Crippled by sin,
begging- for choices
of blessing, we
look to You, Father-
hoping, for
tender morsels,
satisfactory scraps.
Myopic minds,
seeking, two pence
here, a quarter
affection there.
You- see more.
Lift us!
Help us, to stride,
upon heavenly plains,
no longer desiring;
meager things.
Trembling in fear,
waves of anxiety
crash, leaving
sweat-soaked sheets-
I know,
You are with me.
I know,
I have the victory.
I know,
the labor, is not
in vain-
The joy,
of the morning,
rushes in, filling
the dark places,
with the light,
of Truth.
One of the hardest facts to wrap our heads around about God is that nothing happens without Him. Isaiah tells us “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7 NIV). However, we like to compartmentalize things. We see hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters and we place them over here in their own category. War, famine, starvation, and disease are put into their own category. We take everything that we think is “evil” and we assign it to the Devil and everything that is good we assign to God.
Continue readingSo I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live; I defiled them through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn—that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord’
Ezekiel 20:25-26 (NIV)
Whenever we read or listen to the Bible we need to do so attentively. If we don’t then we risk misunderstanding what we’ve just taken in, and if we misunderstand something from the Bible then we might also misapply it. This is one reason to use a highlighter when you study your Bible. This is also why, in this season, I listen to the word first and then read it later. Another reason why we need to be attentive is that the Bible is one way that God speaks to us. If we’re not listening then how will we hear what He’s saying to us? Jesus tells us that His sheep know His voice and we get to know His voice by taking in His word (John 10:27).
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