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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
We hear that we are to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We wonder how this happens. We go to the altar and pray. We sit in the hospital and await surgery for a loved one. We waken to hear thunder rolling across the darkened horizon. We face difficult issues of life. We react to a deep hurt.
In all the above instances, God meets where we are. At the altar, He answers our invitation for Him to enter our hearts and lives. At the hospital, God is there with us. When, at the end of our wait, we are faced with dire issues, God through the Holy Spirit is there. Those late night storms can be times we ask God to protect those around us and keep them safe. Life can throw all sorts of difficulties at us, God, if we ask him, can deflect them. We hear of a deep hurt; God is there and comforts us.
Our hearts have to be open to Him. We can’t hold anything back from our Savior. We can even tell Him when we are angry with Him. But, we can’t stay that way too long. It hurts us and it hurts Jesus when we carry a grudge against the King of Kings.
Three friends of mine and I actually call these times of serendipity “God moments.” These are times that we know an event happens because God ordains it. These are special times when we know that, without the presence of God, they wouldn’t happen. We praise God for these times.
God meets us where we are, whatever mess we happen to be in–if we have been hurt or, even if we have caused hurt. All we have to do is call out to Jesus and wait a very short time. God will come and listen to our woe. He will take our chin in His hand and pull us close to him and love us through the hard time. During this meeting, He listens, guides and leads us to the spot where we need to be to deal with the temporal need before us.
In our times corporate worship, early in the service, the pastor leads the people in a prayer called the invocation. This name is special to the LORD and to his people. It comes from the Latin and means “to call into.” By praying a prayer of invocation, we invite God to come into our service and meet with us.
Wouldn’t God be pleased if we were to invite him into our personal devotional times? One of the devotional books I use from time to time does this. disciplines for the inner life, by Bob Benson, Sr. and Michael W. Benson, has fifty-two chapters that are arranged like a worship service. The first item on each chapter is an invocation for the subject. For each week there is a series of daily Bible readings. I opened my copy and found I had marked a chapter that deals with a topic that has my interest right now.
This is the time of year I choose my devotional book for the following year. I feel the need to use this book again in 2015. I believe this is a God-directed decision.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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