Today is a new day. A day with its own mercies. Today I will not focus on yesterday's failures, but consider each step I have taken that has brought me to today. I know it is God's intent that I live consistently by His word and develop spiritual maturity.
It is my goal to be mature. Mature enough to spend quality time speaking with the Lord. Mature enough to balance my time so that I am ready and available to be used by Him when He calls. Mature enough to not whine about stressful situations, but confidently take them to the Lord in prayer. Mature enough to recognize I don't have all the answers and seek guidance from my pastor, the Bible, and those in authority in my life. Mature enough to not spend every second focused on me, but taking time to see the needs of others, both physical and spiritual. Yes, I intend to be mature on this new day.
Each time I have entered the church, I purposed to leave differently. Better. More courageous. Humble. Obedient. Faithful. Compassionate. God, too, has purposed that each person who enters His presence leave differently than how he or she first came. He gave instruction in Ezekiel 46:9 that the people entering the tabernacle to worship should not leave the tabernacle by using the same gate they entered from. The instruction was to keep straight ahead and use the opposite gate in front of them. In the same fashion, when we enter the sanctuary to worship, we too have an encounter with a life-changing Savior who expects us to walk straight ahead in our transformation, not turning back to our old ways, but moving forward in our new commitments to God. With this resolve we will leave the sanctuary a different person. Better than the day before.
