New Every Morning
Trey Little | 18-Jul-10
"New Every Morning"
The other day I read these words from a preacher to a departing friend at the airport: "May God and your luggage go with you."
As we continue our "Traveling Mercies" series--I suppose I am basically saying the same thing. It is my hope that as you pack your cars or you board the plane--whether you have luggage or not--I hope you will take the Lord with you.
Also, once again you will notice a yellow stickie in your bulletin--that is for you to write down the blessing you hear for you today. Write it down and take it with you--put it where you will be able to see it and be reminded of God's love for you.
And so, this morning I want to ask you to turn your attention to one of my favorite OT texts which is found in Lamentations 3: 19-24 (pg. 816 in your pew Bibles).
Are you a morning person? Based on the expressions on some of your faces, I think I can answer that question myself! But we all know that you either are or you are not a morning person. You either wake up early and jump out of bed ready to face the day or not. You are capable of speaking words--kind words--before 11:00 a.m. or you are not. But being a morning person, at least to me, does not necessarily mean that you have to wake up at 4:00a.m. like my father-n-law. We would take trips to Colorado in the summers to visit them and I would stroll out of our camper around 7:30 or 8:00 and inevitably he would say: "Well, I didn't think you would ever get up--we are about ready for lunch."
No, to me, being a morning person is not tied to what hour we wake up but instead it rests in what attitude we awaken with. Being a morning person is waking up with an attitude that a new life has begun and recognizing you have been given an incredible gift and choice--to live!
Last summer we had the opportunity to take a summer vacation to Sea Grove Beach, Fl. As a family, it was our first time to travel to the Destin area but to the person, our family has said that it was one of the best trips we have ever taken. Certainly the beautiful scenery contributed to our sentiments. The white sand beaches were like none we had ever seen and the pool blue water was simply breathtaking. The house we stayed in was perfectly comfortable in a little gated community that sat right on the edge of the beach which left us a short walk across the boardwalk to pure vacation enjoyment. However, what I think really made the trip so enjoyable for us was that we woke up each morning with an attitude of pure anticipation. Each day was filled with a sense of excitement simply because it was all new to us.
When was the last time you woke up with an attitude of anticipation? Was it the last time you were on vacation?
As I have said to you all before, the Lord always seems to work on my heart as I prepare a sermon each week. This week was no exception. And what He has convicted me of this week is that there are too many days in a week that I simply wake up; days that I just roll out of bed and go through the motions rather than WAKING UP with great anticipation for what He will do in and through my life that day.
Too often we wake up and go through the motions--we just get in a mundane routine that can exhibit to others a lack of zeal for life. We wake up thinking about the "what if's" in life--what if we don't get this or that done; what if our kids do this or that and get hurt; what if our car breaks down and we have to get it fixed--how will we afford it; what if they don't like my sermon? But the "what if's" can be a little deeper as well. Such as: what if we get a phone call informing us that someone in our family is experiencing deep depression; what if someone we love deeply gets a poor and discouraging report from the doctor; what if my wife tells me she is leaving me?
The truth of the matter is this--the "what if's" that begin to race through our minds and hearts each new morning can determine how we LIVE or DIE each day.
So this morning I would like to suggest a couple of LIFE giving reminders--"Traveling mercies" if you will, that I hope will begin to shape you into a morning person.
First, problems are inevitable but hope is a choice.
Someone has said: "We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope."
Friends, each day brings the realities of life on this earth--the realities and reminders of our own and others imperfections. There are people hurting; there are people starving; there are people with cancer; there are people who are lonely; there are people who are angry; there are people who are depressed; there are people who are addicted and "those people" are likely me and you. That is why I am convinced that problems are inevitable.
The author of Lamentations acknowledged the reality of problems and suffering. Take a look at verse 19: "I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all--oh, how well I remember--the feeling of hitting the bottom."
One thing I remember as a kid was how I loved going to the neighborhood pool--I would spend hours a day there. And I loved diving down to the bottom of the pool and seeing how long I could stay at the bottom. But eventually I would get tired and out of breath and I would have to push off the bottom, almost like a rocket, and shoot up to the top for air.
