.jpg)
Well, this is a recent record, three Sunday afternoons in a row!! Should a party be planned?? LOL Rob and I had a long day yesterday with being in the Holiday Parade along with our Londonderry Race Track boss and a couple of other Staff/drivers. Then my Nebraska Huskers lost by one score (again) to Wisconsin... In other news, pray for the sciatica that's been plaguing my right leg recently. I would really love it to go away...
So anyway, on to the "messagey" stuff --
Who's out there that loves planning?? Who out there hates it when plans change dramatically at the last minute (not in the direction you would have hoped)?? That's me, at least to some extent. I mean, I'm only just under the "edge of the umbrella" when it comes to Autism, so I'm more flexible than someone whose world is completely shattered when the plan changes. But it doesn't mean I have to like it every single time either. Even yesterday, for example. As of Friday afternoon, the plan was uncertain and I wasn't really wanting to attend the Parade unless our boss absolutely needed us there. I enjoy sleep... But between the facts that he did need us and that Rob had been semi-begging to go regardless because the Parade is a long-standing tradition for him both as a marcher and a spectator; I'm actually glad we ended up being a part of it*.
We humans really enjoy the feeling that we're in control of our lives, don't we?? We hold tight to plans even when things start to go "sideways" because, "this is MY PLAN, and this is WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN." Even if it's the last thing we do, right?? It doesn't matter to us what anyone else thinks or how they feel, or even what they know. We thought it out, so we need it to go our way no matter what. Pastor Matt shared a story like that this morning --
Back when he was a teen-ager in Youth Group, the Leader put Matt in charge of the Church Christmas Party or Youth party. Anyway, the theme decided upon was "Jesus' Birthday". Games, Food, Fun, decor all planned out and ready. Now of course, every birthday party needs a cake with candles, right?? Long story short here, the plan was for Matt to speak a bit ahead of the "big reveal" when the song would be sung. It was 1990 and appropriate numbers of long, colorful wax were purchased and lit. In the Church basement... Yeah... One guess why Party Planning was no longer assigned to Matt... Just Praise God that a Fire Extinguisher took care of the fire problem. Of course there was still a cake problem, but, y'know, small favors and all... LOL
So what does our "buddy" James have to say about all our "amazing plans"?? Let's look --
James 4:13-17
New International Version
Boasting About Tomorrow 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
_____________________________________________________________________
The truth about our holding so tightly to our own plans is this -- We may find ourselves "time-stressed" and end up stress sick. That's probably happened to many of us at one point or another. One Summer when my kids were probably 12, 9, and 6 or something, the schedule was so crazy that I had to make a 3 month calendar on a piece of poster board just to keep track!! Church Camp, Summer Camp, and Grammy and Grandpa in Maine, all or most with a degree of overlap!! We were never usually the type of parents to "over-schedule" our kids, but that Summer just ended up busier than most.
God's invitation via James in this week's passage is to trust Him for our plans. He's got tomorrow covered*. For that matter, He's got all the tomorrows covered... We just have to "go with the flow" and obey Him today. Wash, Rinse, Repeat... Every. Single. Day. Until Jesus' return. After that, it won't be an issue...
The first thing to understand before digging more deeply into the passage is the fact that God isn't inherently against planning. He just wants us to base our planning on His direction for our lives, and not our own desires. As mentioned in others of my blog posts, it's God's intention for us to participate in HIs plans. So really, it's a matter of our pride and boasting in our own plans as opposed to having responsible, "God-driven" plans. We know from other places in Scripture that responsibility is important to God*, we just have to flow with His priorities and go from there.
In reading today's passage, we see that it literally covers every aspect of planning that we look at when thinking things out for ourselves --
Time -- Full schedules = stress. We said as much above, but it bears repeating because many of you would see yourselves as lazy if you didn't have every block of time scheduled with something productive. Some take pride in a full schedule*. But what does verse 14 say?? We don't know the future, our lives are a mist in the larger scheme of things. Kinda knocks things down a bit doesn't he?? As we know, humility is big with God. He only brings it up, oh... several times per book... Right?? (mostly) And the language used here relates back to the Nation of Israel at different times in their history*. This would have made things all the clearer to those audience members receiving the letter. But when do we typically take time to think about how fragile our lives are?? Major accidents or funerals of those close to us, amiright?? It literally takes either a catastrophic change in the life of someone we know or its ending to really make us think about our own lives. God invites us to the freedom of a life of flourishing and abundance by resting in Him*. We see in Ps. 139 (among others) that God has our days numbered. Many of us know the old song by the Byrds that quotes from Ecclesiastes 3 where there is a time to every purpose under Heaven... Recognition of all this really puts our decisions in perspective and puts more importance on them. (or it should)
Purpose -- Our purposes should be anchored in God so that we're in obedience to Him and following through on HIs purposes of Love and Salvation shared to the World ultimately bringing Him glory. Not that He's prideful, but so we won't be.
Place -- We need to understand that God's plans are higher than ours. That means our lives won't always look how we expected them to. Pastor Matt also shared this morning that coming to New England for Graduate School from Michigan gave them a heart for this region. Needless to say, they were rather confused when God led them to Buffalo next, then Chicago!! They were "supposed to be" headed East, for goodness sake!! God places us in His locations for His purposes, in HIs timing. I've learned to trust that implicitly. These "differences" can be either geographical like Matt's, or situational, more like my own*.
