Readjusting My Worship

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:24-25 (NLT)

You know sometimes I can be a little slow in reading the Bible and tying together what God is telling me but the other day, as I listened to these verses, I had a revelation. It’s always made sense to me that you can’t serve money and God. Money will almost always win. Money is not bad but we have a really hard time with our love of money and the life we can live if we have it.

I get that. But this time I heard the connection between worrying about things and the connection to money. Jesus says “You can’t have two masters. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” Then he goes on to say “That is why I tell you not to worry.” Wait. What?

What do the two have to do with each other? Then this tiny little thought started forming in my brain (Thank you, Holy Spirit). If I am worried about everyday life, about how the bills are going to be paid, how the car will be fixed, what is going to happen if I lose my job, I am worrying about money.

My focus suddenly shifts from God will provide to I must provide. I must have enough money to answer all of these questions. I must figure out how I am going to get the money to take care of life.

Notice two things. First, the primary person in charge in these sentences is me, not God. Second, I have shifted my concerns from living my life in a way that glorifies God to living my life to take care of me (not others). One usurps the other.

When we worry about these things, we are basically not trusting God to do what he said he would do, provide. Our complete focus needs to be on trusting that he is there and he will take care of it. It is super easy to slip into worry mode. I know it is for me. But when I go down that path, I need to stop, remember who God is and how much he loves me. I need to readjust my worship.

A Minute In It - Only One Thing

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. Take a moment to read the text below and then answer the questions at the bottom of the post.

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Mark 10:17-27 (NLT)

What was the man looking for when he came to Jesus?
Why did Jesus ask him to sell everything?
What did Jesus see in the man that the man did not see about himself?
What in your life would be hard to give up to go all in for Jesus?

Hard Is Good

Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)

I know a woman. We’ll call her Kate for anonymity purposes. A couple of years ago, she had a stroke. As you can imagine, this turned her world upside down. The stroke was pretty bad and she’s spent considerable time recovering and getting her life back on track.

Recently, we had a huge event at our church. During the event, we feed somewhere between 150 and 200 people. Kate was in charge of the food. She’s held this role before and she’s really good at it. This time, I was in the facility kitchen trying to be helpful (hospitality is not one of my gifts so I am not kidding when I say I was trying to be helpful). As I was watching the chaos in the kitchen, I noticed Kate.

The stroke impacted her walking a little bit. She’s worked really hard to get things to function exactly as they did before but there is still a tiny hint that there is more healing to be done. As she moved about the kitchen, I noticed this. And then, I noticed that it didn’t slow her down one bit. She kept moving.

You see, Kate’s desire is to serve God. She wants to be used by him for his glory. And while she would have every reason to say “Sorry, I can’t help with that”, she doesn’t. She signs up and digs in and trusts that God is going to help her get the job done.

My respect for Kate grew immensely that day. We are so quick to make excuses for why we can’t do what God calls us to do. We look at things and think they are hard so that gives us an out. I think that should inspire us to push on that hard to open door and run through it!

It’s through the really hard stuff that God is glorified the most. When we can do it on our own, we are glorifying ourselves. When we can’t, we are glorifying God.

I want to be more like Kate. I want to face the hard stuff head on and say “God, you’ve got this. Let’s do this thing!” How about you? What really hard thing are you facing today that needs God in the middle of it?

Silence Can Be Golden

For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. Job 33:14 (NIV)

It’s been some time since I’ve written in Thought for the Day. You see a long time ago when I started this, I promised myself that if God didn’t give me something to write, I wasn’t going to post. I never wanted this ministry to be about what I thought. I wanted the Holy Spirit to be the one leading, not me. I knew that if God wasn’t leading, the thoughts would become watered down with my human thoughts.

Back toward the end of September, the thoughts starting coming less frequently. There were days I got an idea of something to write about but, I was not impressed to post it.

As I’ve looked back on this time and prayed about it, a few ideas struck me.

First, God has still been talking. He’s been talking about a journey we are walking right now. He is talking to me on a regular basis about some personal things. As I prayed about the fact that I have not been feeling called to write each day, I’ve asked God “What’s up? Am I too distracted? Is there something messed up in my hearing? My motivation?” After lots of praying about this, I don’t think so.

Last night, as I lay in bed and talked to God about it some more, one thought did cross my mind. The fact that God is silent where my writing is concerned and that we are still talking, just about different subjects, is very much a relationship.

Sometimes, even when you are very close to someone, you don’t always talk about everything that needs to be said. You don’t always talk about everything that is on your mind. Sometimes, there is silence. And let’s face it. God is God. He can talk when and where he wants.

It would be really dangerous for me to assume that he is always going to react and speak exactly how I want him to. Just like I should never expect that from my husband or any other close friend, I certainly should never assume with God.

