Category: Quiet Time

Posted in Quiet Time
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James says it like this: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested your endurance has a chance to grow, So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed you will be perfect and complete needing nothing.” James 1:2-4. Paul says something very similar in our focus passage today: “… we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance character and character hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Clearly the message is the same – God does not want us to give into or sit around complaining about our troubles and sufferings. Actually, instead of complaining or wallowing in a “woe is me” attitude He calls us to rejoice or to count it an opportunity for ‘great joy’. The question begs to be asked though, how does one rejoice in real and present suffering or stop to consider it an opportunity for great joy?

Throughout my lifetime, God has given me – and my family – many opportunites to learn the answer to this question, but yesterday he gave me yet another example through my daughter Abi. She was having a particularly difficult day. It was definitely a day laced with troubles and sufferings, both physical and emotional. I could tell through several texts that I received that she was struggling and even distraught at times and I expected to find her like that when I arrived home. However, when I walked in the door – while I found her to be tired and emotionally drained there was no sign of the woe is me, overwhelmed attitude I expected to find. As she relayed the devastating phone calls and the frustrations that had occurred she began to share how she had cried many tears, and how she had cried out to God, until her head hurt. Then she said something that blessed my heart –

“I finally started listing all of the encouragement God had given me.”

She explained how, in a moment of anguish, she had cried out to God specifically asking for encouragement As I listened to her list them out for me and describe all of the ways she could see God’s fingerprints I was blessed and rejoiced over her greatly! Then as I sat down to read today’s passage I knew Abi had practiced exactly what Paul had encouraged the believers to do. In the midst of her suffering, in the heartache and the unknown and the fears and frustrations, in the hardship and real and present needs she had found a way to rejoice. Earlier in the day, in the wake of yet more disappointment and apparent “tested faith”she texted me to say: “I know God has this and that’s what I keep trying to remind myself but I just needed encouragement and I don’t know why He couldn’t give it.” Yet, there – in the midst of it all – God had led her to begin naming even the tiniest of ways that she had seen His fingerprints. I’m not sure she would say she rejoiced “in the cause” of her suffering, however, she certainly had found a way to count the suffering an opportunity for great joy which did indeed lead to a visibly and audibly enhanced character of peace, producing an obvious deepened hope in our God.

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Today’s Video

Today’s Scripture: Psalm 136 (S.O.A.P. 1-2)

Question of the Day: Each verse includes the phrase, “For His loyal love endures”. What else do you notice is included in each verse? Why do you think the Psalmist repeatedly combined both things? Share your answer or thoughts below in the reply box.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
for His loyal love endures.[b]
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for His loyal love endures.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for His loyal love endures,
4 to the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by Himself,
for His loyal love endures,
5 to the one who used wisdom to make the heavens,
for His loyal love endures,
6 to the one who spread out the earth over the water,
for His loyal love endures,
7 to the one who made the great lights,
for His loyal love endures,
8 the sun to rule by day,
for His loyal love endures,
9 the moon and stars to rule by night,
for His loyal love endures,
10 to the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for His loyal love endures,
11 and led Israel out from their midst,
for His loyal love endures,
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for His loyal love endures,
13 to the one who divided[c] the Red Sea[d] in two,[e]
for His loyal love endures,
14 and led Israel through its midst,
for His loyal love endures,
15 and tossed[f] Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for His loyal love endures,
16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,
for His loyal love endures,
17 to the one who struck down great kings,
for His loyal love endures,
18 and killed powerful kings,
for His loyal love endures,
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for His loyal love endures,
20 Og, king of Bashan,
for His loyal love endures,
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
for His loyal love endures,
22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant,
for His loyal love endures,
23 to the one who remembered us when we were down,[g]
for His loyal love endures,
24 and snatched us away from our enemies,
for His loyal love endures,,
25 to the one who gives food to all living things,[h]
for his loyal love endures.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for His loyal love endures!

After thoughts

Posted in Devotion, From the Insideout, From the Vault, God is good, Love, Quiet Time

You are Good

Posted on by MaryEllen

Father, You are Good – To define it is sometimes difficult – because it is simply and yet profoundly who You are – GOOD! Teach me to know Your goodness – to see it, and hear it, and sense it, and to walk in it, and share it all of my days. For You desire it in me and by Your Spirit have equipped me for it.

Even as I asked this of You – to teach me to know Your Goodness – I lay down my pen and begin to read from my “One Thousand Gifts” devotional and you meet me there on the page revealing Your goodness in Your intimacy with me – for there on the page I read: “Augustine had asked two questions of the world: ‘If there is no God, why is there so much good? If there is a God, why is there so much evil?'” … I continue to read, and line upon line alludes to Your goodness. I asked, and You begin to answer – and even Your beginning – it is Good. “All this good makes me grateful, and my own heart needs this – A filling of His great-fullness. Gratefulness is always to someone, and when I am grateful, isn’t it always evidence of God? – A filling of awe of His goodness.” I turned the page, and there it was – the ultimate expression – just what I began this prayer with – Your answer to me – “There are things that need no words. HIS LOVE clearly manifest in the everywhere problem of GOOD.”

