God In the Ordinary

In Christ we can come before God with freedom and without fear.
Ephesians 3:12

God calls us in a real world.... He doesn't communicate by stacking stars in the heavens or reincarnating grandparents from the grave....
He's not a magician or a good-luck charm or the man upstairs. He is, instead, the Creator of the universe who is right here in the thick of our day-to-day world who speaks to you more through cooing babies and hungry bellies than he ever will through horoscopes, zodiac papers, or weeping Madonnas.
If you get some supernatural vision or hear some strange voice in the night, don't get too carried away. It could be god or it could be indigestion, and you don't want to misinterpret one for the other.
God speaks in our world. We just have to learn to hear him... amidst the ordinary.

From And The Angels Were Silent by Max Lucado, also recorded in the excellent devotional book Grace for the Moment I've been recommending for your spiritual discipline. Consider ordering one today! We need spiritual thoughts and insights like this "daily." -=db=-

Retirement? Think Again

The Desire to Retire

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58

God did not give you your vocation for the purpose of making money. Our Lord clearly teaches in His Sermon on the Mount that He will provide for your needs so that you can be profitably occupied doing His work. Your vocation is your pulpit. For this reason, you have no biblical ground for wanting to retire. Most believers who do want to retire, want a little bit of heaven this side of the grave. Such may be possible for the Philistines, but definitely not for the serious follower of Christ.

It may happen that one morning you awaken to find that you cannot get out of bed, forcing you into retirement, but that is different from desiring to retire. In your service for Christ, He may lead you out of your current vocation into some other form of service, but in this case you are merely "changing pulpits." I am not aware of any place in Scripture where God encourages retirement.

Those who say that they look forward to retirement testify that they have lost their purpose for living here on earth. God did not give you your life to spend as you see fit. Paul teaches that it is unthinkable that one for whom Christ died should live for himself. The desire to retire is an expression of despair. It means that you have lost your rudder and do not know why you are here or where you are going.

Devotional © Copyright by Walter A Henrichsen.

God's Suprises

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2:9

"Have you got God figured out? Have you got God captured on a flowchart and frozen on a flannel board? If so, then listen. Listen to God's surprises.
Hear the rocks meant for the body of the adulterous woman drop to the ground.
Listen as the Messiah whispers to the Samaritan woman, "I who speak to you am he."
Listen to the widow from Nain eating dinner with her son who is supposed to be dead ....
God appearing at the strangest of places. Doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Placing twinkles where there were only tears."

From Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado, and included in the daily devotional Grace for the Moment, which I highly recommend to you. Blessings as you seek He Who is Worthy. -=db=-

A High-Stakes Mission

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

"Hell's misery is deep, but not as deep as God's love.
So how do we apply this [truth]? If you are saved, it should cause you to rejoice. You've been rescued. A glance into hell leads the believer to rejoice. But it also leads the believer to redouble his efforts to reach the lost. To understand hell is to pray more earnestly and to serve more diligently. Ours is a high-stakes mission.
And the lost? What is the meaning of this message for the unprepared? Heed the warnings and get ready. This plane won't fly forever. "Death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart" (Eccles. 7:2 NIV).

From When Christ Comes by Max Lucado reprinted in Grace for the Moment, a daily devotional I highly recommend! -=db=-

The "Well" and the "Path"

Greetings All,
It's been a while since I've posted, as well as the other contributors. It's been a (mostly) quiet time of reflection and listening for the still, small voice for me. As I was reading one of my daily devotionals this morning at Subiaco, the selections for the 23rd & 24th seem to really be apropos. I pray they speak to you.

If you're tired or thirsty, "Sit by the well. Rest."

"Cling to Me until the life from Me - the Divine Life, by that very contact, flows into your being and revives your fainting spirit.

Become recharged. When weary, do as I did on earth - Sit by the well. Rest.

Rest and gain power and strength and the work too will come to you as it came to Me.

Rest till every care-thought has gone, and then let the Tide of Love and Joy flow in."

If guidance tarries, get on the path and let the path lead you. Practice the disciplines!

"As I prompt you - act. When you have no clear guidance, then go forward quietly along the path of duty I have set before you.

No fear, no panic, quietly doing your daily duty.

This attitude of faith will receive its reward as surely as the acting upon My direct Guidance.

Rejoice in the sense of security that is yours."

His Shalom, שלום, Peace be yours as you serve and wait upon Him Who is Worthy,

Dwayne

God Calling, June 23 & 24, Edited by A.J. Russell