Fields United Methodist Church

Day 19.   Take Time to Be Holy

April 15, 2020

“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33

Read:  Jeremiah 31:31-34

Waking up to a beautiful morning, opening the blinds, and envisioning the beginning of a day the Lord has made just for you evokes many thoughts.  Looking out the window, your mind thinks of the perfect temperature to begin your morning walk. It is not until you step out the door that you truly experience the beginning of the new day, filled with possibilities and God’s blessings.  For a long time, the people of God went through the motions of knowing the law, knowing the law was good; to follow the law was to know God’s favor. Yet God wants more than someone following the law for the sake of the law, God wants us to live out the purpose of the law, which is transforming minds and hearts toward actually loving God with our whole mind, soul, and strength; and loving our neighbor as ourselves. It is not enough to gaze through the window to understand what God has offered, it must be experienced through how we use the gifts we have been given. Faith is having the love of God “written on your heart” and living out what it means to love God and neighbor.  The “why” of faith is all about reaching out as Jesus has reached out to you. From the perspective of the resurrection, you are called, divinely called, to witness in your everyday life the joy of faith to everybody, even and especially during a pandemic where lives are being turned upside down and inside out. It may only be a phone call, email, text, or a hello and the appropriate social distance, but whatever we do, we do it for the benefit of another. Faith, then, is no longer just an academic exercise, it is an action that has the power to transform the life of another. When faith becomes a lifestyle, God becomes known to you and through your witness becomes known to someone else.  God is doing a new thing in your life, today, at this moment. The One who left the tomb empty is filling your soul with new life, in abundance, to be shared.

When have you experienced the love of God in your life today?

How has God called you to share the love of Jesus with somebody else?

How are you taking time to be holy today?

Prayer: Lord, help me to use the love you have shared with me to make a difference in the life of someone else today. Thank you for the gift of love you put on my heart. Amen