Monday, November 27, 2006
Thankful
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations. ~ Psalm 100
Wow, shouting for joy, it's funny how we can do that literally, from the mountain tops as loud as our voices will carry, and how we can be shouting for joy in a quiet place where His peace and comfort just surround us like a big comfy blanket. I know, you're probably thinking, Lori, what in the world is going on.....well, that's an easy and hard one to explain all at the same time. To save from writing a novel, as I sit here with a fire dwindling down and the snow just falling like crazy, blanketing the trees, roof tops, cars and roads, the joy of our Father covers us in the same way if we allow Him to. I'm so thankful and grateful to be able to experience the joy and love of our Father in a way where the other day coming out of a store it's snowing buckets and it was a time where a woooohooo!!! was the only appropriate response that could be muttered (joy!). However, I've also been able to experience His love and provision as I sit in a new and overwhelming job wondering what in the world is going on, but at the same time just quietly smiling giving thanks for being in a place where it's allowing me to rely more and more on the strength of my amazing Father, knowing that I am His, the sheep of His pasture and He is my shepherd. Thank you Abba!!!
As I came across the 100th Psalm on Thanksgiving day, I was filled with an overwhelming thankfulness for who God is and what He has done and continues to do for those who believe and trust in Him. Thankful for the provision He's blessed me with, a place to live, health, a job, friends and family,the narrow road, and even the simple things of being able to sit as the fire dwindles in the fireplace and reflect on who the true light source is as well as watch the simple act of snow falling from the sky. It's the simple things that truly amaze me and make me shout for joy and sing praises, sometimes aloud, but most often times within the quiet, deep place in my heart He has created and continues to shape and mold.
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”
~1 Chronicles 16:8
Wow, shouting for joy, it's funny how we can do that literally, from the mountain tops as loud as our voices will carry, and how we can be shouting for joy in a quiet place where His peace and comfort just surround us like a big comfy blanket. I know, you're probably thinking, Lori, what in the world is going on.....well, that's an easy and hard one to explain all at the same time. To save from writing a novel, as I sit here with a fire dwindling down and the snow just falling like crazy, blanketing the trees, roof tops, cars and roads, the joy of our Father covers us in the same way if we allow Him to. I'm so thankful and grateful to be able to experience the joy and love of our Father in a way where the other day coming out of a store it's snowing buckets and it was a time where a woooohooo!!! was the only appropriate response that could be muttered (joy!). However, I've also been able to experience His love and provision as I sit in a new and overwhelming job wondering what in the world is going on, but at the same time just quietly smiling giving thanks for being in a place where it's allowing me to rely more and more on the strength of my amazing Father, knowing that I am His, the sheep of His pasture and He is my shepherd. Thank you Abba!!!
As I came across the 100th Psalm on Thanksgiving day, I was filled with an overwhelming thankfulness for who God is and what He has done and continues to do for those who believe and trust in Him. Thankful for the provision He's blessed me with, a place to live, health, a job, friends and family,the narrow road, and even the simple things of being able to sit as the fire dwindles in the fireplace and reflect on who the true light source is as well as watch the simple act of snow falling from the sky. It's the simple things that truly amaze me and make me shout for joy and sing praises, sometimes aloud, but most often times within the quiet, deep place in my heart He has created and continues to shape and mold.
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”
~1 Chronicles 16:8
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Do it now!
He said, ’Take now your son . . .’ —Genesis 22:2
God’s command is, "Take now," not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it.
"So Abraham rose early in the morning . . . and went to the place of which God had told him" ( Genesis 22:3 ). Oh, the wonderful simplicity of Abraham! When God spoke, he did not "confer with flesh and blood" ( Galatians 1:16 ). Beware when you want to "confer with flesh and blood" or even your own thoughts, insights, or understandings— anything that is not based on your personal relationship with God. These are all things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose what the sacrifice would be. Always guard against self-chosen service for God. Self-sacrifice may be a disease that impairs your service. If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it. But never decide the place of your own martyrdom, as if to say, "I will only go to there, but no farther." God chose the test for Abraham, and Abraham neither delayed nor protested, but steadily obeyed. If you are not living in touch with God, it is easy to blame Him or pass judgment on Him. You must go through the trial before you have any right to pronounce a verdict, because by going through the trial you learn to know God better. God is working in us to reach His highest goals until His purpose and our purpose become one.
~Oswald Chambers
