Do You Know How To Live Your Best Self?
Good Morning Friends,
I was with a group of about sixty men yesterday morning discussing what it means to have influence and what it means for the Christian to be successful. We were discussing a TED Talk by Rick Warren about his experience of writing and in living The Purpose Driven Life. And as the book points out it was not about him but more about God and our relationship with God and each of us. And part of the take away from the experience was that God wants us to lay down our wealth and influence and power and identity for something better. We like Moses and his shepherd’s staff are to be used for God’s Glory in love of God and in love of our fellow humans. Along these lines in today’s devotional, we are to become witnesses to the silent work of influence and the visible manifestation of God combining to show the power of living more than prosperous lives but authentic lives. We like Solomon pray for power and fame but not to be greedy but to turn it into help for the needy. Do You Know How To Live Your Best Self?
Scripture: Prayer for Guidance and Support for the King of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name for ever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
Psalms 72 (NRSV)
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-4 (NRSV)
‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5: 13-16 (NRSV)
Message: Plain and simple, giving makes your brain happy. Love goes a long way when it comes to influencing people for Christ and in discovering our purpose. In the process God transforms us not just through the reading and understanding of the scriptures but in living the word. And in the reading of the Bible and praying each day, and in writing about it, somehow through the Holy Spirit, it exposes our motives, uncovers our faults so that our sins might be rebuked. Yes there is the law but also the Gospel of grace in the actions of love. It is at this point we begin to change as individuals, in our relationship with God and as a community of faith interacting in the world. We are called to action… to prayer. And if we are followers of Christ, we must also be doers of the Word. And so we read God’s Word putting word into action to improve our relationship with Him, our relationships with others and to improve our own character. This process of change is evaluated against the truths we find in the Bible as we increase our knowledge of the law and of God’s love. This process also repairs our lives so that we become more like Christ who teaches us what it is to be our best self. The Bible contains many radical and subversive teachings. Its call for us to side with the poor, the oppressed and the powerless is a direct threat to how business has always been done in the world. The call flows from the declaration that we are all created in the image of a Holy God and that in Christ, we are new creations of God’s Spirit. Our hope in following Christ is that we can reach beyond the limits of our human nature and discover our higher spiritual identity put to practical use. Embracing this call is an audacious act. It requires us to say no to the powerful voices within us and around us that encourage mediocrity, stagnation and a sense of entitlement. And friends, the best way I know to say no to everything that would stifle our growth and destroy our lives is to say yes to becoming our best selves and to help others become their best selves. The amazing Spirit of Truth is this… that in this unperceptive world that resists tasting and seeing God’s love, God has blessed us to be the silent work of influence, salt and the visible manifestation of God in people’s lives, light. It is our function to preserve and season life in a covenant of friendship with others, to reveal danger, dispel darkness, to show the way, to be a marker on the road. God has blessed us to flavor the world so that others might taste godliness and to bring out the God-colors in the world by bearing His light in us on the high ground…to taste boldly and see vividly. It is not about us but God does want us to influence others for good. Our purpose in life as Christians is to reflect the mind and will of God….to experience and share a Jesus of salt and light. We are to know Him as salt, the righteousness, the covenant of our friendship, the flavoring of sacrifice and the preservation and influence that is essential to life. We are to know Him as the light source, the divine presence, the illumination, the enlightenment, the light that dispels darkness and fear. And in the knowing we are to share the salt (money and influence) and shine the light (time and talent), all though our actions here in this world aimed toward heaven so the combined focus of love and attention is always on God.
Pray that we build values that reflect Godly influence in our lives. Pray we enlarge our vision. Pray we realize we were created in the image of God. Pray we embrace the power of positive thinking. Pray we live to give not to get. Pray we submit to God’s plan for how we are to experience joy.
Pray we realize that in meeting other people’s needs we meet our own. Pray we let our light shine so that others might see how God works in and through us. Pray we influence the world with our generosity.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 