Newness of Life on the Roads We Travel.

  I know a lot of roads. Well, not really a huge amount, but living in a vast and sprawling city it is good to know at least several ways of getting to and from work when delays and detours are such a common occurence.  There are also roads I have traveled that are good for reflecting or for Sunday drives. One thing I have always enjoyed is taking a drive and sliding in a new CD to listen and ride, maybe even sing along if no one is listening.  And then there are the familiar routes that are the way home, traveled countless times but bringing countless joy as we anticipate seeing those we love and the comforts of the place we hang our hats and our hearts.
  As I think about walking in newness of life (abundant life of knowing Christ and living to obey Him and serve Him joyfully), it is easy to reflect on the roads we travel along the way. The jobs we work and the projects we complete and the hard work we put in are a road traveled.  Another road is the time we have with family and friends, all the relationships we kindle and tend to along the way. One more street we navigate is the enjoyments we have in life, different for each of us, but a necessary part of surviving and thriving the course of everyday living.  All roads are taking us somewhere, all have a destination to be found.  As I struggle through the obstacles that sometimes cloud my view on the road, I love that I can press on according to God's direction, if only I diligently seek Him.

  "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14

  The roads we travel are not exactly always easy, but as we press on toward knowing God more by reading and reflecting on His word and spending time listening to His faithful servants declaring His Truth and enjoying music that brings fame to His name and drawing us closer to Him, the prize is treasured - being more and more like Jesus and bringing others to Him.

  "Staying on track in life means going down the biblical path.  The psalmist loved, read, meditated on, and prayed through God's Word.  As he did those things, He discovered that the Bible is like a smooth pathway fir a difficult journey...The ancient path, the good way, is the Bible."- Philip Graham Ryken
"I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." - Psalm 119:32

  As we travel today, working or family time or celebrating the joy of knowing Him and longing for our true home in Heaven, be encouraged that His love never changes and never ends. His goodness and grace is able to be seen wherever the next bend in the road takes you.
  A prayer:
  Father, so many places to go and so many things to do, but I want to remember you and be thankful for your guidance and direction on the roads of life. Please help me to press on and stay on course to bring you glory and know you more. I pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Newness of Life In Diligence.

  Working hard is good for the soul. It is almost hard to believe that I can look back on over 22 years of working at the various places I have been employed.  That is just a drop in the bucket compared to some folks I know, but I  have strived to put forth a good effort with a good work ethic at each place I have toiled.  A big part of it I owe to the excellent teaching of my parents.  But it is also a dynamic choice one makes as we live and move on this earth. How hard and much we work plays a huge part in the unfolding dramas of our lives.  Some live to work and others work to live.  Each of us ultimately decides on which side of the balance beam we fall to. 
  The truth is captured by James Merritt, who writes, "One of the greatest lessons you will ever teach your kids is that all work is valuable.  All work can and should be done for the glory of God.  The sum of the matter is found in this simple statement: 'In all labor there is profit' (Proverbs 14:23)."

Just as in our vocational life, we have a calling to diligence (constant and persistent attention to one's work) in the most important endeavour of all of life - our relationship with Almighty God.  As we contemplate diligence, we can look at hard work in dicipleship, delivering on our word, and deciding to be compassionate.
  "...giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."- 2 Peter 1:5-8
  Read that scripture passage again, slowly, and take it in. See the promise of knowing God more if you begin with diligence.

  Walking in newness of life definitely includes discipleship, the growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus and becoming more like Him.  Reading God's Word is key.  The Bible can and will absolutely change your life - but you have to read it.  You will get the direction you need and long for.  As David Jeremiah so aptly says, "God has His own Route 66, it is the 66 books of the Bible."  Become a true disciple of His and enjoy the unfolding adventure.
  Diligence in delivering on your word is key to every single relationship you have.  Honesty, clear crisp honesty, will refresh each heart touched by it. Honesty is vital for integrity.  Honesty is not just the "best" policy, it should be the only policy.
  Then there is the rewarding hard work of deciding on compassion. Simply, look for opportunities to help those who need it, even if they might not seem to deserve it.  Pray for natural opportunities to share a cup of cold water with a thirsty soul and let them know the Hope you have.

Pray something like this from your heart:
Father in Heaven, please let me know this very day who needs a hand.  Please help me know you more and live out the faith you have measured to me.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
 

Newness of Life In the Winds of Change.

