God of our salvation, Just as we come into your presence in great humility, we also come in the joy of spending time with each other in fellowship among like followers of Your Son Jesus. We are thankful for the time and for the presence of those who work so faithfully to bring this food and fellowship to our gathering. We pray for your blessing during our meal and the fellowship we will enjoy. Be with those among us who are not able to be here for whatever reason. Be with those of us who are suffering illness and those who care for them. Restore their health and bring them back into our midst is our prayer,in the name of Jesus , Amen
Now for a short devotion.
The theme of our get together today is game day
My, my, what a good idea that is, I can’t wait to get started
As it happens, that is the title of our devotion today
I can’t wait to get started.
I was 5 years old and on my very first day of school my mother had to walk with me to show me the way. I did not want to go to school, and resisted the whole way. Mother left me there just inside the doorway and returned home. I returned home by another route and actually beat her back home, and was there when she came in the door. I was taken back to school and into the classroom, and introduced to Ms. Hooper, my first grade teacher. Ms. Hooper was a strict disciplinarian and 15 minutes in the coat closet was her favorite form of punishment for wrong doers. That was the first lesson I learned at school, do not raise Ms. Hooper’s ire or punishment will ensue. That’s when I said to myself , “What a good idea school is, I can’t wait to get started”.
There are many times in life when we will have to do things that take us out of our comfort zone, That is just the way life is. First grade was it for me. I will never forget that first day. I actually thought to myself, “do I really have to do this for the rest of my life”?
There’s the story of Gideon for instance. God made a great warrior out of a small timid farmer who was deathly afraid to go into battle. God had a plan for him and would have it no other way. And soon he was leading his army into battle. Gideon probably said to himself, “What a good idea war is, I can’t wait to get started”.
For instance there’s The story of Noah, God used Noah to start his new world. Can you imagine Noah out in the desert, with God telling him to build an ark so that he can save his own family the worlds animal species, two by two, from a flood, that would destroy the rest of civilization. Noah probably said to himself. “Well o.k. we were tired of the desert anyway, I can’t wait to get started”.
And there’s the story of Jonah, God wanted him to go to Nineveh, and preach to a specific wicked and corrupt group of people about righteousness, repentance, and forgiveness. Jonah resisted, as these people would probably want to kill him. Jonah might have said to himself, “My what a good idea, I can’t wait to get started”.
Then there’s the story of Moses, Chosen by God to defy The Egyptian ruler Pharaoh and to deliver his people out of slavery, through the Red Sea, across a barren wilderness and into the Promised Land. Moses might have said to himself, “My what a good idea opposing the most powerful man in the world, I can’t wait to get started”.
Then of course we do not want to skip over Esther, what a great story. Esther, a beautiful woman destined to be the person God chooses to make justice for the Jews. Esther is God's choice as the Jewish queen of a Persian king Ahasuerus. King Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, refuses to obey him, and pose nude for all his friends to display her beauty. Then Esther is chosen for her beauty to replace her. Because Esther was placed in the palace “for such a time as this” (Esth. 4:14), we can trust God’s timing for placing us in different situations. It’s easy to struggle with timing; thinking that we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. But who knows? Maybe we are in the right place at the right time! What we can’t see with our eyes, we must believe with our hearts. Every human being goes through difficulties where God seems to be absent. This is nothing new. Esther encourages us that even if we can’t see God’s hand, to just be patient and step out in faith believing we are in the right place. Can't you just hear her speaking to God about this plan, (which could have cost her life if it had gone awry) "Hurry up Lord I can't wait to get started".
My, my, what a good idea that is, I can’t wait to get started
As it happens, that is the title of our devotion today
I can’t wait to get started.
I was 5 years old and on my very first day of school my mother had to walk with me to show me the way. I did not want to go to school, and resisted the whole way. Mother left me there just inside the doorway and returned home. I returned home by another route and actually beat her back home, and was there when she came in the door. I was taken back to school and into the classroom, and introduced to Ms. Hooper, my first grade teacher. Ms. Hooper was a strict disciplinarian and 15 minutes in the coat closet was her favorite form of punishment for wrong doers. That was the first lesson I learned at school, do not raise Ms. Hooper’s ire or punishment will ensue. That’s when I said to myself , “What a good idea school is, I can’t wait to get started”.
