Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. [1 Peter 5:7 (TLB)]
For the Lord is watching his children, listening to their prayers. [1 Peter 3:12a (TLB)]
Every Thursday, my next-door neighbor has a standing two-hour appointment at the beach with a friend who lives about an hour north of here. Although marked on her calendar like a Bible study, committee meeting, doctor’s appointment, or book club, there’s nothing purposeful or especially important about their meeting. As she explained, the two simply meet to “catch up.” Unlike my neighbor, I’m more of a “let’s get down to business” than “let’s chat” type and, when I call or meet with someone, there’s usually a specific purpose for the contact. A few days ago, however, an old friend from our home town called for no reason other than to “catch up.” Neither of us had any important news; we just shared a little of what is going on in our lives. While the conversation accomplished nothing (and took me from my work), it was a much-appreciated blessing.
My friend’s call also caused me to reconsider the way I approach prayer. My daily prayer time tends to be structured and purpose-driven rather than as unplanned and spontaneous as a casual conversation with an old friend. Treating prayer a bit like a meeting with the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, I have my prayer list and an order of business; praise, thanks, confession, and intercession before finishing up with any of my personal concerns. While I may give thanks or offer a spur-of-the moment prayer during the day, I don’t “catch up” with God the way my neighbor does with her friend at the beach.
Prayer doesn’t require an appointment, objective, or plan; simply put, prayer is no more than talking to and fellowshipping with God. Today, I took a break from my work, sat out on the lanai, and caught up with God the way my neighbor does with her friend. As we spoke about some recent guests, I thanked God for the amazing way He brought us together nearly 50 years ago and shared my concerns about their health. We talked about the grands which led to prayers about the eldest one’s travel plans, her younger brother’s college applications, and a third one’s SATs. After we chatted about a devotion I’d been writing, I received some helpful insights that brought my scattered thoughts to a conclusion. I hadn’t really thought of any of those things as significant enough for prayer and it was only by doing some “catching up” with God that I found they were!
Maybe there is someone with whom you haven’t spoken in a while; if so, give them a call and do some catching up. While you’re at it, spend some quiet time with God and “catch up” with Him. Granted, as the one who orchestrates our lives, God knows everything that’s happening to us but that doesn’t mean He isn’t interested in catching up with us about the seemingly inconsequential matters anyway. We are told to give God all of our worries and cares, not just the ones we deem essential or of great consequence. We’re God’s children and there is nothing about a child’s life that a loving parent finds trivial or unimportant. If it’s important to us, it’s important to Him.
Prayer is simply talking to God like a friend and should be the easiest thing we do each day. [Joyce Meyer]
For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God. [Saint Teresa of Avila]
Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock’s purpose is to show the world how close it is to destroying itself with technology. Midnight on the clock indicates world-wide catastrophe and the end of the world as we know it. When it was reset for 2022 last week, the good news is that it’s no closer to midnight than last year. The bad news is that we remain at doom’s doorstep with only 100 seconds until midnight!
A friend asked if I thought a popular evangelist was a “false teacher.” Like many popular preachers, the man’s message is appealing: love, joy, praise, prosperity and plenty of positive thinking. His words are as pleasant as a mockingbird’s song but, upon closer inspection, he seems to be as dangerous as Paul’s “vicious wolves.” Parts of his message are unsupported by Biblical truth while other essential truths are missing. Jesus certainly didn’t win a popularity contest in the 1st century and I’m a bit suspicious of those preachers who seem more concerned with entertainment, popularity, wealth, and fame than gospel truth.
God directed Moses to build Him a miqdâsh, a sanctuary or sacred place. That there are 50 chapters of Scripture devoted to its construction tells us that it was of great importance to the Israelites. At first, this sanctuary was the holy tent known as the Tabernacle and, once completed, Scripture tells us the glory of the Lord filled it. In Solomon’s day, God’s sanctuary became the Temple in Jerusalem where it became the center of worship. Jewish law even demanded that every man had to make a pilgrimage to the Temple three times a year.
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. [Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NLT)]
In immersion baptism, a person is completely submerged in the water and, every time I witness a full immersion baptism done in the Gulf of Mexico, I think of what it must have been like when John baptized Jesus and the Holy Spirit descended on our Lord. Since the Greek word used to describe this event was baptizo, meaning to dip, sink, or submerge, we can safely assume His was a full immersion baptism.
