Respect

Respect the Lord and be humble. Then you will have wealth, honor, and true life. (Proverbs 22:4)

If you have wondered what it takes to live a "blessed life", then you have to look no further than the examples we find in scripture. Yes, there is a whole lot of tragedy and suffering recorded in those pages, but all are written so we can live a blessed life. We are to learn much from our suffering - to be made stronger and grow in our relationship with Jesus and others. A blessed life is one in which the Lord receives the right placement and the right honor. When we are humble enough to acknowledge we have need of the Savior's oversight and work in our lives, we begin the journey toward true blessing. As long as we hold onto the reins of our lives, we won't realize the blessing of being in his protective care. It is much more work to hold on than it is to let go. As "hard" as we may think it is to "let go" of those reins, it is much, much harder to hold so tightly to them when the world around us is spinning in every direction!

- Appreciate God - we are to give him the place of the highest of regard in our lives. This means we do more than place him on a pedestal as some "thing" we worship, but rather we give him the prominent place in our lives. Imagine for a moment that the prime minister, highest government official, or President of your country announced he was going to take supper at your home next Monday and you had the time to prepare for his visit to your home, what would you do? I imagine you'd clean up the place, buy a few luxurious delicacies, and then ensure the nicest of meals was placed before him that night. Why? To show him honor or regard for his position. When we appreciate the position of Christ in our lives, we are acknowledging he holds the most prominent and influential position.

- Give him awe. The opposite of awe is none other than apathy. The opposite of apathy is passion, emotional investment, and excitement. Respecting the Lord brings into our lives a certain passion - because we begin to pour ourselves into the pursuit of the good things. At first, the relationship is definitely one of what we can imagine we will "get out of it", but in time, the relationship begins to turn to what we can "give back into it". We move from a place of "bless me, God" to a place of "God, make me a blessing". In essence, we are moving into a place of passion and excitement - a place where God can begin to use us. There is no greater honor or respect we can give him than to be of use to him in his kingdom!

- Recognize his presence. Give admittance to him so that we might learn to understand his ways and his movements. Whenever we let someone into our lives, don't we become more familiar with how they act, what they mean when they say something, how and where they move? Recognition of God's activity in and around us is a way of showing him respect. It is us taking notice of him which begins many a great work within us. Just sayin!

Memory Makers

Get out of my life, evildoers, so I can keep my God's commands.  Take my side as you promised; I'll live then for sure.  Don't disappoint all my grand hopes.  Stick with me and I'll be all right; I'll give total allegiance to your definitions of life.   Expose all who drift away from your sayings; their casual idolatry is lethal.  You reject earth's wicked as so much rubbish; therefore I lovingly embrace everything you say.  I shiver in awe before you; your decisions leave me speechless with reverence.

(Psalm 119:115-120 The Message)

Do you remember "taking sides" in some game you played as kids?  You'd all stand on the sideline, two people would pair off as the "captains" of the teams, and then one-by-one each person on the sideline would be "picked" to be on one of those teams.  I remember being disappointed at times because I may not have been the best at some particular sport...so I was picked toward the end, almost as a "have-to" instead of "on purpose".  At other times, I was one of the first picks, simply because I did well in that game.

What those team "captains" were doing was selecting those who they felt would be to their "benefit" on their "side" of the field.  They saw some advantage to having a particular player in their ranks.  Our psalmist reminds us of the advantage of having GOD on our side - - his presence produces life!  It is almost like "picking" your teammates - - choose wisely and you are assured of a "win"!

Do you remember ever sitting down with a pen and paper, writing out a list of "dreams" you might have for the future?  As a kid, we made lists of things we hoped to accomplish like being a firefighter, flying to the moon, or having a particular car when we grew up.  As adults, we have similar lists - - like the list that begins with, "My ideal mate would be...." or "The best job I could have would be..."  When we are engaged in making these lists, we are outlining our "hopes".

Hope is simply the feeling that what is "wanted" can be obtained - - the events will lead to the outcome.  Without hope, people really have no reason for living.  Our psalmist reminds us that we all have "grand hopes" - - impressive in size, sometimes highly ambitious, but hopes nonetheless.  It is often the very fact that we have someone walking beside us during the lean times when hope seems to disappear that we hold onto the hopes we have formed.  It is in the "sticking power" of God that our psalmist finds his hopes bolstered.

Do you remember the last time you "shivered in awe" of anything or anyone?  There have been moments in my life when the "awe" of the moment just overwhelmed me - - the birth of my two children, the moment by grandsons took their first breaths in this world, the day my Dad "pinned" me at my nursing graduation.  I recall these events because of the "affect" they had on me.

The memories of "awe" at the birth of my two children were moments I looked back to when we were struggling with moments of teenage rebellion or wayward behaviors.  The "awe" produced at the pinning ceremony as my Dad looked into my eyes with such pride and just a hint of tears is a fond memory I hold onto now that he is gone.  Our psalmist reminds us that the very decisions of God leave him in a place of absolute awe - - speechless with reverence.  

Did you catch what our psalmist showed us in these verses?  It is in the "recall" of God's greatness, his keeping power, his attentiveness to the details of our lives that we are "bolstered" in our faith, able to stand "strong" in our walk, and "upheld" in our beliefs.  Sometimes we do well to "remember" what God has done - - it points us to what he IS doing right now!  It is good to have memories - - their purpose is to spur us on, not hold us back!  What you remember will definitely affect what you actions you take today!