Thursday, March 6, 2014

Don't Forget to Remember...!

“They forgot God had done, the wonders He had shown them.” (Psalm 78:11)



So I heard from a Christian woman who tearfully told of God's financial provision in sending her daughter on mission overseas. How what the parents owed for the trip, arrived in the form of a back payment for services her husband performed years ago...the exact amount needed!

Coincidence? Hardly.  How about the Hand of Almighty God!

I've been reminded of God's faithful provision in my own life, in the form of compensation that showed up at my office...the exact amount I had needed for an insurance deductible coming up! And on and on similar stories are retold.

Why do I, why do we forget these things of His character? I don't know, seems like a design flaw in our making, because we as God's people have been forgetting His faithfulness for thousands of years.  So Psalm 78 reminds us.


But another Psalm prods us to remember...


“Remember the wonders God has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced, O descendants of Abraham His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the Lord our God...” (Psalm 105:5–7)


Remembering that God was way faithful in my past, encourages me that He'll do so in my present.  How can I remember? I'm human after all, without permanent recall. Maybe share His faithful moments with others. Maybe set them as a recurring event on my digital calendar. I remember birthdays, anniversaries, and other major events of my life? Is not God showing up, in the same monumental category?

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples! For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 117)

{**PS:  I did it...I decided to start setting "God moments" as forever recurring events on my computer calendar.  Try it...}

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Truth mined deep Within


"Ezra had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel."   (Ezra 7:9–10)


Random, I know. But God speaks even from the deep rarely traversed pages of His Word.

So too here. See that: 
  • Ezra began a journey
  • It took a while (and what happened in 5 months we can only imagine, for we know traveling's not easy.)
  • And he arrived
  • For the gracious (keyword) hand of God
  • Was with him(why?)
  • Because Ezra had devoted himself
  • To studying, living out, and sharing the truths of God
Call it the blessed trifecta:  into me, out of me, onto others. 
Can I say that God's Word is doing that in my life...?
If so, the promises gleaned here tell us that we will arrive, and God will be with us.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

So from now on...

"So from now on...we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a  new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"  2 Cor 5:16-17

Happy New Year!
This time though the same, is different.
Our God who never changes through the seasons, is always new and inviting.
Life with Him is full of..."so from now on's."

Day 1 starts today.
Do it. Make the change. Turn the corner. Try again.
I can, you can, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!