Verse 21 reminds us that when we have hit bottom we have a choice to make--we can stay on the bottom or we can remember that we can push off and shoot to the Father in heaven for hope. The author writes: "But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up."
Friends, no matter what happens in your life--no matter how many "what if's" come up in each day--as believers in Jesus Christ we are never without HOPE! . Problems are inevitable but hope is a choice. What will you choose each morning?
The second thing I want you to remember is this: God is a morning person.
Verse 22 says: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning..."
Most mornings I wake up at 5:00 a.m., put my work out clothes and tennis shoes on and I go work out for about an hour and a half. I come home about 6:30a.m--feed the dogs; take a shower, get dressed, kiss my wife and head out the door to Prairie Star for an Arnold Palmer and a bottle of diet green tea. From there I head to the church where I am usually in my office by 8:00 a.m. That's it--pretty boring!
But here is the good news--God's morning routine is much different and far from boring. God's routine--according to His word--is is to fill us up with His mercies, great love and compassions. Every morning God makes Himself available to carry us through the day. No matter the problem--no matter the "what if"--no matter where you are--no matter the day of the week--EVERY MORNING God's love and mercies are new. The Psalmist tells us that our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber (Psalm 121). Another reminder comes from Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
When we wake up--perhaps we need to remember that God is already awake and at work on our behalf. Perhaps we need to remember that His mercies are new every morning.
I want to close with something I read this past week--something that presents us with an interesting perspective to consider everyday. Imagine that you had won a contest and your prize was to have $86,400.00 deposited into your account each morning--to be used however you wanted. However, everything that you didn't spend each day would be taken away from you. You could not transfer any of it to another account you could only spend it. Each morning--upon your awakening, another $86,400.00 into your account for that day. But here is the catch--the bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, "It's over, the game is over!"
If you think about it--you and I have already won this contest--it is this game we call LIFE. But instead of dollars deposited into a bank account--each morning we wake up with 86,400 seconds to use each day.
What will you do with them? Will YOU fill them with worry, anxiety, problems and "what if's" or will you allow God to fill them with His mercies?
Eugene Peterson put it well in His translation of verse 24: "I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left."
Traveling Mercies--they really are new every morning.
AMEN.
The other day I read these words from a preacher to a departing friend at the airport: "May God and your luggage go with you."
As we continue our "Traveling Mercies" series--I suppose I am basically saying the same thing. It is my hope that as you pack your cars or you board the plane--whether you have luggage or not--I hope you will take the Lord with you.
Also, once again you will notice a yellow stickie in your bulletin--that is for you to write down the blessing you hear for you today. Write it down and take it with you--put it where you will be able to see it and be reminded of God's love for you.
And so, this morning I want to ask you to turn your attention to one of my favorite OT texts which is found in Lamentations 3: 19-24 (pg. 816 in your pew Bibles).
Are you a morning person? Based on the expressions on some of your faces, I think I can answer that question myself! But we all know that you either are or you are not a morning person. You either wake up early and jump out of bed ready to face the day or not. You are capable of speaking words--kind words--before 11:00 a.m. or you are not. But being a morning person, at least to me, does not necessarily mean that you have to wake up at 4:00a.m. like my father-n-law. We would take trips to Colorado in the summers to visit them and I would stroll out of our camper around 7:30 or 8:00 and inevitably he would say: "Well, I didn't think you would ever get up--we are about ready for lunch."
No, to me, being a morning person is not tied to what hour we wake up but instead it rests in what attitude we awaken with. Being a morning person is waking up with an attitude that a new life has begun and recognizing you have been given an incredible gift and choice--to live!
Last summer we had the opportunity to take a summer vacation to Sea Grove Beach, Fl. As a family, it was our first time to travel to the Destin area but to the person, our family has said that it was one of the best trips we have ever taken. Certainly the beautiful scenery contributed to our sentiments. The white sand beaches were like none we had ever seen and the pool blue water was simply breathtaking. The house we stayed in was perfectly comfortable in a little gated community that sat right on the edge of the beach which left us a short walk across the boardwalk to pure vacation enjoyment. However, what I think really made the trip so enjoyable for us was that we woke up each morning with an attitude of pure anticipation. Each day was filled with a sense of excitement simply because it was all new to us.
When was the last time you woke up with an attitude of anticipation? Was it the last time you were on vacation?
