Saturday, September 28, 2019

2019 #7 - Pick-me-Ups for Get-me-Downs

Hi Friends,

Recently I have taken a Sabbatical from writing or posting - the Daily Word that I normally write about THE WORD and send by email to many has been more of a Weekly Word of late as well - all this to say that the opportunity to soak-in without deadlines to press-out has served to refresh my Spirit and so thank you...I am most grateful :)

That brings me to that which the Lord laid on my heart and brought into my mind while taking a rest from writing - it's called "Pick-me-Ups" for "Get-me-Downs" and the essence of it is that we all must acknowledge sin before we can be healed by our Savior - now there's nothing extra-profound in that acute revelation of this age old truth save this: have we become increasingly confused about sin?

My conviction from Sabbatical rest is that in general - our culture and perhaps even the church at large has increasingly wandered far away from the standard of righteousness which is Jesus and found ourselves compromising truth with situational ethics - and so while that may not sound terribly exciting in our entertainment culture it's my ground-zero for ministry in culture by the church.

"Pick-me-Ups" for "Get-me-Downs" is about looking at the life of Jesus and following Him - it's about trusting Him and His ways over trusting other standards that change based on situations and thus are constantly changing - whereas Jesus is the same, yesterday, and forever and because of His perfect integrity the standard by which we measure life and success never changes.

So, yea, that's pretty much it - nothing that is going to win the Pulitzer Prize on this blog but one thing that will give you victory over sin and death and His name is Jesus and He is the standard by which life is lived to the full - the standard by which the Eternal Prize is received by any who trust Him and follow Him and allow Him to be their "Pick-me-Up" for their "Get-me-Downs".

Isaiah 2:11 says, “A day is coming when human pride will be ended, and human arrogance destroyed. Then the LORD alone will be exalted.” I encourage you to live each day with that day in mind: focus on the standard of Jesus and allow Him to shape the ethics of your situation rather than allowing your situation to shape your ethics.

“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due time. Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you” (I Peter 5:6-7). That plan is trustworthy for every situation in the world: focus on it, thank God for it, trust it when you can't see the next step the same way you can trust it when you can see for miles.

God is faithful: He made you, He knows you, and He loves and He won't ever forsake you in any situation...ask Him and He will pick-you-up now and He will continue to do it forever...just trust Him.

God's Peace and my Prayers,
Jeff