UNDERSTAND GOD?

As human beings, we want so much to understand everything
that is going on in our lives. We’d like to see everything that
has happened and everything that will happen in a neat box all
tied up with a pretty ribbon. However, God doesn’t work that
way. You can’t place God in a box. Our God is way too big
and far too great to be contained. He works in ways that we
can’t possibly comprehend. As it says in Proverbs 20:24,
“A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can
anyone understand their own way?” No, we can’t understand
how God works – and that’s a good thing.

If we could understand God’s ways, then His actions would
be limited to our intellectual capabilities. I don’t know about
you, but I want a God who is limited by nothing! A colleague
of mine once put it this way: “I don’t want to pray to a God
who I can understand!” I want God to have ways to make
things happen in my life when I don’t see a way. I want a
God who can make sense out of my messy life when I can’t
see a way to clean it up myself. I want a God who is bigger
and smarter than me!

Friends, let’s remember that when we go through things in
life that we can’t understand, it’s OK. We don’t have to
understand. God understands and that’s all that matters.
As it says in Proverb 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD … lean not
on your own understanding … and he will make your paths
straight.”

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

(excerpts taken from Holy Land Moments)

WHEN WILL IT COME!

Scripture:
Luke 17:20-21 NLT
20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the Kingdom of God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.
Reflection:
The Pharisees asked when God's kingdom would come, not knowing that it had already arrived. The kingdom of God is not like an earthly kingdom with geographical boundaries. Instead, it begins with the work of God's Spirit in people's lives and in relationships. Still today we must resist looking to institutions or programs for evidence of the progress of God's kingdom. Instead, we should look for what God is doing in people's hearts.

GOD'S ENDURING WISDOM

Scripture:
Isaiah 55:6-9

Reflection:

I am often struck by the sense of urgency in the
Scriptures. Truly, our turning to God and living
the life God intended are presented as a matter
that needs our immediate attention. We need to
"seek the Lord while he may be found" and
"return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on us."
While we can interpret this sense of urgency as
a plea to avoid our own perishing, it seems that
the emphasis has more to do with God been with
us. God's "thoughts are not my thoughts" and
God's "ways are not my ways." The urgency of
the Scriptures is rooted in the reality that God
has something far greater in mind for us, and
each moment that we wait to embrace that
reality is time lost. God has a vision for our
flourishing, and we would be better off to seek
it in each day and in each moment.

Prayer:

God, help me in each day and each moment to
seek your wisdom that I may live fully this life
as you intended.  Amen

(The Covenant Home Altar Daily Devotion, Paul Corner)

OUR FAN

We shouldn’t be overly invested in winning over
fans. Some people just won’t like us, and that’s
all right. It’s probably not about us, but about
them. Try not to take it personally. There is only
one fan that we really need on our side – and
God already is our biggest fan.

LOGICAL?

(Here is a brief prayer that hits home)

THE PRAYER:

Dear Lord, we can understand why You would be
disappointed and angry with Your disobedient
children, but we cannot comprehend why You
would go to such great lengths to save us. May
we be eternally grateful You aren't motivated by
what we and others find to be logical.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.

BEING PREPARED

PEACEMAKERS

Scripture:

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they
shall be called the children of God.
(Matthew 5:9)

"The job of the peacemaker is to stop war,
to purify the world, to get it saved from
poverty and riches, to heal the sick, to
comfort the sad, to wake up those who
have not yet found God.

Muriel Lester
Social Activist, Gandhian Pacifist
(1883-1968)

PRAY FOR PEACE!!!!!!

EMBARRASSING GOD

God is always calling us back to him

Have You Embarrassed Your Heavenly Father?

"Such people claim they know God, but they deny
him by the way they live."
Titus 1:16 NLT

Embarrassing God

Not so long ago I saw a man shopping in a grocery
store while his young son ran up and down the aisles.
The boy was unleashed and hyper, making a complete
nuisance of himself. The father kept calling his son's
name, but the boy only ran faster — up one aisle and
down the other.

Just as the father caught up with him, the boy reached
out and grabbed a handful of candy bars. The father
tried to take them away, but the boy held on tightly.
Then he started to scream. It was a high-pitched,
piercing scream that reverberated throughout the store.
Clerks and customers turned to look from every
direction as the frustrated father tried his best to
squelch his son's cries. The boy only screamed louder
and started to kick. Finally the father let him go, and
once again he ran down the aisle with all his might,
chocolate still clutched in his greedy little grip.

I caught a glimpse of the father's face. It was the look
of complete and total embarrassment. Although I'm
sure he loved his son dearly, at this moment he was
ashamed to be his father.

Do you think God ever feels that way with his children?
Imagine how he must feel when we become so earthly
minded that we run through life, ignoring his voice and
oblivious to his warning, grabbing things as we go and
holding them tightly.

Do you think God doesn't get embarrassed by the way
his children act? Our life is a reflection of his authority.
And when we disobey, he is the One the world scoffs
at.

From Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B.
Jenkins and Frank M. Martin (Tyndale) p 148