Monday January 10, 2011

Theme: ReThink: "Getting Unstuck"

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Your Grace is Enough - Chris Tomlin, Holding Nothing Back - Jesus Culture, None But Jesus - Hillsong, Your Love Never Fails - Jesus Culture

Read: Ephesians 6:13-17; Proverbs 27:17; Matthew 11-30; John 3-17

Think: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. “

Ralph Waldo Emerson – Self Reliance

I have been called stubborn. At times, even worse. A friend of mine once pointed out to me my foolish consistency’s and proceeded to refer me to Emerons’s passage above.  Just for the record a Hobgoblin is defined as:

HOBGOBLIN (noun)                                   
  The noun HOBGOBLIN has 2 senses:

1. (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings
2. an object of dread or apprehension

I suspect she may have been referring to both definitions in my case!!  Seriously though, this speaks to the heart of Pastor Ben’s message this past Sunday – we can get stuck in our ways – and it starts in our thinking, our beliefs. 

Without question Jesus challenged the beliefs and expectations of those he touched.  It was radical, it was bold, it was life changing and world altering.  As you close the chapter on 2010 and begin to take your fist steps down the path of 2011, ask yourself a few important questions:

• What battles are you fighting alone? How successful are you in winning these skirmishes?  Are the results all that they can be?  Are you prepared to understand and use God’s weapons for warfare: Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith and Salvation (see Ephesians 6:13-17)?  Do I have a trusted friend who can challenge my thinking, my beliefs (See Proverbs 27:17)?
• Where in my life am I foolishly consistent?  Am I willing to ask the One who came to save this world and not condemn it (See John 3:17), whose yoke is easy and burden light (see Matthew 11-30) to help step out of my foolish consistencies?  He can and will.

Do:  Think about the areas in your life that you are stuck.  Don’t make it exhaustive.  Start with one or two maybe.  Commit to prayer about these areas.  Share them with a trusted friend and ask them to pray as well. Ask God to provide you wisdom, guidance and courage to step out.   

Pray:  Lord open my eyes to Your truth.  Help me to see the world as You see it.  I seek Your wisdom, Your truth, Your radical love.  I trust Your Word, it’s truth, and the freedom it promises and delivers.  I trust Your loving hand to lead out of my despair.  In Jesus name I pray.  Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.