What Makes Us Feel Alive?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we continue to draw from the daily lectionary with a passage from Psalm 35 and the beginning of the book of Ezekiel. And it is a story of God’s presence in our visions. To this we add a passage from Ephesians and are drawn to one question. What Makes Us Feel Alive?
Scripture: O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent. Do not be far from me, O Lord.
Psalm 35:22 (NIV)
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
Ezekiel 1:1 (NRSV)
You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Ephesians 2:1-5 (NRSV)
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’
Mark 1:17 (NRSV)
Message: What makes you feel alive? Is it moving, connecting, and learning? Is it evoking change, empowering the next generation, and engaging communities to themselves be alive. The problem is that something has gone terribly wrong in this world. We feel alive doing the wrong things. And doing what is right often feels so wrong to us. There is behind our desire for the bait a hook. What makes us feel alive for a moment can kill us. Too often for people the price paid for taking the bait is death. But there is a better thing than bait. Jesus can make you feel alive in a lasting way and in the end, not kill you but continue to give life.
Pray we are captured by God’s safety net of grace.
Pray that Christ come alive in our lives…in our hearts. Pray we reorganize our thinking and start looking for and anticipating God in our lives. Pray we begin to see history through the eyes of grace. Pray we not limit God. Pray we actually begin to feel right when we do right, and feel wrong when we do wrong.
Pray that the silence of God leads us to repentance. Pray that the silence of God lead us to restoration.
Pray we reorganize our thinking and start looking for and anticipating God in our lives. Pray we begin to see history through the eyes of grace. Pray we never reinforce bad behavior.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 