My cousin, Emily, works in the National Collegiate Office of the Navigators in Colorado Springs, CO. Her recent newsletter update included a transparent testimony that served as a very helpful and needed reminder. I've included it below with her permission.

This morning I was listening to the beginning chapters of John and took note when Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" (5:19). I realized that I often, actually almost always, have the wrong perspective about the work I am doing. When my feet hit the floor in the morning, I cycle through the tasks, meetings, and activities scheduled for the day. And I spend a lot of mental energy determining how to best accomplish my to-do list and get the most out of my day.

According the verse above, Jesus emptied himself of his personal desires and plans for each day of his earthly life and surrendered himself to the plan his Father had established. He went so far as to say he couldn't do anything by himself. He imitated his Father's actions each and every moment of his life.

I realized I rarely approach a day with the thought that I can't do anything scheduled for that day by myself. Instead, I approach each day with confidence that me, myself, and I can accomplish everything slated for that day. As a follower of Jesus, it is wrong, i.e. sinful, for me to approach each day with this mentality. Jesus is more concerned about who I am becoming, not what I am doing. So tomorrow morning, when my feet hit the floor, instead of going through the day's schedule, I will pray, "Jesus, I surrender my plans for this day to you and admit that I can accomplish nothing of Kingdom value in my own strength. I chose to follow your plans and purposes for my life today." Will you pray this with me?

Dawn and I are slowly working our way through the book Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself by Joe Thorn. I haven't led the most faithfully in Bible reading, worship, and prayer together, but, even as I know what God desires for me, I also know that His Spirit will continue to enable me—so, I'm striving to ingrain this habit into the very fabric of who I am as a "new humanity" husband (Colossians 3:10, 12-16; Ephesians 4:24; 5:18, 25-27). By the way, accompanying this goal is a desire to pray for you all by name on a weekly basis. It's a shameful lack of love that I have not been more regular in this spiritual responsibility as well (Galatians 6:2). Nonetheless, with my goals stated, with your accountability solicited, and with God's gracious Spirit enabling, I'm excited to reap spiritual success in these areas!

Yesterday, Dawn and I prayed through the next 15 names or so in the Single Focus group and we read a chapter from Note to Self entitled, "Speak to Others." It was neat to see how much it complemented our study in True Community, even borrowing one of the key verses (Hebrews 3:12-13) and the very title of our study.

I've pasted below that key verse and a quote from that chapter that I hope will serve to "stir you up to love and good works" (Hebrews 10:24-25), even as it did me. Before that, let me just share the key challenge that I received from this reading.

I was reminded that "as long as it is called 'today,'" I have a God-given responsibility to spiritually help you, my brothers and sisters. And, "today" just happens to be another day that I can call "today," :) and so my job is clear—to take care to myself, lest I have an evil, unbelieving, and calloused heart; and to exhort you, lest you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. I hope this post helps accomplish that. I hope any personal interaction I have with you helps to accomplish that. I hope to use the various technology tools around me to help accomplish that. And, if we all focus on accomplishing that goal "every day," then even when individual members fail to do so in any given day (as I know I have and will), we as a community together will accomplish that!

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "Today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

- Hebrews 3:12-13


Dear Self, Are you connected to others in such a way that affords you opportunities to speak into their lives? Just as God has put people near you to speak to you for your God, so he has intended to use you to speak words of grace to others. The questions are—are you connected, and are you speaking? It is not enough to just be around others, maintaining politeness and pleasantries. You must be connected to others more deeply, in true community, where you are doing life together and pursuing the same purpose together.

- From Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself by Joe Thorn, chapter 24 – "Speak to Others"