Answers

So, today will be the start of our true summer here. And the end of long walks for our old lady, Starburst. Her ideal walking temperature is about 75 degrees, we will be quite above that today. I enjoy her company so much. I know that every day I have with her is a gift.

Before I begin getting teary, lets get back to where we were yesterday. I wrote out my prayer requests yesterday and today I read them. Do you know he answered them? yes, He did. As I walked, Tim Keller’s podcast taught me from Habakkuk 1. The waiting. The long night. The hard times. And then, the realization that God didn’t answer in the time frame he wanted, but as Tim said, looking back at history, there was a reason. We see it. Habakkuk did not.

That speaks to my heart and reminds me and answers and leads me right back to 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. I’m going to share the Message version of these verses. I like the perspective while having the NASB translation nearby. 🙂

“The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 MSG

We are meant to think differently than the world. We are meant to walk in harmony with the Savior, Messiah. In reading the Gospels monthly, this year, what I see is Jesus elevating his Father. Proclaiming the kingdom of heaven. his message was for all. He sat with all. He walked against culture. I’m not meant to look or sound like the culture around me. The tools given to me by the blood of Jesus and the Spirit are not to make me more like the world, I am to being molded into the likeness of Christ.

Let me be clear. This starts with me doing the hard work of the Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the gentle. Realizing my place in the world. Seeing my sin. Elevating the needs of those around me. Hungering for righteousness.

I love how the message says this! Loose thought, emotion and impulse fitted into the structure of life shaped by Christ. That is my prayer today. Lord, fit my thoughts, emotions and impulses into the life to which you have called.