WOW God! and I echo the prayer Ann pens at the bottom of the page – “… in a world that faces the very real problem of evil, may I face it everywhere today – the very real proof of good.” And Father, may I – in seeing it and hearing it and sensing it – may I then be given words that are fitting to proclaim it! Your goodness begs to be proclaimed!

As I drove to work, You continued to answer by opening my senses to the bulging river, green trees, the fresh air, the donkey and the kid (goat) – I love seeing them – it is the simple things that make me smile. And again, my soul echoes – You are Good!

A text from a loved one, desperate for peace – and in Your infinite goodness, you whisper a line from an old hymn – “Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children, In His arms He carries them all day long.”

[the above blog was originally posted on July 16, 2015, on https://mefromthensideout.wordpress.com/]

(quotes from “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp)

Reflection and application:

What are your thoughts on the goodness of God?

  • How have you seen it play out in your life?
    • If you struggle to define it, consider CeCe Winans’ song, Goodness of God, (one of my favorites) … “His mercies never fail us … He leads us through the fire … He is both Father and Friend ...”

I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father
I’ve known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God1 ~

  1. Source: LyricFind
    Songwriters: Ben Fielding / Brian Johnson / Edward Martin Cash / Jason Ingram / Jenn Johnson
    Goodness of God lyrics © Audiam, Inc, Bethel Music Publishing, Capitol CMG Publishing ↩︎

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time, The Importance of Prayer

Sweet Hour of Prayer

Posted on by MaryEllen

Recently, I was blessed to be a part of something different – something life changing – something on the verge of uncomfortable but something so right. Four wonder-filled, worship-filled evenings where God was the focus of our prayers. Prayers were the purpose. Prayers for our city – prayers for the people of our city – prayers for our churches – prayers for the believers of our city and prayers for the lost of our city. Four nights of unifying with a diverse group of believers to approach the throne of the One True Living God, not because Scripture mandated it, not because I was guilted into it or because I wanted to meet a quota, but because God had so moved in my heart to make it a priority. God would have heard me at home in my closet just as surely as He heard me there in that place, but it was so much sweeter for those four evenings to join in prayer with other believers, to worship through song and to hear the testimonies of lives radically changed by God through prayer, and the Word boldly preached.

“Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer that calls me from a world of care and bids me at my Father’s throne – make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief and oft escaped the tempter’s snare by thy return, sweet hour of prayer.” 

Not all of the conference was comfortable – we were pushed outside of our boxes. Our training, or the standard, in corporate worship even in corporate prayer meetings, is to have someone praying and perhaps music playing in the background – but in the span of these four evenings there were times where we sat praying in perfect silence. In that silence I strained to hear the voice of God – entreating Him to hear me and to lead me in prayer. There were also moments where it was not at all quiet, and instead of one praying many joined in and prayed, a beautiful blend of voices lifting in harmony of hearts for a city and a people in need. Uncomfortable? Maybe. Spirit-filled and Spirit-led? Definitely!  I left there thankful to have been in that place – thankful, but yearning for more – thankful, but realizing God had just moved me towards a deeper prayer life – thankful, but aware that my life will never be the same again.

So now what? 

Now I find myself praying more and more for God to teach me to pray, not just the ABCs of prayer but what He wants – what matters to Him. I don’t just want to know that the Word says to pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion, but I want to understand what that means and then to do it. We are told to approach God’s throne with confidence and boldness – oh, that I might learn to pray with boldness, with a passion that is fueled not by the need alone but by the knowledge of and belief in the God to whom I pray. Prayer is a big gift and God is a big God and to treat either as less than this, I believe, is verging on negligence of my faith and the resource – the divine resource – of God’s Spirit and His invitation to pray. I read a quote once that said “Worship-based prayer seeks the face of God before the hand of God. God’s face is the essence of who He is. God’s hand is the blessing of what He does. God’s face represents His person and presence. God’s hand expresses His provision for needs in our lives. I have learned that if all we ever do is seek God’s hand, we may miss His face: but if we seek His face, He will be glad to open His hand and satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts.” (Daniel Henderson)

I am no longer satisfied to simply seek His hand for the necessities or blessings of the day. I don’t want to be satisfied in just seeking His hand. I want to seek His face – for it is there I will find the relationship I so deeply need and want with Him. It is there my prayers will become worship-based and not seeker-based. Don’t get me wrong – I, like any other person, enjoy the blessings of His hand; but at the end of the day if I have to choose His presence over His blessing, I am learning that I would choose His presence – which in itself is the blessing.