Process as Goal

From Oswald Chambers

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

ASk God today that we would seek to glorify Him in the planning of GBC as much as the execution.

Humility

Prov 11:2 - When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom.

Do you approach God in prayer with humility? Do you have a true concept of precisely who it is you are talking to? The miracleof God's love towards us is that He bothers at all -- we are so small by comparison as to be unnoticable. We should not, nay cannot, approach such power and immensity. To do so requires not only hubris, but an utter lack of understanding.

As you lift up GBC today -- approach God humbly and receive mercy.

Pray For The Church

Gracious Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.

At GBC we will be gathered as part of the church universal. It is good to pray on that basis. I thought this small liturgical prayer appropriate in that light.

Never Alone

Isa 63:15-17 - Look down from heaven, and see from Thy holy and glorious habitation; where are Thy zeal and Thy mighty deeds? The stirrings of Thy heart and Thy compassion are restrained toward me. For Thou art our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not recognize us. Thou, O LORD, art our Father, our Redeemer from of old is Thy name. Why, O LORD, dost Thou cause us to stray from Thy ways, and harden our heart from fearing Thee? Return for the sake of Thy servants, the tribes of Thy heritage.

I am always amazed when even the "great ones" like Isaih feel abandoned by God. But as the prophet does here, when we feel such abandonment, the answer is not to wallow in it, but to turn to God and tell Him about it. No matter what the concerns of your heart, you can turn to God in prayer.

Tools

From the Upper Room Devotional

Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you." - Matthew 7:7 (NRSV)

EVERY night before I go to sleep, I read a passage in the Bible and try to apply its message to my life. One night I found myself reading Numbers 7. But I could find no connection between the passage and the problems I faced trying to meet my many obligations as wife, mother, teacher, friend. I felt inadequate for any of these jobs.

As I turned off the lamp and drifted into sleep, I continued to think of Moses giving oxen and wagons to the Levites. My shoulders and neck ached as I recalled that the Kohathites were given no oxen or wagons; they carried on their shoulders the most holy things.

The next morning, when I woke up, I realized the story could indeed apply to my life. The Kohathites had been given what they needed to do the job the Lord had assigned them -- strong shoulders. Just as God gave the Kohathites what they needed for their task, so God has given me what I need to do the tasks I am called to do. The Kohathites remind me that I have different tools than others because my job is different. And I have the tools I need in order to do the job God has given me.

-Pat Jinkins (Wisconsin, U.S.A.)

We should not limit God in how we pray. We should rely on His wisdom to provide us with exactly the tools we need for the job. Pray for GBC that way today.

Lay Down...

Psalm 3:4-5 - I was crying to the LORD with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.

When we "cry out" to God, we should be so confident in His care that we sleep like a baby. Pray for GBC with that much faith today -- and if you lack the faith, ask God to supply it. Sleep well.

What To Pray For

In his list of things the New Testament Church prayed for John Piper includes the following.

They called on God to direct the use of the sword.
Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying through all prayer and supplication on every occasion... (Ephesians 6:17-18)

GBC is certainly not "the sword," but it should eb a weapon in God's arsenal. Pray today that it could be so.