A Morning Appointment

"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up" (Psalm 5:1-3).

It's imperative for us to meet God in the morning if we want to have a good day. Jesus got up early in the morning to pray – leaving us a perfect example, "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed" (Mark 1:35). Here we find the psalmist saying, "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, 0 Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up" (Psalm 5:3).

Meeting with God is not an appointment on a clock, but an appointment in your heart. Does God hear your voice in prayer in the morning? When He looks on you at the beginning of your day, does He look on you as a priest who has come to offer Him sacrifices of praises? That's what "direct" means (verse 3) - "to put in order" my prayer. It is to arrange, as it were, a sacrifice on an altar before the Lord.

When you wake up in the morning, remind yourself that you are one of God's priests. How did you become a priest? Through obedient faith in Jesus Christ (belief, repentance, confession, and baptism). The first thing we ought to do in the morning is the first thing the high priest used to do every morning. He laid the burnt offering on the altar. The burnt offering is a picture of total dedication to God. If you want to have a good day, start by giving yourself to the Lord as a burnt offering. Paul declared, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1). A good day begins in the morning, and it begins at the altar of prayer.

Does your day begin with God? If not, decide to start each morning by dedicating yourself to Him as a living sacrifice and ask for wisdom for the day's decisions and actions. He wants to direct your life through His word. So view each day as a gift from God and determine to be a good steward of the day's resources. Make your time with Him a daily appointment. The morning is the finest time for communion with God. "Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night."

Gospel Meeting
Our “Homecoming” Gospel Meeting is scheduled to begin NEXT SUNDAY, March 12th, and run through Wednesday, March 15th. Invite your friends, neighbors, and family and especially former members to be with us for any or all of this meeting. There are flyers available in the foyer. Our speaker for the series will be Ted Wheeler from Venice, Florida. Ted and Renee were members here at Orange Street back in the eighties and are cherished friends to many in the congregation. Note that there will be a special Sunday schedule next week. The PM service be at 2:00 pm following a noon meal in the annex.

Youth Devo
Our monthly youth gathering is scheduled for this evening after the PM services. For further information see Matt Faneuf.

Ledger Advertising
Orange Street church of Christ is enlarging the scope of our ad campaign that has been running in the Ledger. For at least the next three months, our ads will be larger and more often. Be sure to let the elders know what you think.

As a people we have revolted against hypocrisy and that's all well and good. But in making the 180 degree turn we have sped past righteousness into the ditch of open sin. Hypocrisy has been said to be the homage that vice pays to virtue. Where there is none, where vice has ceased to shroud or vail itself, a very advanced state of wickedness has been reached. "They proclaim their sin like Sodom they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have evil upon themselves." (Isa 3:9)