Greetings in the name of the Friend of sinners, Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! I trust that you have had a good week and are looking forward to a delightful weekend to rest, play, and enjoy all that God has blessed you with. I pray that you are looking forward to worshipping with your church family, sharing your week’s adventures, singing, praying, listening to God’s Word, and sharing in happy fellowship time. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to meet you in your quiet place and affirm His love for you!
This has been a week of learning for me. God seems to be sending words and ideas and people my way so that He can stretch me. I am believing He is expanding the value and potency of his Word. There has been a verse that seems to be pursuing me, as it has shown up almost every day in one or two places. Here it is from two different translations: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil”… “Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil!” – Proverbs 3:5-7 NIV and The Message.
These three verses remind me of the importance of having an undivided mind…a steadfastness of thought that affects my way of living. The world seems to be constantly presenting conflicting views of accepted truth and principles, but God’s Word continues to speak with single-minded incisiveness and yet with profound simplicity. In the above verses from the NIV there is an interesting word: acknowledge. Although it has a vast array of meanings, it basically means to ‘know’. However, in the context it points to knowing by personal experience. It means knowing beyond head knowledge and beyond concepts. It means knowing by personal encounter with the one who said: I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life…no one gets to know God without encountering me!
So I am going to head into my weekend with a simple request: Lord, I want to encounter you. I want to meet you in Holy Scripture. I want to see you in the people I meet. I want to hear your voice singing along during the worship time. I want to sense your response in the quiet times of prayer and reflection. I want to hear you laugh along with us in fellowship. I want more of you! Let me give you another person’s paraphrase of the verses”: In every part of your life recognize Him until it becomes a personal encounter with Him. He’ll make life better.” – Bill Johnson. My response is: “Why wouldn’t life be better, after an encounter with ‘author, designer, creator of all things.”
Have a good weekend…be blessed!