Very Early in the Morning . . . Jesus

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Abba, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Abba, we belong to you.  Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.  Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. CONSIDER THIS Who gets the first word in your day every morning?  Who gets the last word in your day every night?  I can guarantee you someone does. A few years back, I had my own wake-up call concerning this matter of who gets the first word and the last word of my everyday life. First Word: I would pick up my phone from my bedside table and there on the screen were those pesky notifications, letting me know who had texted me or emailed me or updated their Facebook or Instagram while I slept. Naturally, I would click on one of those notifications. One text or email would lead to the next text or email and I was off to the races. Perhaps twenty minutes later I would finally make it to my Bible.  Last Word: There I was, back in the cozy confines of my bed, phone in hand. Only this time it was Netflix and I was watching a bit of a movie or a show before drifting off to sleep. This had become my established routine. First Word: texts, emails, and Facebook updates. Last Word: Netflix.  Days become weeks. Weeks become months. Months become years. And days, weeks, months, and years become us. Our lives consist not in the big decisions and banner events dotting our calendars but in the little things we consistently do day after day after day. We become what we do . . . every single day. Back to the two most important words of the day: the first word and the last word. Each one of us has within our stewardship the ability to decide who will get those words in our lives. You know where this is headed. But first, let me tell you what happened with my Facebook-Netflix ways. The problem with me so often is the way I want to make Instagram and Netflix the problem when they aren’t the problem. The problem is with me and the misspent priority of my own heart. So I didn’t decide to delete social media and swear off Netflix. Instead, I decided I would shift the priority of my heart. I determined to give the Word of God the first word and the last word of my days.  Some of you are wondering, now that I have a new word for this new year, what do I do with it? I've got an idea. How about making it the first word and the last word of your every single day this year? You will check your emails and texts and social media updates sometime in the morning—just not very beginning. And many of you will watch a bit of a show or read a chapter of a book late into the evening—just not the very end.  That's what I love about how one person was led to Mark 1:35 as their New Year—New Word scripture verse: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Jesus gave his Father the first word of his day, and something tells me he also gave him the last word. I love how John wrote concerning Jesus: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14a). From before the foundation of the world, the Son of God was the Word of God, and yet Jesus didn't land in the manger with the Scriptures fully downloaded into his infant body. No, the Word of God became his syntax and grammar, his vocabulary and library, his heart and his mind, his hands and his feet—one day at a time, one verse at a time, one word at a time.  Dear friends, our warmhearted intentions to grow in our faith and our sincere commitment to follow Jesus are good, but the Word does not become enfleshed in our lives by our sincerest feelings and most precious intentions. It happens through our smallest actions, every single day, one verse at a time: first word—last word—God's Word!  And good news for you morning strugglers—Jesus loves to get up early. And Jesus is in you.  Very early in the morning .  .  .  Jesus!  THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION Lord Jesus—Word of God from before the beginning—our Great Teacher, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. You know my intentions are good, but I need your Spirit to translate my best intentions into small actions. Would you shift the measure of my faith from my own earnestness to the power of your Word? Lead me to the simple priority of your Word as my first word and last word of today, and then tomorrow, and then the day after that.  Lord, it will be for your glory, for others' gain, and for our good.   Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen!