Tuesday, September 12, 2006

A Still, Small Voice

"What is a miracle?"

Last night, we had girl's bible study at our house, and I led a group of girls in a study centered around "God is Speaking... Are we Listening?" The central theme was that often, we misinterpret God's "silence" as Him being completely absent, or not caring. Too often, we disregard what the Lord is really trying to say to us because it is not what we want to hear or when we want to hear it. Yet what we forget is that God's most powerful messages come through a still, small voice. Sure. God could write it in fireworks up in the black night sky. He could reach down and quake the earth as easy as we can break a cracker. He could spell out His will for our lives with daisies in an open field. But more often than not, He chooses the silent whisper of the wind, the soft encouragement of a friend, or the gentle hug of a parent to speak to us. Are we hearing it?

I started off with a question that was brought out at one point in our group. "What is a miracle," one girl wanted to know. What defines it? Why did God choose to speak through miraculous wonders so often in the Old Testament, and what constitutes it?

A MIRACLE, according to my Bible's concordance, is a "divine act, unexplainable by the laws of nature."

Science tries to explain away everything that exists. Searching deep within the heart of science allows us to give meaning and logic to WHY things work the way they do, whereas before, we lived perfectly fine without knowing and had faith in the God who created it. I am in a Genetics course, and as I journey back through the makeup of the smallest unit that makes up everything that is living- the cell- I am amazed again and again at how intricate our human bodies really are. I came to the conclusion that God is very creative! For these amazing units to work together to form a living, breathing soul, a miracle must take place. We hear, "every baby is a miracle." That means that you are a living, breathing miracle and testament of God's love... He created you in your mother's womb, and knows your every detail. Not only that, but he CARES about what you think. He may have different plans for you than you do, but He wants to know your thoughts. That is why we pray.

We pray to God- why? Sure, we have requests. But the focus is on His kingdom, and not our own.

This morning, I was reading in 1 Corinthians and a verse stuck out to me that I had previously highlighted: "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power."

We all talk A LOT. Even as Christians, there is a lot of edifying TALK that goes on. We go to church on Sunday and hear ministers talk to us. We fellowship with others. We go to girl's and guy's bible studies and Wednesday church and singings and church activities, and we talk and are uplifted at all of these events which are SO very important. Yet, how easy it is to let this TALK constitue the larger portion of our life and forgetting to let the POWER of the Holy Spirit work through us on a daily basis. Many of us do both, and our balance is amazing, but I know for me... sometimes finding that happy medium is difficult. Sometimes, attending all of the uplifting events and talking about what could be takes place of just going out and doing it. My prayer for all of us is that we can learn to make use of the power that is available to us through Christ Jesus to further His kingdom, and that all of the talk that we do that is so encouraging can serve as a springboard to do it!

I love you all, and thanks for reading. T

Monday, September 04, 2006

Items of Business

Announcement: Anyone interested in seeing pictures from the Labor Day weekend in Michigan (if you, perhaps, went on that trip and want to relive the excellent glory), please head over to Kristi's blog, as she has some great pictures posted.

Answers from my previous Tuesday's Top Ten:
1. T
2. B
3. C
4. B
5. C
6. C (note- when I calculated the %, I took into account all 6 of us. No trick intended)
7. A
8. B
9. A
10. A

Today's Inspiration:
Romans 12
1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Could we get through the day succesfully without God's grace? Probably not. Yet let's remember who He gives it to- the humble. Step forth with a renewed mind today and let the Spirit lead you within the AMAZING will that He has planned for your life.

Love you all, T