  Change is good but it doesn't always feel good. It is inevitable. Seasons change, and the wind blows through bringing light differences and sometimes noticeable ones that cause us to chart new courses or develop new strategies or learn patience or simply learn to trust.  God is sovereign, in complete control, and we can know that He does not change.  He is steady, immovable, awesome in power and a refuge for any who place their trust in Him.
  Winds of change can help us to develop patience, perseverance, and progress (transformation).
  As you walk in newness of life, and changes roll up the road to meet you head on, patience can be cultivated by thinking and reflecting on the hope of heaven that we have as children of God.  When we go to God's Word and study and know what He lets us know about our eternal home, patience has a much more comforting effect on us.
  The perseverance that can arrive as we deal with change is sprung from an attitude of gratitude.  I believe attitude is the difference maker in approaching change and especially difficult changes.
  Chuck Swindoll wrote, "Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life.  The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it."
  I am also amazed at how changes can help bring progress or transformation to our lives.  It requires us to make choices, do hard things that are best for us, and help us to remember that it is not all about me.  It is really about Jesus, and what He has done and sharing the good news of the gospel. And as we live with that eternal perspective instead of our natural temporal one, we can be transformed into being more and more like He wants us to - more like Jesus.
  "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:1-2
  Take heart when changes blow in and walk in confidence as you lean on His understanding. Believe me, He knows best.
  A prayer:
Father, please help me to delight in what matters to You, so that when inevitable changes come, I will choose wisely and trust in You alone.

Newness of Life With Living Water.

  There's a small waterfall down the road from me that I pass by as I walk most every day.  It isn't quite Angel Falls or Niagara Falls or even Desoto Falls (pictured), but I take what I can get living out in the Arizona desert. There simply is not much water to be seen, except the canals that flow at angles throughout the city. Water can very much have a calming, comforting effect. This is why people flock to the waterside, beaches or rivers or lakes, even pools, during getaways and vacation stays.  Some folks are even blessed to have waterfront properties.  Water also has the refreshment factor to it, on hot summer days. It can also have healing effects and bring healthiness to life.
  Walking in the newness of life, which is walking in relationship with God by His grace, is actually made possible by His Living Water, a name given of Jesus in God's Word.  When we think about how He saved us from sin by His death on the cross and rising again, we know about how we are healed by Him, refreshed by Him, find calming peace in Him, and complete satisfaction in Him.

"O, God, You are my God; I earnestly search for You.  My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water."- Psalm 63:1

"You are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."- Psalm 36:9

  He says that he will lead us beside still waters in Psalm 23. He lets us know that, though life can be grueling and incredibly hard sometimes, there is a place of peace, when we run to Him for help.
  Speaking of the rest and peace His living water brings, Sheila Cragg writes, "The Lord Himself is inviting us to follow Him to a place of peaceful quietness for personal restoration, to find a place of solitude for spiritual recuperation.  Come, sit at the place He's set for you.  He longs to serve you, so let His healing Word quench your thirst; let His tender mercy refresh your starved soul; let His gracious love awaken your spiritual passion."
  He also refreshes us. He gives us exactly what we need to keep going, keep fighting the good fight of faith, keep on keeping on in the heat of summer or the heat of battles of stressful jobs and stressful events of life.
  He may also give us healing water, washing over us to help us in the adventure and sometime struggles if life.  For me, when depression knocks on the door and sometimes rudely breaks it down, I am forever thankful to God for healing water in the form of cherished promises from His Word, faithful friends and family who encourage and comfort, and circumstances that point to God's sovereignty and goodness.
 
A prayer:
  Heavenly Father, thank you for the refreshments of crisp, cool water for my body and my soul. I love you , LORD, and grateful always for the chance to see the still waters you bring me to for restoration and reassurances. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Newness of Life in Life's Storms.

As I think about and pray for the people in Oklahoma this week, who have faced the fierce storms wreaking havoc in neighborhoods and lives, I reflect on how storms blow into life sometimes, sometimes so unexpectedly.
  Walking in newness of life compels me to have a made-up mind, drawing strength from God, who calms storms and circumstances and holds us in the midst of them.
  In Arizona, not many thunderstorms and dangerous windstorms show themselves. Only the dust storms blast through in the hottest parts of summer, but rarely leave devastating marks on lives. Storms are inevitable though, anywhere you live. Each life also has storms of varying degrees that can bring destruction.
  Robert Murray McCheyne wrote, "You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast wilderness.  He is like a rock rising above the storm.  He is like a rose blooming in the midst of desolation."
  "He calms the storm, so that its waves are still."- Psalm 107:29
  To see the calm and know the stillness of our soul, we can do well to remember, realign and relax.
  We can remember a few thing about God's unending lovingkindness.  Remembering Him in our more prosperous times as the source of our blessings helps us not to doubt Him when struggles show up.  Remembering also that sometimes we have more troubles with ourselves that with anyone else helps us to run to God in repentance and run towards others with compassion and charity.
  As we examine ourselves and get refreshed by God in reading His Word and trusting Him more, we realign with His purpose for us, helping us in the midst of any storm.
  And we learn to relax, discarding worries that seem to weigh us down in our walk, as we trust God's promises to us.  One way to do so is to remember the Sabbath. A time that is essential and not just a suggestion, but actually our reasonable expectation, a command of truth that we can learn to hold to.
 
A prayer:
Father in Heaven, please help me to face all the tough things with resilience and to look to You in dependency.  I need Your strength.  In Jesus's name, Amen.