at the 2011 Women's Refresh Your Heart Conference
Colonial Baptist, Cary NC
Saturday, November 5
Register today!
http://www.women.colonial.org/
Hope to see you there!
1 Samuel 15:22
Last week, I wrote one of the four reasons God is "shaking" the world with droughts, financial famines, floods and natural disasters. He wants us to wake up so that we live our life purpose - to stop running in circles.
Has your life, your finances, your circumstances been affected by the Great Recession? God uses such events to grab our attention.
I've been doing a series over the last month for the reasons "why" God is shaking us either by natural disasters, the economy or both.
Today, reason #3: God is shaking us because He has a purpose for each of our lives and for His Church.
For the last 2 weeks, my children have been on fall break. Would love to give you a glimpse into my crazy life when my children are at home plus trying to maintain Knowing God Ministries. Posting blog devotions when they are home are really difficult. Keeping a train of thought is nothing short of miraculous.
The first week, we went to the Outer Banks of Corolla with my parents. What an amazing place! It's truly a sandbar off the coast of North Carolina. We had a rare opportunity of getting to catch a glimpse of the wild horses that have roamed the coastline for over 500 years. They were brought over by Spanish settlers in the 1500's.
Let's quickly recap: When you take note of all that is going on in the world in context of Scripture, clearly, God is shaking us. (Haggai 2:6-7) He's shaking our finances and our political system. We are even seeing an increased intensity of storms and natural disasters world wide. (See past posts.)
Culturally:
I've been talking about hard things over the last few weeks. Because of the financial devastation and the recurring frequency of natural devastation's plus the state of Israel, I believe we may be close to the second return of Christ.
To the natural mind, this is non-sense. Some may even label it radical. But I'm a student of the Word. And I also try to keep up with current events. When you begin linking the two...
However, if all of this is too hard for you, I encourage you to be like the Bereans in the book of Acts. "They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures for themselves to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11)
Do the same with me! Go to the Scriptures yourself and see if what I'm sharing is solid.
I, like Joel Rosenberg believe that one of the reason's God is shaking us, is because HE loves us and wants us to repent from our sinful ways. (Please see past posts.) Today's thought:
Oh girl, my list could go on and on. Do you have a list?
Let me share some Scriptures that I like! That roll around in my mind so that I CHOOSE to obey - even when it makes me cringe.
You will be blessed in the city and in the country.
The fruit of your womb will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to.
The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.
The Lord will make you the head, not the tail."
If you do not obey, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you...(see v15-68)
2. Isaiah 55:8, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."
3. John 10:10 AMP, "I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance."
Throughout Scripture, cover to cover, the over arching theme is, "if you obey, I will bless." It's not, "pick and choose the principles that you like - then I'll bless you."
It's similar to telling our children to eat to their fruits and vegetables. Many times they don't want to, but I insist. Why? Because I know what's good for them. I want them to have strong and healthy bodies. I also want their mind to be sharp. I know that nutruition plays a big part of that.
So it is with God. He knows what's best for us. He sees the future and He sees the bigger picture. His ways are so much higher than our ways. He wants to pour down blessings upon our lives and our families...
But the choice is ours. We can obey, even the parts that make us cringe, knowing all will go well with us if we do. (That's what Scripture says.) Or we can insist on our own way and face the consequences of what the Bible calls "curses."
Do you want the blessings of God in your life?
If you, like me in the past, have chosen to pick and choose what you like, and ignore what you don't like:
Tomorrow: Why are we beating up our own?