What I will do though, is acknowledge that he is the leader in this relationship and that if he wants to be silent, so be it. I will follow in that silence and wait. Because when he speaks, it will definitely be worth it.

How Much?

17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT)

The other day I got to spend time with my grandsons. This is my favorite thing to do! Some of the family had gathered for breakfast. As we were leaving, I was carrying my oldest grandson and I said “Do you know how much I love you?”

He got this big, huge smile on his face and threw his arms out wide! I hugged him tight and said “That’s right! I love you so very much!”

It made me think of God. He is saying to us all the time “Do you know how much I love you?”

Our response should be to get a big, huge smile on our faces and throw our arms open as wide as we can and say with assurance “Why yes! Yes, I do!”

What's Your Corner Look Like?

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Hebrews 13:2 (NLT)

Recently, someone that worked with my husband passed away. It was sudden. No one was expecting it. Her story is unusual.

She started coming to the restaurant with her mom when she was little. Her mom worked there as a waitress and Margaret would come and do her homework at one of the tables. After she graduated from high school, she started working at the restaurant. I am not sure in what role she started but eventually, she became a waitress. After many years in that role, she became a manager.

She worked at the restaurant for over 35 years. This was the only job she had ever had. Every day, greeting strangers and serving them.

After she passed, the restaurant decided to put on an event to celebrate her life. I expected a handful of people; family and friends. I got there early to help and to my surprise, the place was filling up before the event even began.

As the evening wore on, the restaurant became packed. There were between 150 and 200 people that came out to pay their respects and so many more who couldn’t make it because of other commitments. As I walked around talking to people, one theme stood out. It was her kindness and giving. Every person I talked to shared how she helped them in some way. Every person talked about how loving she was.

According to the world’s standards, her life would not be rated as a success. She worked one job, as a waitress, for her entire working career. She didn’t have a lot of money. She had no accolades to show for it. But what she didn’t have in those things, she made up for in love.

She loved well. She cared about people and made the effort to show it. Her life impacted so many people and made their world better and brighter. The love that poured from her in that restaurant changed that particular corner of the world.

Truly, what Jesus meant when he said “Love one another.”

Wanting More

17 The Lord replied to Moses, “I will indeed do what you have asked, for I look favorably on you, and I know you by name.”
18 Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”
19 The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. 20 But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. 22 As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.” Exodus 33:17-23 (NLT)

Moses and God had been having a conversation. God was ready to walk away from the Israelites. Moses was talking to him about how important it was that God go with them. Moses wanted a reassurance that God would be with them on the journey.

This reminds me so much of my conversations with God. “God, I know you want me to do this but I need to know that you are in it. I need assurances.”

God responded to Moses’ request for an assurance in an amazing way. Moses could not fully look at God and live. None of us can. God knew this and because he loved Moses and wanted to protect him, he allowed him to see a much diminished version of his glory. He took Moses from where he stood and put him in a place where Moses would be protected.

I don’t know about you but I, like Moses, always want to see more of God. I want to know he’s in this messy life with me. It’s almost like I want him to prove he is there. Admittedly, I probably want more than I can handle. If God answered my prayers and showed me all I told him I wanted to see, I would most likely not survive the event.

And our gracious God knows this. He could just say “Look, you won’t be able to handle it.” But he doesn’t. He shows us who he is in ways we can handle. He shows up so just like Moses we see enough to know it’s him but not so much we are overcome. He demonstrates his love and protection for us so we understand we are loved and that he is protecting us.

Moses’ experience with God did not end in this one encounter. He caught glimpses of who God was all throughout his life. So do we. Knowing God is not a one-time thing. It’s on ongoing adventure. You know the thing I love the most about this? Each time I experience him, it is just as life altering as it was every other time! And each time I am left wanting more.

Where Is Your Tent of Meeting?

7 It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting and set it up some distance from the camp. Everyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp.

8 Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. 9 As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents. 11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting. Exodus 33:7-11 (NLT)

It was Moses’ practice. When the Israelites set up camp, Moses would set up the Tent of Meeting. Whenever they moved (which was a lot), the Tent of Meeting would get set up outside the camp. And he would go talk to God there.

Moses was one busy guy. He was leading hundreds of thousands of people. He was responsible for them and everything that entailed. Not to mention that well, people are people and they can be challenging at times. I began to wonder about the journey Moses was on. Day in and day out. What an overwhelming job he had. Too much to do, not enough time. More than a human could possibly handle.

But Moses was not in it alone. God was in it with him and Moses throughout his journey spent alone time with God. He met him at the Tent of Meeting regularly to talk. He would disappear inside the tent and spend time lingering and listening and sharing. It was there he would get his inspiration. It was there God would share his wisdom and peace. It was in this place with God that Moses would once again be filled with the courage to continue.

Where is your Tent of Meeting? Do you have one? If you don’t, you should get one. We all need one-on-one time with God. You can’t accomplish your purpose without it.