| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Christian community” Our Bible verse for today: “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” Psalm 25:1 (NRSV) Our thought for today: “Let go and be lifted-up” In addition to writing a daily devotional message each morning, I also read some written by others. A devotional book I’m currently using in my personal quiet time is “A Year of Slowing Down: Daily Devotionals for Unhurried Living” by Alan Fadling. I’m finding it refreshing and helpful. Yesterday Alan offered this interesting insight about what King David wrote in Psalm 25:1 (above): “The imagery of being lifted up here seems to be about buoyancy. Water lifts up a floating object like a piece of wood or a boat. A boat doesn’t expend immense effort to float. Floating is what happens when a boat is set in the water. It is carried without a great attempt at floating. I lift up my soul when I let God’s Spirit hold me and make me buoyant. I can cooperate with this lifting up, but I cannot control it.” What Alan is referring to is surrender. He means we have to offer our soul to God and let it go. Then the Holy Spirit will lift us up into an encounter with God and it will have been through no effort of our own. We will be floating and rising higher like a boat on a rising tide. As I write this it is Saturday morning. Tomorrow is Sunday when my church family will gather for worship. I’m visualizing myself in the midst of worship with my brothers and sisters. The spiritual dynamic is strong. We’re all lost in the music; offering our souls to God in an act of worship; surrendering; letting go as the Holy Spirit lifts us up higher and higher into an encounter with God. This is one of the benefits of Christian community. It’s why we gather to worship together. We can, of course, worship alone, anywhere anytime. But when a group of Christians are gathered like that, the spiritual dynamic is strong and we can easily get caught up in the rising tide of a worship service that lifts us higher and higher into an encounter with God. I encourage you to attend the worship service in your church tomorrow. Offer your soul to God in worship – then just let go and be lifted-up. God bless, Pastor Jim (Join us at Oak Hill Baptist Church every Sunday at 10:00. Join us in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you are a shut-in, join us online at http://www.YouTube.com/oakhillbaptistcrossville) |
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