do-ING it again

Saturday, August 1, 2020 (7:01 a.m.)

Holy God,

You’ve done it again. Or is that, You are do-ING it again? Yes Lord. You are active. Present. Doing it again!

I left our time together quite abruptly yesterday. The plan was to come right back and finish it up. I didn’t. Forgive me Lord.

Father, I love You. You are good. You provide for us. You remind us to look to You. Turn to You. Confess ourselves before You. Thank You God.

Thank You for bringing me immediately back to Your Word. Philippians 4:8.

I confess Dearest God, my tendency is to think the worse. Not the best. To offer resistance. Not forgiveness. Do all You must Blessed God.

Again, You are good. Your are holy. You are perfect. I am not. But I am made in Your image. So continue Your work in me Lord.

I come to You this morning truly seeking “love based living”. A phrase I just now came across. The idea that changing our minds can change our lives.

This is what Your Truth teaches Lord! Exactly where I was going to return yesterday. The Message, “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst, the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies” (vs. 8-9).

Surprise! I recognized verse 9 there. Not knowing ahead of time that it was included here. That would be You do-ING it again. Speaking plainly to us.

Thank You Father. It is so darn easy to fall back into old patterns. Grudge holding. Wall building. Your love, Your Truth lifts us up out of the mire.

Yes Lord. You lift us up. Set our feet on solid ground. Steadying us as we walk along. Giving us a new song to sing. Psalm 40:2-3.

Holy, blessed Father God, I am asking You to do all the things in me that only You can do. Changing my heart. My soul. My mind. And even my strength, that I would come to love as You would have me love (Mark 12:30-31). Wholly. Completely. Freely. Unhesitatingly.

The Life Recovery Bible comment for Psalm 40:1-5 tells us, “God’s timing is always worth waiting for. If we look to Him for help, He will rescue us from destruction and despair and from the things that hold us down. He will also bring stability to our life so we can move forward again with confidence and joy. If we are to experience God’s best for our life (which far exceeds anything we can imagine), we need to rely on Him alone and avoid any entanglements with those who could lead us away from God and His plan for us.”

Yes Lord. Please. All of that for each of us.

Too often I replay the hurt instead of the joy. The sad more readily outweighs the glad. Do the work that only You can do in righting my thinking Lord.

Philippians 4:8 that I didn’t finish yesterday sums it up perfectly. “So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising Him always” (The Passion Translation).

Holy God, I absolutely cannot do any of this on my own. You, however, can do it all. Please keep do-ING everything You must.

“4:4-9 True happiness can be found in every situation of life when we recognize that God is at work and always in control. Because Christ is with us and His return is certain, we can act calmly in pain and difficulty. Peace and joy come when we focus on those things that provide lasting value to our life. The more we commit ourself to knowing God’s will through prayer and study of His word, the better prepared we are to help ourself and others in the process of recovery” (The Life Recovery Bible comment).

I am in need of Your healing of my attitude Lord. And I am asking that You continue doing it all again. Thank You Father. I love You. Amen.

(747 words ~ 8:16 a.m.)