DAY 306--ONLY GOD APPROVAL
2009-01-10

As I start today's worship time, Pandora is playing "Enough," by Chris Tomlin.

"All of you is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with your love
And all I have in you...is more than enough..."

Yes, Lord. You are more than enough for me.


Here's today's prayer for President Elect Obama from the Presidential Prayer Team.

For President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden to be guided by God as they seek a spiritual home in Washington, D.C.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another�and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
�Hebrews 10:24-25

O Awesome God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You reign in perfect fellowship together! In Your holy perfection, O God, You long for fellowship with Your creation. I praise You for making us with a need for fellowship with You and with one another. Thank You for the blessing and sweetness of fellowship, O God!

As I pray for the President- and Vice President-Elect and members of their families, I ask that You will guide and direct them as they consider which churches they will choose as their spiritual homes. O Lord, please lead them to a church, a pastoral team and a Body which can support and nurture them in their spiritual lives, so they may stay grounded in You. I ask this in Your holy name, amen.


I altered that prayer just a bit, in my own prayer, since I no longer believe that the "pastoral team" is a Biblical model for churches. I'm still part of one, but I haven't worked out, yet how that's going to come down.

Psalm for today: Psalm 142

I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low!
Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!
Bring me out of my prison, that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. Verses 5-7

I wrote a song years ago with verse 7 in it (using the NIV back then).


"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens;
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky;
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains;
Your justice flows like the ocean's tide.

I will lift my voice to worship you, my King!
I will find my strength in the shadow of your wings!"--Third Day


Day 306 in The Message//Remix:Solo

1 Thessalonians 2:3-8

In this passage, Paul makes it very clear that they were never after "crowd approval." Paul never wanted anything but "God approval." So Paul's message was free of error, ulterior motives or hidden agendas. Words were never used to butter up or serve as a smoke screen.

They also didn't throw their weight around as apostles, or tried to come across as "important." (Ever seen a preacher do that? I have.)

The author asks me to look back over the last week and see if there were decisions that were made in order to look good in the eyes of others. Right this moment, I can't remember any. On the other hand, neither can I remember making any on the basis of "God approval."

Can I live a day for "only God approval?" Can I live a week for that? How about an entire life? I don't know. But I can sure work on it. It's really hard work to step back from every decision and think about why it's being made. Maybe the hard thing is remembering to do that.


Father, I don't recall any recent instances when I was tempted to seek man's approval. For one thing, there aren't very many "men" whose approval I'm interested in. The problem is, I'm not interested in your approval often enough. It's not enough that I don't care about man's approval. I need to be actively seeking yours! So help me live each day seeking your approval. NOT trying to do works to make you love me. That's different. But to know that I did things that you approve of; to get to the end of a day (or a life) and hear you say, "Well done, faithful servant." That's my desire. Help me to focus my desire for acceptance and approval entirely on you.

So here's another goal: To try to remember to ask myself before every decision, "What is my motive? Is it to get approval from the crowd or to get approval from God?"

"You, O Lord, are the famous one, the famous one...the heavens declare, 'You're glorious! You're glorious!' Great is your name, beyond compare."--Chris Tomlin

Grace and peace, my friends!



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