Not sure how many of you volunteered for this trip but welcome aboard! Here is a prayer that I will start with each day.
Good morning God.
I believe that you know everything about me. I believe that you are everywhere that I am. I believe that you have a purpose for my life and for this day. I pray that you will show me your presence today. I pray that I will slow down, quiet my mind, open my heart and eyes and look for a postcard from You.
I am grateful that because of Jesus I can boldly ask You for tender mercies today whether it is a day of great joy or profound sadness. I know whatever my circumstances that You are there. I believe you are all around me. I know because of your grace that there is nothing I can do to lose your approval. So would you show me your kindness, your beauty, your power, your comfort and your love today?
I pray this in Jesus name.
Each day will represent a chapter from Waking Up Slowly with a “grace” challenge at the end.
Today’s topic is overcoming the cultural messages we are bombarded with daily. Our culture has Information Fatigue Syndrome and Christians are just as infected by IFS as the general populace. Three-quarters of adults now use a social networking site of some kind. The average time spent on social networking sites is a staggering 16 minutes per hour. The answer suggested by one publication is a Digital Detox. That is defined (and I am not making this up) as “a period of time during which a person restrains from using electronic devices so one can focus on social interaction in the physical world.”
You might remember those activities by such labels as “talking to people” or “interacting with humans”. We are the most connected culture in history and yet, at the same time, the most disconnected from God and one another. We can’t get through a dinner without furtively glancing at our smart phone just in case some “important” message arrives. The hard truth is we need to be willing to disconnect to be able to connect.
For many of us this is a real relational, emotional and spiritual issue. So how do we reconnect with God and each other? We need a transformation in our heart and minds. Paul prescribed this to the church at Rome.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
I love the way Eugene Peterson fleshes out this verse and the process of renewing our minds in The Message.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)
It so easy to get caught up in the negatives that deluge us in this difficult season. Today I am going to put down the device and thank God for every seemingly mundane, good thing that comes my way. A hot cup of coffee or tea. A green light on your way to the grocery to find toilet paper. A favorite song playing. Laughter. A smile from a friend or stranger. A tasty treat. A cuddly dog. A beautiful tree or flower. A blue sky. What is your list of small and overlooked daily mercies? As we read in The Message…”Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”
The Grace Challenge…
Take a moment to reach out to others today. It becomes even more important now to reach out in personal ways even as we stay safely distanced. Today I will remind myself of this simple truth: The things I take for granted, countless others are longing to receive. As you focus on that truth, I think you will be amazed at how much work you and I need to do to transform our hearts and minds.
Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly.
I welcome your comments, thoughts, questions, concerns, and praises. Let’s talk!
Xris Pastore
Nice comment Fran. I agree. This isolation is an eye opener. I’m struggling with the hate and anger coming from our leaders and the misinformation and blame. I’m having hateful thoughts and struggle thinking we are being led by the anti-Christ. Thank you Dave for the prayer. I read it several times. I’m trying to keep the faith and will keep my eyes and ears open for Gods postcard. I did see it yesterday when I was handing out school lunches to homebound students and a random person stopped by to drop off bags of macaroni as a donation. She just walked in and left the bag and says hope this can help someone.
Fran F
“a period of time during which a person restrains from using electronic devices so one can focus on social interaction in the physical world.”
Interestingly, we are in a place now where through social distancing and self-isolation, for the most part we CAN’T interact in the physical world, and we are kind of stuck interacting only through social media. AND, if others are like me, I think it will make us start to LONG for “talking to people” in the real world … and maybe that will end up for good in the end (unless and until we then revert back to old habits)