Debt, Caffeine, Media

We all fail to serve the Lord wholeheartedly some of the time. I would venture that most of us fail to serve Him most of the time. I’m sure you’re all great. It’s just me who trips and falls flat on my own face. <grin>

My pastor read through Psalm 27 this morning. I was once again reminded of how weak my will is.

A Psalm of David.
1 THE LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.

3 Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.

5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

9 Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the LORD will take care of me.

11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.

13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

14 Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

The verses that jumped out at me most were verses 4, 8, 10, and 14. How often I fail to wait on the LORD. How often I fail to say with David, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”

I let idols get in the way.

Praise God that His mercies are do not fail and that they are new every morning. Tomorrow morning, I start again. Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Submission To The King

Last night as I went to bed, I resigned myself to the fact that we now have President-Elect Obama. He wasn’t my first choice, but it’s kind of funny how things worked out.

Over the past week or so, God has really been dealing with me about the election. As it became evident that McCain’s chances were low, I began to be reminded that it’s not the president of the United States who ultimately determines the course of history. Nor is it the legislative or judicial brances.

In the grand scheme of things, Jesus Christ, the “Captain of our salvation” is at the helm.

A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

It’s interesting to see that my friend Jason had a similar revelation.

I get so tired of selfish praying that happens in so many churches. I get so tired of Christians who say things like, “I don’t think a true Christian could possibly vote for Obama!” As if the balot box is how God determines a person’s eternal destiny!

When we allow ourselves to say these kinds of things, we open ourselves up to being overtaken by pride.

I’m sick of pride. Not just in others, but in myself too.

This is a simple issue to overcome. Unfortunately, simple doesn’t mean easy. By simple, I mean it is one step.

How to overcome pride

1.  Submit to God (James 4:7)

How do you submit to God?
Unfortunately, this is a lifelong struggle. I am about to begin rereading The Pursuit of Holiness, and will be blogging about it over the next few weeks as I work my way through the book. Presumably, I will find myself submitting more and more to Him in my journey.

The first step to submission to God is denying self. This comes in the forms of fasting, prayer, and giving.

Therefore Submit to God

So I am working on reading the New Testament this month. I did very well for the first three days.

Then I went to San Antonio last weekend and fell behind because of that. Then I began focusing on praying a whole lot as I prepared my sermon for Wednesday night. The sermon went really well, but I fell behind in my reading plan.

So I have to ask myself…what is the priority?

Am I reading the New Testament in a month just to be able to say that I did it (again), or am I reading it so that I can hear from God?

I believe that I am reading it so that I can better hear from God. If I am spending time in focused prayer, than I am hearing from God. So the plan has backed off just a bit. I am behind, but I plan to continue reading quite a bit each day. I may not finish by January 31st, but I will finish before the end of February for sure.

But the whole point is to draw me closer to God, and I can definitely say that this year has started out by being great in that respect.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands,you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning andyour joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. – James 4:7-10