Paula Wiseman

Faith and life meet in a story

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Something to think about as you start a new week

Monday Meditations are quick posts designed to get you thinking about God. They provide a fresh perspective as you jump into your routine.

 

An Invitation to Worship

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An invitation to worship title graphic

Come.
It’s is an invitation.
An invitation to join the community of believers.
It is an invitation to worship.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! Psalm 95:6

Let us worship.
There is something about corporate worship.
Something about gathering with others
To exalt, to praise, to thank the Lord.

Let us bow down.
Let us recognize His greatness.
Let us reverence His holiness.

Let us kneel.
Let us submit ourselves.
Let us affirm our subservience.

He is the LORD.
Our God, Our Ruler, Our King.

Our Maker.
Our Creator. Our Sustainer. Our Sovereign.

The invitation has been issued.
What on your calendar could be more pressing,
more urgent,
more important?
Will you respond?

An Invitation to Discipleship

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invitation to discipleship title graphic

Come.
It’s is an invitation.
An invitation from Jesus Himself.
It is an invitation to discipleship.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1:17

Notice Jesus doesn’t simply say, “Believe in Me.”
Although He says that often, throughout the gospels.
This is something more.

Come.
To come, what do you have to leave behind?
Are you willing to leave it?

Follow Me.
Stay close. Watch. Learn from. Listen to.
Imitate. Obey.

But there’s more.
Fishers of men.
Not fishing, like a vacation.
No. This is a job.
A task. A calling. A holy responsibility.

Discipleship
So what do you say?
Are you in?

An Invitation to Forgiveness

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Come
It’s is an invitation.
An invitation from God Himself.
It is an invitation to find forgiveness.

Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18

Think of all that forgiveness from God brings.
A restoration of the relationship that we broke.
A reestablishing of communication that we severe.

A covering of our shame.
A cleansing from our filth.
An erasure of our debt.

God takes the initiative.
He sees our predicament.
He offers a solution.

Do you need forgiveness?
For the first time?
For the latest time?
The invitation stands.
Come!

An Invitation to Relief

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“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1

Come
It’s is an invitation.
An invitation from God Himself.
It is an invitation to find relief.

Water is one of our most basic needs.
Thirst is built into us.
It is signal we need to act.

Do you long for God, for His forgiveness, His salvation?
Isaiah tells you what to do.

Everyone who thirsts.
Come everyone who realizes you have a need
A need you cannot meet.

Come to the waters.
The resources of God are limitless.

He who has no money, come buy and eat!
And through His grace they are available to everyone.

Are you thirsty?
Come find relief!

Resolution: Honor God With Your Relationships

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It’s a new year. Perhaps you make resolutions. Here’s one more to consider —Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20
Resolve to honor God with your relationships.

Your family.
Your close friends.
Those you lean on or who lean on you.
Those you listen to or who listen to you.

How do we honor God with those relationships?
Consider the following questions.

Do we connect with others in a way that honors God?
Are we encouraging, kind, gracious?
Do we pray for God to work in the lives of our friends?
Do we help them see His hand in their lives?

Do we apply ourselves to loving others like Christ does?
Or do we distance ourselves from those who don’t conform?
Do we look for opportunities to reach out to those society ignores
Or do we hope someone else will step in?

Do we look for friends who challenge us?
Are we offended when they tell us hard truth?

Are we easily provoked?
Do we look at others with smugness or self-righteousness?
Do we measure ourselves against others
And thank God we’re not like them?

Do we long to mentor and be mentored?
Do we serve without the hope of recognition?
Do we seek peace and justice and reconciliation?

Are our prayers full of intercession?
Or are we more focused on our needs and desires?

Do we look to culture for the definition of friendship or guidance in our families?
Do we surround ourselves with those who strengthen our faith or with those who tear it down?
Do others see the love of Jesus in us and through us?

Resolve to have the kind of love Jesus had, the kind that would “lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Resolution: Honor God with Your Attitude

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Honor God with Your Attitude title graphic

It’s a new year. Perhaps you make resolutions. Here’s something to consider — A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. Proverbs 14:30
Resolve to honor God with your attitude

Your attitude.
Your responses.
The things you think.
The things you feel.

How do we honor God with them?
Consider the following questions.

Does the way we think honor God?
Are we peaceful, positive, trusting?
Do we see our situations as an opportunity for God to work?
Are we confident knowing He is in control?

Do we apply ourselves to becoming more like Christ?
Or do we just react?
Do we seize the opportunity to grow through adversity?
Or complain about our lot?

Do we believe an easy life should be a perk of obedience?
Are we offended when things are hard?

Are we easily stressed?
Do we look at others and wish for their lives?
Do we measure ourselves against others
And find we come up short?

Do we long to be somewhere else, doing something else?
Do we feel a sense of accomplishment or frustration?
Do we sleep well and wake up recharged?

Are our prayers full of complaints, worries and demands?
Or are we more focused on praise and thanksgiving?

Have we absorbed the attitude of the culture we live in or the media we consume?
Do we surround ourselves with those who raise our spirits or those who weigh them down?
Do others see the love of Jesus in us and through us?

Resolve to “Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

It seems like once or twice a year I have to fight with my servers and solve a series of website hiccups. Thanks to Covid, tech support has been impacted, so the solutions were a little slower coming this year. After lots of Googling and support tickets, I think we have figured out a workaround so that the posts actually post and get delivered to you. Fingers crossed! 🙂

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