Thanks for who You are

Are we thankful for who people are and not what they do? I think it is this way with children. It should be this way with spouses. But is it really?

So, this morning I read Psalm 54 this morning. The second part of verse 6 really stuck out for me. "I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good." Actually, let me quote all of verse 6 because it is a great verse.

Psalm 54:6
"Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good."

So you have a willing sacrifice, and a spirit of thankfulness. I just think it is great how he gives thanks just because of who God is, not based on what God has done. I usually give thanks for the blessings God has given me, but I need to be thankful just for who God is.

Not just obedience

So, I read Psalm 50 this morning. It was interesting. What I pulled out of it the most was that God didn't want the people's sacrifices. Verse 14 says, "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High;"

So it is not just obedience that God desires from us, but we are to obey with thanksgiving. So next time I just show up for my quiet time I need to remind myself that is not what is desired. I'm to be joyful to take time with my Lord.

Just being there

So, for my quiet time this morning I read Psalm 48. I actually didn't get much out of it, but I remembered what a friend told me over lunch on Friday. It isn't about getting something out of it every time, it is obedience. I did my part, I showed up to have some personal time with God.

That is what we are asked to do. Christ wants us to show up. We are to take time out of our day to spend it with Him. That isn't much to ask is it? Now let's take our thinking another step and look at who we are taking time to be with. This is the sovereign Lord and Creator who wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. So how crazy are we to think "I am too busy to spend time with my creator today, I need to do so many other things." Seriously, I think this sometimes. Mainly because I overlook who it is I'm spending time with.

Praise in other forms

So I was thinking of my last post about singing praise. But then I got to thinking of all the other ways we can praise God. Well, this morning I read Psalm 47. Verse 2 is what I would like to focus on. "For the Lord Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth."

Several areas in the Bible tell us that we should fear the Lord. I need to admit right now I don't have a real good understanding of what that is. I prayed for understanding this morning in fact. So along this journey I will eventually get what that means. But the point is that there is praise when we fear God. It is praise when we obey Him.

I guess that is why there are songs about a life song. It is with our lives that we truly praise God and get away from mere shallow words.

Just because I feel like it

I think it may have something to do with reading Psalms as my quiet time for the past month or so. But I'm finding a nice change. I find myself singing praise more.

I don't think you need a reason. Times can be good yes, but also when things are bad God doesn't change. He is still worthy of praise. You don't even have to sing out loud, I find a tune just in my head I can think about and tap my foot to.

Have you sang a song today? Was it praise to The Lord?

Time to think

So I read Psalm 43 for my quiet time this morning. Apparently David is going through some tough times and seeks God's help. Well, that isn't new. But then I got to thinking. Usually when I am facing hard times I try to correct it myself. Then David takes it a step further later and the chapter and gives praise to God, he says, "To God my exceeding joy". For me though, I struggle with focusing on the problem and having my mind dwell less on God.

This is where a good habit I am trying to form comes in. "Silence and Solitude" is what I know it as. This concept is also from "So You Want to be Like Christ" by Charles Swindol. The concept is that you take time out of your day to just be alone and think. Let your mind dwell on God. This isn't for reading, and not really praying. It is a time to let your mind calm down and slow down. We get so busy throughout your day, or at least I do. I haven't been doing this very long, and need to continue. For now my time is only 10min each night, but I would like to increase that time. My problem is that I feel I can spend my time in better ways than dwelling on God. Hopefully some other people are as crazy as I am in that regard.

If the Bible is true, if God is a loving sovereign and just God, why in the world don't we act like it?

Who do you work for?

So, I get with a group of guys in my mini-church for Friday lunches. I really enjoy this time of fellowship and good food. So this Fridays discussion was about how we are to be disciple makers.

Well, I always struggle with how I'm to spend my time. I'm being paid to do a job, and shouldn't be spending my time just talking with coworkers about life and how things are going right? Wrong. The question was presented of what my job is. Well, I'm a computer engineer and work for Qual-Tron. But in fact I work for God. He is the one that pays me. He chooses to do that through Qual-Tron. But you must also remember that we are to glorify God in what we do. So if I'm slacking off at Qual-Tron, then I'm not glorifying God. So there is this balance, but if I'm spending my time at work making disciples, then this is glorifying to God and I need not be concerned about what my immediate employers may think, because I am indeed doing what my overall boss (God) wants.

Now that hard part is remembering this throughout the day. I work for God. I am an ambassador of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What do you do? Who do you work for?

Discipline and Anger

So I read Psalm 38 this morning for my quiet time. It is interesting how often in the Old Testament that God's anger and discipline is mentioned. Yet we focus so much on His love and forgiveness. It is strange how much more I can understand these concepts now that I am a parent. It is the same stuff. If you want your child to stay a child then don't teach or discipline them, but that isn't the goal. Our goal is to raise them to be capable adults that can contribute and have an effect on the world around them.

Well, God wants the same from us. He doesn't want us to be incapable and lacking in understanding. The book of Proverbs is full of verses that tell us to seek understanding and wisdom. I guess what this reminds me of is my need for others in my life. Someone you can talk to about what is going on and how you can improve. We need to encourage each other, and push each other to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24).

A simple update

Well, things have been really busy. May was a crazy month, so crazy that events leaked over into June. Basically May was too crammed full of stuff that we started scheduling things in June just to spread all the events out. But that doesn't mean it is too much. I'm enjoying how things are going.

Planning on finally getting out and going camping with a couple other guys this weekend. Julie and David are out of town this week, so I have a big list of projects that should keep me busy. I decided I should start with the project that has some pay back.

For my birthday I got several Lowe's gift cards and some coupons for $10 off purchase of $50 or more. Well, last night I used it all and then added about $80 of my own money to get all the materials I would need for putting a floor/path in my attic. My attic currently has 2x4 beams in it, so if I just floor that my insulation value is going to be really low. So I bought over 100ft of 2x6 beams to place perpendicular to the 2x4's. I just plan to run a 4ft path from my garage area all the way to the other side of the house. So I got the lumber, plywood, and insulation. Now that I'm writing this I realize I forgot the brackets. Maybe I won't need them, I'm not sure. But I have a lot of work ahead of me. I should ask some friends and find out if I can borrow a compressor and nail gun, that would make this project easier.

Well, I don't really have a whole lot to say. In more important areas of my life my quiet time has been pretty weak. I'm at least still doing my evening reading which seems strange without Julie. Hopefully once I get some of these projects under control I can relax more. I need to take some time out just for silence and solitude. If you don't know what that is, I suggest you pick up the book "So You Want to be Like Christ" by Charles Swindol.