Maybe we’ve had it all wrong. Maybe the pursuit of more is causing us to settle for less.
You can spread $1.00 one hundred places but when you do this the maximum value you have to offer is a penny. Somewhere you have to stop spreading yourself so thin embracing the greater value of certain priorities that deserve more of an investment of your attention. Ultimately, the value of your life is determined by how it is divided.
Do not be confused. The life you live is the legacy you leave for the next generation. Your children are watching you and learning from you far more than you realize. When our girls were very little I was shocked by an observation Faith made while I was driving. I simply slowed down and allowed a car to get in front of me on the highway. I didn’t say anything, wave the car over or anything at all. From the backseat I heard her small voice asking, “Daddy. Why were you nice to that lady?” Clearly she observed what she was translating as uncharacteristically kind behavior of her daddy on the highway LOL. It’s always stuck with me. They’re watching far more than we realize!
Our children observe our pace of life. IF WE DO NOT SLOW DOWN, WE CANNOT GO DEEP. In addition, they will not go deep if they do not slow down and they won’t learn this from the world around them. You must structure your life to keep in step with the Spirit.
If we have exposed our children to the observation of hurry more than the revelation of Sabbath, we will give an account to God for what we’ve instilled within them.
Psalms 27:13-14 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! ESV
Are you making room and taking time to look upon the goodness of God in the land of the living? Notice Psalms 27 reveals how waiting for the Lord brings both strength and courage. I’m reminded of how Moses had to stand still to see the deliverance of God before the Red Sea. Sometimes we need to hear the exact opposite of what the voice is screaming, “Don’t just do something. Stand there!”
In an effort to slow down I’d like to point to a slowed down tempo of reading the most commonly read verse that most people fly through at a very non-impactful pace.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ESV
For God so loved it must begin with God. It can’t begin with you. The gospel of Jesus Christ without any doubt does not put you at the center of the universe, contrary to what you’ve been taught, and what you’ve been told.
For God, so loved, he loved you first he didn’t love you back. The first person in any relationship to say, “I love you” before the other says it is taking a risk. Jesus came and just put it right out there. Reject him if you want to but he loves you.
Loved the world. If there’s one thing that should characterize Christians and Christianity, it is love. For some reason when the world is asked to describe Christianity, the absence of love is the common description.
This is why making time for the Table is so important.
For God so loved he gave. He is a generous God. You have misunderstood if you have decided God is not generous. He desires for you to experience, explore and express his generous nature.
Whoever believes in him, this is not a general belief in a deity above. “Well as long as you believe in something and do good.” This is a specific devotion to the revelation of Christ, who is truly the son of God. Jesus is the only way, and believing in him is what keeps humanity from perishing and suffering, eternal, separation from God. There is heaven, and there is hell, and you need to understand it may not be common, and it may not be popular to talk about it, but this is an issue of eternal significance.
Don’t misunderstand eternal life. That is not limited to life in eternity with God in heaven. Eternal life is life with God now and forever. You are merely existing in this earth if you are making the most of this life while trying to apply Christian principles.
Our lives will flourish with a sense of eternal significance when we follow the example of Jesus.
GP2RL: Simply slow down this week as you focus on loving others well.
Simply Slow Down
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable PDF file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: A shared meal could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality. It comes as no surprise that many significant stories of Jesus are centered around a dinner table.
When Jesus wanted to explain to His disciples what His death was all about, He didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal.
In a society that has grown so relationally disconnected, an invitation to Biblical hospitality might be one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity. The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It’s about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.
Great encouragement comes from rehearsing God’s Word. It is God’s plan for us to spend time drawing close to His heart and hearing His voice together as a family. This is why we start each meeting with this question first:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Realize there is great power in just reading the Bible together and allowing the Holy Spirit to awaken his conversational nature in the group.
Psalms 27:13-14 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! ESV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
6. Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
Everywhere we go, we bring...
GP2RL: Simply slow down this week as you focus on loving others well.