10/31/2018 - Routine, Friendship, and Focus... Our Running Mates of Faith
How diligent are we in our faith? Do we only set aside time in the morning to study the Bible, and to pray undisturbed each day? If we do, I certainly hope that Jesus returns to claim His bride in the morning. Routine times of study help us to insure that we spend time in contemplation and prayer, but we should dwell on those things we have studied in the morning as we travel through our day. In this way we remain at the ready, and those around us will see Christ in us.
“But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."”
Luke 12:39-40 ESV
We should be prepared for the coming of The Lord all the day long, and there are three things that help us in that regard; a routine time of worship and study each morning and evening, having a friend with whom we discuss our faith during the day, and incorporating our faith into the fabric of our life.
Let’s begin with a discussion of morning prayer...
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”
Mark 1:35 ESV
Jesus was in constant prayer, but there were a couple of times when He seemed to dedicate time to personal prayer and relationship with God. In these times He was alone with God, and had the quiet one on one time that is so important to relationships. Jesus began His day’s in this way, and He ended His days in this way... in personal conversation with the Father. These are not the only times He prayed, but they started and ended His days of prayer and worship. We know that Jesus prayed without ceasing during His day, but wouldn’t you like to have stepped into His dreams for just one night? Regular morning and evening prayer allows us to align ourselves with God’s will for us, and to usher our faith to the forefront of our lives... it begins our day, and prepares us for slumber. Set aside time for quiet prayer and worship in your morning and night.
Secondly, we need to have at least one friend with whom we discuss our faith during the day. Jesus was rarely alone. As a matter of fact I can’t recall a time other than when He was with His Father, and in the desert where He was tempted, when he was by Himself. The same is important to us; we need a partner with whom we can discuss our faith and recall scripture. Having a spouse with whom we do this is wonderful, but then again we are one flesh... what I am talking about is a friend and companion outside your home. Friends are like bellwethers, they keep us alert, and our thoughts focused on truth. They provide us with a sounding board for our faith. Sometimes our own will creeps into our faith, but a friend, a true friend, will provide that constant test of our thoughts. Friends and companions also keep us active in our faith all the day long.
Last week I heard a sermon in which the pastor encouraged us to have a running partner. He said that he ran and exercised with a group of men, and that they discussed faith as they ran. Afterwards, my wife told me that I needed to have some younger running partners; that all of my closest friends in faith were older men, most were much older than me, and that there would come a day when I would be without them. She was wise in her observation. We need friends of various ages with whom we discuss our faith... it keeps us grounded, and relevant. Through our older friends we are steadied in the foundations of our faith, and in our younger friends we gain a perspective regarding the current topics of faith. We need a mentor, and someone who we can in turn mentor in their faith. There is one more person we need in our group of runners... a peer. We need someone who is at the same place we are in our faith, a confidant, and someone with whom we can face the challenges of day to day life. Our faith is about a great many things, but one of the most important is how to live our lives. We need running partners.
“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."”
Matthew 18:19-20 ESV
The final point I would like to make this morning is that we need to incorporate our faith into the fabric of our life. Lest you misunderstand, we don’t need to fold our faith into our life... we need to fold our life into our faith.
When we first believe there is a time that is much like being a newlywed. Everything about this marriage to our faith is new, and we try to fit it into our existing life. This is a difficult time in a marriage between a man and woman, and in faith as well. It isn’t until a married couple realizes that their life is no longer centered on the same things they once valued, that they can become happy and settled in their new life together as one. We all know this, and say that the first years of marriage are the most difficult... thankfully our passions help us make it through the transition. Our faith is the same... we need new friends, new interests, and a refocused life. These are not easy things to do, and the first years are spent in constant battle between who we were, and who we are. The more we weave our lives into the tapestry of Jesus Christ, the more at peace we become in our faith.
“and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."”
Matthew 19:5-6 ESV
There was a turning point for me in this regard, and it took me years to reach, but when it came my life changed, and the peace of Christ settled over me. I no longer left my faith in my car when I walked into my office, I didn’t apologize for my prayers in a restaurant, I began to give myself in service to others... and hundreds of other changes. I had reached the point in my faith where I could stand back from the tapestry of my life and see the image of my life of faith as its focus, and not the secular life I used to live in the world. Now I saw how my faith dealt with the worldly life I once lived, and not how my worldly life dealt with my faith.
There is a couple whose friendship in faith I value very much. We don’t get together as much as I would like, but we communicate often. This friendship is centered on faith, and we wrap it around the world that we face. They are part of the group I now run with. We exercise our faith together. I write words, and my friend is a musician and composer, so together we write songs that enhance our faith. The music business, like most businesses, can be a hard desert to traverse, so together we use the gifts we have to give our lives a breath of fresh air. His wife is dear to me beyond description as we discuss topics of faith and how they alter our lives in the world... she is a true blessing. I love running the path of faith with them. Together we shelter each other against the storm that is so prevalent in the world.
So this is how we should spend our days and nights, by beginning and ending each day getting our bearings from God in our quiet time with Him, in discussing and living out our days with friends who strengthen and encourage us in our faith, and by weaving our life into our tapestry of faith rather than weaving our faith into the tapestry of our life. In this way we will be prepared in the day, and night, for the return of Jesus. No longer will there be a time when the clouds will part and the trumpets sound, catching us unprepared for the moment.
“"But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
Matthew 24:36-39 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for our times of intimate prayer and fellowship each day; those times when I can worship you and listen to your will for me. Thank you Lord for those friends you place around me who bolster my faith, and echo your Word when I am wandering astray, but most of all Holy Father, I thank you for strengthening my faith to the point where I have changed my life from one that is centered on the world into one in which you are my focus. Help me Merciful Father to prepare myself for the coming of your Son. Help strengthen my faith further, and make it the very air I breathe as I go through my life seeking your constant presence. Jesus I await your return, and remain at the ready for the trumpet’s call, and the sound of thunder. I thank you for the Holy Spirit who opens my eyes and my heart, and I thank you for the saints who surround me and allow me to rest on their shoulder when I hurt, and who take my arm when I walk from the path of righteousness. Father, I am undeserving and yet your grace has been given to me, and your mercy pours over me like warm oil... soothing my wounds, and washing away my sins. How can I praise you, how can I humble myself before you, how can I thank you enough for your loving kindness to me? You are great Father, and I will serve you all the days of my life. You are the giver of my Spirit, my soul. and in them I will praise and worship you always. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God. Praised be your name now, and forevermore.
Rich Forbes