Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is Psalm 104-105; 1 Thessalonians 1.
Psalm 104 is another praising psalm, this time concentrating on marveling at God's creation. Nature shows us SO MANY aspects of God's character - everything from His awesome majesty shown in some small part by incredible mountain ranges, His beauty and glory is glimpsed in the gorgeous colours of the sunset, His unchanging character in the solidity of the earth under our feet and the constancy of rivers and streams flowing toward larger bodies of water, His range of emotion by the changeability of the sea, and yet even though the seas can go from calm as glass to raging and everything in between, they are still always the seas. Water covers a vast portion of the earth because every living thing needs it to survive. The earth rotates as it circles the sun so that every part of the earth benefits from it's warmth and light. His creation is so intricate and so interdependent and so unbelievably complex, and yet so simply beautiful. His provision for all living creatures is shown everywhere, all around us all the time. There is an appropriate home or habitat and sustenance for all his creatures, as varied as they are.
Psalm 104:27-28 ~ "These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things."
After reading this, I cannot possibly believe that our needs will not be provided for by the God who makes sure that all of creation is given their food at the proper time and satisfied with good things. Sometimes I wish that more of my wants were provided for, but I take great comfort in knowing that I will have what I need, even if I didn't know it was what I needed. Does that make sense?
One verse stood out for me in particular from our 1 Thessalonians chapter today. Verse 3 says "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." (emphasis mine)
Isn't that awesome?
Our faith is demonstrated by what we do,
what we do is inspired by our love for God and each other,
and we have the stick-to-it-iveness to keep on keeping on because we have hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
I love this verse. It might be my new favourite verse.
Happy Thursday, all! Enjoy your long weekend.
Tomorrow's passage: Psalm 106, 111, 112; 1 Thessalonians 2.
4 comments:
Thanks for highlighting that verse, it's a great one to remember.
This verse stood out for me:
6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
We are to become IMITATORS and MODELS. What am I imitating and what m I modelling to other believers in my life??
I'm reading a book right now called "The Lost Art of Disciple-Making" and I tell ya, this has definitely NOT been a focus of mine, even in child-rearing. At least, not as conscientiously as the book encourages us to based on the examples set for us in the NT. Maybe one way to help us think about that a little more often would be to ask ourselves the question, "If someone were to say to me they've been patterning their life after mine, would I like what I see?"
In my own life, I would have to say I'd probably be a little disappointed! I think I've done well in some areas, but I know exactly in the areas that TOUCH others and MEAN something to others, I have not done well at all.
Definitely something to think about and to aspire to!
HA, my word verification for that last comment was 'INACTIVE'! Ouch.
So many great verses in today's reading. Thanks Miriam.
Imitators and models - after MY life? Ouch is right Tammi!
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