Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Feb 18-25


Monday: Exodus 9
Tuesday: 1 Samuel 30
Wednesday: Psalm 84
Thursday: Jeremiah 22
Friday: Ezekiel 16
Saturday: Matthew 24
Sunday: 3 John 1

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I apologise, I keep missing entire weeks here!

In today's reading I was struck by "but David found His strength in the Lord."

I love that. I never really knew what that felt like, I mean, I knew what it was like to be kept afloat, to be kept from drowning, but to feel that amazing supernatural rejuvenation when you come to the end of yourself and realize that you can't and aren't supposed to carry on on your own strength. That only when you reach that point of absolute weakness do you realize that you can't take one more step on your own power. Only when you cry out in desperation and have others cry out on your behalf, and then like water rushing over you you will feel fresh energy flowing into you from without. From above. Finding strength in God is an amazing experience!

Unknown said...

again it was the strength from the Lord theme that stood out to me today;

"what joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord." v5a

my notes say; "growing strong in God's presence is often preceded by a journey through barren places in our lives. The person who loves to spend time with god will see his or her adversity as an opportunity to experience God's faithfulness even more deeply. If you are walking through your own Valley of Weeping today, be sure your pilgrimage leads toward God, not away from Him. "

I also really liked the way this note was worded "God does not promise to give us everything we think is good but He will not withhold what is permanently good."

We forget that we are being refined for an eternal life of living with and reigning with Christ. What is best to prepare us for that eternity may not always feel what is "good" in the temporary.

Unknown said...

I was struck by the comparison of Josiah and Jehoiakim. Both who were wealthy and lived in luxury, but this verse about Josiah "But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father Josiah also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings and that is why God blessed him." v15

One can have wealth and be stingy and arrogant and turn self centred and self aggrandizing. One can have wealth, and enjoy it, but have a heart that is for the marginalized, the needy, the hurting. Wealth is not the issue, it's what you let it become to you. I love Solomon's take on it, that we should eat drink and be merry, but that we should fear the Lord and love justice, as that is wisdom.

Unknown said...

Ezekiel 16:60 "Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you."

despite the inhabitants of jerusalem having completely broken the covenant, God was true to His end of it. all of the punishment, all of the horror, was all out of His love and justice to purge sin and to purify and reclaim His bride.

Two things came to mind while I read this chapter. The book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and the song "city of sorrows" by Fernando Ortega

http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Storm/168664

"oh Jerusalem, city of thrones
the blood of your people still darkens the stones
city of sorrows spread on a hill
the pride of the prophets, they dream of you still."

This song never fails to stir me deeply. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I truly believe that the scriptures reveal that one day Israel's eyes will be opened to the truths of the Messiah they missed. And then there will be a national conversion and it will be the beginning of the end. It is at once thrilling, terrifying and sobering.

Lois said...

Nico to have you commenting again, P.C. Your comments always help to shed light on the passage.