Focus

Experience silence in the midst of your busy day. Take some time to relax into a time to be with God.

 

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Read

Psalm 76 (NRSV)

In Judah God is known,
his name is great in Israel.
His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
Glorious are you, more majestic
than the everlasting mountains.
The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
was able to lift a hand.
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
But you indeed are awesome!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still
when God rose up to establish judgment,
to save all the oppressed of the earth. Selah
Human wrath serves only to praise you,
when you bind the last bit of your wrath around you.
Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them;
let all who are around him bring gifts
to the one who is awesome,
who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.

 

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Reflect

I hate Mondays. That is a common phrase I hear often. I understand where you are coming from. Monday is your time to get back in to the workweek grind. As a pastor I look at Mondays a little differently. Monday is my time to step back and refocus. No matter how we face Monday, the reality is it exists and we know what is expected.

The writer of Psalm 76 starts out with these words, “In Judah God is known…” These are interesting words with great implications. Is God known in some places and not in others? Think about those words.

For you and me reading those words, we have a great opportunity if we can rationalize that all people do not know God. That is a hard rationalization for us who live with the internet at our fingertips. Contemplate the idea that information does not equal knowing. Think of it this way, you may know your neighbor’s name and even some things about them, but at the same time not know them. I am suggesting that knowing implies relationship.

The challenge for Christians is not to assume that God is known by all.

 

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Pray

May the Spirit of God awaken within you the opportunity to know God as one who desires a deep relationship with you and may that relationship encourage you to share the goodness of God with others. Amen.

 

Go with God!