"What Day Is This?"
Am I the only one asking this question? All of this started since my retirement in July of 2018. I was so "schedule driven" throughout my active ministry years. Much of my awareness of the day of the week was tied to normal commitments in vocational ministry: preparation of messages and studies, facilitating ministry teams, leading Sunday worship services, making hospital visits and other contacts, and taking occasional days off! It was much easier with this structure to know what day of the week it was as I anticipated the next thing on my weekly to-do list.
Now-a-days, with this COVID-19 challenge of staying-in-place, many of us have been thrown off of our routines. We are living a "new normal" and an ongoing confusion about what day it is! This can result in day/week/ time distortion akin to an episode of the Twilight Zone! (for a reminder, check this out... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxf_Dvy0VLs ) I find myself regularly inquiring, "What day is this?" I need a regular schedule to find my way! I'm thankful that our church family gives us some daily inspirational "routines" or more specifically, worship experiences, to help us not only navigate the days of the week, but also to "feed our spirits" with God's Word and direction.
Like many other churches, our pastor-leaders are sharing Facebook/virtual devotionals each morning. They are about 10 minutes in duration, but they give us that daily boost that helps us get through our Monday through Fridays. These servants of the Lord also lead a Thursday evening, mid-week service that further lifts and inspires us. On Sunday, we have two meaningful worship services (contemporary and traditional) that enable us to connect with each other, feel community and bring our praises to God through song. The messages preached are biblically founded and instruct us in the way we should go as Christ-followers.
These inspirational resources are helping to give order to our days. They are reminding us that God is with us to strengthen, comfort and work out His purposes in our lives. The church is doing their part, but we must do ours. Every morning, I make it a practice to offer this simple affirmation as a prayer from the Word of God, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24 KJV). Many times I have heard and affirmed this verse as a call to worship on Sunday morning. But, this affirmation also works to inform believers at the onset of each day. Every day the Lord gives us is special and is an occasion for rejoicing and gladness.
I've done some thinking about this verse and how it gives me an "extra push" to see the gift of each day and how it applies to my Christian walk throughout the day. Each day really is a gift! If God awakens me to a new day, I need to see that He must have something He wants to do in it for and through me. God wants us to be thankful for our lives and the blessings He gives to us. He also wants us to move toward others with the love He is lavishing on us. The blessed must bless! During a restricted season like this, our responsibility is to extend this love to any who are feeling isolated, lonely, afraid and in need of encouragement and assurance. A quarantine can be devastating to the human spirit! We must continue to build community! That's why we are many voices saying, "We all will get through this together!"
We have the opportunity each day to make a difference in someone's life. We must seize it. Carpe Diem! When we lift the spirit of someone else, we are lifted as well. See today, "this day" as that blessed gift from a Giving God. Then, give that gift of God's presence, hope and relational life to others! With the Holy Spirit empowering and enabling our testimonies, we can be the answer to someone's longing, "What is this day? What is this life all about?" Let the redeemed of the Lord speak up!
Mike Keppler, retired pastor,
active churchman and
doting grandparent.
Contact: drmjkeppler@gmail.com
Now-a-days, with this COVID-19 challenge of staying-in-place, many of us have been thrown off of our routines. We are living a "new normal" and an ongoing confusion about what day it is! This can result in day/week/ time distortion akin to an episode of the Twilight Zone! (for a reminder, check this out... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxf_Dvy0VLs ) I find myself regularly inquiring, "What day is this?" I need a regular schedule to find my way! I'm thankful that our church family gives us some daily inspirational "routines" or more specifically, worship experiences, to help us not only navigate the days of the week, but also to "feed our spirits" with God's Word and direction.
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Like many other churches, our pastor-leaders are sharing Facebook/virtual devotionals each morning. They are about 10 minutes in duration, but they give us that daily boost that helps us get through our Monday through Fridays. These servants of the Lord also lead a Thursday evening, mid-week service that further lifts and inspires us. On Sunday, we have two meaningful worship services (contemporary and traditional) that enable us to connect with each other, feel community and bring our praises to God through song. The messages preached are biblically founded and instruct us in the way we should go as Christ-followers.
These inspirational resources are helping to give order to our days. They are reminding us that God is with us to strengthen, comfort and work out His purposes in our lives. The church is doing their part, but we must do ours. Every morning, I make it a practice to offer this simple affirmation as a prayer from the Word of God, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24 KJV). Many times I have heard and affirmed this verse as a call to worship on Sunday morning. But, this affirmation also works to inform believers at the onset of each day. Every day the Lord gives us is special and is an occasion for rejoicing and gladness.
I've done some thinking about this verse and how it gives me an "extra push" to see the gift of each day and how it applies to my Christian walk throughout the day. Each day really is a gift! If God awakens me to a new day, I need to see that He must have something He wants to do in it for and through me. God wants us to be thankful for our lives and the blessings He gives to us. He also wants us to move toward others with the love He is lavishing on us. The blessed must bless! During a restricted season like this, our responsibility is to extend this love to any who are feeling isolated, lonely, afraid and in need of encouragement and assurance. A quarantine can be devastating to the human spirit! We must continue to build community! That's why we are many voices saying, "We all will get through this together!"
We have the opportunity each day to make a difference in someone's life. We must seize it. Carpe Diem! When we lift the spirit of someone else, we are lifted as well. See today, "this day" as that blessed gift from a Giving God. Then, give that gift of God's presence, hope and relational life to others! With the Holy Spirit empowering and enabling our testimonies, we can be the answer to someone's longing, "What is this day? What is this life all about?" Let the redeemed of the Lord speak up!
Mike Keppler, retired pastor,
active churchman and
doting grandparent.
Contact: drmjkeppler@gmail.com
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