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August 29, 2007

Word for Today....The Brook Dried Up

And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. 1 Kings 17:7.

After a while, the brook dried up…

WHOA!!!!!!!

This verse of scripture really doesn’t give us a FULL understanding of the situation presented to Elijah, the Prophet.  Elijah had prophesied that because of the sin of Ahab that God wouldn’t send rain on the nation.  And the bible says that it didn’t rain for nearly 3 years and 6 months.  Elijah had a relationship with God and he knew that God would back him up when he spoke against sin. 

The drought announced by Elijah in the previous verses was a great threat to the northern kingdom of Israel and the reign of Ahab. Therefore his life was in danger, and God sent him to the Brook Cherith for his own safety.  God promised that He would sustain Elijah during the time of the drought and informed Elijah that a raven had been COMMANDED to be a waiter and bring him food.  It is ironic that God used a raven, a bird that isn’t by nature a friendly bird and in fact is very selfish.  The raven has been compared to wolves.  Ravens are birds that eat mainly animals or meat rather than plants like most birds.  So God uses this meat eating bird to bring meat, or flesh as the bible says, to Elijah daily.  HOWEVER!!!!!!!  After a while the brook dries up.  WHAT???

How many times has God given us something that we think should last forever?  But our popularity dries up, our job dries up, our health dries up, our money dries up and our relationships dry up.  But God wasn’t through with Elijah and He isn’t finished with us either.  We must realize that God is in control even when our situations seem out of control.  The bible says that God is the author (writer, director and editor) and finisher (publisher) of our faith.  We can’t get worried or become weary when the provisions of yesterday don’t sustain us today.  I heard someone say, “You can tell when God is moving you into another season when the provision for your current season begins to end.”  So we must be willing to follow God even it seems that our lives are in danger.  We have to understand that all things will work TOGETHER (the good and the bad together) for the good.

I hear you thinking, “Why did God send Elijah to the brook only for the brook to dry up?”  The answer actually lies in verse 8 where He tells Elijah that He has COMMANDED a widow to provide for him.  Elijah had to trust God and leave the brook because although the brook was dry the bible never said the raven had stop bring the meals.  God was going to provide for Elijah AND the widow.  The bible says that Elijah told the widow to bring him a cake and her response was she only had enough for her and her son to eat and afterward they would die.  But God had a different plan and Elijah told her that if she would be obedient and bring him a cake first, that God would provide for all of them.  To the natural eye, this meant that either she or her son would die because someone wasn’t going to eat.  It is also ironic that God chose a widow, who was normally the poorest in the community, to provide for the man of God.  God indeed chose this woman, but He chose her for more than a miracle. He chose her for service.  The choice of this woman, while it brought favor to her, involved service.  She was not designated merely to be saved in the famine, but to feed the prophet. Many times God wants to work miracles for us but there is something that we must do FIRST.  Elijah had to leave the brook FIRST, to get to the widow and the widow had to give Elijah the cake FIRST and then her miracle would manifest. 

What has God asked you to do that will determine whether or not your next miracle will manifest? 

 

Be Blessed!

© 2007 Lifestyle of Worship Ministries.  All right reserved

 

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August 16, 2007

Word for Today....Hidden in a Pavilion?????

Scripture: For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.  Psalms 27:5
 

Hidden in a pavilion? 


As a little child my mother would pay my 2 sisters and I to learn bible verses.  Because I enjoyed being rewarded with cash for ANYTHING, I was always the first to finish the assignment.  I remember learning the 27th Chapter of Psalms and reciting it to my mom while she sat at the kitchen table smiling.  She was proud because I had learned a new chapter of the bible and she knew that if I got the Word in me, one day the Word would be a PART of me.  Back then I didn’t realize it but that chapter would be the leaning post I needed one day. 


As I faced a particularly difficult trial the Lord brought this very chapter to me to give me comfort.  But my human mind warred against my spiritual understanding of God’s provision and security.
How is it possible for a pavilion which is a large or small free standing structure that is usually located in a garden be a hiding place?  How can a tabernacle, which is a temporary structure, be considered a secret place?  


It is simply.  Being hidden is not about the pavilion or the tabernacle but about the place of God.  Anytime a pavilion is mentioned naturally, it is thought of with pleasure and enjoyment.  So when we are in troubled times, or in difficult situations God will not only find a shelter for His people in distress, but He will himself BE the hiding place.  It is in the presence of God, in His power, In His promises, in His inclining ear to our requests where we hide.  It is the security and peace of God that is our hiding place.  It brings Him pleasure when we hide in His pavilion and in the secret of His tabernacle.  It makes God happy when we run to Him not knowing any other place of safety.  I could become secluded and no one would know where to find me, but there is no secluded place where trouble can’t find you, except in the secret tabernacle and the pavilion. 


