Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Title: Three Brief Thoughts / Topic: God's Will

Today’s Reading: Haggai 1; Haggai 2; Psalm 129; Luke 10

Today I am giving a brief thought on three verses that jumped off the page at me.

#1 Title: God's Make It Happen Person / Topic: God's Power
Scripture: Haggai 2:23 " '...I will make you like my signet ring...' "

Observation/Application: The signet ring was the sign of the authority of the king. He would use it like a signature (notice the similarity in the words: signet -- signature) to express his will that something is to be done. Nothing could stop what the king had sealed with his signet ring. This is a powerful promise to Zerubbabel. Imagine the awesome responsibility that came to this human leader. Wow! Lord, help me to be a man that You could trust Your power to.

#2 Title: A Dangerous Question / Topic: Challenge
Scripture: Luke 10:29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Observation/Application: This expert in the law had just given Jesus a very good answer but we are told that "he wanted to justify himself," so he asked this question of clarification to show how great he was. (I don't think he would have asked it if he didn't think he was really impressive.) It turned out to be a dangerous question because Jesus told a parable that challenged him at the level of his pride and his prejudice. Moral: be careful what you ask God. You might not like the answer.

#3 Title: The One Necessary Thing / Topic: The Priority
Scripture: Luke 10:41-42 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed..."

Observation/Application: This little story always convicts me because I am a Martha-type person. I am working on not being this kind and converting to a Mary-type person. The Lord says, "only one thing is needed." And the message is: The main thing is the keep the main thing the main thing.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your word and the power it brings to my life. You know me through and through, the good and bad, my strengths and my weaknesses, my failures and my victories, my faith and my fear. And You still love me enough to give Your life to me. Hallelujah! Lord I rejoice in Your great love and acceptance. Empower me to take it to the next level.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

1 comment:

Cynthia Stipech said...

Three good observations. My favorite was the one about the signet ring. Jesus told us that he has given us his authority here on earth to bind and loose, forgive, and move mountains. If we really GOT this concept and understood our authority, just think what could be done!