A friend was discussing with me part of the sermon on the mount last night (Matt 5-7).

She asked me (and Sam who was sitting behind me) “How do you guys go about living it?”
I asked her to clarify a little and she pointed to Chapter 6:1-15.
Which I determined as her asking about, “Doing stuff on the sly”. She was concerned primarily with motives (this was following her descison to sponser a child through compassion).

“If it’s a desire to do something, to satisfy a desire, is it still serving God.”

I asked, “Could you not have caught God’s desire” and asked more specifically about why she was doing it. She determined that she was pretty sure that God was telling her to do it but was still concerned, “I want to get it right.”

I was wracking my brains (with Sam’s help) to uncover a verse that lingered from Sunday school which I finally found after bible gateway failed and google saved the day, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7) unfortunately I was rather distracted and never got about to giving/explaining anything to her particularly in my immediate doubts about having to drag something a little out of context.

Anyway. Tonight I was reading (only had Message version on hand) in Romans 3:21-31. And was reminded what my mind failed to work into cohesion last night, about walking in step with God and responding to what he does and not what we think we can do to please him.

“So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counterclaims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we’ve learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We’ve finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.” (v.27,28)

and

“But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don’t we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.” (v.31)

Confusing in some aspects around how we can actually go about ‘worship’ and in ‘pleasing’ God. But working out where God is working and joining him in that seems to be the way we can live life appropriately in response to God.

Not sure if I just reiterated what it just said, but yes it solved/clarified a few things for me and shall help in putting forward a perhaps more informed suggestion.

A day or so ago my sister Laura decided to make an Advent wreath (it being apparently the first week of advent). I don’t know a whole lot about it, I still don’t.

But I sat in the lounge room this morning after breakfast with a cup of tea and read the letter that Laura left alongside the wreath. I lit the first candle (she left matches) got my Bible and read the verses listed. Isaiah something, Pslam 33 and Romans 15:12-13.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Although Advent week 1, is pertinent to hope and expectation of the return of Jesus (NT/now) and the coming of the Messiah (in OT times) I found the theme applicable to my own life and the points of frustration that I meet and match (like last night) and relevant to what can easily become ‘the daily grind’. Had a good talk to God.

I need reminders like this.

I am thankful Laura put in the effort to leave something like that on the coffee table. A bit of liturgy is good for all of us now and then.