Message from the Rector, November 17, 2020

A Message from your Rector:

Dear Parish Family: 

Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts* as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the  wilderness.
(Psalm 95:8)
 
Giving God Your Attention when your attention is being assaulted minute by minute. When I start the morning with God's Word - usually it is with a devotional.
 
When an author plumbs the depths of what the Lord is saying, it gives me great pause to join in with their thinking to see if I can identify with the human condition and my need for encouragement.
 
John Eldredge writes: "You can’t find more of God when all you’re able to give him is a flit and flicker of your attention. The good news is that we actually have a choice. Unlike persecution, the things currently assaulting us are things we can choose not to participate in."
 
Frequently there is so much misunderstanding when texts and e-mails are perceived to carry an emotion that could be interpreted in either a negative or positive context and so we choose one and respond, only to discover that was not what the sender intended. Why do we choose to participate in things that only add fuel to the fire of provocation?
 
One reason might be that our view of God can taint the way we understand him. If you delight in hearing his voice (His word and Spirit), then your heart will be open for receiving his perfect will for your life.
 
With the pace of changes in our world, and the decisions we must make, we should welcome a conversational relationship with God. We simply cannot afford to marginalize our precious time with him to the point we are too tired to thank him because we made it through another challenging day. 
 
Dallas Willard in his book Hearing God writes: "Can you make any sense at all of an intimate personal relationship where there are no specific communications? [What a great question]
It is within such a relationship that our Lord surely intends us to have and to recognize his voice speaking in our hearts as occasion demands. He has made ample provision for this in order to fulfill his mission as the Good Shepherd: to bring us life more abundantly." (p.29)
 
Let us pray: Today Lord, let it be today that I will hear your voice! Let my heart not be hardened about the things I should let go and give to you. You are above all things and in You, I will live and move and have my being. Amen.
 
Let Christ be King of our dominion, living in your heart always!
In His Love,
Rags+