Goals and reward -- These relate back to purpose. Money, "stuff", and status are finicky and fleeting. God's plans of Love, Salvation, and Eternal Life are solid and lasting.
In order to fix our priorities here, all need do is read verse 15. "...If it is the Lord's Will, we will live and do this or that." And again, this is not simply behavior modification. This is a deep and sincere change of heart towards God shown in our obedience to Him. Once we truly grasp the notion that God's plans are above all time and all other goals, we will trust Him and obey His Words. Literally the entire reason we are here is for Him to be present not only in us, but through us to those around us. Remember what it says in Prov. 16 verse 9, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Verses 16 and 17 finish out the passage by reminding us that all our pride and boasting are evil and that once we know what's right, we need to do it. Otherwise, we are sinning by omission. (as opposed to commission)
A good "guideline" to doing what's right can be found in Micah 6:8 where we are instructed to "Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly." Basically the Royal Law we've been talking so much about recently. And what were the Israelites told to do while Exiled in Babylon?? Basically, go on with your lives, but while you're here, pray for the peace of the city. Success for them means success for you. Exactly right...
So remember, take one day at a time, do what's in front of you today. We see Jesus' example of this in how He lived on Earth. He followed daily rhythms of obedience to the Father in humility. We can follow His example by following similar rhythms in our own lives. Four basic ways we can do this are as follows --
Develop a "discipline of silence". Make an intentional move toward quiet and/or solitude or a "pulling back" from social interactions. Just sit and enjoy the quiet presence of God for a few minutes.
Read Scripture. This will help you recognize God's voice/leading.
Prayer. No matter what form it takes, prayer is a time to thank, ask for something personally, or intercede for others. The important thing is to remember that it doesn't have to be "perfect" or "fancy" or long. Also that it's a conversation, so take some of the time to listen as needed.
Sabbath is always important. Literally in the "Top 10"!! But here's the thing, the word "sabbath" just means "rest". It may or may not have anything to do with worship or Church*. It's simply a "time-out" from your regular life. As Matt said, for him, Sunday is a workday. His "sabbath" time actually happens on Fridays. No matter when you do it, the day is for rest, relaxation, re-calibrating your heart and mind to God, and even for reconnecting with your family and having time for recreation.
I'll close with the challenge Pastor Matt gave us for the week -- Take at least 2 minutes 2x/day to just sit quiet and listen to God. (don't worry if your mind wanders, just the practice of quiet is good enough to start) ---- God Bless!!
Footnotes --
Glad we took part in the parade... As I've explained love before, "It's about taking random turns at putting the other person first." I wasn't going to, but I'm glad I "had to". :)
As one of my Prayer Partners likes to say, "God's got this!!"
Verses about responsible planning include, but are not limited to -- Prov. 6:8,13:6, 21:5, and 24:27. Also in the NT with the Parable of the Good Steward in Luke 12:42 and others.
"full schedule" You may notice when I include myself in the message and when I don't. I don't here, because I appreciate the value of "down-time", being mostly Introverted as I am. I understand the meaning behind the saying, "You can't pour from an empty cup." We would have an easier time of it if more people understood that concept.
Israel referred to as "mist" -- One place is in Hosea 6:4 when God is reprimanding the Tribe of Ephraim. (side thought here concerning mist. Is the Kansas song, "Dust in the Wind" talking about this same idea of life??)
God's invitation to rest in Him and have abundance -- Jn. 10:10, Matt. 11:28, etc...
Place of situation -- Personal 30 yr story in a nutshell here -- Northlands Job Corps June 1990 - Feb. 1992. First BF, Jeremy, appears in my life. Jan. 91, I'm dating someone else and get introduced to my now Ex-husband by a friend who's dating him. Skip ahead to March 2015. I find FB messages from Jeremy after having been divorced from Rich since 2011. Jeremy moves back from Nebraska for a while to be with me. Late 2016 - 2018. He moves back out there. I'm alone. Spring of 2019, Rob moves into my building. I meet him that Sept. keeping him at "arms length" because a girl has to be careful and all... March 2020, we all know what happened... during this time, I start letting Rob come over and just hang out. Then I was like, "Okay, I'll be his friend, but that's it. I'm NOT dealing with another Spec. Ed. BF!!" Jeremy was a challenge!! I finally listened to God's leading in May of this year. Yes, being with Rob is definitely challenging, but as long as I allow the good to outweigh the negative, it's worth it. I've come to realize that my re-connection with Jeremy was preparing me to meet Rob. We just never know what God has in store for our future, but we can trust that He knows best!!
Sabbath may or may not relate to Church -- I realize this comes as a shock to some, (you know who you are) but it's the truth. Anyone who doesn't like this fact will have to take it up with God later. ;)
Before I forget, I apologize for last week's "rant" concerning God's Will and the surrounding controversy. I just get really aggravated with wrong doctrine on public forums.
And just for the "hey" of it -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKP4cfU28vM
Comments