Borders

“For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.” Psalm 137:13-14

When our family gets together for Christmas, one tradition that we have had for years is doing a Jigsaw Puzzle together. It started with my daughter and me, but others have joined us over the years.

There are some people who like to just dump all the pieces of the puzzle on the board, but we have a system. Before we start to put pieces together, we sort them into trays by colour, making sure every piece is right side up. As we are doing this, we pull out all the border pieces. Then we put the border together so that we have a frame to work from. This takes some time, but it makes it much easier to do the puzzle.

Recently our Pastor has been teaching on Relationship Principles of Jesus, and the last few lessons have been on setting boundaries. He has made the statement: “Boundaries are not as much about keeping others out as keeping ourselves in.”

In Robert Frost’s poem, Mending Wall, there is a well-known statement: “Good fences make good neighbours.” He also makes the statement “Before I built a wall, I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out,”

This week let us take time to re-evaluate our lives and make sure that we have spiritual boundaries set in our lives. As we plan our schedules are we taking time for Bible reading and prayer? Are there activities that keep us from this? Is our walk with the Lord, the most important part of our lives? Do we set boundaries on our time so that our families are not deprived of the attention they deserve? These are just a few questions we can ask ourselves, as we set the borders for the New Year.

Romans 12:1-2 “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. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Prayer: Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your love and care for us. Thank you for the guidelines that you have given in your Word. Help us to set the borders that you desire so that we can be our best for you.

Devotion by Anne Johnston