Skip to main content

Every Good Work


And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (II Corinthians 9:8)

          God has blessed me. Oh, God had blessed me in so many ways, so abundantly. Some would say I’ve had an easy life, and they’re right. I hope that I have abounded in at least a few good works (please, no back patting.) As I head toward my home on the north coast, I hope to listen to lots of Scripture, but when I am not, I will have a lot to think about. And, wisdom, direction, and attitude require that I turn my attention to the future in a positive way. That’s not my natural inclination. 
          How often does a person get to start over? Some people, more than others. One of the things that I want to consider as I start over is what will allow me to abound in every good work? Getting a job? Where? Not getting a job? Getting back to my writing? Losing weight and getting in better shape? Those are a few of the answers. This summer will be a time of figuring things out. 
          It doesn’t have to take losing a job and a loved one (all at once) to come to a point where you can start asking about what good works God has blessed you so that you can do. But sometimes, if you’re like me, that’s the only time you can. One of the things I’ve learned is that you always start where you are, you always begin with the obvious. God doesn’t hide these things from people, believe it or not. I’ve known people who complained about God showing them His will for their lives, and in the next breath complain that someone should do something. Oh, but not them. This summer, I need to be asking, “Is it I, Lord?”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more