Please don’t feed the pelicans …  but please feed yourself.

And see personal note at the end.

Please don’t feed the pelicans, the sign at the end of our city pier reads.  ‘Doing so can create a dependent population.’  For some reason, I had that sign in mind today as I drove down the highway.  And my next seemingly random thought was, ‘but please feed yourself!’  Hmmm…do you know how to feed yourself, spiritually speaking that is?  I believe it is my responsibility to feed myself — in all ways.  Just as I do not wait for someone to make a meal for me, I do not expect someone to feed me spiritually either.

This is just a simple briefing about the proper care and feeding of your spiritual self.  The best nourishment comes from God’s Word, which is packed with wisdom and inspiration to guide us. A single verse can point us to God.  Take James 1.5 - If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

A few questions to make application easier:

1.  What is the verse (or verses) saying? 

2.  How does that apply to me?

3.  Is there any action I should take?

Besides intake of scripture, communicating with God daily grows our relationship with him.  Prayer can be hard, prayer can be confusing, especially because we cannot see God … but he is there, and he invites and even commands us to pray about everything all the time. 

O Friend, I’d like to tell you we serve a powerful God who is not far off or unconcerned about each one of us …

I’d like to tell you that when you pray, God moves …

When you pray, things change.

You and I need to learn to pray when we are not in the storm, so that prayer just comes naturally as our relationship with Jesus deepens.

My mind tends to wander a lot when I am praying, so having a plan helps me, and writing my prayers helps me stay focused.

I use little lined journals that fit in my Bible.  On the left side of the paper, I write letters that form the acronym PRAY.

P.

R.

A.

Y.

    and then I write my personal thoughts alongside each

Praise God for who he is, what he is doing, what he has done

Repent of wrong-doing.  Ask forgiveness; get a clean slate

Ask him for his touch on other people, ask God for wisdom and direction, ask him for help or relief in your life

Yield to him.  Be still.  Is there anything you feel he might be prompting you to do?

O yes, you ought FEED yourself:

--listen to great music; let it fill your heart with praise and    your mind with good and right thoughts

--draw near to God through reading his words to you

--grow your faith by praying and seeing God’s answers

--be still before him, be quiet . . . and feel his presence

--go to a house of worship, (and do it!)

Funny thing is the danger of feeding pelicans is creating a dependent population, right?  Well feeding ourselves spiritually also creates a dependent population—on God.  I will be silent for a week or so as I am having thyroid surgery tomorrow – Tuesday.  As always, I will be praying for all of you; kindly feed yourself well!