RESET
Monday
1.10.22
"Let my cry come before you, O Lord; give me understanding according to your word." - Psalms 119:169 NRSV
Family. Today I need some grace. I take these messages very seriously. My goal is to lead us all to a deeper walk in our faith. To encourage us to gain comfort with Christianity.
But there are moments when even I am perplexed. I woke this morning with 100 piece orchestra playing. Instead of a symphony, it was sonic force of noise, every instrument playing it's own notes at their own tempo. It was "noise".
Thing was, I didn't know what, why, where, or how this symphony was to go.
So today, I am giving myself a lesson. In fact, this week, until otherwise led, you all will be witnessing conversations to myself.
No matter how much learning, experience, a person has, everyone needs to reset, and no one knows everything... Not even me...😆
"Give me understanding according to your word."
I thank you God for reminding me to get out of your and your word's way.
When questions of the world, the injustices of the world, meanness of the world is ever-present, your Word is truth and light and life and love.
How grateful we are that you our words, you hear our cry, see our faces and feel our spirits.
What a joy it is that no matter what life gives us to handle, we are not alone, and we have a Father who never leaves us.
Sisters and Brothers, cry out to God. Reveal your full self to God. And in return, God will completely cover you.
That's God's Word!
Be Blessed, Beloved.
- Rev. Damon
© 2022 Faith First Project
Tuesday
1.11.22
"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." -
Philippians 3:14 NRSV
In Biblical days, there were no devices, no tech vehicles, no remotes. There were no buttons to "press".
When something is "pressed", pressure is applied to move something.
As I am resetting, I have to press forward. Forward.
I have to apply pressure to my situations, circumstances, people, that are in path of forward progress.
I must recenter, reset, recallibrate, with the goal of ensuring that everything I do, say, move towards and move with is with God's Grace as the source.
The people of Philipi are examples, when chaos is all around, even if unsure of the outcome, press forward.
I must press forward. We must press forward.
Press on Sisters and Brothers. Press on!
Be Blessed, Beloved.
- Rev. Damon
© 2022 Faith First Project
Wednesday
1.12.22
"If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;" - 1 John 1:6 NRSV
As I am resetting, there are some new realities that I am dealing with. Most good. But some, some got my head spinning.
Do I pray? Yes. Read the Word? Yes. Meditate? Yes. And still, life can feel... Heavy.
Then there is the arsenal of information, the deadlines of responsibilities and obligations, the handling the business of life, it can make the "all of it" tons of weight with no handle, no way around through or over.
As if that wasn't enough, every outcome rests solely on me making the right decisions.
Ugh.
Then there is today's scripture. The key is "in darkness".
It doesn't say "through darkness", it says "in darkness".
I think that's the lesson. Walking "through" darkness means we are walking through something external, outside of us, that's the world.
Walking "in" darkness means that we are walking with a darkness INside of us, in our heads, our spirits.
New Testament means that Jesus knows that we will be "in" darkness.
But today's scripture is saying if we keep darkness IN us, we are doubting Jesus' ability to save us from that darkness.
You ever know something, try to tell someone, and they don't believe you, and they miss out on the truth you offered.
Jesus knows that He can save us, heal us, rescue us, restore us, reset us. But we have to let Him.
Sisters and Brothers, feel the darkness. Admit it's there.
Then, keep walking. Keep pressing. Keep moving forward.
Remember, there may be darkness. But the Son, the Son will always shine on us.
Be Blessed, Beloved.
- Rev. Damon
© 2022 Faith First Project
Thursday
1.13.22
"by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all th huhose sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses." - Acts 13:39 NRSV
I may get in trouble for this one, but here I go anyway.
One of my favorite shows ever was "A Different World".
There was a character played by Jennifer Lewis. She was a Dean of Students, and when students did something wrong, she reminded them that she was keeping note of their trangression, "In my Book".
The point was that someone was always watching and had record of their wrongs. Everytime they saw her, they saw "the book".
Out of love, and discipline, she did this.
As I continue with my New Year "reset", I had to think about the power and weight that book has on my life.
Here's the trouble. The historian. The liberator. The teacher. The one whom God set apart to deliver the 10 Commandments. Moses.
Moses wrote and kept the Books of Law. If anyone knew about the Law and who and how they broke the Law, Moses knew.
All of our sins mistakes, transgressions, all right there, in a book, starring at us. Too heavy to lift. Too voluminous to forget.
We try to turn pages, but then our eyes see a sin and then we recall all of it, the shame, guilt, hurt, embarrassment all comes back, earth-quaking or progress.
Sisters and Beothers, today's scripture reminds me that not even Moses and his book should have any authority over me.
No one, not a person on earth has a book elegant, well-written, well-intended, well-known enough to have any power over my life.
For those who believe, Jesus liberates us all from all books on our life.
Let us stop carrying their books. Let us stop reading their books. No more living according to their books.
Jesus liberates us all, from all human books.
No matter who they are because of WHOSE WE ARE!
Be Blessed, Beloved.
- Rev. Damon
© 2022 Faith First Project
Friday
1.14.22
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words." - Romans 8:26 NRSV
There have been moments when I did not know what to pray.
I did not know how to talk to my Savior. Jesus has done so much for me, and here I come with my insignificant stuff.
Stuff, that really was not as important as I made it to be. Stuff I knew better to be in. Stuff that I let fester instead of handling.
Stuff.
I hate letting Jesus down. I hate Jesus thinking I take His love for granted. So instead of praying, I just went silent.
Umm, FYI... Jesus sees and knows everything, so it's not like I can hide anything. But who remembers that in the midst of stuff?
I thank God for today's scripture. Sisters and Brothers, if you are like me, you may have had a moment when you don't know what or how to pray.
As I reset, as we reset, let us remember that we have a Holy Spirit who, "intercedes with sighs too deep for words."
The Holy Spirit "sighs" to Jesus on our behalf.
That "sigh" contains everything about us in that moment.
That "sigh" says everything that Jesus needs to hear.
That "sigh" is a prayer for us.
Even when we can't speak, remember, the Holy Spirit has been sent to "sigh" for us to Jesus.
It's going to be okay, Sisters and Brothers.
Jesus hears it all.
Be Blessed, Beloved.
- Rev. Damon
© 2022 Faith First Project