Sermons and Studies

God of the Mundane

Spend time in prayer before you start. If you don't know what to say, here's an example you can follow: Heavenly Father, thank You for this time together with You. Open my eyes, Lord, to the truth of Your word and the truth of Your love for me. Help me learn what You would have me to learn today and to apply it to my life. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Read I Samuel 8:1-7

Israel basically tells God in this passage, 'we don't want You in our whole lives, just the religion part. Stay in the tabernacle until we need You. They literally put God in a box!

Now skip down to the end of the chapter, I Samuel 8:19-20.

We still do this! Sunday Christians, Unitarians . . . rice Christians! We tend to only want God until we want some shiny thing the world offers, or until we get what we want and then we fairly ignore God . . . until we want the next shiny thing or we get into trouble again. However, it is not in God's nature to be a God-in-the-box that jumps out when we crank up a prayer!

Check out Psalm 139:13-16.

God literally knows us inside and out. At conception, He knew each of us; he knew our life stories right down to the exact number of days we would live. Not only does He know us inside and out, He cares about the day-to-day happenings and decisions we make. He cares about US. (Read Luke 12:6-7, 22-30 for what Jesus had to say about that!)

Now head over to Matthew 6:8-13.

Look at how Jesus taught people to pray, especially verse 8. God knows what you need before you ask. Why? Because he WANTS to know! After all, if He didn't care, He wouldn't bother to know. Did you notice verse 11 and the daily bread? Bread is NOT for the entirely destitute! Grain is expensive and difficult to grow compared to other crops (Just ask the Irish; they survived for centuries on potatoes- without grain!) so He cares that you eat GOOD food. The point is, God cares about the little things in your life, just as much as the 'big' things. In my own life, God often expresses an opinion about my appearance as I dress; hair style, wardrobe choices (suggesting a particular outfit or modifying my own choice), even jewelry! I have been wearing my hair tight to my head in a rather severe fashion for quite some time. Recently, He suggested I start wearing it looser and I'm enjoying the change; it's more flattering to my features and in hot weather, cooler than wrapping braids around my head!

Now jump down the page to Matthew 6:24.

In our admittedly tiny town, there is a fantastic general store owned by a nice couple that is relatively new to the area, having come to our very rural area from 'the big city'. (In our town, 'relatively new' means 'not born here'.) The wife's brother was hired as a manager, overseeing the restaurant side unless the husband and wife are in the shop. Unfortunately, the brothers-in-law do not always see eye-to-eye about how things should be done, which tends to make it confusing and sometimes stressful on the staff as they struggle to please both men. No one who works there will ever love both men equally; they will either side with the owner and do things his way, or side with the manager and do things his way. It is impossible to please both, but guess what?

Matthew 6:33 is what!

Instead of casting a longing eye after all the world's shiny carnival prizes, stay in God's will and . . . (insert drumroll here.) He will give you the desires of your heart in His time, when it is the right time or season for you to have them.

Read I Timothy 6:6-10.

This passage always makes me think of the robot from that old television series, 'Lost in Space': 'Danger, Will Robinson!' Is being rich (or getting rich) a sin then? Only if it is accomplished through dishonest, unethical and/or immoral means. When you love money (and the acquisition thereof) more than God, you fall into a trap of your own making.

Flip on over to Hebrews 13:5.

Here's another warning! Don't get caught up in 'stuff'. Is it a sin to own fun or nice things? Certainly not! There is a time and a place for everything. For example, when I was a kid, my mom inherited her father's piano. It was a beautiful, mahogany upright (spinet) piano, and I wanted to learn to play it. My mother refused to pay for lessons because she'd paid for my older sister's lessons, only to have my sister refuse to practice and rebel against learning. Mom would not make that mistake again! Years later, out of the blue, I was given a gorgeous piano of my own (it was being replaced at a local church and did I want it?) and started (along with my two young daughters) to take lessons. How I loved that piano! To this day, my favorite pieces are 'A Knight Goes Riding Through an Enchanted Forest' and, 'The Black Hawk Waltz' (on the organ I acquired about a year after the piano.) Even though I had not specifically asked for a piano nor even hoped to own one, God heard the unspoken cry of my heart as a child and, at the proper time, provided a piano and even affordable lessons! That castoff-piano set up my children with a love of music that endures to this day and, even though we could not keep it after a time, it accomplished much and blessed us as a family. Through it, God proved to me that He does, indeed, care about 'the little things' in life.

In the words of the great Uncle Charlie from the radio program 'Keys for Kids', "well, how about you?" Can you remember a time when you asked God for something specific, that He provided? How about something that God provided, that you really wanted, even before you asked for it? (Side note: God chooses to provide in many different ways, through various means . . . but that's a topic for another day.)

Now that you know that God cares about the little things- the mundane parts- of your life, how will that affect your daily, day-to-day decisions?

If you have some time, reflect on the words from Psalm 139, and how God saw you as you were being formed inside your mother, how He knows you, inside and out. When you pray, why not take the time to thank God for loving you, just the way you are?