Aug 10 Reconciliation

Father, thank You that You are a God of second chances.  And third and fourth and even more.

When the Israelite men had sinned and taken foreign, pagan wives, there was an acceptable resolution.  There were consequences yes, but they were able to take an oath to renew their covenant with You.

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he lists many types of wickedness, then says “And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 

In both of these cases, reconciliation was made possible because You chose to accept repentance.  You cleansed them, You set them apart.  You returned them to right standing with You.

And the same is true for me.  When I have sinned, and I come to You in the realization of what I have done, agree with You that it is sin, and am remorseful, repentant; You forgive that sin.  You wash me and set me apart, and again I am in right standing with You.

But, as with the Israelites, there are consequences.   Sometimes the consequences are life changing, and can cause ongoing problems.  They had to put aside their foreign wives.  Sometimes I have to put aside a relationship or something I think I really want that is not good for me.

Paul says, “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial.”   Lord, there is such freedom in You.  Help me be wise in that freedom.  Produce in me the Fruit of the Spirit so I can be good and kind, patient and faithful, gentle and self-controlled.  Show me when I am being selfish or unwise.  Remind me to think and pray before I act.

Father, I offer You the relationships in my life.  Please deepen the ones that are godly, and distance me from any that are not.

I give You my time and ask that You show me where I waste it.  Give me the strength to cut out activities that eat away time I could spend better.

I give You my priorities and ask You to help me reorder them where they are not in line with Your purposes.

“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” 

Father, help me recognize what is right and just, and help me do it.   When what is right and just is at odds with my selfish or prideful or greedy nature, help me overcome that nature and be led by You.

Thank You for Your help in all this, and for the hope You give me.  Amen

Ezra 10:1-17; I Corinthians 6:10-12; Proverbs 21:3

Dec 14 I am so Jonah!

Father, what wonderful lessons I’ve learned from Jonah!  And about Jonah and about You.  He is so human…  And You are so God…

You spoke to Jonah, giving him a view of Your plan for him and specific directions using the gifts and talents You placed in him.   And You speak to Your people today.  You have given each of us gifts and talents to use in accordance with Your plan.

Help me hear Your voice clearly when You speak.  Give me direction and a view of Your purpose for my gifts.

Jonah thought he could get away with being disobedient.  He thought he could hide from You.  Silly man.  And silly me!  There have been times when I did not follow Your direction.  I never ended up in the belly of a great fish, but I did miss out on some wonderful opportunities.

Remind me of that when I consider disobedience in the future.

You have everything under Your control!  Not only did You see where Jonah went, meaning there in no place to hide from You; but You were in control of everything around him.  The weather?  You brought the storm!  And calmed it.  A large fish?  You brought it to swallow Jonah, and it obeyed Your command to vomit him onto dry land.  The same thing is true of the events and circumstances, relationships and opportunities in my life.

Remind me that You see me wherever I am.  And that there is nowhere I can go away from You.  And nothing beyond Your power.

Jonah called out to You, “In [his] distress…”  Even when he thought his life was over, and knowing he had been disobedient, he prayed to You.  There is no circumstance where I cannot call on You.

It is never too late, I can never be too bad, I am never too far-gone.

You answered!  Even in the bowels of death and disobedience, You heard and answered Jonah’s prayer and rescued him.

You are a God of second chances!  And third and fourth…  You want Your people to be obedient.  You coach them to win, giving them every opportunity to do so.  And I am one of Your people.

Thank You for giving me second chances and more.  Thank You for always hearing my prayer and answering me.

Jonah obeyed eventually.  What I take from this is:  obey the first time – it will save me a lot of grief!

Thank You for this view into Jonah’s life.  It is a view into my own.  And into Your greatness.  Because You are so God…  And I am so human…  Amen

Jonah 1:1-3:3

Dec 14 I am so Jonah!

