning this day, are you saving room for the great things God wants to do in and through you?

Wednesday, February18 - (I Peter 2:21 ) "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" – We are called to walk in the steps of Jesus, whether those steps lead through paths of suffering or of glory. He is our example. Let us follow Him. Ask Him to help you see the path He where He is leading and His vision for a future. Then, make room in your life for Him to lead you.

Thursday, February 19 – (Heb 11:6) "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." God demands much of us in faith because He demands much of Himself in what he intends to give in response to our faith. He rewards those who seek Him with true diligence of heart and energy He rewards us with vision and fulfillment if we will make room in our busy and distracted lives for him to work..

Friday, February 20 - (Heb 11:14) "For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country". We, the people of God, on the journey of faith, are seeking something that has not yet appeared. That requires faith and vision. Where are your longings? What part of you cries out to God for what God alone can accomplish? Hang your faith there. Let Him develop the vision within you. Let Him bring it to pass.

Saturday, February 21 - (Col 3:1) "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Having been risen with Christ, Christ becomes our focus and where He is, there we are going. Why should we long for anything outside of His purposes?

Sunday, February 22 - (Heb 13:14)" For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Nothing of this world lasts. Everything in God's purpose endures. Given the outcome, what will you choose in which to invest your life?

 

How is God speaking to you this week?

Parental Wisdom

"Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories."  ~John Wilmot

Any parent, worth his or her salt, will readily admit to ignorance on any number of subjects – especially parenting. It can be frightening when we consider the consequence for our children and the perpetual admonition to them to pay attention to us. We step back from overhearing them being told to do so and remember how many parental lessons we missed, ignored, or discarded along the way. How much easier would life have been if we had been mentally and emotionally present in the parental school of wisdom?

Homer doesn't make things easier when he remarks, "It behooves a father to be blameless if he expects his child to be."

Perfection eludes us and the quest for perfection haunts, us, but grace equips us to take the risks involved in doing our best and letting go of the rest. We are hard put to find all the right words or address all the important issues in parenting. Robert Fulghum landed squarely on the truth when he said, "Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you."

Our children are always watching. It is up to them whether or not they will listen. That is their responsibility and capacity, especially as they grow old. It is also ours, who have grown older, not to forsake the wisdom of the past as no longer relevant. Solomon wisely said, "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. "(Proverbs 1:8-9 NIV)

He then enters into an extended teaching about the dangers or rejecting that teaching and pursuing a life of riotous activity without regard to ethics and morality. The bottom line is that you are more attractive, effective, and fulfilled if you take the time to learn what is being taught. And our children have a better shot at life if we take the time to teach them. Furthermore, we have a better chance of teaching them well if we revisit what we have been taught and take it to heart.

As a rock song from the 60s put it, "and the beat goes on."

 

STEP UP DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS - Week of February 9-15

Monday, February 9 -(Psalm 73:2 ) "But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped." - Faith is not equivalent to overconfidence. It is not about being careless about our ways. If it were not for God, our feet would slip. Without God, left to our own devices, slippage is a probability. Never forget that it is God who makes you to stand and sustains you. You need Him .

Tuesday, February 10 - (Psalm 85:13) "Righteousness shall go before him; and he shall set us on the way of his steps." -Among the good things God gives is His righteousness. Righteousness being rightly related to God and others and being on the right path in the right direction. When His righteousness envelopes us, He sets us on the way of His steps - not ours. His intent is to establish us in His way. To the extent that such is your prayer and the intent of your heart, it shall be granted. How does this inform your praying today?.

Wednesday, February11 - (Psalm 85:13b ) "... the way of his steps" - What might "the way of his steps" mean? Perhaps we are tempted to know too soon the answer for that question when God intends for us to seek, follow, notice, and celebrate. One of the great temptations of modern man is to rush too quickly into definition. Definitions limit. God expands His way before us. Start seeking.

Thursday, February 12 - .(Psalm 119:33 ) "Order my steps in thy word; and let not iniquity have dominion over me" It is not so hard to learn how to pray. We need only open the scriptures and emulate the great prayers there. None is greater, deeper, and more transforming that this one. It is two fold. The first part is for God to bring us into complete agreement with Him - our lives aligned with His word. The second is for freedom from sin. Sin has the affect of lording itself over us. The prayer of the saint is that it will be rendered powerless in our lives.

Friday, February 13 - (Proverbs 4:12 ) " When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened (hampered, restrained; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble" There are some conditions for this promise of not hineded steps and freedom from stumbling. Fist, we will value and embrace wisdom. Second, we will listen to good advice. We will be willingly guided,. We will avoid evil. We will guard out hearts and lips. We will tune our focus. We will keep on the path. These are the conditions of a walk that is sure footed and not hindered. How is that working out for you?

Saturday, February14 - (Proverbs 16:9 ) "A man deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." - While you are working on everything else in your life and attempting to "get it right," don't forget that God is ultimately in charge. Anything short of trusting Him will leave you bereft of hope and stumbling without direction.

Sunday, February 15 - (Psa 16:0 ) "... the LORD directeth his steps" While you are seeking, following, noticing, and celebrating, pay attention to this question: How has God been directing my steps recently and where does He seem to be leading me?

 

 

To Be Remembered

I responded to a question on Answerbag.com and I was surprised at my answer. Someone asked if we wanted to be remembered when we were gone and I answered what follows. I must say, I was somewhat influenced by conducting a graveside service in an old cemetery this past week and reading some of the gravestones and not recognizing any names. Well, my name is Tom Sims and my answer is:

Yes, I do (want to be remembered), but I also know that eventually, I will be forgotten. That is OK. What I really want is to contribute something that blends with other somethings and makes a difference in the world for good. Then, I want that new something that is blended with other somethings to take on a life and identity of its own and grow and be remembered for what it is, something positive, affirming, and compassionate. That is what I really want to be remembered. Then, if someone thinks of Old Tom, I hope they will think of that. My stone will read the day of my birth and the day of my death, but all the living will have been done in the tiny dash between.

How would you respond? Leave a comment or discuss it at The Religion Forum.