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"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Matt. 6:34 The Message

Living in the moment, in his presence, may be our biggest daily challenge. Why is living connected to present provision and intimacy with Papa so difficult? We are so easily distracted. We are so easily side-tracked. We are so easily worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. Do I need to go on?

I think many of us are stricken by what my friend Mickey Evan calls head-and-butt disease. The spiritual diagnosis: S.A.D.D. (spiritual attention deficit disorder). This may be the “saddest” way to live life. Our head is projected into what may or may not happen in the future (through worry). This causes our butts to lose present, moment by moment focus on “Christ in us”! What a merry-go-round.

Intoxicated by S.A.D.D. head-and-butt, our lives spin increasingly out of control. Stop the merry-go-round! But, how you ask? May I suggest King David’s approach to each new day?

“This the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24, NIV.

“Thank you for responding to me; you’ve truly become my salvation! The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! This is God’s work. We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it! This is the very day God acted—let’s celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, God…Salvation now! Oh yes, God—a free and full life!” Psalm 118:21-25, The Message.

Christ alone has the final say about every moment and experience of our life. King David calls him the “capstone”. A “capstone” is the stone that makes up the top layer-he alone covers us! A “capstone” is also the crowning achievement or finishing touch. Jesus will be the “crowning achievement” of your life today!

That’s why David said, “This is God’s work. We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it!” He alone has the authority, perspective and power to place the “finishing touch” on each moment of your life. Our only job is keep our “sail” turned into the wind of his presence.

Jumping by faith into Christ, we catch the simple flow and current of what Papa is up to at any given moment. Living in the flow of his current (will) is the only way to keep “current” and out of the opposing flow of S.A.D.D. “We are not our own, we were bought with a great price.”

This present, moment by moment salvation is what the follower of Jesus can live in. Let's resolve to trust the sufficiency of Christ for today. Let's receive the more than adequate Grace and Mercy he always has for us in the present. Be glad in him today instead of s.a.d.d. in yourself. Be nurtured by the awareness of him today!

In the grip of Papa’s moment by moment, loving grace and mercy! Ron Ross