"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1, NIV
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Today's devotion (2/27/07) Job 5:17-18
"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal." Job 5:17-18, NIV
Suffering... something our human minds do not grasp the blessing in easily. We are to rejoice in all things-- including suffering-- what a difficult thing that is for us humans to do. When we are in the middle of going through times of suffering, it is indeed for our own good. Through suffering God shows us His love for us. Without suffering and times of discipline, we would be left to ourselves and to our own earthly desires. We might think we are happier without suffering while here on earth, but that would be missing the entire point.
God takes us through times of suffering and correction so that we might see how imperfect this world and our human goals really are. And, while temporarily painful, without suffering, we would miss the healing that only God can give. It is for this reason that God allows us to suffer... so that we might know His grace and healing, and be shaped more into His image through the grace that only He can provide.
Suffering... something our human minds do not grasp the blessing in easily. We are to rejoice in all things-- including suffering-- what a difficult thing that is for us humans to do. When we are in the middle of going through times of suffering, it is indeed for our own good. Through suffering God shows us His love for us. Without suffering and times of discipline, we would be left to ourselves and to our own earthly desires. We might think we are happier without suffering while here on earth, but that would be missing the entire point.
God takes us through times of suffering and correction so that we might see how imperfect this world and our human goals really are. And, while temporarily painful, without suffering, we would miss the healing that only God can give. It is for this reason that God allows us to suffer... so that we might know His grace and healing, and be shaped more into His image through the grace that only He can provide.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Today's devotion (2/26/07): 1 Kings 19:11-12
"The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19: 11-12
This scripture is from my reading today in "LET GO"... when we're in the midst of a waiting period, as I have been in myself, we often sit and wait for some monumental sign from God as to what our next step should be. God doesn't always use huge things to speak to us though-- sometimes he speaks in a whisper. It's our job to recognize that and be still. Our lives are so filled with noise and activity-- it can be deafening. Sometimes, when it feels like God is being silent-- when we can't hear His Voice or see His direction, maybe He's just trying to quiet us. As a former school teacher, I learned that sometimes the best way to get the attention of a rowdy group of kids was to begin speaking quietly rather than trying to scream over them. When we can't hear God for all the noise around us, maybe it's just because He is trying to get our attention through speaking in a gentle whisper.
This scripture is from my reading today in "LET GO"... when we're in the midst of a waiting period, as I have been in myself, we often sit and wait for some monumental sign from God as to what our next step should be. God doesn't always use huge things to speak to us though-- sometimes he speaks in a whisper. It's our job to recognize that and be still. Our lives are so filled with noise and activity-- it can be deafening. Sometimes, when it feels like God is being silent-- when we can't hear His Voice or see His direction, maybe He's just trying to quiet us. As a former school teacher, I learned that sometimes the best way to get the attention of a rowdy group of kids was to begin speaking quietly rather than trying to scream over them. When we can't hear God for all the noise around us, maybe it's just because He is trying to get our attention through speaking in a gentle whisper.
Waiting for Lightning, Steven Curtis Chapman:
Standing on the edge of the truth
Looking out at the view
Of all you used to believe
From where you are
You can see you're far away from home
Echoes of the life you once knew
Call out to you from across the divide
And you know it's time
To step back over the line
But you're...
Waiting for lightning
A sign that it's time for a change
You're listening for thunder
While He quietly whispers your name
Night falls and the curtain goes down
No one's around, it's just you and the truth
As you lie and wait
For a feeling to take you by storm
Somewhere in the depths of your heart
Where it's empty and dark
There's a flicker of light
And the Spirit calls
But do you know notice at all?
Or are you...
Waiting for lightning
A sign that it's time for a change
You're listening for thunder
While He quietly whispers your name
But the sign and the word
Have already been given
And now it's by faith
That we must look, and we must listen
Instead of...
