Your weekly question, "What is God saying to me?" will vary. Some weeks, His voice will be soft and gentle. Other weeks, He will GET YOUR ATTENTION! Some weeks, He will be specific. Other weeks, He will confirm something He has said over and over and over to you.
Please answer the following question: "I read the Bible because..."
My thoughts would include..."because I NEED to connect with God." I think that is a very revealing answer. My main reason for reading and praying (or talking and listening to God) is to get closer to Him, to feel safe, to be near my Papa. Of course there are other benefits, but I'm curious to hear your responses.
We're all at different places in our walk with God. Some of us regularly spend time with Him, others are just returning from long periods (or intermittent seasons) away from Him. The GREATEST thing about God's Word is that it INSTANTLY can bring you back home.
This past week, and through the book of Matthew, I've been inspired by Jesus. My faith always grows and stretches when I read the Gospels...I see myself as a disciple. I am a disciple who loves to hang out and work out alongside of Jesus. How about you?
Be encouraged!
Becky
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7/7
ReplyDeleteWhat a week...when I consider thinking of God as Papa. How comforting...
Here's a meditation that has helped me understand who god is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgllQIa46Jc
Somewhere, this is written out with all its scriptural references, but I've misplaced it.
This is why I read the Bible...I want to know my Dad and I want to make him proud. I want to know him intimately and life in the light of being safe and secure in his care whatever life brings.
Expecting God to answer...that's something I need to work on...I believe I often expect him to answer my way.
This week, I heard about God's willingness to protect me, his wisdom, and the necessity of resolving conflict...especially born of jealousy. I am warned to test relationships that I am seeking to reconcile.
What am I to do? Look for his protection and notice how he keeps/has kept me from harm. dont stay stuck on the fact that someone else has cheated when I can also see that inspite of it, God has moved me forward. Be honest and let god help me succeed...ask what should I do instead of why me.
Love the life time membership idea:>)
My words for the week....YOKE, Mercy, attitude, fill, heal follow.
7 of 7
ReplyDeleteI read the Bible so I can converse regularly with God to tell him about my fears and loves, and aske him to give me his guidance.
Reading this week speaks clear and tells me to trust in the Lord. God wants me to follow him, lean on him, and forget my worries.
Thanks Becky, the sermon was just what I needed.
Just reviewed the call one more time.
ReplyDeleteIt was so rich. We were studying Hezekiah in Bible study this week and how he laid out his prayer before God.
I,m focusing on the praying with expectation.
I think I've come to realize I need to get rid of stress and worry, daily read the Word (on track with that, praise God!) and ask Him every single morning what I need to do.
My house is very hectic in the morning, but I just need to focus and ask and expect.
I have too many ideas floating around in my head, with no real clue what step He wants me to take next. I often feel careerless, directionless, but this week's call has given me hope to expect more than that, and to look for it in daily prayer and reading.
Have a blessed weekend all.
I'll miss the live call next Tuesday, but will catch the recording.
7 for 7
ReplyDeleteor 21 for 21!
Thank you God!
woo hoo
ReplyDeleteDue to me being in Alaska and the time difference I just haven't been able to make the live call. Oh, how I love spending either Friday or Saturday night relaxing after a long week and hearing the word that God places on your heart to speak to us. Becky, I just can't say how what you said this week spoke life into my heart. Is that the power of the Holy Spirit? Isn't our God a truly AWESOME God. I read the Bible every day to draw my strength from Him to make it through. I was a real worrier before becoming a Christian in 1999. I still have my moments but God takes me right back to the verses in Matthew. Also, The Psalm on the 19th was one I referenced in my journal.
ReplyDeletePray with expectation! That is something that I struggle with. I also noted what Oswald Chambers said, "The one thing for which we are all being disciplined is to know that God is real." Tonight my baby sister told me she is studying with the Jehovah Witness. My heart broke. But, in the moments that came later God spoke to me saying this is why I have put her on your heart to pray for her. Now I can pray with expectation.
I have been reading my Bible almost every day since a co-worker gave me my first "Change your life Daily Bible" on November 15, 2000. But this year I had a yearning in my heart to go deeper. God wants me to grow this year. I believe he has plans and through his Word and this blog, I am learning more and experiencing more of God than I have in the past. Thank you!
Good Night. God's blessings1
Hi, Everybody! I'm going to borrow Becky's words for why I read the Bible; I too "need to connect with God." I really need his guidance! Being single, an only child, with two wonderful parents who have both gone to be with the Lord, sometimes I long for someone to confide in--someone who has the right answers and can guide me when I don't know which way to go. I am grateful for wonderful, loving cousins on both sides of the family, but the closest of them live 360 miles away. I am also grateful for close friends, like my very best friend whom I've seen every Christmas Day since I was 4 years old and the "second mother" who lived next door and shared every Christmas with us until I was out of college and who still attends my church. So many times I think to myself, "If I could just as Mom" or "Daddy would know how to handle this." Right now I am less than a month away from finishing my online college program and will "graduate" in late March. Is it time to leave teaching and pursue something else? Should I stay one more year? These are just some of the questions I've been wrestling with, but I am so grateful to be part of this group!
