“I came that you may have life and have it
abundantly.”
John 10:10
Sitting on the shelf
in our home office are sixteen volumes of my life. For the past sixteen years I
have written one page per day of the activities, people, events, and
reflections that have made up my life. I wake up in the morning; enjoy an early
morning walk on one of three routes around the neighborhood with my wife Sandi,
then return to reflect on the previous day by writing for ten minutes. I can
tell you exactly what I did, where I was, and the memorable events in my daily
life for these years.
In my spiritual life I
also have routines. My earliest recollections from childhood are practices of
faith that my parents imprinted on my life. We went to church every Sunday. Dad
didn’t allow any farm work on that day except to care for the dairy cows and other
livestock. Every meal began with prayer, morning devotions were part of
breakfast, and every night we went to sleep with a bedtime prayer. My parents
gave generously from their meager income. They were always helping a neighbor
with whatever they needed, and strong relationships were just part of this farm
community. Everything I needed to know, I learned from these experiences.
These faith practices
have never changed. How can we put faith practices into our daily lives that
will make an impact not only on our lives but the lives of others? Jesus
provides a guide. He says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” When Jesus
said, “Follow me,” he meant it. The practices of Jesus have been recognized for
centuries as the core activities of the spiritual life. Lord of Life calls them
Marks of Discipleship: pray daily; worship weekly; read the
Bible; serve at and beyond Lord of Life; build caring relationships; and give
of my time, talent, treasure.
We have been
created with an inner hunger, with a need for God. To be human is to be
spiritual. To be a man or woman is to have eternal longings. When we neglect
this part of ourselves, we have little or no spiritual resources that we can
call on to meet that deep need, to satisfy our spiritual hunger.
We live busy
lives. In the hectic routines of our daily life each of you will be encouraged
to find the time to make the important pieces of faith fit. When you do, you
will find that life will take on deeper meaning. Let’s journey deeper into
faith together.
Go with God,
Pastor
Qualley
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