Good morning, brothers and sisters.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 3:21, “Whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”
I watched some of the PGA Championship golf tournament this weekend. The event was held at a superior golf course in New York, which served to humble many of the best players in the world through its myriad challenges. As the announcers described the play of the golfers on the course, much was made and said about what was needed or required for this or that shot to be successful. Depending on the speed of the wind or the length of the shot or the lie of the ball in the rough or how softly the ball might bounce, the announcer could always declare what must happen if the player hoped to execute the best possible shot. And many times it was difficult to judge whether the golfer knew what was needed based on their rather pedestrian success rate, which would lead the uninformed viewer to think they could have done it at least as well. Now whether any of the expert analysis actually rang true or not is debatable, but the “musts” of scripture as they pertain to Jesus had no such room for uncertainty. For instance, scripture tells us Jesus must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and be killed. Three days later He must rise again. He said He must be about His Father’s business, and He must preach the kingdom of God. He told Zacchaeus He must abide at His house and Nicodemus that he must be born again. He said He must work the works of Him who sent Him, and He even said He must travel through Samaria on occasion.
And fortunately for us today, He said He must bring other sheep into His fold which were not with Him then. We sometimes can feel like we have too many requirements and expectations put on us. You might even feel weighed down with responsibility. Perhaps it’s because you have a few “musts” on your list that don’t really need to be there. Is there an unnecessary busyness in your life that you struggle to keep up with? Are there things you could let go of to have time for life as God intended? Should your pride be surrendered as you stop trying to do to impress or to project an image? He must increase and we must decrease.
As we seek Him today, begin the process of freeing up yourself to allow the Truth to set you free indeed.
Have a liberating Monday.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
