Enough Said (Feb 2)

Enough Provision
Exodus 15:1-16:36

"I will cause food to fall like rain from the sky for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day." (Exodus 16:4)

As in the familiar hymn, "Pray, oh, pray that holy manna may be scattered all around." So beautiful the story of manna... daily bread that truly was a daily bread. Relying on God for provision... day to day requires faith in God's providence. God will give us enough... what we need, and it also reassures us that it is from God. Of course, it always is from God- whatever we have- yet we sometimes forget and sometimes try to take credit. Actually, God is always the only 'breadwinner' of the family. Lord, thank You... for I know that all good things come from You, dear Lord. And You are the one who gives me what I need for today... all days... every day.

Enough Goodness
Psalm 18:20-29

"Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal, and you are good to those who are good. You are pure to those who are pure, but you are against those who are bad. You save the humble, but you bring down those who are proud." (Psalm 18:25-27)

God's loyalty, goodness, purity... in essence, God's Godness is enough for us to confront anything. We need not fear rejection or isolation or failure or any of those quite naturally instilled human fears, because God if God is with us, who can be against us? In light of God's character, we have only to be humble... recognizing that we are nothing but that God is everything. God doesn't need us at all, and yet loves us and yet seeks us. Lord, I praise You and know not how to thank You for the unbelievable blessings (too many to recount) that You have given to me. Yesterday I had only to whisper thank You with my whole heart and soul... the whole day through. It reminds me of the childhood so that I loved so much,

"God is so good,
God is so good,
God is so good,
He's so good to me.

He answers prayers.
He answers prayers.
He answers prayers.
He's so good to me.

He loves me so.
He loves me so.
He loves me so.
He's so good to me." Amen, Lord.

Enough Direction
Matthew 21:23-46

"'Tell me what you think about this: A man had two sons. He went to the first son and said, 'Son, go and work today in my vineyard.' The son answered, 'I will not go.' But later the son changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said, 'Son go and work today in my vineyard.' The son answered, 'Yes sir, I will go and work,' but he did not go. Which of the two sons obeyed his father?' The priests and leaders answered, 'The first son.' Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him.'" (Matthew 21:28-32)

A familiar story, and one that I would sometimes liken to my brother and myself. When Jerry and I would have a day off of school, my mother (expert list-maker) would leave a long list of chores to complete and things to do. I would groan that I had my own list, complain and state that I would "do what I could;" while my brother would quickly respond that he'd do it. At the end of the day, when my parents came home, lo and behold, I had finished my own school work as well as the long to-do list while Jerry had been busy doing other things... probably Sega or something of the sort. Now, this story deserves a disclaimer. Jerry was quite young at this point... and I always had somewhat of an 'old soul' as some people would put it. So, with the older child's sense of responsibility, I'd set to work accomplishing what needed to be done and let me little brother be my little brother.

The point here, however, is an important one in our Christian living. Jesus points out that our actions must follow our words. If not, our words are empty. In fact, Jesus seems to even point out that in some cases our actions are more important than our words. If you have been shown the right way to live, you need to live it. Believing is connected to a visible change in your ways. If you truly believe with your heart, you will be motivated to live differently. As I see it, this is the very roots of Christian pietism... a need to live out our faith. Lord, teach me to let me words and actions be of one heart... that follows Your direction for my life every day.