My dear friend Jerry wrote a message on his Facebook that began…. “As 2009 comes to an end I am reflecting on my....” This started me thinking….we are coming to the end of another decade – what did I do with my life?
It has been an interesting decade so far. I feel that I have grown in my walk with the Lord, and have helped others grow also. Who could ask for more? But I can always do better, move closer to the things of God.
God has had me on the move in the past years. I call these my “missionary journeys for the Lord.” Since 2000 I have moved cross country three times and was a member of seven wonderful churches. I have been a member of a church of a well known t.v. pastor that would fill with 1,000 each week, and a church that had 50 in attendance. I have had pastors that were soft-spoken and humble, and others that were outgoing firebrands, and everything in between. I have been blessed to have led women in Bible Study at each church.
With a year left in this decade it is a good time for me to not only reflect on what has passed, but to wonder what lies ahead. As a senior adult, and with the condition of the world, every year, every day counts. As I look ahead, and attempt to have a plan, I ask myself these questions – perhaps you might ask them of yourself also:
Where I am with the Lord? Am I still growing? Do I still have that wide-eyed wonder and reverence that I had as a new Christian?
I say I am growing, and say that I love the Lord. What things might indicate my spiritual growth and closeness to the Lord? Talk is cheap. Action speak louder than words.
Communication with the Lord. Do I pray? What do I pray for? Is my attitude, “God meet my needs,” or “ Thy will be done”? I need to pray more often.
Do I read the Word? Do I study the Word and seek to understand its meaning, and the message to me from the Lord? How much time to I spend studying the Word in relation to time I spend at the movies, reading magazines, or Christian fiction? How much time do I spend in the Word, even in relation to textbooks that I might be studying?
Church membership. Do I look forward to attending church? Is my focus worship, or entertainment? Is my focus worship or meeting my own needs? I want to always keep the sense of awe and reverence as I approach the Lord on “the Lord’s Day.” I want to have my attitude and attire reflect that I am approaching the Lord on ‘His Day.” It should never become just another day to me – I want it to be a special, set-apart day. Its all about Him, not about me.
Service and sacrifice. I love verse from Romans 12, to “…present my body a living sacrifice”…. But I can do better. A sacrifice is brought to the Lord, spotless, whole and dedicated. I want my entire life to be focused on the Lord. Like Anna in Luke 2, who “lived in the temple, praying and fasting.’ I want to be like Anna, totally given over to things of the Lord.
Attachment to the world. I want to separate myself from the world. This is difficult. The world surrounds me. Worldly people surround me in my family and in the community. My true family is in the church. I must come apart from things important to the world – “sex, drugs, rock and roll” as we used to say, represents the things of the world. Attachment to success, money and most of all attachment to “things.” I see this creeping into even the church family. Paul said that he was ‘content in all things.’ Let me remember that spiritual treasures are more important and longer lasting than earthly treasure and “things.”
What else…so much more….this is just a beginning. My prayer is that the year 2010 will be a decade of great change for me…that I might be not only tucked safely under the wing of the Lord, but that I am changing to be more and more like Jesus every day. That I am obedient and faithful. This is just the beginning.
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