GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS
My wife and I love to hang out with the birds. We study their ways and form relationships with birds, squirrels and other animals. They're creatures of habit and their patterns are predictable. You could say that they are just going through the motions of life. Chickadees are in constant motion, always with a purpose.
People are supposed to be different than animals in that respect. Life is generally not predictable in the sense that we can't predict other people's reactions to our own. A waiter, cashier, bus driver or pretty much every service oriented occupation can fall into the rut of just going through the motions. Life can get routinely boring. When someone has to say; "Have a nice day!" over 100 times a day, how sincere can they possibly be after the halfway point?
Staying joyful in a world of angry motion is hard. Nature's motion can generate peace in your heart. Slow down, find a way to get some silence amongst the noise of nature. Take time to study the animals. Pay attention to detail. God is a detail oriented Father. He created nature to reflect His supernatural being.
When you find yourself just going through the motions, it's time to do a heart-check. If enthusiasm has waned, you need to make some changes. You may not be able to leave your job, but you can change your mindset.
People are supposed to be different than animals in that respect. Life is generally not predictable in the sense that we can't predict other people's reactions to our own. A waiter, cashier, bus driver or pretty much every service oriented occupation can fall into the rut of just going through the motions. Life can get routinely boring. When someone has to say; "Have a nice day!" over 100 times a day, how sincere can they possibly be after the halfway point?
Staying joyful in a world of angry motion is hard. Nature's motion can generate peace in your heart. Slow down, find a way to get some silence amongst the noise of nature. Take time to study the animals. Pay attention to detail. God is a detail oriented Father. He created nature to reflect His supernatural being.
When you find yourself just going through the motions, it's time to do a heart-check. If enthusiasm has waned, you need to make some changes. You may not be able to leave your job, but you can change your mindset.
DAY 17 WORD
Romans 12:2 Amplified Bible 2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
Psalm 139:1-18 Amplified Bible
O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.
Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
And the night will be the only light around me,”
Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You,
But the night shines as bright as the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You.
For You formed my innermost parts;
You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
Psalm 139:1-18 Amplified Bible
O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.
Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
And the night will be the only light around me,”
Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You,
But the night shines as bright as the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You.
For You formed my innermost parts;
You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
day 17 prayer
Thank You God for the four seasons of life.
All of nature is a part of Your order and reflects your Love.
Teach us to number our days
in joyous remembrance of blessings in our former days.
Enlarge Your territory in our hearts.
Make our latter days filled with opportunities
to reflect Your image and likeness through acts of love.
Rejuvenate our spirits when we just go through the motions
without compassion and empathy for those around us.
Make us come alive In You.
Let each day's new mercies bring us Holy Spirit adrenaline.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
All of nature is a part of Your order and reflects your Love.
Teach us to number our days
in joyous remembrance of blessings in our former days.
Enlarge Your territory in our hearts.
Make our latter days filled with opportunities
to reflect Your image and likeness through acts of love.
Rejuvenate our spirits when we just go through the motions
without compassion and empathy for those around us.
Make us come alive In You.
Let each day's new mercies bring us Holy Spirit adrenaline.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
DAY 17 DEEP THOUGHTS
My friend Sammy Violante says he knows the 15 most powerful words in the world. Are you ready? Here they are:
"BE WHO GOD CALLED YOU TO BE AND YOU WILL SET THE WORLD ON FIRE!"
"BE WHO GOD CALLED YOU TO BE AND YOU WILL SET THE WORLD ON FIRE!"
- Do you feel like you are on fire for God?
- Is the Holy Spirit contagious in you?
- Have you asked God to fan the flames of passion in your heart?
- Are you studying to be approved as a holy fire-starter for God?
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