Friday, April 24, 2009

Walking with the Lord

As we journey through life, we children of God call our time spent with Him our walk. The path we take can bless us or it can cause us to ponder our behavior. The pace of this journey is set by the Lord.

A friend, who taught our adult Sunday School class, more than once reminded us that we weren't to ’run before the Lord’. When she first said it, I had a mental picture of a person running very hard, wearing themselves out. I chuckled and thought, Yes, I have done that several times.

Sometime we get an idea we want to do. We start on it without consulting Jesus. Things don't work out as we would like. We have trouble finding the time to work on the project. We finally ask God to bless our labor.

We learn from hard experience that we need to walk with the Lord. We have to ask Jesus' guidance and direction before we begin any venture. Another former Sunday School teacher I had asked the questions, What would our world be like if we asked God for His guidance before we began a project? How would our families or our churches be different?

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

In the Presence of God

God's children find themselves in His presence each day. We hear of a friend's need and we pray with them. We, ourselves, face a trial; seek counsel from someone knowledgeable. Then we realize our need to approach the Mighty Counselor.

We allow Him to take over. We find ourselves more relaxed and able to think. Then we realize we aren't as worried about the circumstances and we are able to perform the tasks needed to reach the goal before us.

The telephone rings. The voice on the other end tells us some sad news. His wife has just left this earth for heaven. He's alone there in the home. We tell him we will be over in a minute. We tell our spouse and head out the door, crossing the street, an oncoming car has to slow down.

We ask if we can make any of the necessary phone calls for him. Basically we sit and wait with him until the hospice nurse arrives. In the mean time, their oldest son comes through the back door a couple of minutes ahead of your spouse. A lady from their church comes in a few minutes later.
During these times you feel God's presence and you feel thankful for it.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Provisions

My favorite name for Jesus is Jehovah-jireh, God who provides. He provides innumerable things for us, His children. “Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam 3:22-23)

The earth rotates on its axis at His command.

He sets in motion our planet, as it revolves around the sun.

The heavens produce rain and sunshine as the Creator wills.

Crops grow and are harvested in due time.

Babies- each one a gift from God- are born and grow because of Him.

He provides shelter for us.

He provides friendships.

Individually, God's children receive what they need from Him. He knows what is best for us. When we pray about our “need” we sometimes get a answer we don't understand. If God doesn't comply with what we ask for, it is for our own good. God sees the big picture; we can only see the here and now. We live in a fast food society. When we want something, we want it NOW. We need to learn to be thankful for what He provides.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...