ReplyDeleteLast fall, the stress of having way too many commitments and living on too little sleep and too much caffeine led me to start skipping days of prayer, Bible reading, and journaling--something I had done consistently since 2002,and I felt myself trying to handle everything alone. Like Lorraine, though, I have had "a yearning in my heart," too, and by recommitting to my daily time with God, I am sensing a real closeness. . . . (continued)
Sorry this is so long. The blog wouldn't allow all of it in one post, so here is Part II:
ReplyDeleteBecky, on the call (which I just listened to), you mentioned all the rich messages in Matthew this week and in the Psalms. I have also found the story of Joseph and his brothers and God's divine plan to bring good out of evil and restore relationships so powerful. In fact, two mornings in a row, as I read the story of Joseph's being overcome with tears when he saw his long-lost family, I sat there and cried. The words of that contemporary Christian song came to me, too, and I felt that I had been touched by a kind of "healing rain." I have sensed God with me all week. He knows that I have so much to do to end this semester, but I believe that if I can just stay focused (and not procrastinate, as I have a tendency to do when I get stressed), he will help me finish strong.
Yesterday I also sensed his presence as Maggie, one of my twin tabbies, became very sick. She has had to take daily medicine for nearly four years, and I know that when she starts throwing up, she sometimes needs sub-cutaneous fluids. The vet has taught me how to give her (and sometimes her brother, too) anti-nausea shots and B-12 shots, but I don't know how to give fluids. I reached for the anti-nausea medication and saw that there was not enough for a whole dose, and I could feel from her little body that she was severely dehydrated. At 5:30 on Saturday evening, it is not easy to find a vet, but I was able to get her in with one. The doctor was very kind, but he was also not convinced that Maggie had much life left in her. Since she is less than two months from her 19th birthday, he assumed that this might be "it," and told me he thought she was in renal failure. I told him I was pretty sure she just needed fluids. He said he didn't want to give her anything until he ran blood tests. As I sat there in the waiting area, I felt miserable, but then I began praying--the Lord's Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, and then my very favorite verse, Isaiah 40:31. As I waited, I really began to sense that God was telling me she would be okay. I know that she won't live forever, and there are those who say, "She's only a cat!" Nevertheless, she and Sylvan have helped me through so much, and they seem to understand me better than I understand myself. Anyway, after waiting and waiting and waiting, the doctor finally came out with Maggie and said, "Well, Ms. Trimnal, Maggie's kidneys are okay. In fact, they are amazingly good for a 19th year old cat with thyroid problems! I think that with some fluids she will be fine." Those were the most expensive "fluids" I have ever given her, but I came home feeling so relieved. And this morning, Maggie greeted me with an urgent plea for her breakfast!
The Bible does tell us over and over again not to worry. Pray about everything, but don't worry. I think that with this wonderful group, we will all be able to grow closer to God, strengthen our faith, and begin to let our worries go.
Goodnight, everyone! May all of you have a wonderful week!
Thank you for sharing Wanda. I'm glad your tabbie is better! And I pray for you to have a wonderful week as well. B
ReplyDeleteWanda, I'm taking another online group and I just posted on that blog, just today, that I need to walk with God and connect with him even if sometimes it feels like people 'with skin on', are better. I'd been feeling that I don't have a close church family, or much family beyond my husband and my Mom to turn to to get support from.
ReplyDeleteGod said Walk with Him........our pastor today said the very same sort of thing.
That's the message!
And I am so thankful your precious cat is doing well. I certainly understand, and can relate because we had to do that for our cat at one time.
Have a blessed week.
I read the bible because I want to be as close as I can get to God. As the Psalmist said in 21:6 "you have endowed him with eternal blessings and gives him the joy of your presence"
ReplyDeleteI have experienced changes in me that I know have come from reading the daily walk bible and praying.
I read all of your comments and thought yes I get that too.
Paige:protection Pam:trust Laura:expectation TY for the reminder.
Lorraine-O.C. quote: the nail on the head I too, felt that in the last year and half I have sensed a go deeper desire in me. Someone I mentor said yesterday that her husband now wants to go to church and read the bible because something he sees in her life: a closeness to God. What Joy that brings us.
I am going to post before I lose this and then continue. (I have lost 3 posts this week and didn't have time to rewrite them)
Wanda, When I read your post I wanted to book a flight and spend a weekend with you. You are an amazing woman! You put words to what I was getting out of the reading this week. My 2 adult brothers take care of my mother. They can't stand each other and consequently do horrible things. This last week I went to my mothers house to see if I could help bring peace. God showed up with the story of Joseph and seemed to tell me that he will bring good out of bad. I worked with both my brothers and even had all of us go out to a birthday dinner for my 88yr old mother.
ReplyDeleteA healing rain as you put it. God gave me a new plan and direction.
I came home to my ailing tabbie. I know your feelings. Glad you have more time with her.
Praying and reading the daily bible transforms me to be more like Christ. I have a calmness that can only come from him.