Skip to main content

Thursday... Maybe there is more to what we are going through?


Thursday... Maybe there is more to what we are going through?

I love rivers. When we lived in Colorado we tried to go up or down every canyon stream on the eastern range of the Rocky Mountains. We even tried to find the beginnings of some of those streams. I love streams. I love rivers.

Now Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord, he guides it wherever he pleases." That is a great picture to me.

Over in Acts of the Apostles, a book in the New Testament, I read this morning in chapter 16 a statement that set into motion the rest of the Apostle Paul's life. It was not just something that came to his mind but I'm sure it was a part of the stream of water of Paul's life that was being directed by God. Verse 37 (NLT) says, "But Paul replied, 'They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison - and we are Roman citizens." And that statement about his being a Roman citizen set into motion the rest of Paul's ministry.

Paul was a very effective missionary to the Gentiles. He and different partners went around starting churches and teaching them but his great desire was to go to Rome and hold a major gathering striving to win to the Lord as many in Rome as he could but God had a different plan and this statement set God's plan into motion. Paul didn't go to Rome as a free man but as a prisoner and God used that to change the world.

You see God wanted Paul to write a big portion of the New Testament and God knew he needed to be a prisoner in order to do it.

I wonder how the streams of a Pandemic in our lives is moving us to God's desired destination. Maybe the complacency of our day to day lives needed to be moved out of its rut into a new stream that God wants to use us in. And maybe it would be a good thing for us as Christ followers, His church to stop griping and start letting the stream of water directed by the Lord guide us to wherever He pleases. He wants to make a difference through us as He did with Paul. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is!

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is! Look at this, Proverbs 5:21-23 (CEV) says, "The Lord sees everything, and he watches us closely. Sinners are trapped and caught by their own evil deeds. They get lost and die because of their foolishness and lack of self-control." That is true of so many. Now look at this, Luke 15:1-7 says, "Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, 'This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.' Then Jesus told them this story: If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, 'Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep.' Jesus said, 'In the same way there is mo

Tuesday... Let's be smart.

Tuesday... Let's be smart. Proverbs 12:16a (CEV) says, "Losing your temper is foolish." It really is. And it is so hard to take it back. That is not smart. There are always consequence when we lose our temper and they are usually not good. Think of the last time you lost your temper at home, at your kids, at your spouse, at your pets. at your life, at where you live, at where you work. There are always repercussions and they are not good.  The New Living Translation says, "A fool is quick-tempered." The Message says, "Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly." The Amplified Bible says, "The [arrogant] fool's anger is quickly known [because he lacks self-control and common sense]." It just is not a good thing. is it? But then the rest of this verse, this proverb (CEV) says, "ignoring an insult is smart." It really is. I have striven in dealing with people to give them a benefit of doubt. They didn't mean that, they

Friday... But, can be such a beautiful word.

Friday... But, can be such a beautiful word. It really can be life changing. Look at what Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians. In 2:1-3 (NLT) he says, "Once you were dead because of your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil - the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else." There it is, there it is. That is the way we are living or have lived. Dead is a definite word of finality. At least the devil thought so and maybe you do too. And then verses 4-5 starts by saying, "But", that beautiful life changing word of opportunity even though we are dead. Yes, we are subject to God's anger, "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even t