Oh LORD, in the
morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and
watch.
The first moments of liftoff at Cape Canaveral are critical; so are the first moments of
our day. What will our trajectory be? Will it be oriented toward our heavenly
Father or will it be toward self? Will our focus be on His kingdom and His
Word, or will it be on the latest news, sports, email, or work?
When I tell myself that I’ll
focus on other things in those pristine moments and then spend time with God
and His Word a bit later I invariably deceive myself – once first impressions
are made there is no more room for first impressions; what do I want my first
impressions to be – of God who has created me for eternal relationship or of
this transitory world? The tyranny of time can rob us of the treasures of
eternity; the anxiety of the moment can rob us of the peace of Christ…if we
choose to let them. The chaos of society creates rudderless lives; Christ bids
us to be steadfast in Him.
The sacrifice that we prepare and
offer is ourselves; Paul writes that we are to offer our bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God; Paul tells us that this is our logical
response to the Gospel – the blood of Jesus Christ the Lamb has purchased us, we
are His, so we offer to Him what is already His – we offer Him ourselves anew
every morning. In that same passage in Romans 12 we are exhorted to be
transformed through the renewing of our minds – first impressions matter. Will
my mind be renewed in Christ in the morning or will it be formed in the images
of the world?
Is there anything in the morning
that I need to know that is more important than knowing God? Is there an email
or a Facebook status or an election outcome or anything else that is more vital
than reading the God-breathed Scriptures and listening to the Holy Spirit
communicate the Word and life of God to my heart and mind? What does the fabric
of my life look like? What does the fabric of my mornings look like?
When God comes to meet me in the
morning will He hear my voice giving Him a welcome? Will He find a sacrifice?
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