Well, here we are in 2010. If there could be a perfect year for a New Year’s resolution, this is it! No, it’s not the turn of the century, but it is the turn of the decade! So, now’s the time for renewal, to turn over a new leaf, to make a new effort to do something good in life. But I can’t help but to see a problem with all that. I don’t know about you, but I find it really difficult to do anything brand new in the middle of a Minnesota winter. Kicking a bad habit? Starting a good habit? Charging into a new workout routine? Brrrr. Just give me a hot chocolate, a blanket and let’s wait ‘til a thaw for changes like that!
Everyday Life
Fact is, we don’t need to wait for the “turn of the decade” to do good things in our everyday life. Every day is filled with choices. Many of those choices are made without really thinking at all. So we don’t actually see the good that could be done or the harm we may unintentionally be doing. Self-awareness can get us very far in life. Ask some questions of yourself. What am I putting into my body and my mind? Is it healthy? Is it God-pleasing? What’s coming out? Are my actions helpful and courteous? Do my words lift others up? Are my decisions more about self-preservation or about a better life for others?
Where’s God in Everyday Life?
Garbage in, garbage out. That’s basically what Jesus said. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6:21) For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matt. 12:34) In our world, it’s hard to miss the garbage. It’s even harder to pass up a juicy morsel of it either. I find it continually amazing that as we feast on our trash, we have a God willing to clean us all up… from the inside out. That’s what we have in Jesus. Jesus, God himself, became a human garbage dump for us. He took our trash and the whole world’s trash and heaped it upon himself so we could be sparkling clean from the inside out. By faith in Jesus, we have that cleansing. And it’s not just a spring cleaning. It’s every day.
Everyday God
God made today. He put the sun in the sky and the snow on the ground and the chill in the air. God put food on your plates even though the ground is frozen solid. God made this amazing thing called electricity to power our humble homes and warm our frozen water and wash our dirty clothes. God is now stretching the sunlight out a little more each day until soon the earth will warm up again and your New Year’s resolutions can breathe new life. God gives you His cleansing through Jesus and puts you in situations to do good. Maybe that good is to say a nice word, to smile brightly or to help someone. Maybe that good is to make today a day to refrain from things harmful to yourself or others. Maybe that good is to share the message of Jesus with someone who really needs to hear it. God made 2010. God made you to live in it everyday with Him… our everyday God.
Blessings,
Pastor Seabaugh