December 31, 2024 – New Year’s Eve and Seventh Day of Christmas

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.  When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,  I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:11-14

If you are like me, sometimes you ask yourself, “Am I doing what God wants me to do?” I struggled with deciding to go to Seminary for many years – almost ten – wondering if this was my will or the will of G-d. Maybe you wonder about whether your career is the right one for you, or if you are being called to take a break from your career to care for children or aging parents, or to follow the voice of G-d down some different professional path.

Finding G-d’s will in our lives involves seeking G-d’s wisdom to understand what to do — asking G-d to help lay out a plan to accomplish it including using our strengths willingly and gracefully. This means accepting the changes that are inherent in such a decision. Although I sometimes wondered if I had made the right decision, I learned to trust G-d that there was a greater plan and greater will moving me along on my path. I am grateful for the path that G-d has taken me on so far, and I keep asking G-d to guide my current situation and to help me navigate the turns and twists that are coming up. And I pray for the grace and wisdom to listen.

If you are wondering what G-d’s will is for your life, perhaps you can consider first what you like most about your life right now? What do you like least? And then consider what does finding G-d’s will in your life—personally, professionally, and for your family—mean for you? It all starts with considering, praying, discerning, and of course Listening. It takes time – but G-d will answer those prayers.

Pastor Dave

December 30, 2024 — Sixth day of Christmas

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV).

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV).

“If you think your talents are simply for you to make a lot of money, retire, and die, you’ve missed the point of your life.” That is a quote from a pastor I have admired for some time. It is not profound – it is not unique – but it says it all. G-d gave you talents to benefit others, not yourself. And G-d gave other people talents that benefit you. That’s the way life works. We are all part of the body of Christ, and not all of us can be the foot or the head. There are no insignificant people in the family of G-d. None! You were conceived and shaped to serve G-d, as well as the family of G-d, and that means we will be tested and confronted with situations where we are challenged to share talents G-d gave you.

It is the sixth day after Christmas, and as the year 2024 is so short now, so are my devotions. But remember this, whether you are a musician or an accountant, a teacher or a cook, an IT Specialist or a window washer, an Uber driver or a barista, G-d gave you those abilities to serve others. When G-d made you, he made an investment in you, and he expects a return on that investment. Don’t sit on your talents – use them.

Pastor Dave