Focus
Experience silence in the midst of your busy day. Take some time to relax into a time to be with God.
Read
Psalm 119: 33-40
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,
and I will observe it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
36 Turn my heart to your decrees,
and not to selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
give me life in your ways.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,
which is for those who fear you.
39 Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
for your ordinances are good.
40 See, I have longed for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life.
Reflect
I have a confession to make. Call me a church polity nerd, but I really missed General Assembly this summer. I missed the committee meetings, the general business itself, the worship services, the CPWM Convention, and the children’s Connect “meetings” as my 7-year old son Benjamin calls them. I missed hauling groups in our church van to events and gatherings outside the convention hotel. I missed gathering with friends from across our denomination, as well as the fellowship with our CPCA brothers and sisters most of all.
Don’t get me wrong. As a minister, the General Assembly is a workweek and a hard one at times. At the forefront of your mind is how you are representing your congregation and your presbytery, as well as what effects the decisions of the General Assembly will have on these lower judicatories. The issues facing our church can create division, long committee meetings, and stress. But somehow, being in the presence of your extended Cumberland Presbyterian family, it makes the task that some may see as dull, routine, and boring to be a joy to share with one another.
Some view rules and laws as binding, dull, boring, taking all the fun away, but God’s laws are perfect. Instead of dull, boring, and taking the life away, it is just the opposite- they give happiness and joy in life. The Psalmist loves and longs for God’s statutes and laws because they know their life is found in God’s perfect laws. Do we look upon God’s laws as a list of “Thou shalt nots”, or do we find fulfillment and joy in God’s life-giving commands?
Pray
Creator God, so many things in the world tend to bind us, trap us, and pull the life out of us. Draw us closer to you. Teach us your ways, give us understanding, lead us, and turn us to you that we may find your joy and freedom in life. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
Go with God!
