“But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence” Luke 11:8 NLT The previous verses to this one tell us the parable of a man who went to a friends house at midnight to borrow a few loaves of bread. He had a surprise visitor show up and apparently had nothing to feed him, and I guess three loaves of bread would have done the trick! Now, if someone came to my door at midnight asking…
“Here’s what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?” 1 Kings 3:9 MSG Right before Solomon made this request, God appeared to him in a dream and asked him (Solomon) what He (God) could give him. I can’t even imagine being asked that question, and I truly don’t know what I myself would ask for if God woke me up and asked me the same question. I like to think though that I would have the same desire as Solomon, to receive a God-listening heart so that I could lead others well. What a humble and selfless request. He could have asked for anything in the world, yet he chose wisdom so that he could better serve others. In this day and age we need wisdom and discernment more than ever. Solomon recognized this need for God, and asks the question “for who on their OWN is capable of leading your glorious people?” We are very limited in what we can accomplish on our own. But when we become consumed and filled with God’s…
“He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” Psalms 147:3 I have a two daughters who love band-aids. We go through boxes of them because they “need” a band-aid for every boo boo. If one of them stubs her toe, band-aid. If the other bruises her leg, band-aid. And of course every little scratch and scrape, because they definitely require an extra large band-aid. But I also love the thought of a band-aid, and I’m in my thirties. If I get a paper cut, a band-aid seems to heal it up quickly and makes the pain disappear. I guess the idea of covering our boo boo’s never really goes away. No matter our age, we will all require healing at some point in our lives. And there are some healings that require so much more than a simple bandage. Wounds that cut so deep, you wonder if you will ever find the end of them. We can be hurt so tragically in this life, but God promises to heal our broken hearts and bandage our wounds. Isn’t he such a kind and gentle Savior? That He would take the time to meet with us and carefully mend what was broken.…
“One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh-baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.” His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!” Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. God says there’s plenty.” And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers.” 2 Kings 4:42-44 MSG One prevailing theme in Elisha’s life is abundance. As I read through the story of his ministry,…
Can you think of a step of faith you need to take today? Sometimes, we must trust God even when we don’t clearly see the plan. You may feel like you’re walking a tightrope and afraid to look down. You hope it’s there, but you can’t see it. You feel around with arms outstretched in the dark, believing He will keep you from falling. He is looking for our obedience even when we don’t understand. Against all odds, He will provide a miracle. In I Kings 17:8-15 (NKJV), God gives direction to Elijah, the prophet: 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in…
“He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dark rain clouds.” Psalms 18:11 NLT How often do we believe the lie God has left us to suffer in our circumstances? That the quiet and loneliness certainly must be a sign that God is absent and unaware of our troubles. We often struggle with frustrated thoughts and emotions at what we have to endure in this life, at least I do. In my own self-pity it can be so easy to crumble under the pressure, and cry out “Where are you God, and why have You left me?” But what if I intentionally sought Him out in the storm? What if His arrival won’t appear as though I thought it would? I do not know everything, nor do I know what is truly best for me. I do understand that His ways are higher than mine, so why do I assume to fathom how He will show up, and work it all out? Psalms 18 is telling an intense story of distress and how God responded. It literally says He covered Himself in darkness and veiled His approach with dark rain clouds. When we see a storm brewing, we automatically…