Every Thanksgiving my wife does the same thing, and I love the tradition of it. She goes into the yard and get a dead stick and plants it into a pot. She puts this pot in the center of our table. Then spreads paper leaves, of all the fall colors, on the table. We are instructed to write the things we are thankful for and tie them to the tree. The tree, that once was dead looking, now is coming to life with the thanks and gratitude of our hearts. It is a beautiful reminder of the power of thanksgiving.
Ebenezer is not just a scrooge. In the Bible it was a monument - a memorial to remember what God had done at a certain location. It was to be a talking point for when your children ask what it means, you can tell them about the greatness of God.
Joshua 4.1-24 "In the days to come, when your children ask their fathers, 'What are these stones doing here?' tell your children this: 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry ground.' Yes, God, your God, dried up the Jordan's waters for you until you had crossed, just as God, your God, did at the Red Sea, which had dried up before us until we had crossed. This was so that everybody on earth would recognize how strong God's rescuing hand is and so that you would hold God in solemn reverence always."
This Thanksgiving is a great time to remind myself of what God has done for me so that I will recognize Him as God, my God. He has blessed me with an amazing and loving wife. He has given me 2 of the greatest gifts in my girls. We have good health. We are together.
There is so much to be thankful for. Take, no make, the time to share what you are thankful with to the people that you are thankful for.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Own us, posses us.
"Please, O Master, if you see anything good in me, please Master, travel with us, hard-headed as these people are. Forgive our iniquity and sin. Own us, possess us." (Moses to God) Exodus 34.8-9
The statement, "Own us, possess us," is so easy to say when it is just words. But when you are desperate they flow from your heart - where they are cried out of need.
When we begin to see God as this Father who loves unconditionally, patient beyond belief, completely true - yet the perfect judge - we realize our need and lack of worthiness.
Then, and only then, will we be ready to pray this. When we realize that the beating in our chest is more than just our heart - when we notice taht the quickening comes when we recognize God and His calling in our lives - will this become more than just a statement. It will become a declaration - a yearning in our soul.
In the middle of the desert, or the back side of nowhere, God is still calling us. He has never left us - He has not abandoned His plan for us. He is using even the wilderness to shape us - to cause us to want Him more. Then to draw us closer to Himself.
Own me! Possess me! I want You in every part of my life. I want my life to be nothing compared to You.
The statement, "Own us, possess us," is so easy to say when it is just words. But when you are desperate they flow from your heart - where they are cried out of need.
When we begin to see God as this Father who loves unconditionally, patient beyond belief, completely true - yet the perfect judge - we realize our need and lack of worthiness.
Then, and only then, will we be ready to pray this. When we realize that the beating in our chest is more than just our heart - when we notice taht the quickening comes when we recognize God and His calling in our lives - will this become more than just a statement. It will become a declaration - a yearning in our soul.
In the middle of the desert, or the back side of nowhere, God is still calling us. He has never left us - He has not abandoned His plan for us. He is using even the wilderness to shape us - to cause us to want Him more. Then to draw us closer to Himself.
Own me! Possess me! I want You in every part of my life. I want my life to be nothing compared to You.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
God Understands!?!
Exodus 2.24-25 God listened to their groanings. God remembered His covenant. God saw what was going on. God understood.
Understood? Understood! Understood?!?
He understood what? Their pain - their suffering - their tears? Their lack of undestanding why their God, who said they were His and taht He loved them, would allow such heartache and pain?
God understood exactly what it would take to get His people to pray - to cry out - to beg for God to intervene. God is a relational God - He is about reconciling us to Himself - that means restoring the relationship He had originally planned.
God misses the walks in the cool of the day. He misses hearing aobut the new discoveries. He longs to hear how the kids are - how the job is going - how life is treating you.
He wants you and I!
He understands that we don't, and won't, come to HIm when life is good. He knows taht we will give HIm lip service and make all kinds of promises when life is hard - only to fall back inot our normal ways once things turn around.
Yet, GOD UNDERSTANDS!!! He comes down to help us in our time of need - to set us free - to belss us beyond what we deserve, knowing full well that we will turn our backs on Him - that we will take control again when things calm down.
But, He still steps in and saves the day.
Prayer for Today:
God, I'm sorry for my anger. I'm sorry for my lack of trust in You. I'm sorry for acting like a spoiled brat and snatching the reigns of my life away from You at every turn. Please forgive me for my disobedience. Forgive me for not walking with You in the cool of the day - when life is good.
Open my heart to You! Thank You for hearing my cries and saving the day.
Understood? Understood! Understood?!?
He understood what? Their pain - their suffering - their tears? Their lack of undestanding why their God, who said they were His and taht He loved them, would allow such heartache and pain?
God understood exactly what it would take to get His people to pray - to cry out - to beg for God to intervene. God is a relational God - He is about reconciling us to Himself - that means restoring the relationship He had originally planned.
God misses the walks in the cool of the day. He misses hearing aobut the new discoveries. He longs to hear how the kids are - how the job is going - how life is treating you.
He wants you and I!
He understands that we don't, and won't, come to HIm when life is good. He knows taht we will give HIm lip service and make all kinds of promises when life is hard - only to fall back inot our normal ways once things turn around.
Yet, GOD UNDERSTANDS!!! He comes down to help us in our time of need - to set us free - to belss us beyond what we deserve, knowing full well that we will turn our backs on Him - that we will take control again when things calm down.
But, He still steps in and saves the day.
Prayer for Today:
God, I'm sorry for my anger. I'm sorry for my lack of trust in You. I'm sorry for acting like a spoiled brat and snatching the reigns of my life away from You at every turn. Please forgive me for my disobedience. Forgive me for not walking with You in the cool of the day - when life is good.
Open my heart to You! Thank You for hearing my cries and saving the day.
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