God the Father

19 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you,  Ezekiel 26

There's a lot of verses in this chapter that relate to what God's been pressing on me this week, so this is the brief one verse that I thought would pick.

Tyre, along with many other cities and many other peoples, did things that were evil in God's eyes.  God promised his vengeance and destroyed cities.  There's example after example of this happening in the Bible.  It's brought up as a point of argument by non-Christians - "Your God was quick to destroy cities in the OT, but now in the NT, he's all lovey-dovey.  Where's the consistency?"

I had a lightbulb moment with my son this last week.  I can't remember what it was exactly, but he was being stubborn and defiant over something.  I think i threatened him with taking his toys away if he didn't straighten up, and he immediately did.  It got me to thinking, this same threat won't work in a few years.  He'll probably shrug and tell me, "Whatever Mom."  I'm not looking forward to those days.

That led me to think about my relationship with my own parents.  When we had arguments when I was my son's age, which I don't remember, I'm sure my parents didn't handle things the same as when I was ten, thirteen, eighteen or even now in my adult life.  During that time, did my parents ever change?  No.  Who changed?  I did.  I grew up.  And the same thing will happen with my son.  He'll grow up and those arguments will come up and I'll have to handle them differently because he's different.

And here was my "Aha!" moment.  Over all these years, from OT, to NT, to present day, God hasn't changed.  We've changed.  As a society, we've learned, we've matured, and we've grown.  Think about it, even Moses was given very strict rules about sanitation in the Israelite camps to give to the Israelites.  The Israelites didn't have soap!  God wasn't giving them these rules because they needed to be super restrictive, he was giving them rules so they could stay hygenically clean!  

Think of this, the way God was giving rules in the early OT times is just like a parent sets rules for a young child.  "Do this because I say so."  The NT is more like adolescent and teen years.  "Here are some things to think about.  You'll probably fight and argue about it, but you'll come around in time once you see that I'm cool."  Where are we now?  We've grown up and moved out of the house.  It's up to us now to search him out.  He's given us all the tools and resources we need, and it's up to us as to how we use them.  We can go our own way or we can choose to do his will.  Over all these years, God didn't change - we did.

Thurs Devo: Free to Serve

I’m in a Revelation Bible study this year. It’s been a real joy to focus on so many different attributes of the Trinity that John writes about. In fact, I found it interesting that John greets the churches to whom he is writing and then immediately stops to praise Jesus!

Revelation 1:4-8       ⁴ John,

To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

⁷ “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

John knows that the churches are undergoing severe persecution. The fact that he starts his letter by reminding them of who they serve (and why) must have been encouraging. It’s encouraging to me! My problems can seem big or overwhelming, but when I am reminded of who God is and all Jesus did for me to free me from my sin, I’m compelled to continue to worship and serve Him out of gratitude.

I’m not freed from sin to serve myself, but to serve the Almighty Alpha and Omega who will reign forever, after all the troubles in this life are over.

Knowing how much God loves you and all He has freed you from, how are you compelled?

Alice

What are you manifesting into reality?

Proverbs 18:21

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that is may benefit those who listen. 

I sell Jamberry Nail wraps on the side just for fun.  My upline group has been doing what they call daily vitamins lately, which is a way to encourage us.  The one that came out this morning left me thinking and the two scriptures above were left as comments so I thought it was fitting to share.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your thoughts and your words once you are done with them?  Do they simply disappear from existence?  When you think, your brain creates electromagnetic energy.  That energy is released into the world and exists.  We cannot see it, but it IS there.  It doesn’t vanish, it goes out into the universe.  Same thing when you speak.  You are creating sound waves.  Those sound waves don’t just end when you stop hearing them.  Your words travel endlessly out into the vastness of space.  You are a being of creation and you continue to create every single day of your life.  Your thoughts, feelings, and words all become part of the timeless universe.  So tell me, what are you contributing to the universe?  What are you manifesting into reality?

Recognize your power and use it wisely.

Today you and I can each impact the universe for Christ.  Will you take that opportunity?

Tues Devo: Is it true?

Psalm 63:1 “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (NASB)

Hello,

In reading Psalm 63 this past week, I was struck by the question “Is this true of me?” as it relates to verse 1. When that crossed my mind, I went back and read the verse more slowly. The first part “O God, You are my God” – yup, that was true! The rest….I want to claim it as true. I have been a follower of Jesus long enough that I know it should be true….but could it be proven to those who closely examine me at this point in my life?

It was a strong challenge to me – I encourage you to ask the same challenging questions and see what God can do.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill