A Reminder

It always amazes me how I can take something as simple as Jesus' command to not worry and fail at it so utterly and completely.  Things seem to go well for a while, and then I just fall apart.  And, it is always the little things that reflect it.  This weekend it has been concern for a cat.  We brought a cat home on Thursday, and he just has not been well.  And I have worried.  But, as I think about it, worry over the cat is really just a surface reflection of the fact that I'm worried about a lot of things.  Family stuff. School planning. Upcoming conflicts. Church issues. The future.  The cat is just something present, tangible, and simple.  So, my worry about everything else shows up in my worry about a cat.


The reason my fight against worry spirals out of control is because I take Jesus out of it.  I can't avoid worry on my own, and He doesn't ask me to!  He knows that the only way I keep from worrying is by doing it His way.  That's why he gives me Phil 4:6 - the instruction to be thankful!


This morning I thanked Him for Jack the cat, prayed for wisdom, and then was immediately shown that God really does have Jack taken care of.  Immediately.  And, through that immediate reminder, He also showed me that even though I might not have immediately tangible encouragement in the other things I have been anxious about, He is working just as definitively in those areas as well. 



That's His peace - the peace promised in Phil 4:7. 


Every now and then I just need a reminder and a renewed commitment to present it all to Him with thankfulness, whether it is something huge or something as little as concern about a cat.  I am challenged today to use my mental energy to go through and give Him my anxieties, be thankful, and then let His consolations delight my soul (Ps 94:19) and his incomprehensible peace guard my heart and mind. 

Community

I have been trying to mull over Romans 1:9-13 for several days now, and it has been challenging me greatly.  On Sunday, it was about passion and unceasing prayer.  Monday it was about my witness.  Tuesday through today there have been thoughts that I haven’t really even been able to put into words.  I tried yesterday, but struggled.  I think today I’ve finally been able to narrow it down – it’s community.

I long to be close to my church family.  I long for the friendship and support.  The love and the intimacy that comes from feeling like they are a family, especially considering the geographical distance of my biological family.

But, Paul’s words to the Romans have challenged me to think about community with my church family in a deeper sense.  It’s not about friendship.  It’s not about family.  It’s not about being there in time of joy, sorrow, or need.  Yes, all of those things are important, but frequently I make them the be all and end all of the relationship.  In truth, they are the bi-product.

So, what is the foundation of community?  According to these verses, the foundation is an intense passion to encourage growth in one another.  Paul had never met the Roman church, but he had such a longing to be with them.  He had a passion that drove him to his knees continually for them.  He had an intense love for them – for people he’d never established a friendship with, people who had never physically met his needs or cried on his shoulder in time of sorrow.  All that existed between them was a hunger for growth together. 

That is the culmination of what has been challenging my heart this week – I am challenged to have that passion for my church.  To long for community in growth and to be passionate about seeing it happen.  So passionate that I am on my knees continually for my church family.  So passionate that I do not rest until we as a church family are growing together.  That is love, and from that will come the beauty of fellowship that I crave. 

Witness

For God whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you… Rom 1:9

My brain is trying to wrap around the concept of calling God as my witness for anything.  This is quite the bold statement.  God knows it all.  He knows my heart.  He knows my actions.  He knows the motivation behind those actions.  He knows how much I fight for my own rights – how much more concerned I am for my own life than for others.

Could I really call God as my witness?

If I were to be on trial on the hour, every hour, every day for all I had done the previous hour, would I really be bold enough to call God as my witness?  He holds my actions up against the standard of His Word – His Son.  That’s a pretty powerful standard.

As I passionately move through this life, I long to stand in purity before those I seek to reach, to whom I seek to minister.  The ultimate standard of that purity belongs to God.  I am challenged to spend each day – one day at a time, even one hour at a time – making sure that I stand clean before Him.  If I live my life with Him as my witness and defender, then I will succeed in honoring Him in all I do.  That is an idea that absolutely thrills my heart.