I'm up to my old tricks

It's been six days since I last posted and I'm starting to worry about myself. Am I just going to go back to my old ways? Am I going to miss the opportunity to write down my thoughts and what is happening in my life - again? Maybe. I don't have a good track record but today is another day and I'm going to try again.

As I look back on my previous post, I realize that I missed the point of the church sign I mentioned. Here it is again:

"Lots of people want to work for God but only as an adviser."

My post treated this quote like we just ignore what God wants us to do but now I see (I think) that what the sign means is many of us want to tell God what to do or, at least, offer suggestions on what He should be doing. We want to advise Him about what is right or what His priorities should be.

"God, that guy really needs to be punished." "God, I really could use a new car." Perhaps not quite so blatantly but we all say, "God, help me make it though this problem," often adding, "And I'll never get in this situation again." Or, trying to be thankful, praying, "God, I thank you that I am not as bad a person as that guy over there." Where have we heard that before? Hint: Luke 18:9-14

I'm not just pointing my finger here. I do this, too, and probably more often than you. But I am going to try, again, to change the way I work for God. Of course, a big part of that involves communication and that means I need to remind myself who I am praying to. God loves us. He is our Heavenly Father. "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." But I need to remind myself that I am praying to the God who created the Universe. He is not merely my buddy. I am praying to the great, good God who is worthy of my praise. I need to confess my sin and other failings to Him and to be ready to change. I need to thank Him for all the things he has already given me and for sending His son Jesus to save me and take away those sins. Finally, I need to ask him for wisdom and to know what He would ask me to do.I need to ask for His help in doing the things He wants me to do. I need to ask for courage when the things He asks of me are difficult.

And I need to rededicate myself to writing in this blog as often as I can to remind me of what has gone before and to refine my thoughts by putting them in print. Some people say your thoughts are not worth anything if you can't put them into words. That may be too harsh but I'm going to use it to motivate me.