Before going to bed, during the night, and again this morning I prayed for pastors. The joke is Sunday is the only day they work but we all know that is not true. A pastor is on-call 24/7 and always ready to do whatever God puts before them. All believers should be ready to walk in obedience to what God desires of them. I am reminded of a quote by Elisabeth Elliott:
God's Word has all we need to know how we are to live. His Word has every bit of wisdom we need to make right decisions. It has great insight on how we are to live a life pleasing to the Lord. As we walk in obedience to Him we will realize what He desires of us. The only way to live is to allow Him to be Who He desires to be in our life so we can be who He desires us to be. Moses' words in Deuteronomy 30 give us the direction to choose life. Jesus had not even been born yet at the time of Moses. They lived under the Old Covenant. God expected him and the Israelites to keep that covenant by adhering to the Law and the practice of sacrifices when the Law was not kept. The Israelites had the choice to live by the Law or not. Today we have the choice to live by the New Covenant, Jesus or not. Deuteronomy 30:11-14 reads in the New International Version:
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
Verse fourteen is key in how we are to live. It shows the choice of living as He desires of us as we make the choice to live by His Word. I am reminded of a children's Sunday School lesson from a few weeks ago when I was teaching on the statement 'I Am the Bread of Life.' I told the children we need to live Jesus out every day. We need to 'eat' Him as our Bread of Life. Verse fourteen tells us when we have His Word in our heart we will live it out. That is the desire of my heart. As I prepare to go to church to worship with my church family I will rejoice. There is much to rejoice over. Last week we were unable to meet due to me having COVID. I already know of several not going to be there today due to travels, working, or being sick. I cannot allow that to take away my joy. God's Word tells me over and over again to be joyful. Therefore, I will find positives to look at instead of negatives. I will seek His will more intently so I can rejoice. I am reminded of a song Phil Wickham sings called "House of the Lord"...
There's joy
In the house of the Lord
There's joy in the house of the Lord today
And we won't be quiet
We shout out
Your praise
There's joy in the house of the Lord
Our God is surely in this place
And we won't be quiet
We shout out Your praise
Dear Jesus, Thank You for the time with new friends yesterday over lunch, the rest You provided afterward, the projects I was able to work on, and for loving on me so much! Thank You for the memories of both Doc and my Rickey that I cherished yesterday! Cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. I pray You will be seen/heard through my actions, attitude, thoughts, and words in the day ahead. Lord, You know I prayed for pastors before going to bed, when You woke me during the night, and again this morning. I pray we all will walk in obedience to You. I pray for the pastors at retreat to be renewed and ready to return to where You have placed them. Father, You know the obstacles before all of us in ministry. May You be greater than anything that comes before us. May we all lean into Your strength and wisdom. I pray the same for many going through 'tough' days. My Momma; my sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Tony and Madeline; Pete and Delores; Steve; Cade and Lauren; Cait; Mike; Norma Hall; Little Jensen who needs a heart; Sharon Sebolt and her Momma Shirley; the Pottenger Family; Serena and her husband; some young ladies with anxiety; a man in rehab for anger issues; a young man out of rehab who needs strength in his daily walk; a husband/father separated from his wife; Mary Lilley; Brooklyn with her broken arm; Kristen Batten; Preacher Bill Watts; those with COVID either themselves or in their family; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many who are dealing with 'c' and/or going through treatments...Doug and Gay; Patty's daughter Tracy; Sharon's daughter Ashley and niece Amy; Chrissy's cousins; George and Sharon; Cait's friend with leukemia; my pastor friend with daily chemo; Elaine Stoltzfus; Patti Perkins; Tammie; Little Ivy and Dorothy's grandson with leukemia; Betty's friend in New York' and my friend diagnosed with mesothelioma. I pray for: Jonathan whose mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor; a set of twins who were born premature; Baby Henry; and Kenny and Terri as Kenneth is deployed. Oh Lord, be so close to these families. Thank You Lord for being with Anna, Michael, Matt, and myself in these days without my Rickey with us. I pray we all will hold the memories close to our heart as we figure out how to do life without him. Thank You for being My Joy! Amen.
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