The First Day of Worship in the New Year

Sunday, January 03, 2016

This is the first Sabbath day of the new year.  My wife Sherry and I woke up early and begin our prayer and devotion right in our bedroom.  We both took turns praying to God and giving him thanks for all that we have, and all that he wants us to be and do for the Kingdom.  We then showered, got dressed, and headed to Tabernacle of Praise International with Pastor T.J. and Shunnae McBride.  The spirit was high as the praise and worship team led the congregation in song.  It was a festive atmosphere as the colored lights displayed brilliantly and seemingly in synch with the music.  It felt good to be back in our own church after being on the road visiting so many churches during the holiday season.  Pastor spoke from Isaiah 40:31 which says that “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up as wings on eagles, run and not get weary, walk and shall not faint.”  He talked about the characteristics of the eagle and how it was designed to soar and not flap its wings.  The eagle waits for the air to get underneath its wings before attempting to fly.  The eagle trusts in the provision that God made for it to fly, and we as humans should do the same.  We should trust God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  We should move in God’s power and not our own. When we get caught up in our own power we begin to flap like pigeons instead of soar like eagles. We must take a leap of faith to soar higher in this new year.  When we left church we went to Golden Corral where we ate a bounty of vegetables in observance of our Daniel Fast.  After we returned home I had a few minutes of silence and solitude as I read my Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Calhoun.  My wife then left for a meeting which allowed me to be alone by myself with God again.  I cherish the moment to be by myself where I can speak to God and find out exactly what he wants me to do.  Practicing silence and solitude is not easy when you are a family man. It takes concentration and effort to be alone without disturbance.  It’s not that you do not desire people to be around you, but there are times when a man or a woman  really need to get away by themselves for a little while so they can hear from the Lord.  Moses retreated to the mountain to be with God, and Jesus left the multitude to do the same.  I look forward to my practice of silence and solitude.  It seems to give me more confidence and control over my life.  When you sit still and know that he is God you realize that you do not have to be running around so much trying to fix things and make things happen.  I’m going to free fall into the hands of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Thank you Father