Monday Recap

We may be living just one more day with the windows open…but soooo thankful for the respite of low humidity and cool temps this past week. This is the equivalent of a beach vacation in February!!

I am still mulling over a great sermon/teaching from our associate pastor yesterday. The third Sunday of a series on leadership, his focus was our own self-leadership. (Do yourself a favor and check out the video at firstdecatur.org to get the full message!)

He started out with the perspective he got of the evening traffic in Chicago from the window of a commuter plane. The constant flow of traffic, tail lights leaving/headlights coming…an unceasing cycle of cars coming and going. He likened it to the opening of the book of Ecclesiastes….meaningless….meaningless…the humdrum doing over and over the same things of life.

He said how strongly he felt that he doesn’t want to live his life that way. And yet, tasks done today will have to be done again tomorrow. This is the nature of our lives: repetition of duties, patterns that are necessary.

He gave a word picture of how our lives can be viewed from different perspectives, as if we were using the google map zoom feature.

We can pan out and get the big picture on a situation and then zoom in to ground level – the broad view of our role in a circumstance down to the details of what we do.

He gave us examples of relationship, work, and financial experiences. He pointed out that in each of those, there are cycles of good and bad seasons.

And then he showed us how if all we have are those cycles, then yes…it is all meaningless……

Unless….

like Solomon, the wisest man, the man God gave wisdom and discernment because he asked for it….

we figure out that….

God has to be our #1 priority.

That God is the ultimate purpose above all the roles, visions, goals, projects, actions of all of our relationships, work, ministries, finances, efforts, and even enjoyments….

He put it in these words, basically (because I can’t write and read the screen fast enough!!!)

When God is everything- then everything under the sun finds meaning. 

Basically, without God: everything under the sun (our best times and our worst times) is meaningless unless GOD trumps all of our perceptions and viewpoints.

All the hopes and plans and purposes of my life and yours will only find meaning when we first look to God to be above everything.

He used specific scenarios and applied God’s word to each one, showing us how to not just be “hearers” but “doers” of the Word!

The one statement for my personal take-away point for the day was when he targeted those who might be stuck with a ground level view. Mired in the “daily grind”, so to speak.

The antidote?

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s…he reminded us to lift up our eyes to the Lord, for all things are His

Philippians 4:6-7 …. in every situation, give thanks

Matthew 11:28-29…that Jesus has invited us to come to Him with our burdens and to partner with Him in His work…join HIM in what HE is doing….Labor alongside Him with HIS interests in mind…..

And in doing this, we put meaning back into what has become meaningless….

So thankful for a solid teaching on Sunday that can be applied on Monday!

May God bless you as you seek to put Him above all things in your life <3

 

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