Believing the Promises of God - in His Word

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed… Without weakening in his faith… Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. ~ Romans 4 [selected 18-21]



Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Back to the WORD of TRUTH


Daniel 9:4-19
[selected passages from Daniel's Prayer]

4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
"O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands, 5 we [I] have sinned and done wrong. We [I] have been wicked and have rebelled; we [I] have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We [I] have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our kings [our presidents], our princes [our governors] and our fathers [parents, teachers pastors], and to all the people [me and my church body] of the land [my country & my church ].
9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him; ...
11 All Israel [me & our country and its leaders] has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You.


13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster [like 9/11, Katrina] has come upon us, yet we [I] have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to Your TRUTH [God's Holy Word].

17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of Your servant. For Your sake, O Lord, look with favor on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your Name." [emphasis and bracketed words added for practical insight]

Beginning on Sunday this week, God has had one 'theme' in mind! HIS HOLY WORD! When I read verse 13 I saw a complete picture of repentance [turning from sin - to God] but then the word 'favor' stuck out to me. I asked myself how we gain favor of the Lord - and there it was right there in the middle of Daniel's prayer - "by turning from our sins and giving attention to Your TRUTH."

On Monday I had 3 messages from women who desired to share what God had done with them, shown them, loved them, all because they had dug deep into His Word. One message said, "I just called to share with you how GOOD our God is!"

My heart rejoiced with those who found themselves in the Presence of God through His Word...
Yet there was another that I heard about who has not opened her Bible for more than a year! She was someone I attended Bible study with about 5 years ago. My heart grieved! I asked the Lord, How can that happen?

I came across [in our Daniel study] a song title that Travis Cottrell wrote called:
Your Word is Life to Me!

I asked myself... Am I giving my full attention to Your Truth, Lord?
His Word is Life to Me! How about you? Can we ever really live a year without it - even a month - a week - a day - an hour?

Abba Father -

Your Word is life to us
. Through it You sustain us, forgive us, cleanse us, renew us, wash us, restore us, heal us, bring joy to us, challenge us, discipline us, correct us, breathe on us - all for the benefit of Your kingdom purposes so that You can mold us and make us instruments for Your glory! Give us a hungering appetite to feast on it daily - and hourly, keep it in our hearts and on our tongues so that we can demolish strongholds that surround us in the heavenly realms. May we learn to wield the Sword You have given us!
Thank You for Your life-giving TRUTH!
In Jesus' Name,
Amen!


Choosing JOY,
Stephanie
[JESUS - the One I EXTOL]

10 comments:

Runner Mom said...

WOw! Stephanie, this post is amazing! I love what God has laid on your heart to share with us today. I needed to be reminded of so many things. Thank you for your obedience!!

Hugs!
Susan

Unknown said...

My prayer as I woke 2 days ago was, "Lord, help me never loose this passion,hunger and thirst for Your Word, daily." I dreamed my large black satchel for carrying my Bible and notebooks was stolen as I wasn't watching it under a table at a restaurant. I sobbed as if I'd lost my life. I woke and realized it IS my life and how carefully I must guard His word in my heart and never take my eyes off of it. The enemy is a thief and will steal if when we aren't paying attention.

Carol said...

Stephanie,

What wonderful truths to hear and remember. God has given you the gift of teaching and it is appreciated by me as I read what He has laid on your heart.

I haven't sent an e-mail back to you as I am entertaining 5 family members (my MIL, FIL, 2 nieces, and a nephew) here in England from Indiana. On Saturday we are all getting on a plane and heading back for a couple of weeks and very much looking forward to it.

Blessings to you my Sister,
Carol

Beth Herring said...

oh, wow. Fabulous!

I love your prayer - especially the part about being instruments for His glory!!

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Giving our attention to God's Word ... man is that powerful! How good it is to know the prescription for finding God's favor in my life--giving attention to is Word. I cringe when I think about how many years I squandered along these lines, neglecting the Word and living via my own words. What a miserable state of being; sad thing, I didn't even know it at the time.

Love you. Thanks for stopping by and for your encouragement.

peace~elaine

Alleluiabelle said...

My Sweet Friend,

Oh my, my, my, my, my! God speaks to you, through you and so much more here and every time I come here. I prayed your powerfully heart filled prayer along with you not only for myself, but for every one in the entire world.

Thank you for filling my mind, heart and soul up here tonight. It has increased my appetite to delve into His Word even more my friend.

Love you bunches,
Alleluiabelle

A Stone Gatherer said...

Love the book of Daniel, and that song by Travis is one of my life songs!

LisaShaw said...

Dearest Sister,

Indeed HIS WORD IS LIFE TO ME TOO. Love your message and every Scripture you shared.

Your heart to share is always such a blessing.

Love ya. I pray you and your family are doing well.

Rebecca Nelson said...

Hi Stephanie...

I'm meandering through your blog and it is beautiful. God has blessed you with a wonderful talent. I promise, I'll be back.

xoRebecca

ג. ג. said...

Creativity by faith and faith by creativity. Even blogs can be inspired by God.