Morning devotions

Encouragement in the Psalms

/ The Pastor

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!
[Psalm 102:1-2]

I like the Psalms. The range of emotion helps me put things into perspective.

There are Psalms of praise.
There are Psalms of lament and complaining.
There are Psalm of whining.

And then these Psalms usually end with some statement of God’s faithfulness.
Often times these Psalms follow this pattern:
“Where are you God”
“How long O God?”
“Why aren’t you listening to me?”

And then…

“God, you are awesome!”
“God, you are great!”
“God, you are worthy of praise!”

I read these Psalms and I am encouraged in my faith journey.  I am encouraged because I often feel the same way these psalmists feel…but I sometimes forget about God’s love and faithfulness.  You see…the God that the psalm’s is talking about is the God I want to get to know.  That is the God who I want to be close to.  That is the God I want to worship.  Scripture doesn’t promise an easy road, but Scripture does promise a faithful and loving God.

So lift your complaints, laments and whining to God but also know that God will not abandon you.  God will be faithful for you are his beloved child;  redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ.

That’s the God I want to know better.

edh -|—

Morning routine – Morning fuel

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

It’s amazing what happens when you shut off the TV in the morning.  It is amazing what you hear, notice and feel.  It’s amazing how peaceful it is.  It’s amazing how different your outlook can be.  And…it’s amazing how much I don’t miss my old, usual routine…which was (after I showered and got dressed in the morning):
–Make coffee and breakfast
–Turn on ESPN
–Boot up the computer and log into Facebook
–Multitask

That was the routine ~ each and every morning ~ but not anymore 🙂

Everything has changed…

I’m on the computer now and I have been on Facebook this morning, but I didn’t start my day that way.  And…the TV is still off, except for a 5 minute blurb earlier to watch a news story with my wife.

Lately I have found a new morning routine.  And it might surprise you that this is “new” for me considering I am a pastor for crying out loud.  Now, the routine is this (after I shower and get dressed of course):
–Make coffee and breakfast
–Boot up my Kindle Fire
–Read my Bible and other devotional readings
–Post scripture and devotional highlights straight to Facebook and Twitter
–Pray
And I do this while multitasking (eating and drinking coffee).

I like this routine.
I like starting my day like this.
I like filling my head and heart with God in the morning instead of sports.
I like sharing my God insights with people in the morning.

You see…how you start your day will go a long way in dictating how you approach each and everyday.  Do you start and approach your day from a worldly point of view?

OR…

Do you start and approach your day filled with God?

Trust me…it makes a huge difference.  But don’t get me wrong here.  I am not trying to give you some steps in having your best life now,  but rather how to have a better relationship with God NOW for that is what is important.  I still have bad days from time to time but the difference is that I am more aware of God’s presence and promises.  How the Timberwolves did last night is not going to help me during the day.

BUT…

Hearing stories of God’s faithfulness…well…that is just AWESOME.

What’s your morning routine?  Is God involved? Let’s fuel up correctly in the morning and praise God along the way 🙂

edh -|—