We are having our own little celebration here at the old blogger ranch. It's Tuesday, May 22, 2018, and I'm celebrating Tuesday all day long. It is, after all is said and done, "the day the Lord has made." (Psalm 118:24) There is a 'this day' orientation in God's Word, the Bible. It is mentioned over 300 times. When we really think about it, it's the one we have in order to make something of it. The only one! Doing good with the day is a reasonable and productive goal. Thomas Jefferson said, "I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another." That almost sounds like he knew about the release of those brain chemicals when we give of ourselves on behalf of someone else. The good stuff, like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, called by brain researchers, the 'Happiness Trifecta'. For those who have identified themselves with Jesus, the Christ, as Lord and Savior, there's certainly a lot more to why we would occupy ourselves in seeking to make the most of our day through honoring Him and serving others. It is our calling. The Apostle Paul gave us the inspired text that calls on us to have the mind of Christ as we go along our way. (Philippians Chapter 2) What was the mind of Christ? In Luke 19:10, Jesus said, "For the son of man has come to seek and to save the lost." In Matthew 20:28, Jesus also said, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." Talk about a role model! If we reflect the heart, hands, and feet of Jesus, we please Him and serve others. On top of that, you get those chemical thingies too. Sounds like compounded blessings to me. What say you?
Sounds really good, but, believe me, it's not easy. We need help. We are very weak on our own. Recognizing our need is a great starting place. That's where He wants us to be. He will help us if we yield to Him and seek out opportunities to serve Him. That scream of the urgent is not going away. However, we can, with His help, do good. But only if we intend to do so. And, only if we look to Him to enable us to do the 'all things' He has called us to do. (Philippians 4:13) This doesn't mean that we neglect our job responsibilities, but, we can do all of the above to the extent possible as we go about our daily lives. I'll not soon forget a huge meeting at the big company many years ago. It was a briefing on a huge computerization project. That's what they called them back in the day. The room was full. The who's who of the data processing group was there. All the high muckety mucks. The project leader's name was Robert. He stood up to get started. He said something like this, "Gentleman, this is a large and expensive project for our company. It will take tremendous work, commitment, and effort to complete. Because of its size and complexity, I want to pause and with your permission, I want to ask God to help us as we do this work." Dead silence. You could have heard a pin drop. Robert then prayed a simple prayer asking God to help those engaged in this work. He ended and said, Amen. The looks on the faces of the executives were one of surprise and bemusement. But, he did it. I think they respected him for it, but, I'm sure he was told not to do it again. I still remember it well and that was over 40 years ago.
No. I'm not trying out for a writing position with an inspirational devotional publishing company. Too wordy. Too scattered. And, how many editors would they need to correct my stuff? But, those first two paragraphs was what I was thinking about and that's what ended up on the electronic page. Last week my doctor deleted one diabetic pill and replaced it with a new one. The deleted one has weight gain as a side effect. He told me that only 1% of those taking that particular pill had reported that as a problem. He gave me the impression that he thought it might not be an issue. I told the doctor that 1% could mean quite a few people if the reporting population was really large. He didn't roll his eyes but he did get that slightly exasperated look on his face. The new pill works somewhat differently. I started taking it last Friday evening. It takes me a while to adjust to a new medication that impacts my blood sugar. Saturday, I felt pretty light-headed and somewhat wiped out. I mostly spent the day making new indentions in my recliner. On Sunday, I continued the medication and felt some better. I was able to stay awake in both the morning and evening Church services. I did carry some candy with me, just in case. I don't know if I needed the candy but I ate it anyway. Next time I'm with my doctor I'll try to inform him about the value of preemptive candy therapy. I bet you anything he has not even studied that body of truth. I did make eye contact a time or two with the watcher from the choir. When I did, I stretched my eyes as wide open as they would go, to make sure she knew I was WIDE awake. I hope no one else saw me. They might think I'm having some other type of side effect. I know. Discombobulated in full view. Have yourself a great rest of the day and I'll do my best to see you again, on this station, come tomorrow morning. May God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.
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