Happy New Year! Welcome to the first "blog"....
“Without doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God, and the weightiest word in any language is the Word for God…” “…the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like….”A. W. Tozer
Who do you say I am? …. Matthew 16:15
Daily Redemption
I’m amazed at how fast my life is passing through time. I challenge my mind to remember at times events of the past, mostly the good times. It helps me to be thankful. This year has been hard in many ways. Leaving the work I loved and working closely with people to accomplish things – I miss this. Retirement challenges me to start again to rediscover who I am, and what God has made me and how can I let him use me. I want to be part of his team. It’s who I am.
I remember standing in a line on the play-ground, waiting to be chosen to be on a team, and being one of the last ones to be chosen. You are so glad when you get to run and join the others on the team – you soon forget you were standing in line. The good news here is, Jesus has chosen each of us and we are on his team. Now, we just need to figure out how to play and contribute. I think sometime we make this difficult for ourselves.
Our family watched “It’s a wonderful life” the other night. In one scene where George Bailey – James Stewart is working through his choices and discussing with his family what he needs to do, a picture on the wall briefly depicts these words. “The only things of value in your life are the things you gave away.”
We all want to live lives of that have value. All too often for me it seems like I’m trying to put hay in the barn and store up treasures and take my ride to a view rich in wonder. All of this way too much focused on protecting me. I think this is where faith comes in as we let go of some of this stuff and rest in the assurance of our redemption in Christ and all it means. It’s a learning process and God understands this and his patience, mercy and grace abound. It’s good we take steps and move closer humbly to be his child, embracing his tender mercies and loving care – one day at a time.
This book, Daily Redemption is about this and looking each day at how to embrace a special attribute of God and let it flow out into life’s actions in the choices I make. This is my prayer for us.
May the love of the Lord prevail in our lives today, and may his blessed riches overflow into our hearts with loving kindness and care for those he puts in our path.
In His Loving Care,
Jack Madson
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