The Prophetic Life
I
am of the persuasion that God still speaks today. The ministry of the old
testament prophets came to a close with John the Baptist, but through the gift
of the Holy Spirit, now all believers have "ears to hear" the voice
of their Shepherd. This reality is made clear to me almost every day by a
group of 24 lively children.
The
other day I started our morning by doing a lesson on "What does God think
about me?" We looked at some verses from the Bible highlighting God's
heart for us:
We
are His children.
We
are His Friends.
We
are His People.
We
are Royal Priests.
We
are Valuable.
After
talking about the verses, I had the kids sit quietly and listen while I played
some worship music. I simply asked them to ask God what He thought of
them, and begin to journal what He spoke to them.
When
I asked if anyone wanted to share, one little guy raised His hand and proceeded
to share a laundry list of things that God loves about Him:
"God
loves the way I color. God loves to mow the lawn with me. God loves to
play with me."
Another
young lady shared:
"I
saw a picture of a radio. God said I was His heavenly radio and when I sing, I
release heaven to those around me."
One
girl began to share about how God was telling her how he loved her, then she
stopped, and marveling, just said, "isn't it incredible that He bends down
to us?"
Yes.
I thought. It’s incredible! It's incredible how much He wants to be known
and heard by His children. Speak, Lord, your servants are listening.
"Blessed
is the one who listens to me,
watching daily at my
gates,
waiting beside my doors.
35
For whoever
finds me finds life
and obtains favor
from the Lord" Proverbs 8:34, 35
Thursday, August 23, 2012
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The Deborah In Me
I had no idea who they were talking about. But I can assure you that, at the time, it was meant as a back-handed compliment. I had just over-stayed my welcome in a heated discussion. But, Deborah? Who was Deborah?
I was still rather fresh to the christian scene. I knew my book of John. The Gospels.
Jesus.
I didn't realize at this point in my 2 year stint as a believer that there were any powerful women of note in the word of God. Funny, no one had thought to mention this to me. But now, being described as being similar to her, because someone had disagreed with how vocal I was being on a particular subject, I understood why. We don't understand Deborah. We skip over her.
There is not much shared about Deborah, but what we do know is found in Judges 4-5. We know she was leading Israel during that time, she knew the LORD, God of Israel, she had a male aid name Barak, we read that she was actually willing for Barak to get the credit for crushing Jabin's army, and we know that she gave the orders to "Go!" and attack.
Wow.
I suppose I was being told that I was similar to Deborah because Ihad, have, a big mouth.
I think Deborah would be offended by that.
During a time of "spiritual lethargy" as one commentator put it, she LEAD.
As a worshiper of the LORD, God of Israel, she LISTENED to His command.
As a humble servant, she was willing to LAY DOWN HER PRIDE and allow Barak to get the props.
And as obedient servant to the LORD, she was LIKE-MINDED: He said "Go!", she did not delay in issuing the order.
Deborah. So much more than just an out-spoken big mouth.
Don't ya think?
(There's even a song about her. Check out Judges 5.)
Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
I suppose I was being told that I was similar to Deborah because I
I think Deborah would be offended by that.
During a time of "spiritual lethargy" as one commentator put it, she LEAD.
As a worshiper of the LORD, God of Israel, she LISTENED to His command.
As a humble servant, she was willing to LAY DOWN HER PRIDE and allow Barak to get the props.
And as obedient servant to the LORD, she was LIKE-MINDED: He said "Go!", she did not delay in issuing the order.
Deborah. So much more than just an out-spoken big mouth.
Don't ya think?
(There's even a song about her. Check out Judges 5.)
Joline Atkins is your server today! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
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