Saturday, September 25, 2007

Yesterday, I received an email from a friend who had shared our imminent foreclosure situation with her husband. She told me that he wanted to offer to buy our house! I told her I couldn’t give an answer one way or another—that they needed to seek God for that decision. I just found that really interesting. I don’t know what God will do with it, but it will be interesting to see.

Today's Scripture: Ezra 3:11-13

"And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away."

I found this passage really interesting—there was both weeping and praising happening at the same time. I feel like there’s so much more to this scripture than meets the eye.

An Object Lesson from God

Recently, Tom’s sister took him to New York as a late birthday gift, and they had a wonderful time! Yesterday, when Tom returned from his dinner meeting, he shared something that God showed him.

During the meeting, he was talking about how his sister paid for everything on their trip, and he never questioned or doubted her word at all. At that moment, the Lord asked him:

"Why is it so easy for you to trust and believe in her—but not in Me?"

Wow. What a powerful point!

Lord, help us to trust You completely, no matter what things look like!

Luke 8:11-15

"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by life's worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."

I always used to think of this parable as applying only to new believers, but now I see it’s for all of us—new and seasoned believers alike! God’s word comes to us every day, and the enemy will always try to steal it from our hearts. The worries of life and the distractions of the world will always try to choke it out.

Father, I pray that my heart will become “good soil”—ready to receive, retain, and bear fruit from Your word every day of my life!