Welcome back! We’re about to switch our focus for the next five weeks. This is the third of five focuses for the time known as Ordinary Time. If you’re reading this on Sunday the 16th of August, we’re 229 days into 2020. Advent begins on the 334th day. On this day, we’re 15 weeks from the first day of Advent, 11 weeks past Pentecost. In two weeks, we’ll reach the midpoint of Ordinary Time.
Today we’re going to see if we can understand a bit more about what it means to live a life of devotion.
The only way I know how to do it it to do what Scripture says. And there’s no way Jesus wants me to put every one of them in this post. But this I know, it’s not all about how you do it. Yes, pray all the time, yes, thank Him in everything. Love Him and love the other believers. I know you can read Colossians 3 and discover how to dress. I know you can find the armor in Ephesians 6. All of it is valuable to live the lives we’re meant to live. I know giving Jesus access to all of me and all I have is the only way to be sure He’s really active in it all. I mean yes, you can just believe it, but don’t you want to see it to? And I want to do all I can to agree with His work in me to get me where He wants me to be.
So let’s just look at a few other Scriptures to see what else we can do.
Titus 3:1-2 Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
Be ready to do good. Be peaceable, considerate and gentle to everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Live in peace. Encourage, help, be patient with everyone. Strive to do good for each other and everyone else. Hold onto what is good. Rejoice & give thanks.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Focus, that’s what that is about. A life of devotion would try to keep it’s mind on what is good, peace-filled, gentle, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy.
So if you find your mind somewhere else, what do you do? Choose to change your thoughts. Pray that He will transform your thinking and choose to think about better things. In fact, just the other day I felt my mind going into a dark area of thoughts, not bad thoughts, just ones that make me unhappy, and I knew what to do. I turned on Klove radio and let the songs flood my mind. Fast and easy turnaround. At other times, I open my Bible or go to biblegateway.com and just read something. Click on the verse of the day and read the chapter. Or go somewhere I haven’t read in a while or somewhere I just know what to read. God can and will change your thoughts. Even your attitude. Just let Him do so. I always turn toward Him when I realize I need a mind or attitude change. He is so very faithful.
Doing what Scripture tells you. Think about what you’ve read in Scripture, often just doing that can get you to see something new. It can make the words real for you. They are living words. Those words can change your life.
Ephesians 5:15-16 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
In the reading for August 12th from In Touch, Charles Stanley had written, “Faith and obedience are traveling companions. They grow together simultaneously as they are practiced but wither if neglected. … Fear short-circuits faith when we begin to doubt that God’s way is really best. … Great faith begins with small steps.”
Spend these next five weeks living in faith, practice or exercise your faith. Do what these and many other Scriptures say and your faith will be confirmed. Trust Him. Obey Him. It’s really the only way to live. The life of devotion is the title, and it’s the new focus for these next five weeks. What does it mean to you? What or who are you devoted to? Think about it.