Living in the Spirit
August 27, 2014
Scripture Reading: Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works. — 105:1-2
I must confess I get a little tired of those people who always see through rose colored glasses. They never see problems, everything is beautiful to them. I am probably a little jealous to be honest. Analytical by nature, I do see both the pros and the cons of life.
Recently I have been working on a business plan for one segment of our regional church’s responsibilities. The guideline I am following asked for a summary of the state of the entity about which I am writing. Declining membership, declining offerings, and staff cuts is depressing to write. It is true though, and it is something with which we must deal, if we are to carry out the mission of Christ.
I also read an editorial in a newspaper today about a poll that indicated the vast majority of the American public hold the perception that the Affordable Care Act has been a miserable failure. Not so by most measures, millions of people who did not have health care now do, computer glitches have been fixed. Negotiations have occurred with business to fix some areas that caused unexpected issues. The problem is that is not what we hear on the news. Every problem is breaking news that we hear ad nauseam while the successes, if told at all, are on the back page. And opponents of the law still rant regularly that it is the worst law ever implemented.
Psalm 105 starts out with exquisite praise of God then leads into reports of the horrible deeds done against the Israelites in Egypt. At the end it recognizes that God sent Moses and Aaron that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Isn’t that interesting? It does not say Moses subsequently led them out of bondage. It praises God for the privilege to serve God. In all our negativity that is something to think about.
Prayer: Almighty God, lead us forward as your servants knowing that our call is to serve, the results are yours. Amen.