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Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Of dogs and prayer
This afternoon Marion and i were about to go run errands and I was in the bedroom about to put my shoes on. our dog Mara walked to the edge of the bedroom door and stood there looking at me. I told her "come here Mara come talk to me I always have time for you." we visited for a bit and then she walked out of the room. As she walked off God got my attention and reminded me of Hebrews 4:16 "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." See Mara and I are a lot alike. at times I'm real timid when it comes to prayer and i approach prayer with a bit of trepidation. I think the things I pray about are sometimes not worth troubling God. He reminded me that like the relationship with Mara and I he's sitting there waiting on me to come and talk to Him.
When the Journey is too much
Been reading a lot more lately and i wanted to share some extra stuff with you this week. This is from the second book Five minutes with Jesus: Peace for today by Sheila Walsh. I think it's a message we all need to hear. See on Sundays i work a 12 hour shift and don't get me wrong i have a fun job i love but i understand very much what Mrs. Walsh talks about in this passage about fatigue. Sometimes i feel so busy on my days off I want to go to work just to relax. lol
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all."
That statement by Green Bay Packers football legend Vince Lombardi is so true. We've all experienced it: the end of the day comes and with it, the end of our energy and often the end of our courage for whatever the next day may hold. Great heroes of the Bible have experienced it. Even the mighty prophet Elijah.
Our first several encounters with Elijah reveal a fiery man of God, a man unafraid to take on conflict, a man who unhesitatingly took care of the business at hand with, I would venture, a bit of swagger in his step.
When Queen Jezebel found out about all the trouble Elijah had been causing, she threatened his life. I would expect the bold Elijah of Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18) to tell her, "Bring it!"----But that isn't what he did.
Elijah turned and ran. After a days journey into the wilderness of Judah, Elijah sat down under a broom tree and cried out to God: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life" (1 Kings 19:4)
Wait a minute. What happened to the strong and confident Elijah who stood on Mount Carmel and called fire down from heaven? Keep reading.......
Immediately after his desperate prayer, Elijah fell asleep under the broom tree (v.5); he was exhausted.
And what did God do? He didn't lecture Elijah about his calling or tell him to toughen up. No. Instead. God tenderly cared for Elijah. God sent and angel who awakened the prophet to feed him, let him sleep some more, and then fed him again. The food and rest would enable Elijah to make the journey that lay ahead.
Perhaps a great journey awaits you, or maybe you are travelling a journey that has become too much for you to handle and you're telling God you've had enough. Take a moment and listen to your body. Do you night's sleep, a power nap, or a solid meal right now?
Your Creator God knows that your physical body has limits. That's why sometimes the most productive thing we can do is simply take a break. It is amazing how a bit of rest can change our perspective, allowing us to experience sweet peace rather than overwhelming anxiety....... and eventually recoup our courage!
He tenderly and wisely cares for his beloved!
The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." Mark 6:30-31
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Psalm 62:1
On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. Genesis 2:2-3
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Psalm 37:7
there were no songs with this but upon my second reading it to me these songs fit so well with what Mrs. Walsh said in her book.
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We all at some point struggle with feelings of being alone and having any concept of self worth. I want to invite you on a journey to see about your existence.
Psalm 139:1-18
1You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How vast is the sum of them!
18Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
See your life matters and mine does too. God created us to interact with the people in our lives. The Bible is his love story to us if you don't believe me look no further than the cross. John 3:16 and Romans 5:8
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