"Dailyness"

 

“Dailyness”

 

Years ago I heard Karen say, “Life is so daily.” What does this mean to you? “Same ol’, same ol’”? “Same stuff, different day”? Being in a rut? Dullness and boredom? Maybe all of the above. But dare we call it routine when God has given us each new day? An anonymous psalmist says no—“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24, emphasis added). (For another take on this subject look back at “A ‘Routine’ Day?”)

Most of us have responsibilities and other matters we must attend to every day (e.g. eating, work, household chores). These can become habits which we may do without thinking and become discombobulated if the routine varies. But if we keep Paul’s admonition in mind, “…Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus….” (Colossians 3:17, emphasis added)) we can avoid this pitfall.

Scripture gives us a number of daily practices which God would have us observe (emphasis added in each case):

*Praise (“Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.”—Psalm 145:2).

*Read God’s Word (“{Ezra} read from the book of the law of God daily….”—Nehemiah 8:18, NASB).

*Closely examine Scripture (“…The Bereans…examined the Scriptures every day….”—Acts 17:11).

*Pray (“…Anna…worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”—Luke 2:36-37).

*Bear Jesus’ cross (“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.”—Luke 9:23).

*Seek godly wisdom (“Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to {God’s wisdom}, awake and ready for me each morning….”—Proverbs 8:34, TM).

*Renewal (“…Our spirits are being renewed every day.”—2 Corinthians 4:16, NLT).

We’d likely agree that we ought to act on each of these on an everyday basis and “someday” we intend to do so. But note what our Lord’s brother tells us: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22, emphasis added). What better time to start our daily obedience than today? In the words of another of Israel’s songwriters, “Whoever is wise, let (him or her) heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord, (Psalm 107:43).

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan