Each Day Already is a Challenge

Sunday Notes

Our pastor was on vacation with his family - skiing in West Virginia - on Sunday. We watched a video for our sermon. Usually, I prefer hearing the testimony of a lay speaker or a real, live substitute pastor/teacher/speaker to watching a video. (Maybe it's an age thing?) But I did enjoy the video on Sunday. We heard one part of a two part message by John Ortberg. I doubt we'll hear the second part, but part one stood alone quite nicely. If that name sounds familiar, you might have seen some of his books. He's the author of If You Want to Walk on Water, You'Ve Got to Get Out of the Boat and others. He's also the teaching pastor at a church in Menlo Park, CA.

Anyway...Ortberg started by talking about how many people the Bible mentions as walking with God or where the phrase, "God was with _________(fill in the blank)." That's certainly true. If you look, you'll see that "the Lord was with Joseph" and "Noah walked with God." There are many other examples. Okay...

I copied a phrase that Ortberg said, "It's better to be in the desert with God than in the promised land without God." Amen.

He talked about how the day really begins at night and that God created evening and morning. He reminded us that other cultures and faiths begin celebrating feasts or holidays or holy days at sundown. And he talked about how we should leave our burdens and requests for God at the end of the day. We can sleep - well and soundly - knowing that God will be up all night taking care of us and of those problems we relinquished. Hmmm.

He said that how you sleep sets the tone for the next day. If you go to bed stressed, you'll like wake up stressed and that not only sets the tone for the day, but it becomes your normal pattern.

After learning to de-stress and to give our burdens to God at night, we also need to learn to wake up with God. Perhaps even before putting our feet on the ground, we should talk with God and invite Him to be with us throughout the day. God is a polite God. He won't just intrude on our lives. He waits for our invitation, and we need to learn and remember to extend that invitation each and every day. Won't our days be different if we know that we have asked God to be with us throughout the day? If we know that He is with us as we act and react to the world around us?

Ortberg suggested that we:
1) Start the day with God by acknowledging our dependance upon Him.
2) Identify our fears and remove them from our lives by just allowing God to take them over for us.
3) Renew our invitation to have Jesus spend the day with us each and every day.
4) Know that our Spirits are fed by words - good or bad words. So getting close to God, reading His word and talking with Him and allowing Him to talk with us is important - to counteract the negative and bad words that will try to feed our Spirits throughout the day. He suggested that we grasp onto some of the Bible verses like Phil 4:13 and recite them to ourselves and think about them through the day. He suggested finding other such verses, ones that give positive statements about who God is and about His strength and repeat them throughout the day - to help combat negative influences. And to give us strength.
5) Allow interruptions by God. Be open to God's Holy Spirit and ask for discerning when interruptions do occur, so that you can tell the difference between an annoyance and a God opportunity. Ortberg said that what looked like the worst interruption of all - the interruption of Christ's ministry - turned out to be the greasest service of all. Now that's something to ponder - and remember - when that irritating neighbor knocks on your door - again. Does she just want to chit-chat again? Or is she wanting some of that joy you have? The Holy Spirit can help us know the difference.
6) Show confidence. Knowing that God is at your side - all day long - should help you exhibit more confidence.

Ortberg said that if we really do invite Dad to be with us throughout the day - the whole day - then eating too much shouldn't really be a problem. Nor should starting or stopping another habit or activity. Not if we know that He is ready to wrap His arms around us throughout the day to help us get through anything.

The whole bunch of us laughed when Ortberg talked about our fast food eating habits. He said, "There you are with two Big-Macs in front of you and 70 grams of fat and you're asking God to bless this food to your nourishment. That's asking for a miracle!"

Now that's a fact. What are we thinking???????