"My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. So I said, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away'....Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." (From Psalm 55)
Tire rotation and balance, and having lunch at local McDonald's while waiting for the car, aka, "just another day." Over the years in pastoral ministry, I have often thought of where people spend most of their time, and what I have done to help prepare, equip, encourage people in the arena where they spend most of their day to day living, e.g., waiting rooms, work place, schools, etc. The "average work week" in the United States of America is 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. It was very interesting to me that when I "googled" a question regarding how much time people spend in religious meetings, the only articles which came up were about pastors.
Most of David's psalms, as today's text, were not written in or for religious gatherings. They were written in the heat of battle, day to day living, his work as a shepherd/king, his struggles with temptation, sin, and, well, just what most people confront every day--------- everywhere. One of our good friends in our local church said to me as we were leaving the building yesterday, "Have a good week." We had just spent about two hours together in a, "service of the Word," and now we were all leaving to "have a...week," wherever that week takes us. As a pastor, I prayed for him, and all of us, that we go into our "good week" in the, "power of His resurrection," trusting Jesus, "Looking unto Jesus," following Jesus, "Abide in Me and I in you." And when we face, "pained within me,.. fearfulness and trembling...come upon me," or feel as though you want to, "fly away and be at rest", we would then realize the victorious power in what David declared, "Cast your burden on the Lord [Jesus Christ], and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that right now, right here, in this business establishment, I am Yours and You are Mine, You in me and I in You. "You shall sustain [me]." Amen.
Tire rotation and balance, and having lunch at local McDonald's while waiting for the car, aka, "just another day." Over the years in pastoral ministry, I have often thought of where people spend most of their time, and what I have done to help prepare, equip, encourage people in the arena where they spend most of their day to day living, e.g., waiting rooms, work place, schools, etc. The "average work week" in the United States of America is 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. It was very interesting to me that when I "googled" a question regarding how much time people spend in religious meetings, the only articles which came up were about pastors.
Most of David's psalms, as today's text, were not written in or for religious gatherings. They were written in the heat of battle, day to day living, his work as a shepherd/king, his struggles with temptation, sin, and, well, just what most people confront every day--------- everywhere. One of our good friends in our local church said to me as we were leaving the building yesterday, "Have a good week." We had just spent about two hours together in a, "service of the Word," and now we were all leaving to "have a...week," wherever that week takes us. As a pastor, I prayed for him, and all of us, that we go into our "good week" in the, "power of His resurrection," trusting Jesus, "Looking unto Jesus," following Jesus, "Abide in Me and I in you." And when we face, "pained within me,.. fearfulness and trembling...come upon me," or feel as though you want to, "fly away and be at rest", we would then realize the victorious power in what David declared, "Cast your burden on the Lord [Jesus Christ], and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You that right now, right here, in this business establishment, I am Yours and You are Mine, You in me and I in You. "You shall sustain [me]." Amen.
***********************
Still appreciating any prayers for our "good week" (three of them) in Berlin in October.
Still appreciating any prayers for our "good week" (three of them) in Berlin in October.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
