Furthering Thoughts for April 25th 2019

Something about turtles that intrigue me. Slow and methodical, they take their time as they go from one point to another. Eating their food one careful bite after another, this is the life and I envy them! I know…”envying a turtle?…..who envies a turtle?….c’mon Pastor”.

But, when we juxtapose them to the world will live in.. The 30 second drive thru desert taco [yes…that is a thing], 2-day prime shipping, 5G internet speed, 4K Tv, Smartphone after smartphone, we are becoming faster by the day. And although technology has helped in many ways, it also has caught us in the autobahn way of life.

“So caught up in our busy lives that we don’t take time to think about whether what we are doing is the will of God or the will of sinful human nature”.

We are busy aren’t we. Everyday flies by. Every year seems to end quicker than the year before. And daily we face the dizzy distractions that keep us on this whirlwind way of life. The symptoms are there. Cell phone stress, facebook notification addiction, text message, instagram, app after app, and the constant whirlwind of all this stuff to do. And soon enough, it becomes a blur as we inevitably fail to acknowledge the Lord for all He does and continues to do.

Titus 2 refers to “lawlessness” in terms of ungodlines. Instead of slowing down and dwelling upon God’s will and Word, we quickly and hastily go on our way as “ungodliness comes naturally to us sinful human beings”. This is so true! How quick we have become that we fail to slow down and simply dwell on God’s word and pray in His name.

It’s sneaky too. So quickly we are connected to the ways of the world, that quickly we forget the traps of “ungodliness and worldly passions”. And we don’t know what hit us, as we make our way into the autobahn.

So I tell myself, pump the breaks and dwell [Col3:16] on the word of God. Pray the Lord’s prayer. Recite the Creed. Review the Commandments. Dwell upon the baptismal life. Because for all of us, this life we live always gets away from us as our focus turns and goes down into the rabbit hole.

I’ve always enjoyed the midweek service, [which restarts May 1st], as it causes me to slow down and dwell upon the truth in God’s Word. I find it to be a great blessing because we take the time to hear God’s word and pray together. Life is busy and the devil is busy too, as the evil foe continues to do anything and everything to tempt and turn us from lives that acknowledge God and follow His Word. I encourage all of you to come!

Slowing down. Pumping the brakes. And through all the busyness and chaos, take a moment and pray, rehear sunday’s sermon, review the Gospel of the week, read your portals of prayer, and there you will find great peace as you slow down to the precious promise filled words of Christ!

Psalm 139: 13-14 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well”.

Amen.