Waiting for lightning
A sign that it's time for a change
You're listening for thunder
While He quietly whispers your name
He whispers your name
Don't wait, don't wait
Friday, February 23, 2007
Today's devotion (2/23/07): Romans 1:25
"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator..." Romans 1:25, NIV
While we might not do it intentionally, how often do we neglect to give God the praise and glory that is rightly His? We instead give other people, things and ourselves the glory for what is created by our own hands... while every good and perfect gift comes from Him. There is a lie the over-achiever tells him/herself subconsciously after a job well-done... that he/she is the one responsible. It is important to stop and recognize that without Him, nothing is possible-- and with Him, everything is possible. That is the one truth-- and the reason we should give thanks to Him alone.
While we might not do it intentionally, how often do we neglect to give God the praise and glory that is rightly His? We instead give other people, things and ourselves the glory for what is created by our own hands... while every good and perfect gift comes from Him. There is a lie the over-achiever tells him/herself subconsciously after a job well-done... that he/she is the one responsible. It is important to stop and recognize that without Him, nothing is possible-- and with Him, everything is possible. That is the one truth-- and the reason we should give thanks to Him alone.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Today's devotion (2/22/07): 1 Peter 5:5
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5, NIV
We often do things out of pride without even realizing it until we're in the midst of "getting things done". Us "over-doers" can get caught up in the doing and while we might not even be seeking praise from others, sometimes we are still seeking the "feel good" thing we feel when we do things for others-- there is still danger in that kind of giving because it is still tied to our inward pride.
In the middle of tasks that begin to seem difficult, the difficulty might just be in the fact that we have taken God out of the equation without even realizing it. It's at this point, that we should stop and take a good look at our intentions. Are we being proud and seeking that "feel good" feeling through doing a good job... or are we humbling ourselves-- waiting when necessary and seeking to serve God through following His lead?
We often do things out of pride without even realizing it until we're in the midst of "getting things done". Us "over-doers" can get caught up in the doing and while we might not even be seeking praise from others, sometimes we are still seeking the "feel good" thing we feel when we do things for others-- there is still danger in that kind of giving because it is still tied to our inward pride.
In the middle of tasks that begin to seem difficult, the difficulty might just be in the fact that we have taken God out of the equation without even realizing it. It's at this point, that we should stop and take a good look at our intentions. Are we being proud and seeking that "feel good" feeling through doing a good job... or are we humbling ourselves-- waiting when necessary and seeking to serve God through following His lead?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Today's devotion (2/21/07): Romans 12:3
"...Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." Romans 12:3, NIV
Today's reading (letter #8 in Let Go) brought this scripture to mind for me. It's easy to think highly of ourselves through what we perceive as success in our human endeavors, but our earthly success or failure is not what is important to our salvation or to the desires of our heavenly Father. When we stop looking at success as an outward thing and focus on glorifying God in all that we do, our achievements become unimportant and our purpose here on earth is fulfilled.
We make it impossible for our egos to take charge of our lives when all that we do is done with the intent of bringing Him the glory.
Today's reading (letter #8 in Let Go) brought this scripture to mind for me. It's easy to think highly of ourselves through what we perceive as success in our human endeavors, but our earthly success or failure is not what is important to our salvation or to the desires of our heavenly Father. When we stop looking at success as an outward thing and focus on glorifying God in all that we do, our achievements become unimportant and our purpose here on earth is fulfilled.
We make it impossible for our egos to take charge of our lives when all that we do is done with the intent of bringing Him the glory.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Today's devotion (2/20/07) Ephesians 2:8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by your works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV
It is by grace that we breathe. It is by grace that we are. God's Amazing Grace... not by anything we are ourselves-- not by anything we accomplish. A powerful every day reminder. In the words of Derek Webb, "I'm so thankful that I'm incapable of doing any good on my own".
It is by grace that we breathe. It is by grace that we are. God's Amazing Grace... not by anything we are ourselves-- not by anything we accomplish. A powerful every day reminder. In the words of Derek Webb, "I'm so thankful that I'm incapable of doing any good on my own".
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