Seek Me Early
Proverbs 8:17
17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Isaiah 55:6 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near;
When I was nineteen I, along with a handful of teens from church, visited three nursing homes along with two people who were housebound. We did this every Saturday from 9-4. Mrs. Schwarz delivered the Bible lesson, and our little group sang hymns and Southern Gospel songs.
Wherever I hear today’s scripture, my mind goes back to those early days when we were dedicated to delivering God’s message in Word and song and my heart is warmed.
Seek God early
Many years later I was the pastor in charge of the older congregation. I visited Assisted Living homes and private homes of folks who could no longer attend church services, and I was delighted to once again carry God’s Word, serve Holy Communion and listen to stories of people whose youth had long since passed.
Seek God early
Now it is I who am old and I wonder if I reach the point where I can no longer attend church if there will be someone to bring the Word to me. But until then, I will continue to get up early, read the Word, commune with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and give thanks with a grateful heart that I have had a relationship with the One, True and Living God, and that I have had the privilege of serving Him by serving His people.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My flesh will rest in hope
Psalms 16:7-11 7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life;
Do you ever wake up wondering why get up today? Some of us have no choice. Others may have sick days at work, but I don’t think any of us have call in tired days.
Whether we got up this morning ready to take on the world or we’re hoping to keep a low profile, we can know, believe and understand that God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble.
Last night we had a meeting at church called “Sisterhood.” This was our third monthly meeting focusing on knowing the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit has given each of us and discerning how we are to use them for the building up of the body.
I had looked forward to this meeting all day, but as the time approached my body just felt worn out. But I went anyway. Can any of you relate? I just could not let my body prevent me from receiving, and hopefully giving, a blessing.
May we determine we will keep God ever before us so that our hearts are glad and our glory rejoices, and we soldier on as long as we can.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Word Applied
Psalms 119:105-106 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
106 I have sworn and confirmed
That I will keep Your righteous judgments.
Psalms 119:159-160 159 Consider how I love Your precepts;
Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.
160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
If you have been reading the Bible long, you will recognize Psalm 119 as the lengthiest chapter in the Bible. It is written as an acrostic poem to call attention not just to the importance of reading God’s Word but studying it so that we might understand it and apply it to our lives.
As children we sang “thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” We memorized scripture, but do we truly understand the significance of the Bible in our lives? The world in which we live can be murky, and without a brightly shining lamp we can veer from the path. (I refer to it as the pathway of holiness.) But after we surrender to Jesus, we are no longer walking in darkness but in the light of His mercy and love.
It is crucial that we are connected to a church that implements a plan to lead us from the basic fundamentals of reading Scripture to understanding and applying it to our lives.
If we have a navigation system on our car but do not utilize it, then it does us no good. Likewise, if we simply read the Bible but fail to adhere to the instructions therein, we will become stuck in the rut of legalism, missing the love, mercy and grace we so desperately need.
May we stay in the Word, grow in the Word, and flourish in the Word, remembering Paul’s advice to Timothy, “2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Remain in Me and I Will Remain in You
John 15:1-5 1 “I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.
5 “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing.
This morning I would like to encourage you to examine the fruit you are producing. Just as an apple tree will not produce pears, Christ followers will only produce the fruit that originates with Christ.
Time as we know it is winding down. It is vital that we follow closely to Jesus so that we may produce good fruit.
Think for a moment of the example you set for others. Will Jesus continue to send people across your path if your fruit is dying on the vine?
We are disciples, and our primary intention should be to learn from the Master and then share that knowledge with others. May we purpose in our hearts to remain in Christ until we draw our last breath.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Hymn of Hope
Psalm 13:3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Today as my prayer list seems to be growing, I wanted to offer this psalm that includes both a plea for deliverance and a hymn of praise. The psalms are where I point people who are suffering from illness, grief, and other disappointments.
Why? Because in the psalms we can find hope, peace and relief from a multitude of life’s challenges.
I find it comforting to see that others gone before us have faced the same trials, but they have also found blessed relief. And the deliverance they experienced offers hope, and hope builds up our faith.
I’d like to close with a portion of this old hymn of the church.
When we All Get to Heaven
By Eliza Hewitt
- While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when trav’ling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.- When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!
- When we all get to heaven,
May we sing the songs of victory even before we reach heaven’s shores, knowing and believing that salvation is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 