With the peace of being hidden, we are then set UP... upon a rock so that our enemies will see us but can’t get to us.  They can observe our growing and increasing in spite of their evil intents.  When we are on the shoulders of Jesus, the Rock of our salvation, the enemy has to back up and back down.  The enemy can’t prevail against the Rock.  The Rock is higher than our enemies; the Rock is higher than any foe or opponent.  No matter the encampment against me, or if my mother AND father forsake me; I, like David, would faint unless I believe and see the goodness of God.  And His goodness is hidden in Him.  The bible says in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy.  So if we are to have fullness of joy it is going to be in hidden presence of God. 
 

Be Blessed!

© 2007 (L.O.W) Lifestyle of Worship Ministries.  All right reserved

 


 

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August 10, 2007

Word for Today.....My Muse!!!

Scripture:  I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.  Psa. 143:5


My muse is the work of God’s hands...


When I think of muse, I think of an old jazz musician that plays his heart out on the saxophone or piano and the audience sits there with a smile on their faces or with their eyes closed consciously listening to every note played by the skilled musician.  It is the muse of the skilled musician that brings enjoyment to the listener. 

I always thought the word muse was a contemporary word used nowadays by a hip, cool person to express what inspires them to do what they do or to think with concentration about something that inspires.  Webster describes muse as a word used to reflect deeply on a subject.  David said that he meditated on all the works of the Lord and the works became his MUSE.  It was why he kept going if when Saul was hot on his trail trying to kill him by any means necessary.  David had been anointed as Israel’s next king long before the battle with Goliath.  Saul was okay with David fighting for Israel as long as David was making Saul’s kingdom look good.  But when the people of Israel started to shout and dance around town about what God was going to do through David, Saul got jealous and angry.  Saul sought after David and as David moved from cave to cave, and hiding place to hiding place he saw how God delivered him every time.  When David began to sit back and reflect on God’s deliverance it became his muse.  It became the inspiration he needed even when he had to fight other battles and/or enemies.  It was a source of joy when there was nothing but sadness around him.  God’s works was his muse!
 

Many times we have the devil hot on our trail attempting to bring us down and to destroy us.  We haven’t walked into our destiny yet, but like Saul the devil has HEARD what God is going to do in your life.  People are talking about what God is doing in your life.  You are rehearsing what God is going to do for you and the devil is mad.  He can’t stop the destiny so he wants to stop you.  He wants you to be too fearful, too upset, too distracted, too pre-occupied so that he can get you off course and deter you from your goals in God.


But as I began to think about, reflect on and MUSE on the works of God; I remind myself of what God has done and what He said He would do in my own life.  We must make the things of God and the wonderful acts of God our muse.  When we start to think about the goodness of Jesus…and ALL He has done and will do it gives us the fuel to continue in the times of adversity and hardship.  We can’t focus on the difficulties in front of us.  However, take a few minutes and reflect on all God’s works and let THAT be your muse.

Be Blessed!

© 2007 (L.O.W) Lifestyle of Worship Ministries.  All right reserved

 

Posted by donna at 10:21 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 09, 2007

Word for Today...Blessed Are the Waiters

Scripture:  And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.  Isa 30:18

Blessed are ALL they that wait for him!

No, that was not a typo or misplaced phrase.  We may find it difficult to comprehend that waiting could be a blessing. We are living in a society that prefers not to wait. We don't like to wait for our food. We don't like to wait for the movie to start. We don't like to wait for answers to our questions. We do not like to wait for information.  While we don't like to wait, there is always a blessing for the waiters.  When I think about a restaurant waiter, I think about a person that takes an order and “waits” on the meal so as to deliver it to the customer and then “waits” to see if there is anything else the customer needs.  The waiter doesn’t walk away after delivering the meal never to return, but comes around every so often to make sure the customer is satisfied.  At the end of the meal if the waiter has done a good job, MOST of us will leave a 10%  or 15% tip to say to the waiter that we appreciate the hard work they did for us as customers.   (I only leave 10% because I don't give ANYONE more than I give Jesus)

In that same manner the “natural” waiter receives his/her reward after a job well done, so will those that wait on God.  We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord longs to be gracious to us. He doesn't just think about being gracious to us, He longs to be gracious. Sounds like He is looking for opportunities to be gracious to us. He longs to be gracious (kind and merciful) to us. He does not have to be gracious to us. We certainly do not deserve it. Yet, He longs to be gracious to us. That's worth waiting for!

We are blessed when we wait on the Lord because the Lord rises to show us compassion. Obviously the Lord never sleeps or slumbers according to Psalms 121:4, but this statement causes me to image the Lord getting up in the morning, and saying, "Well, let's see what can I do to show Donna how compassionate I am today? What can I do to show Donna how sympathetic I am as she goes through a difficult day? How can I show her how concerned I am about Donna and her family?"  The Amplified Bible explains it better: "He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you." Sounds like He enjoys showing us compassion.   David said, “Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart.  Wait I say on the Lord.”

As you wait for the Lord to do what the Lord longs to do, rises to do, and is His nature to do, look for Him, look for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship.   
 

Be Blessed!

© 2007 (L.O.W) Lifestyle of Worship Ministries.  All right reserved

 

Posted by donna at 10:11 AM | | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)


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