Tag: Trusting Jesus

Morning Musing: Matthew 6:31-32

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“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Do you really know who God is? How well do you know Him? Do you know what His character is? Those are all questions you may answer instinctively if you’ve been around the church long enough to be programmed to answer them in a certain way, or they may prompt a bit more reflectiveness in you. I’d like you to really give it some thought today. Yesterday at camp we talked about having a trusting heart. This is a heart that has a grasp of God’s character that goes beyond the surface. There are several places in the Scriptures that call us to have this kind of a heart. Here’s one we talked about yesterday.

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Morning…or Afternoon Musing: Ephesians 6:13d

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“…to take your stand.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We often imagine spiritual warfare in terms that have generally been set by Hollywood and popular media more broadly. The trouble is, that is almost never what it is really like. As we finish up breaking down the theme verde from camp this week, we’re going to focus on a word that Paul comes back to three times in this section and which gives us a better picture of what our real task is. Let’s talk about standing.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 5:15, 17, 20-22

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“So the Israelite foremen went in and cried for help to Pharaoh: ‘Why are you treating your servants this way?’ . . . But he said, ‘You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, “Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.”‘ . . . When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them, ‘May the Lord take note of you and judge,’ they said to them, ‘because you have made us reek to Pharaoh and his officials – putting a sword in their hand to kill us!’ So Moses went back to the Lord and asked, ‘Lord, why have you caused trouble for this people? And why did you ever send me?'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We like stories that have a happy ending. Just nearly all of our stories do too. In order to get to that happy ending, though, there is often a journey involved. And while sometimes that journey is short and smooth, there are other times when it is anything but that. Sometimes, in the beginning, it looks like there won’t be any journey at all. Instead, it appears that we are simply bound for failure, and everyone around us is worse off for our efforts. Let’s talk today about Pharaoh’s reaction to Moses and Aaron, and when our best efforts just seem to make a mess of things.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 12:43-44

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“Summoning his disciples, he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had – all she had to live on.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever had a perspective shift? Sometimes we get used to seeing things in one way, and never stop to think that there might be another way to look at them. Seeing things another way can bring a whole new world of understanding. Jesus and the disciples were observing a scene that everyone around them was accustomed to seeing in one way. He invited them to see things in a whole new light. Along the way, He gave us a new way to think about some things as well. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Luke 1:35-38

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“The angel replied to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth – even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ ‘See, I am the Lord’s servant.’ said Mary. ‘May it happen to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

A huge part of preparing for Jesus’ arrival means preparing ourselves for Him to do things that only God can do. In saying that, I don’t just mean we must prepare ourselves intellectually for His acting in unexpected or unbelievable ways. We need to prepare ourselves to join Him in those actions. We must prepare ourselves for a life of total obedience rooted in faith. Without that, we aren’t going to experience much of anything He wants to do. This kind of willingness is what started Jesus’ whole journey on earth. Let’s talk about it this morning.

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