Hunger for God~

Thursday greetings~

One final thought on desiring God's Word like a baby desires milk.

The Bible has sold more copies than any other book in the history of the world; yet it is hated as much as it is loved. Earlier this week there was news of an Air Force cadet whose Bible verse was erased because the white board he had written it on was in a common area, and the verse offended some folks. But check out this headline from the Daily News: Rickey Wagoner, 49, was ambushed by three goons early Monday morning after he stopped his bus on the side of the road. Wagoner was shot three times, but the two bullets meant for his chest became lodged in the Bible he was carrying.
I am certain Mr. Wagoner loves his Bible more than ever, and I'm with him. God's living Word continues to inspire me, comfort me, and help me day after day. Sometimes the truths contained therein have also provided a lifeline when I desperately needed something to hold onto.

I never gave much thought to Genesis 24:50 which says, "Laban and Bethuel answered, "'This is from the LORD...'"

And then Hormone started dating someone who rubbed me the wrong way. I did not know how to act or react. On the one hand, every person deserves dignity and respect because they are God's child. On the other hand, that doesn't mean just anyone is qualified to marry my child. So I dug in my heels and started reading everything the Bible has to say about relationships. And this verse right at the beginning of the Bible changed the way I prayed and changed my life.

Laban and Bethuel were the parents of a young woman named Rebecca who was just chosen to marry Isaac, the son of Abraham. As her parents they gave their blessing saying it was a God thing. I grabbed ahold of that verse and told Jesus that just like Laban and his wife, Jorge and I wanted to freely give our blessing because we actually loved Hormone's choice and not because we had no other choice. For a long long time I woke up every morning saying, "This relationship is not of You, dear Lord, no way. If it were, I would be enthusiastic and excited and happy. Please bring that young lady you have for Hormone. I long to say that he is dating someone who came from You."

That verse kept me alive, people, because there were many many days when I feared where my child was headed.

Likewise, it does not matter what your struggle or concern is. There is a verse or more you can hold close to your heart and ask God to do what it says for you. But first you must be hungry for what God has to say.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, There are so many sources of information and advice out there. Keep us focused primarily on You. Lead us in truth and teach us how to pray. Thank You for your life-changing Word, in Jesus' name, AMEN~

* For those of you who are wondering, Jorge and I were finally able to say "This is of the Lord," within five minutes of meeting Lis, who is now our beautiful daughter-in-love. Amen, Glory, & Praises!

It's Never Been Easier~

Good afternoon~

Now that we all know the benefits from ingesting God's Word, we turn to how to get it into our systems.

The day after Chini's birthday party, I went to my brother-in-law's, Setsero's party. Naturally, since I had feasted away at Chini's bash, I didn't eat at Setsero's celebration. NOT!!!!!!! None of us thinks it's acceptable, normal, or even healthy to skip a meal just because we recently ate. Likewise, God invites us to taste His goodness on a daily basis.

Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread."

That verse speaks about the physical food we need, like the portabella stuffed chicken with parmesan and garlic I ate Sunday, but it's also referring to the spiritual fuel we need that the Bible provides. A daily portion works best. This makes perfect sense to me. If I were to eat today for all the strength I will need for the weekend, I wouldn't make it past Thursday. The same can be said about Bible reading. A steady stream of scripture works best. Today I might need a verse about joy, but by Saturday it might be a passage about faith.

And receiving the benefits we spoke of yesterday--revival, renewal, preservation, new life--can be found on any page anywhere in the Bible. It's called the "Living Word" because God breathed His very breath into every word, every sentence, every paragraph, every last one of the over 30,000 chapters; It's being alive means It actively ministers, comforts, and provides wisdom to us. It's being alive also means you never get bored reading it over and over again. I love to read, but with the exception of To Kill a Mockingbird, I have never read the same book twice; I already know what's going to happen, and I find that unappealing. Yet how many times have we said The Lord's Prayer? And those words still bring fresh blessings every single time.

And finally, to answer the question of how we get It into our systems--we simply pick up a Bible, open up a Bible-reading app, search on the internet for the verse of the day--you can even get a daily verse emailed to you--or, and forgive me if this sounds self-serving, read a DEVO! It's never been easier, Amen!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, The Christian life is not about being forced to do anything, but rather us coming to the realization that Your way works best and is worth our effort. We need You each and every day, and we know it. In Jesus' name, AMEN~