Sunday – One Thing!!
D. Sharon Pruitt via Compfight
Went to church this morning. Like most Sunday’s I am there attending church at 9am and then serving on the coffee team til about 2pm. Love what we get to do there and the messages that get delivered to us by the preaching staff.
Today I got to hear Kevin Queen tell us about the one thing God wants of us. The one thing that, above all other things, God wants us to do. Any ideas what that might be?
So is there really just one thing? I have read a book (and I’m reading it again) called The One Thing. Not a spiritual book but it applies to our spiritual life. It was written by Gary Keller and he delivers a good message that you have to focus on one thing if you want to succeed. The question that we come to is “What is that one thing?.
Check out this clip from City Slickers.. it is a little PG rated (language). Adjust the volume accordingly.
So I am trying to figure out what the One Thing is for me. Now don’t mis-understand what I mean by One Thing. It can mean one thing at a time or one thing in each area of life (Spiritual, Family, Business, Financial and Personal) or it really may be one thing right now. What I am talking about is focus. You really can’t do more than one thing at a time but that is for a different article.
For now, let’s focus on One Thing in the Spiritual area because that is what Kevin Q. talked about today.
Micah 6:8 says:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Kevin said this reduced down over 600 rules and laws into one simple sentence. To act justly. To do the right thing. To have character. I have a definition of Character that might help. ‘To do the the right thing, as God defines right, regardless of the personal cost.’ That means we must do what God would call Just even if no one is looking. I am guessing that might not mean much in Washington DC right now. Just sayin’. But it means a lot to us when it comes to how others treat us.
To Love Mercy. I think that means to forgive as God forgives. To not give what is deserved but to forgive. These two things are not in conflict as I see it. God is Just and God is Merciful. They exist in the same time and in the same person of God the Father. He found a way to forgive and still be Just. I believe we can to. It doesn’t mean there are not consequences to actions we and others take.
There is something called trust that is about the future and it must be earned but forgiveness is about the past and we must be the ones to give it if we have been harmed by someone.
It does not mean we have to trust unconditionally.
If someone steals money from me and gets caught I can forgive him while he struggles with the consequences but it does not mean I will give him my ATM card to go to the store. Does that make sense? I can’t maintain bitterness over the theft. Forgiveness is more for me in this case than for him.
To walk humbly with my God. According to CS Lewis, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.”
That is what God desires from us. Not actions or fervent prayers or a vow of poverty or silence. He wants a relationship with us. To walk with us. To spend time with us. We have to initiate that and make it priority. He gives us that choice. John 15:4 talks about abiding in Christ and he will abide in us. We have to be connected to Jesus just like a branch is connected to the grape vine in a vineyard or it won’t bring out any fruit.
I don’t think more words need to be said at this point. More would simply be a restating of what was already said. Discussion can be valuable and I would encourage comments below. I have opened up comments and you are welcome here. Even if you don’t agree with me. Post your thoughts and maybe we all learn.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
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Thanks again and God Bless.