As I have been pondering over the words I read this morning during my time with the Lord, I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I am currently reading through the Bible chronologically. At the beginning of this year, I made a conscious choice to read the Bible through chronologically so that the bits and pieces of the Bible would fall together in the order that they occurred. For me, that means getting a clearer overall picture of the Bible. If you're interested in reading the Bible through chronologically, there's a chart at this link: http://www.esv.org/assets/pdfs/rp.chronological.pdf.
My friend, Mandie, shared with me recently what God has been impressing upon her heart. We should not meet with the Lord expecting nothing. We should be expectant when we meet with God - expecting Him to do great things in us through the reading of His Word, expecting Him to use His Word for the transformation of our hearts, and expecting Him to bless us through the verses we're reading. We should look for God to show up during our quiet times and anticipate that He will accomplish great things when we read and meditate on His Holy Word. Another thing my sweet friend mentioned is writing down the passages that God is really impressing upon her heart during her quiet time. Later she can go back and be reminded of how the Lord blessed her during that particular meeting with Him.
So this morning, I decided to implement my friend's ideas during my own quiet time. I cannot tell you how blessed I was during this time spent with the Lord. I had 90 minutes alone with God. It was just Him and me and the chirping birds. I felt like I'd received a breath of fresh air once I was finished. I was genuinely renewed in my spirit. To start with, I prayed and asked the Lord to show Himself to me through His Word. He did. Then, I expected to have some special verses revealed to me by the Lord. They were. I wrote down three passages in II Chronicles that really spoke to my heart this morning and I want to share them with you below.
II Chronicles 30:9 - If you return to the Lord, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.
II Chronicles 30:18b-20 - But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God - the Lord, the God of his fathers - even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
II Chronicles 31:21 - In everything that he (Hezekiah) undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.
What did I hear God saying to me this morning? Basically this - He is faithful! Although reading these verses in context would give you a much better picture of how they worked to penetrate my heart, I trust you will be blessed by God's faithfulness which is shown in these passages. The verse that really hits the nail on the head is Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. How awesome that Biblical truth is!
Continuing to look for and recognize little kisses from God every day!
So this morning, I decided to implement my friend's ideas during my own quiet time. I cannot tell you how blessed I was during this time spent with the Lord. I had 90 minutes alone with God. It was just Him and me and the chirping birds. I felt like I'd received a breath of fresh air once I was finished. I was genuinely renewed in my spirit. To start with, I prayed and asked the Lord to show Himself to me through His Word. He did. Then, I expected to have some special verses revealed to me by the Lord. They were. I wrote down three passages in II Chronicles that really spoke to my heart this morning and I want to share them with you below.
II Chronicles 30:9 - If you return to the Lord, then your brothers and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will come back to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.
II Chronicles 30:18b-20 - But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God - the Lord, the God of his fathers - even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary." And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.
II Chronicles 31:21 - In everything that he (Hezekiah) undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.
What did I hear God saying to me this morning? Basically this - He is faithful! Although reading these verses in context would give you a much better picture of how they worked to penetrate my heart, I trust you will be blessed by God's faithfulness which is shown in these passages. The verse that really hits the nail on the head is Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. How awesome that Biblical truth is!
I was truly encouraged by my friend sharing with me and so grateful that she did. What a blessing this little bit of information has been to my soul! Thanks, Mandie! Yes, Biblical truths and godly friendships...more blessings to be thankful to the Lord for.
Continuing to look for and recognize little kisses from God every day!
It's so wonderful when we realize that God has
ReplyDeleteshown up. I had a friend who commented once,
"I tried to hear from heaven today, but I talked all
the time." He's there, I just don't listen enough.
Teri Maxwell is where the writing Scripture down
came from. She mentions it in her Meek and Quiet
Spirit book . (How does one underline on here?)
Coming expectantly to the table and being eager to
feast on the Word has been a good, needed change in
perspective for me. Actively thinking, "What is the Lord
really trying to communicate to me?"
So glad to have been helpful-but it's only because of Him.
Just iron sharpening iron - like you do for me
all the time! Thanks for being a Blessing to me.
Mandie :)
I guess that's how God works - through Him, we bless each other. So glad you're my sister in Christ!
ReplyDeleteLove those times with the LORD (and the birds chirping). I did my bible reading today in my car. The breeze was blowing and all the windows were open. The kids were at swimming lessons and I was waiting for them. It was so peaceful.
ReplyDeleteDear Suzanne
ReplyDeleteYou post was very endearing...I enjoy popping in and seeing your sweet face..
In Christ
Angelina
I, too am reading through chronologically. I'm a bit behind, though, unfortunately. I love my early mornings with the Lord, but find it more difficult to do the darker it gets! Six thirty was where I started, then school started and I had to back it up to six. And the more determined I am to get up, the more often my youngest gets up earlier than usual! I come to my QT with expectations. Sometimes I am too busy talking. But there's nothing sweeter than starting your day with a hug from your heavenly father.
ReplyDeleteTheresa, I smiled when I read that you did your Bible study in the car today. It's awesome to know we can meet with our Heavenly Father any time, anywhere. He's always there for us.
ReplyDeleteAngelina, I'm so glad you stopped by. I trust you've been blessed by this blog.
Jenny, I'm about 3 weeks behind on my reading right now but glad to be where I am. God is good - all the time!
Love hearing your passion and joy in this post. I too had the most amazing time outside reading this morning - still pondering the thoughts He laid on my heart. Meeting the Lord without expectations is like going to coffee knowing there will be people in the coffee house but not expecting anyone to turn their head to look at you. So much joyful bringing a friend to share a scone or cheesecake. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, Angie, the expectation should be there, especially when meeting with the awesome God of the universe. I don't know why but until Mandie shared that with me in the way she did, I never really met with the Lord in that way. The Holy Spirit used my friend to open my eyes in that regard. What a blessing it is to now know that God is going to show up when we meet and share incredible blessings with me from His Word! So glad you're already there - guess I'm slow when it comes to some things.
ReplyDelete