Monday Morning Musings ...

Yesterday was a very good day. I began a new study in my Sunday School class on prayer, with the Lord's Prayer as the foundation. This should be good, at least it will be for me. There was a very good spirit in our entire worship service. It wasn't that we were strong musically, and we had some definite glitches in some technical aspects, but there was a real sense of God's presence throughout the service. Another great reminder that God is still God. My sermon went okay, I got distracted at one point and had to fight my way through that, but overall it seemed to connect.

We looked at the fact that in understanding God's will, and for "Whatever Living", we need to grasp that God's plans for us are full of hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11-13 was the scriptural foundation. There are so many voices around us today that reminding us of the doom and gloom of life that we can easily get swayed into losing hope. But God's plan for us is hopeful. That doesn't mean that He ignores sin, but that life in Christ is full of hope and a future. You have to believe that this is for you. You can call out to God, pray, with confidence because promises to listen to you. How awesome is that? People are calling 900 numbers all the time and paying $3.99, or more, a minute to have someone listen to them and talk with them. (Yes, I realize that some of them are looking for something else.) Be a seeker of God's word and will, and do it wholeheartedly. We do so many things halfheartedly, seeking God and his will shouldn't be one of them. We are promised that we will find God and his will if we seek. We need to listen to God's call rather than all the voices that keep telling us we can't make it.

Sunday evening began a 4 week emphasis on prayer leading up to Palm Sunday and Easter. We are meeting in a couple of homes and praying and sharing for an hour. Our group kept going for another 20 minutes or more. The sharing was personal and encouraging. The prayer time was moving, intimate and powerful. The conversations afterward were great as well. The overall attendance in the groups was disappointing, but the prayer time was so good.

Overall the attendance for the day was low. There is no school today or tomorrow, maybe some took off for the weekend. There has been a lot of flu like sickness going around.

Here's hoping you notice that God has plans of hope for you this week.