In Pursuit of Things

Scripture Read: Hosea  [2:1] Say to your brothers, "Ammi," and to your sisters, "Ruhamah."  [2] "Contend with your mother, contend, For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband;  And let her put away her harlotry from her face, And her adultery from between her breasts,  [3] Lest I strip her naked And expose her as on the day when she was born. I will also make her like a wilderness, Make her like desert land,  And slay her with thirst.   [4] "Also, I will have no compassion on her children, Because they are children of harlotry.  [5] "For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.'  [6] "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.  [7] "And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them.  Then she will say, 'I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!'

Application: How deceitful the want of things is. We are deceived about their importance and the source that provides them. We make ourselves believe we need all of them – some we do – food, water etc, but not all. So then a desire has been labeled a need and we will drive for it no matter what the truth is. We also make ourselves believe these things can be attained outside of God. A job, a person, or a government will give us these things. Later in life, after much pursuit and wasted time we will come to the realization of the truth – but by then it will be to late. We will have lost the greater part of our life in pursuit of things that don’t really matter. God help me to stay balanced. Seeing needs as needs and desires as desires. Realizing that all of it comes from you – no matter what the surface provider might be. Some times I do look to other things as my source of pleasure or esteem or purpose. Help me remember Lord, that although you use many other things to meet my needs and make me feel fulfilled – in the end – it all flows from you!

Silence is not always Golden!

Scripture Read: Colossians 4: 7. Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.

Application: This is most likely the most frustrating issues to me about the body of Christ today. Communication is not a priority. Either we are so task oriented we come across as a detective  – "Just the facts ma’am"  – or we only communicate one side of the matter which makes it either all bad or all good – or we do not communicate at all. Consistently I find in the scriptures a flow of words. Especially when it comes between man and God. Should we not learn the lesson. Could not God have just told Job to shut up and eat the trials? He did not. He chose to begin a dialogue to help Job come to a point of reality. I am amazed with the techniques and manipulations we employ to silence people. The whole issue of prayer is that dialogue helps bring about resolution. I am amazed we can so easily tell someone to go pray about a situation, yet in the same breath try and restrict their need to share and bounce back and forth with another brother or sister their feelings about that situation. We also try to do too much political style damage control to either protect our image or God’s. I don’t see Paul doing this. He is sending someone deliberately to update the situations that were going on and help his family in Christ know what the real scoop is. I realize balance is needed, but I find far to often that the pendulum swings in the direction of people who desire control – not a clear understanding of the truth.

The Real Boss

Scripture Read: Colossians 3:18. Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19  Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. 20  Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21  Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. 22  Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25  Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

Do I live like these slaves were told to0? Do I approach each task as if I were serving the Lord? The answer is no. At times I become sloppy. I do not do the best I can do and more importantly I fail to remain consciously aware of Who I am serving. I need to be aware of that always. Help me Lord in my times of leisure and work to remember that at the end of the day I want to please You! No others, not even myself – because when the truth is realized – when I please You I will be in that place where I am truly pleased because I have Your peace in my life. If the world is upset at me for pleasing You the peace You give me will enable me to stand. Thanks Lord for reminding me that whether it be work or play – when I do it the way You would I will maximize the result.