Thought for the Day – November 10, 2009

Text: Genesis 28:16-17

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”  NKJV

 

Jacob is fleeing from his brother Esau.  He had stolen Esau’s blessing from their father, Isaac.  He lays down and falls into a deep sleep.  He dreams of a stairway rising to heaven with angels ascending and descending.  The LORD reaffirms His promise to Abraham and Isaac, and now Jacob, to multiply and bless.  He awakens with a powerful sense of the presence of God.  He is fearful, inspired, and awe-struck.  “God was in this place, and I did not know it.”

 

Have you had that experience?  God was there and you knew it not?  When the ordinary becomes the extra ordinary?  When the brush of God takes your breath away?  These are God moments.  You never know when or where they will come.  There was the time in the middle of the night rocking a foster baby back to sleep.  Then, there was the time at Cannon Beach with 70 pastors from west Portland.  We came to pray and meet with God.  The place became sacred.  I had God moments alone, very alone, and I had God moments with thousands of people in a stadium.  There is no rule, no guide, no map to God moments.  One of my earlier God moments happened on my first week of prayer, alone in my grandparents cabin in the Rocky Mountains.  God touched my life in a way that forever changed me.

Thought for the Day – God moments change us, define us, terrify us.  We were touched by God and will never be the same.  How is He changing you?

Thought for the Day – November 9, 2009

Text: Matthew 7:24-27

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”  NKJV

 

There will always be a huge gap between listening and doing in the lives of many.  I learned many years ago the challenge of actually changing lives just by preaching the Word.  When I placed people in small groups, and better yet, triads, and focused on follow through, I continually saw lives changed.

 

Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a story depicting choice.  We can hear the Word and not allow it to penetrate.  Or, we can hear the Word and build our lives around it.  The second part of the story is the reality of life.  The rain will come, sometimes softly, sometimes in torrents.  And when the torrents of rain come with strong winds and lightning, the house build on the sand will not stand.  Sand is shifting.  Sand cannot hold firm in the face of wind and rain.  Jesus is the Rock, the Cornerstone.  He can sustain in the winds of cancer and rain of financial setbacks.  He is stronger than the floods of grief and devastation of heartbreak.

Thought for the Day – Jesus is the Rock.  Let us build our lives upon Him.