Sometimes it is only five, other times the news says there are ten things, and many TV stations deliver BREAKING NEWS after every commercial break. So, what am I to do with all the things that I need to know to make it through the day. CNN has a thing on it website that says the five things I need to know before the Stock Exchange opens at 9:30. Really, most people in the United States do not have money in the stock market. It is mostly for the top 1% or so. But , for some bizarre reason, I follow the Dow Jones Industrials average throughout the day; and I have no money in it. Ha ha.
So, what do I really need to know to start my day, and then end my day ? Well, I should/do start with God. On my morning walk, I think about whom I should pray for on that day. I have trouble sleeping, and sometimes when I wake up at 3 am, I think of people in my life. And when I am at church or at Mennonite Central Committee, I think about how I should follow the ways of God.
I need to try to remember to be compassionate to my family, my community and the world. I should start the day with , “ I am a sinner in need of the grace of God “ . I will never be perfect while here on this earth. I mess up all the time. God does not want to shame me. I am in the hands of a gracious of God, who thinks I am perfect, but also realizes that I sin, and I sin boldly. God does not want me to be frozen in sin, and therefore loves me, but I still sin. I use up too much of the earth’s resources. I do not recycle enough. I drive and fly too many times. I have been told this, and yet I do not change the way I live. Ugh ! Do we really have only until 2030 to change our ways. We will not do it because we are too greedy. “ I am indeed a sinner in need of the grace of God.”
You need to know how much money the world spends on military equipment and soldiers. The United States spends so much, it is sinful. They spend trillions of dollars, and they still do not feel safe. The Middle East has much hardware, sold to them by Canada and the United States, and they do not feel safe either. And the expenditures continue to go up and up. The West has been at war with Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001 and 2003, and what has it accomplished in terms of peace, infrastructure and stable government. And US does not ask if it can stay in Iraq or Syria, it just does so. I need to know this every morning, but what do I do with it ? I do not know.
Jesus said, and Jesus said a lot of things especially in the Gospel of John, “ You may ask for anything in my name and I will do it.” John 14:14. Maybe that is all I need to know in my life. God is in my corner. God love me. If I need something, God will make sure that I am comforted and cared for in my life. I will not get all I want, but God is… is… will be… and was… and IS
Derf Pokeder
Ponder Anew 