Tag: God’s plan

Even When It Looks Like Chaos

Jeremiah 44-45

Jer 44

Monday, March 13

Jeremiah went to Egypt and he continued sharing God’s messages to the people, who were worshipping the Egyptian gods. Jeremiah warned them that God was upset with them and they would be punished for their sins, but they didn’t believe him. However, because of their sin, the very things they went to Egypt to escape – war and peril – would follow them to Egypt.
Jeremiah’s secretary Baruch was having trouble dealing with all this turmoil, but God had a message for him too (in chapter 45):
“But God says, ‘Look around. What I’ve built I’m about to wreck, and what I’ve planted I’m about to rip up. And I’m doing it everywhere—all over the whole earth! So forget about making any big plans for yourself. Things are going to get worse before they get better. But don’t worry. I’ll keep you alive through the whole business.” (The Message) 
Baruch had a lot of other things he would rather be doing with his time than wading through the chaos that was going on among the people. It is not known exactly to what he was aspiring – power, fame, fortune – but he was weighed down by all that was going on that prevented his desires from coming to fruition. God provided him some encouragement and reminded Baruch that He has a plan and is in control, even when it looks like chaos.
 There have been many times in my life when I wish I could have some of the “Back to the Future” movie magic in real life – not to relive the 1980s fashion that I remember from my childhood, but to experience the time travel feature! Sometimes, we just don’t want to deal with or sort through the mess in which we find ourselves. I’m sure Baruch would have liked to travel through time and just have the whole terrible experience be over.
Life sometimes throws us hard balls, and it can be difficult to find joy in the journey. But it is important to remember that even in the hard times, God is still in control. Pray with me to have an open heart to see what God might be teaching us through difficult times, and to “be full of joy in the Lord” (Phil. 4:4) even in the midst of our undesirable circumstances, seeking and praising Him through every moment of life.
-Rachel Cain
(Photo Credit: http://www.quotescodex.com/why-provoke-me-to-anger-with-what-your-hands-have-made-burning-incense-to-other-gods-in-egypt-where-you-have-come-to-live-you-will-destroy-yourselves-jeremiah-448-295864/)

He Knows

Psalm 139 – 144

psalm-139-14-large

Thursday, January 19

After 11 years of marriage, I feel like I know my wife pretty well.  I don’t just know her favorite movie, but I know when she will laugh in a couple dozen different films.  I don’t just know her favorite food, but I could sit down at a new restaurant with her, look at the menu, and tell you what she is going to order.  I don’t just know what annoys her, I could execute the annoyance with such precision that she would be sent into a full-blown rage within seconds.  I may know her better than she knows herself.  I do not only see her actions, but I know her potential.  I do not only know her answer, but understand her logic (well, most of the time).  When you love something or better yet, someone, deeply you take in as much knowledge as you can, so you can protect, please, and preserve it.

 

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:13-14

 

However, my love pales in comparison to God’s love for her.  God has been with her since he was knitting her together with the yarn of amino acids in her mother’s womb.   When no one else saw her because she was a few multiplying cells, God already knew her name.  Before she had a form, God knew who she would be called to be, He had taken account of her life, and placed it in His plan.  His love does not end here.

 

He’s a loving God, wanting to know more about his creation,

who left His word for her, so He can have a conversation;

He sacrificed His Son for her, so she could have salvation.

When her actions don’t match her potential he perceives it,

And when she repents from her heart he will always believe it;

When she confesses her pain, He will hear and will grieve it.

He truly knows the things that are desires of her heart;

He hears her prayers and then His blessings impart;

Thoughts so high, love so deep, may it never depart.

 

“How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.” – Psalm 139:17-18

While we may have a friend, a parent, a child, a spouse, that loves us deeply, God’s loves goes deeper; it is timeless, unconditional, and infinitely-supplied (Rom 8:38-39).  This comes from Him perfectly forming us and His continued desire to know us.  EVERY child of God has been made through great care and knowledge, but also promised a specific and great love.  You are a priceless possession of a Great God and Loving Father.

-Aaron Winner

(photo credit: http://www.psalmsquotes.com/psalm-139-14.htm)

 

 

If and Then

2 Chronicles 5-7

2-chron-7-14

Friday, November 25

Sitting by my nephew tonight during our Thanksgiving meal I witnessed a typical ‘If and Then’ moment. “If you finish your turkey, then you can have dessert.” It’s a generally easy concept to understand and often times harder to live. Do you recall “If you eat of the tree, then you will surely die?”

These chapters in Chronicles hold many if and then scenarios. The Temple is built and praise is lavished upon God and Solomon alike. God offers that if the people who are called by his name keep their covenants then he will bless them. If the people reject him and break covenant with Him, then he will turn away from blessing them.

In the beginning God walked with His son. His creation. His love. God was not interested in Kings and Temples. What He desired was a one on one relationship with individuals. God relented and gave Israel a King. God allowed the Temple to be built, but it was not His plan, but David’s.

In Chapter 6:20 Solomon instructs the people to pray toward the Temple. God is being put into a box where He can be contained in the mind of Solomon and as a result the people of Israel. Solomon was creating a divide between men and his creator. God always lets us know He is longing for intimate contact and consistently seeks ways to bring us back into a relationship that centers on looking toward Him.

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication over the temple is worth the read. There is more ‘if’ and ‘then’ bargaining going on. Most end with if (when) you sin, then turn again to God and repent. He wasn’t referring to a turning toward the Temple where he surmised God would dwell, but turn toward God’s goodness and mercy and see His rightness against any sin or ‘wrongness’.

God specifically told David He did not need or want a house built, that His preference was to walk with the people as they traveled about. God inhabited the praises of His people as they worshiped at the Temple, but the Temple was more about Israel’s need to have a place to point toward than a place where God wanted to dwell. God replies to Solomon’s prayer of dedication over the Temple with a response of His own. After many ‘if’ statements regarding specific behaviors and consequences God ends with a popular verse all of us have heard.

II Chronicles 7:14~ If My people who are called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face,  and turn from their wicked ways; Then will I hear FROM HEAVEN , and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

The if and then list that finishes out the chapter describes in detail the consequences of following after other gods and building idols for them to dwell among them. God wants to walk with us daily, just as He did in the beginning of time with Adam and Eve. Anything that prevents taking that daily walk or trying to box God into a safe space to visit occasionally is simply an idol and false worship.

‘If’ and ‘then’ is still at work in our lives today. If you call upon His name, then He will hear and begin the healing that needs to take place. God is still looking for a place to live. Make room in your life today.

-Glennis Walters

 

When God says speak . . . don’t strike instead (Numbers 18-20)

September 6

talon tues

By Talon Paul

In Numbers 18-20, most of us have gotten bored of all the sacrifice talk and all the specifics that the priests had to perform to make these sacrifices. There is also detail given to what happens when someone touches a dead body, purification, and everything else that just does not apply to us today. However, beyond all of these historical specifics, there is a tragic story in chapter 20 for Moses and Aaron.

Moses and Aaron are commanded to speak to a rock in order to produce water for the Israelites (v.8), but instead, they hit the rock with a staff (v.11). This was an act of disobedience and disbelief (v.12). Because of these actions, both Moses and Aaron are forbidden to enter the Promised Land.

Let this serve as a fair reminder for us as well. If we do not have full and complete trust in God and His plan for salvation, and if we do not obey His Son (see John 3:36), we will not enter the Promised Land (Kingdom of God) either. God demands our full obedience and trust, even when we are frustrated and things don’t quite make sense. We must have absolute faith in Him because He has something greater in store for us, rather than disobeying Him.