Sunday, July 25, 2010

Attributes of God

Reading along in the One Year Chronological Bible (NLT) for today, I saw the many attributes of God. The readings were in Isaiah, a prophetic book, chapters 48:12-52:12.

He is:
1st and last (48:12)
Sovereign (48:16)
Redeemer (48:17/ 49:7/52:9)
Holy (48:17/ 49:7)
teacher (48:17)
leads (48:17)
creator (49:5)
merciful (49:10)
comforter (49:13)
fights for us (49:25)
provider
Mighty one (49:26)
rescue-er (50)
giver of justice (51:4)
powerful (52:6)
protector (52:12)

All that and He claims me! I am His through the blood shed by Jesus Christ!

Thank you Father, being all that you are, and yet, you claim me, you care for and about me.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Hiding My Sin

"But I know you well- where you stay and when you come and go." 2 Kings 19:27a, Isaiah 37:28a.

I remember watching a tv show where a very special vase had been broke by kids playing ball in the house, something they had been repeatedly told not to do. The kids tried to glue to vase back together and looked like a successful job. At least until the mother went to water the plant and the water seeped out everywhere. The kids were found out.

Now and then I am like that when I sin. I want to try and hide what I have done from God. I know better. God is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, so why do I try and hide it from Him? Guilt, shame, pride. And yet, the bible tells us in Numbers 32:23 “and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” Through the work of the Holy Spirit God works on my heart about the sin, and about trying to hide it from Him.
However, when I confess, forgiveness is immediate. My father loves me and wanted to have that sin out in the open so that I may rid myself of it and have the desired relationship with Him.

Father, forgive me for trying to hide my sin and for my sin. I know You are loving and want me to walk in your ways, ways that are for my good. I ask for forgiveness and thank you that You see me, when I am good, and when I am bad and You love me regardless. Amen.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Forgiveness

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6: 14-15 (NIV)

"Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, "I tell you , not seven times, but seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)

Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman who survived a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, said, "Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you."

Have you ever shared something with someone you thought of as a friend only to have that confidence made public or told to another person? The feeling of betrayal is like a knife in the back. The first instinct is to get even, yet Jesus calls us on this, telling us to act in a different manner. He tells us to forgive, not once, but seventy times seven. In the act of forgiveness, we also need to examine our own actions; perhaps we are really the ones needed to be forgiven. Seventy times seven sounds like a lot, but look at what Christ has forgiven us and that number pales in comparison. Mary Fairchild writes, “we forgive out of obedience to the Lord. It is a choice, a decision we make. However, as we do this "forgiving," we discover the command is in place for our own good, and we receive the reward of our forgiveness - freedom.”

Thank you Father for the forgiveness found in Christ, for the redemption that I can never repay. May I be reminded when I am hurt by others that the hurt I feel is nothing compared to what You feel when I sin. May I always remember the price paid for my freedom. Amen.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Waiting

“Blessed are those who wait for Him” Isaiah 30:18b (NIV)

The NASB translates it as “Blessed are all those who long for Him”.

Waiting is not easy. Some of the hardest waiting I have done is waiting for the birth of my children and grandchildren, waiting for my husband to come home after being gone for weeks for training and duty. This waiting involves anticipation and trust.

This scripture the waiting means to trust when a situation looks helpless (NIV Study Bible notes). We are to wait patiently; believing God will meet our needs, waiting in anticipation of what He is going to do, waiting in hope built upon the firm foundation of our relationship with Him.

How are you waiting today? Is your foundation firm or shaky? Where is your hope centered?

The Father tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” You can have that hope, that future.

Father, I pray that anyone who is waiting, is waiting with the hope that You give us. I thank you for that hope, for that future and I am trusting in You to see me through. Amen.