There are many times in life when we will have to do things that take us out of our comfort zone, That is just the way life is. First grade was it for me. I will never forget that first day. I actually thought to myself, “do I really have to do this for the rest of my life”?
There’s the story of Gideon for instance. God made a great warrior out of a small timid farmer who was deathly afraid to go into battle. God had a plan for him and would have it no other way. And soon he was leading his army into battle. Gideon probably said to himself, “What a good idea war is, I can’t wait to get started”.
For instance there’s The story of Noah, God used Noah to start his new world. Can you imagine Noah out in the desert, with God telling him to build an ark so that he can save his own family the worlds animal species, two by two, from a flood, that would destroy the rest of civilization. Noah probably said to himself. “Well o.k. we were tired of the desert anyway, I can’t wait to get started”.
And there’s the story of Jonah, God wanted him to go to Nineveh, and preach to a specific wicked and corrupt group of people about righteousness, repentance, and forgiveness. Jonah resisted, as these people would probably want to kill him. Jonah might have said to himself, “My what a good idea, I can’t wait to get started”.
Then there’s the story of Moses, Chosen by God to defy The Egyptian ruler Pharaoh and to deliver his people out of slavery, through the Red Sea, across a barren wilderness and into the Promised Land. Moses might have said to himself, “My what a good idea opposing the most powerful man in the world, I can’t wait to get started”.
Then of course we do not want to skip over Esther, what a great story. Esther, a beautiful woman destined to be the person God chooses to make justice for the Jews. Esther is God's choice as the Jewish queen of a Persian king Ahasuerus. King Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, refuses to obey him, and pose nude for all his friends to display her beauty. Then Esther is chosen for her beauty to replace her. Because Esther was placed in the palace “for such a time as this” (Esth. 4:14), we can trust God’s timing for placing us in different situations. It’s easy to struggle with timing; thinking that we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. But who knows? Maybe we are in the right place at the right time! What we can’t see with our eyes, we must believe with our hearts. Every human being goes through difficulties where God seems to be absent. This is nothing new. Esther encourages us that even if we can’t see God’s hand, to just be patient and step out in faith believing we are in the right place. Can't you just hear her speaking to God about this plan, (which could have cost her life if it had gone awry) "Hurry up Lord I can't wait to get started".
Very often in our every day existence we are faced with things that take us out of our comfort zone. Joining others in the service of our country, a worthy cause but not all that pleasant. Doing unpleasant chores, Working with unpleasant people, Taking the lead in a distasteful task. Taking care of the sick and afflicted doing the hard work of caring for a property, caring for our friends who need us, or for the homeless and misplaced people of our society. Just remember what Jesus said.
"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
The truth of this tale is that God has a plan for your life, and there is no resisting it. God uses regular down to earth ordinary individuals in his service to accomplish extraordinary results. Just as God used ordinary men and women throughout history to accomplish his purposes and even into the 21st century. God can use any or all of us in accomplishing his purposes for our world. Just as God sacrificed the life of his son Jesus and gave us a way to salvation if we trust him with our heart, repent of our sins and believe on him. If we do that, then God promises to remember our sin no more.
My, Isn’t that a good idea, I can’t wait to get started. Amen
"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
The truth of this tale is that God has a plan for your life, and there is no resisting it. God uses regular down to earth ordinary individuals in his service to accomplish extraordinary results. Just as God used ordinary men and women throughout history to accomplish his purposes and even into the 21st century. God can use any or all of us in accomplishing his purposes for our world. Just as God sacrificed the life of his son Jesus and gave us a way to salvation if we trust him with our heart, repent of our sins and believe on him. If we do that, then God promises to remember our sin no more.
My, Isn’t that a good idea, I can’t wait to get started. Amen
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