For a wise and godly choice of the President�s Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, that our environment may be wisely cared for
God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning�the sixth day.
�Genesis 1:31
O creative and glorious God, You have made all things in Your love and extraordinary wisdom. You�ve shown Yourself in the glory of creation by making it vast, diverse colorful and beautiful. And You�ve made us with the capacity to be drawn to beauty of every kind. Thank You, O God for revealing Yourself in the created order. I praise You for this!
Forgive us, O God, for the ways we have knowingly and unknowingly damaged Your creation. As the new president assembles those who will serve on his team, I ask You to raise up the very best person to lead the Environmental Protection Agency�someone who loves You and loves the creation You have made and who will work diligently to safeguard it. I ask this in Your loving name, amen.
The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back:
"One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies that I shall teach them, their sons also forever shall sit on your throne." Verses 11-12
Ephesians 5:15-20
God's timing is amazing to me, sometimes. It's taken me well over a year to go through this devotion book, and I'm still close to 70 days away from finishing it. Yet the passage I'm reading today fits perfectly for the last day of 2008! Thank you, God!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.
Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.
Wow. What a great Scripture passage to bring in a new year!
What does it mean to "live carelessly?" Different things to different people, I'm sure. To me, it means just toodling along through life without paying much attention to anything else. It means playing fast and loose with the rules. People who waste their lives on drugs and booze and immorality are, in my opinion, living carelessly. I've lived carelessly many times in the past. It basically means to live however you want, taking no thought of anyone else or even the consequences that may come as a result. Refer back to the song I quoted a few entries back, "The Lust, the Flesh, the Eyes, and the Pride of Life," by the 77s. Perfect example of living carelessly.
How do you "drink" the Spirit of God?? That's a good question. We all know how to drink wine. I like that Paul exhorts us to not drink "too much" wine. He doesn't say don't drink it at all. Growing up a Baptist, I was taught that all alcohol consumption is sinful. The Bible just doesn't teach that. Not at all.
But how do we "drink" the Spirit? Have you ever felt like you were "drinking" in a beautiful view of mountains or a lake or something like that? We stood in front of a beautiful waterfall in Grand Teton National Park a few years ago (by the way, now is not a good time to go there, because I think Yellowstone is about to erupt!) and "drank" it in. We just soaked in the beauty of the scene.
So to "drink" the Spirit of God...there might be several ways to do this. I believe that the primary way is through Bible reading and meditation. Perhaps coming across a meaningful passage of Scripture and just sitting back and absorbing it, deep in thought. Letting the Spirit of God saturate your spirit.
I think that is the phrase in this passage that stands out the most to me, too. "Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him." Of course, I like the parts about singing songs of praise, too, since that's kind of a big part of my life.
May your 2009 be filled with his blessings!!
Grace and peace, friends!`