Greeting today in the name of the “Yahweh-shammaah” (The Lord who is present), and Jesus Christ – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! What a great day in the Kingdom! We are alive – we are loved – we have a future and a hope – we are servants of “Yahweh-shammaah” – and we have received the offer of salvation!I trust that you had a safe weekend and kept warm and entertained the presence of God is your heart. Today I will be praying for you, asking God to draw you to his heart.
This morning I arrived at the church office and the furnace was not working properly – very limited heat in the building. Usually this would cause a little concern…but I knew or thought I did…what was wrong and it was the correct diagnosis. The side-walk snowblower had blown snow against the building and covered over the intake and exhaust vents for the furnace. I grabbed a shovel and in a few minutes the area around the vents was clear and the furnace could operate properly.The furnace will not function properly if the intake vent is blocked – actually the furnace will maintain a low level of heat although the thermostat is set properly. It is a safety control.
I began to see a lesson in this: in the parable of the sower – Matthew 13:1-23 – Jesus referenced how the cares and worries of life “choke” the life-giving intake of His word. However, God seemed to suggest there was something more and I, of course (after all I diagnosised the furnace problem), jumped over to Luke 10:38-42…you know the line about being worried and upset about many things when only one was necessary. You have already rushed ahead, haven’t you? – it was the wrong lesson again. God reminded me how in Psalm 20::7 ; 27:4; Philippians 3:13; 1 Corinthians 10:42; Jeremiah 9:24 … the one necessary thing in the life of His follower is to “know him” – to have an intimate relationship with him. I like to learn new things about God, I like to understand his ways better, I like to use what I have learned to help others, I like to take in and take in and take in…but too much ‘stuff’ (even good stuff) can choke the intake vent and I begin to operate at partial efficiency…’lukewarmness’ – and you know how much God likes ‘lukewarm’ and ineffective followers.
I began to think of how I approached making changes in my life and read: “Change–real change–starts at the core of your being; it starts when you encounter the One who created you and you can no longer stand any essence of yourself that varies from his holiness” Amy Layne Litzelman. I have been part of a prayer group that is crying out for revival-renewal-restoration…after many an intense prayer time there is a tendency to think we know what to do and we initiate some of the changes but they don’t seem to work…we choke the intake vent with ideas and programs and gathering and….really good stuff! God, I believe, wanted to tell me — “Focus on me! Focus on Jesus! Focus on Holy Spirit!” Even Jesus said: “Seek first the Kingdom – the presence and priorities of God – and everything else will fall into place.” Then I heard the voice of Jesus whisper…”See – apart from me you cannot operate at peak efficiency!”
There you have it – the lesson of too much snow at the wrong place! or maybe it should be called…snow-job revisited! Be blessed!