Ppppp ...

Ever have one of those days?

One of those days where all you can do is exhale?

When your lips are relaxed, you exhale and end up making that "Ppppp ..." noise.

I have had one of those days today. Despite the highs and lows, joys and frustrations, good and bad; I have reason to rejoice. God is with me, living in me, and speaking to me.

After pacing back and forth, rubbing a hole in my forehead from all the thinking, and finally conceding to the fact that things may not turn out the way I really would like them to, I exhaled. It was in this moment of "Ppppp ..." that God showed up. The noise that came from air moving between my lips reminded me of five significant words from my day.

____________________________________________

Prayer
Purity
Purpose
People
Possessions

______________________________________________

Prayer really ought to be what makes my heart beat. When I pray, I am actually having a real conversation with the living, loving God who created me. This is insane. By His grace, I can cry out to Him with my needs, listen to His patient, calm, comforting voice, and know what I ought to do.

More often than not, a conversation with the Almighty reveals my need for ...

Purity in my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Only through faith in Jesus' death and resurrection can this happen. I am a filthy, rotten, sinner addicted to sinning. Fortunately, I am the type of failure-prone, habitual hypocrite that Jesus came to save. Be it pride, lust, anger, greed, selfishness, or whatever - I need to seek purity in all of me.

This brings me back to Jesus, which brings me to my ...

Purpose in life. The ultimate question that all people ask at some point; why am I here? I have come to know my purpose. The Bible talks quite a bit about this; from Genesis to Revelation. The answer can be summarized in the words of YHWH found in Leviticus 11:44 "... be holy, for I am holy." This seems like a daunting task, insurmountable by me, never to be attained by anyone. That's because it is. No human can be holy the way that God is holy. Sin has forever ruined any hope of doing this on our own. But, with a humble, repentant heart, anyone can come to Jesus and be holy, just as He is holy.

This is a promise for real ...

People with real needs. If we were all willing to take 34 seconds out of our day to be silent, I'm sure each and everyone of us could think about something we need. Someone may be in dire need of money in order to pay the bills. Another person might hear their stomach growl, and honestly be in need of food. Looking around and being surrounded by people, laughing life away and looking like everything is O.K. there are people in our midst who need a friend. Whatever it may be, by God's grace, with the helping hands of believers led by the Spirit, I pray that your needs may be met today.

There needs to be something said about ...

Possessions in this temporal world. There are so many things in this world that we want to have, know how to use "for His purposes," and carefully consider whether or not they are becoming idols. We are blessed beyond belief here in America. Our pockets are filled with technology that was unheard of ten years ago. Looking in our closets, it seems like we each could clothe a small village or two. But what do we do? We want more. Suddenly the next best thing has become obsolete. It's time to upgrade. But will this stuff last? Jesus tells us to store up treasures in heaven, rather than things on this earth.

__________________________________________________________

Take a moment to consider ...

What possessions are distracting me from people?
Does my purpose in life push me to higher standard of purity?
How do I feel about prayer? Is prayer a duty or a blessing? Does prayer make my heart beat?