In It

This is the day the Lord has made.

I will rejoice and be glad IN IT. ~ Psalm 118:24

 

We’ve had some crazy weather recently in Indiana.

I remember a couple weeks ago there was a downpour as I was driving from my home into Marion.

I mean it was coming down so hard that I had to slow down just to see and almost decided to pull over until the crashing rain came to a halt.

 

I decided to push on and within less than a minute the rain was nothing.  

It was gone just as quick as it had come.

While I was in the rain, I stayed focused on the road.  

I didn’t let anything take me off my focus.  

I couldn’t afford to lose focus in that rain storm.

 

I think those last 2 words of Psalm 118:24 are the most powerful words in that verse... 

IN IT.

What if we decided each day to stay focused on what God has for our day?

Who does God want us to meet?

Where does God want us to go?

What does God want us to say?

What does God want us to hear?

 

On Sunday I challenged us all at New Life to help others become better.  

That won’t happen if we do not stay focused IN our day.

May you have the focus you need for the rest of the day while you are IN IT.

 

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David

 

PS – Just 18 days until New Life’s relaunch on 9-11-16!!  

If you are praying and fasting with me, THANK YOU!  

If you aren’t there is no better time than today to start.

RE-JOY

This is the day the Lord has made,

I will rejoice and be glad in it. ~ Psalm 118:24

Every morning on the way to dropping off the girls before school, we pray.  Today, Savanah prayed that we might have a Thrillifric Thursday (that’s thrilling and terrific put together for those not sure).  Well to be honest today to this point has not been thrilling or terrific for me.  In fact, trying to right this has been hard, very hard.

Why?

Because how do you rejoice and be glad when your day has been less than the best, to say the least?  I mean it would be so much easier to tell you to rejoice and be glad on a day when everything is going well.  I guess though talking about rejoicing and being glad when I don’t feel like it is probably the better time to do it.

What does it mean to rejoice?  The dictionary says rejoice means to show great joy.  When I see the word rejoice I see the prefix “re” along with the word “joy.”  Re means again and again.  Joy means to have great pleasure.

So I see rejoice as a way of saying have pleasure (or joy) in today again and again and again and…you get the idea.  It’s not about having pleasure in what is happening in your day but more about having pleasure that you actually HAVE today in the first place.

I think if we looked more at our day as an opportunity to be grateful we have it, it might change how we view what happens in it.  Let’s look at choosing to rejoice and be glad in our day as a way of choosing to hit the reset button on the day.  Choose to RE-JOY:  have pleasure in having today again and again through the rest of your day.

The good news?  Today is not over.  So whether it ever gets to be thrillifric or not we can still choose to…you guessed it…rejoice and be glad for having today in the first place.

Who Made it?

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24 (emphasis mine)

Today begins the start of a few things for most of us.  Week 2 of our 40 days of prayer and fasting leading up to 9-11-16 has begun but for most families in Grant County, Indiana that is not at the top of our minds.  Instead moms, dads, grandparents, kids, tweens, teens, and teachers (maybe even your pets) are more focused on the start of another school year.

Each year in the Grieve home we have a few first day of school rituals.  Pictures of the girls at the same wall, same swing and same porch we have been taking these pictures almost every year since 2007.  We end it with a family selfie and hugs and kisses as they head out with mom to go to their first day of another school year.

Do you know what this day has in common with every day before it and every day after it?  

The Lord has made them all.

That’s right.  When we are graced with the air to breathe in another day in, it was made by the Creator of all things.  What an amazing thought. 

So today I encourage you to remember who gave you this day and that in this day the Lord has made take some time to give him thanks for making it and allowing you to enjoy it and every other day before it.

Thanking Him with you,

Pastor David

This is the day

This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalm 118:24

I love this verse and I want to take the next few weeks and break it down for us as we begin our 40 day journey to 9-11-16 with prayer and fasting.

Let’s begin with the first four words of Psalm 118:24

“This is the day…”

Do you realize there is no other day than Today that can be “the day?”

Yesterday is not the day.  It’s gone.  It’s over.  It’s not coming back.

Tomorrow is not the day.  It’s not here.  It’s not guaranteed.

Too many times we look back and think of those good ‘ole days or we look ahead at what we plan to do that is going to be the best yet.  Now don’t get me wrong, remembering our past and planning for the future are both important.

It’s just that we need to make the most of what we do have right now.  And what we do have right now is “this is the day.”

This is the day we must choose to spend time with God.

This is the day we must pray and not give up.

This is the day we must start to tithe or give more to/for God.

This is the day to tell others about Jesus.

This is the day to make choices with eternity in mind for you and others.

What will you do on this day?

You can start by joining others from New Life and setting aside time on this day for fasting and praying.  Don’t be concerned about fasting and praying for 40 days straight.  Choose this day to fast and pray.

Remember - This is the day!

Leading and serving you,

Pastor David