"Come out of her my people . . . separate yourselves from the things of this world. Weep and wail and mourn."
Unless your living inside a cave or under a rock most everyone knows that in the blink of eye that various parts of the Sunny South has now been left in ruins. The death toil is well over 300 people and counting.
Late last night, as I watch television news reports roll across the screen, my husband and I couldn't help but reflect that the only thought on every one's minds was for the safety of family, friends and pets.
On Tuesday's blog Pixtal Peep, I posted a "warning" that you can read here from the Holy Spirit that pain and suffering was coming. What I didn't know was the who, what, when, where and why. Little did I know that so much pain and suffering would land in my own backyard within 24 hours, keeping me up until 2pm watching our local weather forecaster issue waves of Tornado warnings that seem to roll into Georgia like an Alabama Crimson tide.
Late last night, as I watch television news reports roll across the screen, my husband and I couldn't help but reflect that the only thought on every one's minds was for the safety of family, friends and pets.
On Tuesday's blog Pixtal Peep, I posted a "warning" that you can read here from the Holy Spirit that pain and suffering was coming. What I didn't know was the who, what, when, where and why. Little did I know that so much pain and suffering would land in my own backyard within 24 hours, keeping me up until 2pm watching our local weather forecaster issue waves of Tornado warnings that seem to roll into Georgia like an Alabama Crimson tide.
Dear reader, I don't have a crystal ball but I can read and I do know that we are suppose to be watchmen and women on the wall. Which brings me front and center concerning today's post. On Wednesday's Pixtal Peep blog I posted a Life Lesson from my devotional bible that I titled "Give us a King." This is a timely message from the Holy Spirit that couldn't have come at a more opportune time!
Life Lesson
Give us a King
1 Samuel 8: 1-22
INSPIRATION - We need to show how cold, black, hard and ugly we are, to get motivated to stay in that fire. Unless we do, we will never hate sin and fear sin and be repelled by sin enough to stay in the fire. (Says Tozer, "The Holy Spirit is first of all a MORAL flame.") . . .
But instead, in that time of golden opportunity, we lost our courage. We Madison-Avenue-trivialized our glorious gospel. And we stained ourselves with the world's adulteries and fornication.
We must never weep; we must mourn! We must hate what He hates! Let us ask Him to forgive our unwashed praises before Him, our silliness, our ignorance.
Let us see how our coldness, blackness, hardness, ugliness become colder, blacker, harder, uglier--unless in terror we wrench ourselves free and rush to His precious Fire!
(From My Sacrifice, His Fire by Anne Ortlund)
When Your World Caves In
Pastor Adrian Rogers
“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” Mark 13:26
When we come to a place where we don’t understand what is happening…when everything seems to be caving in, there is Jesus. We always have the forgiveness of the cross, the victory of the empty tomb, and the hope of Christ’s imminent return.
When we go to the doctor and he tells us we have a malignancy. When we hear that we are infertile as a couple and cannot bear a child. When we have to declare bankruptcy. When we are laid off work. When we read a note that our spouse has left. When a loved one dies because of a terrorist act. We have a Savior…and we have a choice to believe or not to believe!
At that time we can begin to murmur, criticize, grumble, or despair. Or we can yield to the Savior and hear Him say, “My child, no matter what is happening, this is how much I love you. Look to the cross. Look to the empty tomb. Look for Me. I’m coming again.”
Get in a position of humility. If you can, drop to your knees. If you cannot, bow your head and close your eyes. Imagine the cross of Christ. Meditate upon the shame Christ experienced, the pain He endured, and the victory He secured in His death.
For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.
Seeking Guidance: The Pattern
Dr. Charles Stanley
Matthew 7:7-8
As we’ve seen, there is a pattern to seeking God’s guidance. The first step—cleansing—is actually important throughout the entire process. In fact, all but one of the remaining steps have no particular order and can fit together in many ways.
The exception is surrender. The Lord cannot share His plans for our life until we are committed to following Him no matter what. He certainly knows whether we are seeking direction in order to obey or merely to consider what He suggests. Therefore, surrender even precedes the moment that we ask. First John 5:14-15 says that the Lord hears and grants our petitions when we ask according to His will. It’s possible to make requests that are not of God, but believers who yield themselves will find their way to the right request and the best possible answer.
Most of the time, God guides believers to an answer through His Word, which is why I encourage people to meditate upon it (Ps. 119:105). Our reading can take us to the very passage that deals with our situation or reveals a principle that applies. Sometimes God speaks a crystal clear message to one person’s heart that nobody else would glean from that particular passage. The key is to believe that the Lord is going to guide you, and live out that faith (Mk. 11:24).
The process of seeking guidance is often slow, so we must wait. Running ahead and manipulating circumstances can be a costly mistake. The omniscient Sovereign of the universe acts on behalf of those who wait for Him (Isa. 64:4). You who seek direction will receive; that’s a promise (Matt. 7:7-8).
For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit http://www.intouch.org/
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