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The Secret Place

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But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  Matthew 6:6

In  the year 1800 John Adams and his wife moved into the residence today known as the White House. The building was reconstructed after the British burned it down, and remodeled many times. Through all the history that had passed it has never been a secret where it is and that it is the home of the president of the United States. But if we want our president to listen to our request the trick is to get an appointment to meet him there.

white house

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The same is true with our place of prayer. When Jesus told us to go into the “secret place with God”, He wasn’t referring to some mystical hidden location. We don’t need to find some place that no one knows about where we can hide while we pray. We pray simply must be sure that the words we say are intended for God’s ears alone. We must be careful to not try and impress others either by the way we pray or how often. God’s appointment calendar will always open for us if we come in honesty and humility. In fact the most important part of our prayer is not the words we use, but in the answer God gives. When our hearts are right we will discover that God’s ears are always open and that He is prepared to listen to anyone who comes into His secret place. P1010570

The Sabbath is an Adventure!

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If you turn your foot from the Sabbath from doing your own pleasure on my Holy day and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable, If you honor it, not going about your own ways or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord… Isaiah 58:13-14a ESV

Ever hear the expression “Sunday driver”? That was someone who driving too slowly and just enjoying the scenery. If you are like me maybe sometimes you flash your lights or mutter under your breath about how they are holding up traffic. But how about making time next Sunday to take a slow drive in the country after church? If your schedule is too full to do that, maybe you need to boldly wipe it clean. It isn’t a sin to slow down.

boy running in the hallway

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Do you remember walking out of school for the first day of summer vacation when you were a kid? The idea of months of unscheduled time ahead felt like an adventure. In our childhood imagination and the sky was the limit as to what was possible. The same holds true for the Sabbath. There are endless possibilities as to the blessings that God will fit into it when we launch out into the adventure in faith of what God gave His Sabbath to be!

 

Staying Connected

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Making Connections

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:9 ESV

One of my least favorite bumper stickers says, “We are spending our children’s inheritance” Usually this is on the back of a shiny new RV or expensive camper.

man standing leaning on orange camper

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But Paul has better things in mind for us of the older generation. Of course the most important things we leave our children are not money or possessions. Paul begins by telling his friends, the inheritance he is giving them begins with what he has taught them. Our words to our children can hurt or heal; they can criticize or praise. Once a word is spoken it can never be unsaid and so it helps to slow down long enough to think before we launch into an angry lecture or sarcastic response.

Next Paul points his friends to the experiences they have shared together. Some of us plan events with our families such as a day at an amusement park or a meal at a fancy restaurant as a way of making memories. But Paul reminds his friends, of what they have seen, not of their “special” days but on their ordinary days together. When we walk with our family and loved ones with honesty, humility and grace they receive an eternal inheritance. In fact the most important thing that we will ever do is to pass along the peace that comes through our living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.