For wisdom for Tom Daschle, President Elect Obama�s choice of Secretary of Health and Human Services, that the healthcare needs of citizens will be met
This is what the Lord Almighty says: Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.
�Zechariah 7:9
Mighty God, all praise to You today for Your goodness, Your might and Your supreme wisdom. Thank You for choosing to live in us through Jesus Christ, and thank You for making us one in You, a people capable of showing compassion and mercy to each other.
Today we ask You to guide with Your wisdom and strength Tom Daschle, President-Elect Barack Obama�s choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services. The medical needs of our nation are great, Lord. From the young to the old, good health is a precious gift we cannot afford to take for granted. Give to Mr. Daschle, O God, the grace to champion the healthcare needs of all Americans. Do this, Lord, for us, to Your glory, in the name of Christ, amen.
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!" Verse 1
I remember this verse from a song that we sang when I was a child in church. We sang a lot of "Scripture Songs" back in those days and this verse made up one of them. Of course, we didn't have anything but the KJV back then. Or at least nobody used anything else.
Galatians 3:2-6
Paul is pretty much blasting the Galatians here for trying to do things in their own strength. He asks a number of questions in these few verses.
"How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you?"
"If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?"
"Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you?"
Tough questions, indeed. And honestly, none of them really challenges me, because I have long come to grips with the fact that I have done nothing to secure this great salvation, and I can certainly do nothing to complete it. It is all God. 100%. I am aware, though, of people who still insist on trying to work "their heads off to please God." While we do need to work for God, it is not to please or impress him. That was addressed in a previous entry, as well. And we DON'T work out of gratitude, either!! I remember a popular evangelism tool that expressed that sentiment. There is no Biblical truth to support that argument at all! We work out of obedience. Period. The things I do, I do because I love God and am eager to obey him. Yes, I am grateful, but there is no amount of work that I could do that could express that gratitude. It would almost be like trying to pay him back for his gift! Then it wouldn't be a gift, would it?
Sorry. Got off on a little tangent there, didn't I? Anyway...the truth is, God does not lavish us with provision and grace and mercy because of our efforts to please him. And, in reality, it isn't even because we trust him. It's because it is his good pleasure to do so. It pleases him to give us things. But when we trust him, it opens up a channel for more blessing.
All that being said, I do believe that he blesses our obedience with more blessings. So our work does not go unnoticed. It just does not accomplish anything towards that great salvation that is a pure gift. And that is what Paul is talking about to the Galatians. They have gotten confused and started trying to earn their salvation after receiving it as a gift!
Take several minutes to try stepping outside your usual "craziness." Taste what it could be like to see growth as a process of letting God "complete...what was begun by God." Rest in the presence of his Holy Spirit, "lavishly provide[d to] you." Don't worry about how you'll grow spiritually; don't try to make a plan for how you'll change yourself. Use this time to practice simply being, finding out what it is to be yourself in the presence of Love.
Grace and peace, friends!