JULY 28, 2016

“The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first and love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

PSALM 53-55

David repents to God and seeks to be made new after his sin with Bathsheba

22Cast your cares on the Lord

and he will sustain you;

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.

ACTS 27:26-44

Paul's calm in the middle of the storm is pretty amazing...

33Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

JOURNAL 

I am continually in awe of Paul.  It is fascinating to see the spirit of Christ in him. His calmness, boldness, love for others. It is all here in this one passage. Here he tends to others and encourages them in the midst of absolute hell. They ultimately run aground and Paul's life and the other prisoners lives are spared by the Captain.

To see and know that the same spirit that strengthened Paul is the one that has been given to me is a little overwhelming. I wonder then why I don't feel this way at times and why I don't seem to have this type of courage. I think partly it is because I don't fully believe it and secondly because I don't willingly put myself in situations that would require this courage. 

Looking at the Psalm's...do I really cast my cares upon God? Do I willingly seek direction without concern for my well-being? It becomes clearer and clearer that God asks me to fully trust him and then follow wherever he leads. This is the life I was created to live...not one of self-protection, ease and "security".

24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” - MATTHEW 7:24-27