~ Zephaniah 3.16
I don't know about you, but when I read this passage, I get the image of God holding us like a mother would hold her infant child. Gently, he holds us close, quieting and calming us with his unending and omnipresent love, cooing us to sleep with a joyful and peaceful lullaby because we are his. We belong to him, and he takes great pride in that, much like a mother would her child.
Imagine that! That image is written so powerfully here. God actually sings joyfully over us. He rejoices with song. Can one even imagine how that might sound? How powerful and awesome, how much it is filled with love. God's voice fills the heavens and the earth with so much force and energy, yet it is quieting and calming as it reaches each one of his children's hearts Why does God sing? Why does he take great delight and love in it? Because he loves each one of us, enough to stay with us and save us from our sins!
Thank you,God, for singing your joyful songs for us. Thank you for calming us with your love, and for being with us forever. May your songs of love never cease. Amen.
Posted by Kelley Wood 19 October 2003 - Please do not reproduce witout permission.
~ Jude 22-23
"Be merciful," Jude, an early Christian servant writes. Twice in this two simple verses he writes that we need to show mercy to those who do not believe that Jesus Christ is indeed the Lord and Savior of all, or to those who acknowledge him but do not care to change their ways. Mercy, otherwise known as compassion, is what Jude recognized as being THE THING that would bring these people ultimately to Christ. However, compassion has not been used often as a method for evangelism throughout Christian history.
Rather than slander those who side with Satan and get inot shouting matches with those who wage war on the Christian faith because they either do not understand it or they don't want to believe it, Christians should rather be merciful and show compassion and love for these people and win them over to Christ so that ultiomately there will come a time when Satan cannot claim anymore souls. Christians must learn to hate the sin, but love the sinner, in order that sin can be resisted and the sinners can be won over to Christ's all-covering love.
Lord, help me to be you light in the darkness, to be your mouth in an unbeliveing world. I am afraid to share my faith with those who do not want to believe, for fear that i am not show compassion. Help me to bring people to Christ, to you, Lord. Help to stand firm,, so that I may hate the sins that people do, but that I may be able to show mrecy to thm as well. Amen
Posted by Kelley Wood 19 October 2003 - Please do not reproduce without permission.
~ Micah 7.7
Sometimes I get the feeling that I�m just speaking to air when I pray, and I�m left wondering if God even hears me. Is he listening, or is he tuning me out the way the junior highers I work with sometimes do?
The prophet Micah may have felt like this at times too, but he continued to wait and hold his faith in God. His hope was that God would answer him and save him, and he knew for sure that God would listen and hear his prayers, just as the Almighty continues to hear us today.
We should not give up our faith in God just because we feel he doesn�t seem to hear us or answer us. God is always listening to us, and he is always here for us. All we need to remember to do is have a little hope.
Dear Lord God, help us to remember that you do indeed listen to our every prayer and plea, even though at times it feels as though you are ignoring us. Remind us not to give up hope, because you do hear us, as you are always with us. Thank you for your presence in our lives. Amen.
Posted by Kelley Wood 6 November 2003 - Please do not reproduce witout permission.
~ Habakkuk 2.20
Silence; that wonderful peace that moms crave after a harrowing day with hyped up kids and that scary calm that teenagers dread while getting the �look� from their parents. It can take place any moment of any hour of any day, if one knows where to look.
It is in the silence that I can sit and think and reflect upon my deepest thoughts. It is in the silence that I meditate upon the word of the Lord. It is in the silence that I feel God chooses to communicate to me from his holy temple.
Sometimes we forget to take time out of our busy lives to remain silent before God. We come to him with complaints and petitions and lists of wants a mile long, all rolled up in long litanies and prayers, and we expect him to answer us. Stop complaining and be quiet in front of the Lord Almighty. Be silent, listen and wait for him to answer.
Dear Father in heaven, sometimes we forget that you crave silence as much as we do, for in that silence, you are best able to talk to us. Help us to find a quiet spot to listen to you, and teach us to listen. Amen.
Posted by Kelley Wood 5 November 2003 - Please do not reproduce witout permission.