VISION FROM THE PAST

DAY 6 // VISION FROM THE PAST

GREG STANDINGER – GLEN ARBOR COMMUNITY CHURCH IN WEST CHICAGO, IL

In 1972, Hanna-Barbera produced a TV show for NBC called “Sealab 2020” which survived only one season. As you can guess, it was a cartoon show about complete families who were deep sea “Oceanauts” that lived in an underwater structure and studied the ocean and had great adventures.   

As a boy of nine years old I was fascinated by all sorts of science fiction including the pictures and stories of what the future would look like. I specifically wondered if, in the future year of 2020, I would live in such a place. Deep underwater or in outer space or some other fascinating world in that far off year. I calculated I would be in my mid-fifties by then and would likely be too old to really enjoy it or have any fun being in the future. I was right.  

As I look at the closely of 2019 it marks a milestone for me. The future is here and I am not doing any of the cool things that young boys dream about. It is something so much better. I am a soldier on a planet created by a living God who has put me on an adventure that does not serve me, but serves others by introducing them to that Creator and Savior Jesus Christ. It is an adventurous race against time and an epic battle for souls on the frontline of eternity.  

How did I get here? As I look in the past years I see specific turning points, hard choices, difficult trials, unexpected miracles, undaunted love, and gentle challenges that moved me to this place. I can see them for what they are now: The hand of the living God moving in my life. Only by looking at the former things He has done over time can I see how He really is God over all time, in all places, and with all my heart.

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,”

Isaiah 46:9 (NASB)

Looking at the past year of 2019, and even the years before that, help me line up my vision and course for the future with the direction God has established for me.  I have stopped trying to set my own course and my own vision by my guess of a future that is not mine. I now make His vision, my vision by seeing what He has been doing with me in the past. That is how I can best go where He wants me.  

What did God do with me this year? 

Where has He been pointing me?

“Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you.”

Deuteronomy 32:7 (NASB)

When I was young I had little past experience to draw from and see Him at work in my life. I had to rely on people who were older than me to speak into my life objectively. I have noticed one thing that older people have shown me: relax and let go. Now that I am older I see what they were talking about.

I used to worry so much about the future and what it holds. He holds it. I used to worry about the present, He owns it. I used to worry about the past and what I missed, did wrong, could have done better.  He was there too. He is a God of all my times

What am I worried about in my past? 

Who can I talk to that can help me look at it objectively?

VISION TO LOVE GOD

DAY 1 // VISION TO LOVE GOD

RORY WHITNEY – CANDLEWOOD CHURCH IN OMAHA, NE

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’”

– Matthew 22:7 (NLT)

As I sit at my desk and think about this devotional, “To Love God,” I think to myself, “WOW, what is it that I could say that would encourage anyone to grow in this area of their lives.” I thought about disciplines or practices that have helped me in staying focused on this area of my life over the last thirty-five years, so here goes. I believe to love God will require us to embrace all three of these areas every day of our lives.

HEART

When I think of my heart, I think about my emotions; that which separates me from the animal world. A simple practice that I have done with my wife and with my God is to say, “Good Morning, Good Night, and I Love You”. The Bible says that out of the heart the mouth speaks. I pray daily that I would love God more today than I did yesterday. My desire is to grow in this area of my life; to feel joy, grief, contentment, excitement, courage, peace, laughter, etc.

God wants us as His; to embrace our humanity and to experience all of this as we walk day by day with the Creator of the universe that loves us completely.

SOUL

When I think of your soul, I think of who you are. You are the only one ever created, there will never be a duplicate. God has entrusted us with gifts, talents, and passions. These attributes are unique to you and only you. How is someone to love God with all their soul? Eric Liddell was a missionary that could run like the wind. Before he went to China, he ran in the Olympics. As he was training, his sister became concerned that running was interfering with his work for God. Eric responded to her with a quote that I will never forget. He said this, “But Sister, when I run I feel the very pleasure of God.”

Here’s the answer to loving God with all your soul: discover your talents, gifts, & passions. Commit them to the Lord. Roll up your sleeves in your local church and give back to God all that you have been given and you, too, will feel “the very pleasure of God.”

MIND

What you think about is who you are and will continue to be. My experience in this area of my life is very simple. I will give you an example. In today’s political climate it is very easy to slowly and steadily gather bits of information that will eventually position you in a high tower and divide you from others. What would God want us to do? He would want us to trust Him, pray for our leaders, avoid private and public attacks, and act as aliens, sojourners, and pilgrims in the land; trusting and living for the next world.

Our mind is incredible. The battle lies in our thinking. What are you doing to transform the way you think? Transformation comes from replacing lies with the truth. Is God’s Word the source of your truth? Or is it Facebook, social media, CNN, MSNBC, Fox? The list goes on and on. It all affects the way you think.

To love God with all of your heart, soul and mind is something you need to practice
today, tomorrow, and everyday for the rest of your life.