Does your centre hold?

Scripture:

1Chronicles 31:10, 20-21

10 The chief priest Azariah, who was of the house of Zadok, answered [Hezekiah], “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty to spare; for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this great supply left over.” ...

20 Hezekiah did this throughout all Judah; he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. 21 And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in accordance with the law and the commandments, to seek his God, he did with all his heart; and he prospered.

Observation:

Hezekiah served God (and the people of God, as their king) whole-heartedly. The placement of God as the centre of all his plans and activities for the kingdom and its people led to the repair of the temple (which had become a shambles), the re-consecration of the priests (who had become complacent), the tearing down of false idols (which had crept in and begun to compete with the LORD for the trust of the people), a great revival of faith and a whopping-big festival of worship, and an out-pouring of offerings that was more than what was needed to provide for all the needs of all the people.

Application:

We are living at a time in western Christianity where there is a lot of hand wringing about the future of the church. But, the truth is the future of Christ's church is (and always will be) secure in his provision and protection. The question is: will we be willing to forsake our myriad false idols for long enough to recognize that the "kingdom of heaven has already drawn near" even hear, even now, even for us.

Let's be clear, the future of our various congregations and denominations does not lay in a program or strategic model that is for sale. Our future is not in young families, or old ones; not in serving the poor, nor catering to the rich. Our future is in the steps of Jesus the Christ whom - so long as we are the church - we must seek after. God is out ahead of us blessing and redeeming the world! And here's the really fun part: when we accept that, and get focussed on pursuing God whole-heartedly, we will find that we have all we could ever need (if maybe a tad less than we might want) to accomplish the vital tasks to which we are invited to take on.

What are the "high places" and "false gods" the Living God 

is inviting you to forsake today? For me, I am embarrassed 

to say the list is long. I do hear the LORD suggesting 

though, that I start professionally by handing over my 

anxiety around budgets and personally by getting real about 

spending less time passively consuming images and stories 

that pour forth from shiny screens.

Prayer:

Jesus, be the centre.

Jesus, be the centre.

Be my source, be my light, Jesus.

Lord, grant us grace to start and end with you in all our plans and efforts. We trust you to provide all we need. Amen.