Father, what wonderful lessons I’ve learned from Jonah!  And about Jonah and about You.  He is so human…  And You are so God…

You spoke to Jonah, giving him a view of Your plan for him and specific directions using the gifts and talents You placed in him.   And You speak to Your people today.  You have given each of us gifts and talents to use in accordance with Your plan.

Help me hear Your voice clearly when You speak.  Give me direction and a view of Your purpose for my gifts.

Jonah thought he could get away with being disobedient.  He thought he could hide from You.  Silly man.  And silly me!  There have been times when I did not follow Your direction.  I never ended up in the belly of a great fish, but I did miss out on some wonderful opportunities.

Remind me of that when I consider disobedience in the future.

You have everything under Your control!  Not only did You see where Jonah went, meaning there in no place to hide from You; but You were in control of everything around him.  The weather?  You brought the storm!  And calmed it.  A large fish?  You brought it to swallow Jonah, and it obeyed Your command to vomit him onto dry land.  The same thing is true of the events and circumstances, relationships and opportunities in my life.

Remind me that You see me wherever I am.  And that there is nowhere I can go away from You.  And nothing beyond Your power.

Jonah called out to You, “In [his] distress…”  Even when he thought his life was over, and knowing he had been disobedient, he prayed to You.  There is no circumstance where I cannot call on You.

It is never too late, I can never be too bad, I am never too far-gone.

You answered!  Even in the bowels of death and disobedience, You heard and answered Jonah’s prayer and rescued him.

You are a God of second chances!  And third and fourth…  You want Your people to be obedient.  You coach them to win, giving them every opportunity to do so.  And I am one of Your people.

Thank You for giving me second chances and more.  Thank You for always hearing my prayer and answering me.

Jonah obeyed eventually.  What I take from this is:  obey the first time – it will save me a lot of grief!

Thank You for this view into Jonah’s life.  It is a view into my own.  And into Your greatness.  Because You are so God…  And I am so human…  Amen

Jonah 1:1-3:3

Dec 14 I am so Jonah!

Father, what wonderful lessons I’ve learned from Jonah!  And about Jonah and about You.  He is so human…  And You are so God…

You spoke to Jonah, giving him a view of Your plan for him and specific directions using the gifts and talents You placed in him.   And You speak to Your people today.  You have given each of us gifts and talents to use in accordance with Your plan.

Help me hear Your voice clearly when You speak.  Give me direction and a view of Your purpose for my gifts.

Jonah thought he could get away with being disobedient.  He thought he could hide from You.  Silly man.  And silly me!  There have been times when I did not follow Your direction.  I never ended up in the belly of a great fish, but I did miss out on some wonderful opportunities.

Remind me of that when I consider disobedience in the future.

You have everything under Your control!  Not only did You see where Jonah went, meaning there in no place to hide from You; but You were in control of everything around him.  The weather?  You brought the storm!  And calmed it.  A large fish?  You brought it to swallow Jonah, and it obeyed Your command to vomit him onto dry land.  The same thing is true of the events and circumstances, relationships and opportunities in my life.

Remind me that You see me wherever I am.  And that there is nowhere I can go away from You.  And nothing beyond Your power.

Jonah called out to You, “In [his] distress…”  Even when he thought his life was over, and knowing he had been disobedient, he prayed to You.  There is no circumstance where I cannot call on You.
It is never too late, I can never be too bad, I am never too far-gone.

You answered!  Even in the bowels of death and disobedience, You heard and answered Jonah’s prayer and rescued him.

You are a God of second chances!  And third and fourth…  You want Your people to be obedient.  You coach them to win, giving them every opportunity to do so.  And I am one of Your people.

Thank You for giving me second chances and more.  Thank You for always hearing my prayer and answering me.

Jonah obeyed eventually.  What I take from this is:  obey the first time – it will save me a lot of grief!

Thank You for this view into Jonah’s life.  It is a view into my own.  And into Your greatness.  Because You are so God…  And I am so human…  Amen

Jonah 1:1-3:3