As I have said to you all before, the Lord always seems to work on my heart as I prepare a sermon each week. This week was no exception. And what He has convicted me of this week is that there are too many days in a week that I simply wake up; days that I just roll out of bed and go through the motions rather than WAKING UP with great anticipation for what He will do in and through my life that day.
Too often we wake up and go through the motions--we just get in a mundane routine that can exhibit to others a lack of zeal for life. We wake up thinking about the "what if's" in life--what if we don't get this or that done; what if our kids do this or that and get hurt; what if our car breaks down and we have to get it fixed--how will we afford it; what if they don't like my sermon? But the "what if's" can be a little deeper as well. Such as: what if we get a phone call informing us that someone in our family is experiencing deep depression; what if someone we love deeply gets a poor and discouraging report from the doctor; what if my wife tells me she is leaving me?
The truth of the matter is this--the "what if's" that begin to race through our minds and hearts each new morning can determine how we LIVE or DIE each day.
So this morning I would like to suggest a couple of LIFE giving reminders--"Traveling mercies" if you will, that I hope will begin to shape you into a morning person.
First, problems are inevitable but hope is a choice.
Someone has said: "We can live forty days without food, eight days without water, four minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope."
Friends, each day brings the realities of life on this earth--the realities and reminders of our own and others imperfections. There are people hurting; there are people starving; there are people with cancer; there are people who are lonely; there are people who are angry; there are people who are depressed; there are people who are addicted and "those people" are likely me and you. That is why I am convinced that problems are inevitable.
The author of Lamentations acknowledged the reality of problems and suffering. Take a look at verse 19: "I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed. I remember it all--oh, how well I remember--the feeling of hitting the bottom."
One thing I remember as a kid was how I loved going to the neighborhood pool--I would spend hours a day there. And I loved diving down to the bottom of the pool and seeing how long I could stay at the bottom. But eventually I would get tired and out of breath and I would have to push off the bottom, almost like a rocket, and shoot up to the top for air.
Verse 21 reminds us that when we have hit bottom we have a choice to make--we can stay on the bottom or we can remember that we can push off and shoot to the Father in heaven for hope. The author writes: "But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up."
Friends, no matter what happens in your life--no matter how many "what if's" come up in each day--as believers in Jesus Christ we are never without HOPE! . Problems are inevitable but hope is a choice. What will you choose each morning?
The second thing I want you to remember is this: God is a morning person.
Verse 22 says: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning..."
Most mornings I wake up at 5:00 a.m., put my work out clothes and tennis shoes on and I go work out for about an hour and a half. I come home about 6:30a.m--feed the dogs; take a shower, get dressed, kiss my wife and head out the door to Prairie Star for an Arnold Palmer and a bottle of diet green tea. From there I head to the church where I am usually in my office by 8:00 a.m. That's it--pretty boring!
But here is the good news--God's morning routine is much different and far from boring. God's routine--according to His word--is is to fill us up with His mercies, great love and compassions. Every morning God makes Himself available to carry us through the day. No matter the problem--no matter the "what if"--no matter where you are--no matter the day of the week--EVERY MORNING God's love and mercies are new. The Psalmist tells us that our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber (Psalm 121). Another reminder comes from Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
When we wake up--perhaps we need to remember that God is already awake and at work on our behalf. Perhaps we need to remember that His mercies are new every morning.
I want to close with something I read this past week--something that presents us with an interesting perspective to consider everyday. Imagine that you had won a contest and your prize was to have $86,400.00 deposited into your account each morning--to be used however you wanted. However, everything that you didn't spend each day would be taken away from you. You could not transfer any of it to another account you could only spend it. Each morning--upon your awakening, another $86,400.00 into your account for that day. But here is the catch--the bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, "It's over, the game is over!"
If you think about it--you and I have already won this contest--it is this game we call LIFE. But instead of dollars deposited into a bank account--each morning we wake up with 86,400 seconds to use each day.
What will you do with them? Will YOU fill them with worry, anxiety, problems and "what if's" or will you allow God to fill them with His mercies?
Eugene Peterson put it well in His translation of verse 24: "I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left."
Traveling Mercies--they really are new every morning.
AMEN.
