Hello Baysiders! Happy New Year! I hope 2020 is off to a great start and if not, don’t worry because ultimately its not how you start but finish that matters.
As the resolutions are poured in and you debate on whether you should do one or not, I believe the first and common practice every Christian should do is simply give thanks to God by praying in the morning. This is dangerous to consider because your ego will not like it. You might prefer to look at your phone, or turn on the TV, or hit the snooze button. But can I offer you a challenge? The challenge to train yourself to think of God first when you wake up and praise him. Psalms 92:1-2 says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning.” What is the first thing you think about when you wake up? Does your job go through your mind? Is it your children, your plans of the day, or is it your worries of tomorrow? My challenge for you is to start off the day by thinking about God. When you get up from bed say to yourself, “Thank you Jesus for this day, thank you God for waking me up.” There is nothing more rewarding when you offer your trust to God. Its trust that God will set out the day and no matter what happens, good or bad, this day is His, not yours, so you can rest and not worry about controlling everything. By praising God first thing in the morning you let Him know that you love Him and that He is adored and honored.
Giving God your first thoughts is a blessing. In the Mosaic law, Israel brought to the house of the Lord the best crops of their soil. What you are doing by praying and meditating on God in the morning is giving your first desires, anxieties, attention and trust to Him. You are communicating to God that he is in charge and he plans out your day. You are handing over the day over to him; you are trusting God with your day. This doesn’t mean that you will have a perfect day, but it does mean you will have a peaceful day. When those hard aches come you are stable, God gives you the peace and strength to endure bad days because you got Holy Spirit filled at the start of the day so you can face anything that comes your way. As instinctive as breathing, may you develop the practice of including God into the day he created; this is my prayer for you.
Thank you all who helped out on the church cleaning day on January 5th. We couldn’t have done it without you! This season at the Sunday service, we are beginning a sermon series on the Ten Commandments, so bring your pen and paper to learn and grow in God’s word. I am excited for this subject matter on how God will teach us to love him better and obey his word in our faith. Mark your calendar for Sunday January 26th as we celebrate sister Sara’s baptism! Come join the celebration and bring her any blessings or gifts to her at the service. The Super Bowl is around the corner and this year Bayside is hosting the game on Sunday, February 2nd at 3pm. Pizza, chicken wings and soda will be provided. Feel free to invite and bring others to this event! On that same day, before the Super Bowl we are having a Family Meeting at 1pm; join us as we discuss church events and responsibilities. Lastly, Thursday Night Devotion will now be on Wednesday night at 7pm and will start back up on February 5th.
Grace and peace ?:^)
Pastor Aaron