Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Today's Devotional Scripture

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.
Joshua 24:15

Thoughts on today's verse...
The story is told of a rabbi who summoned the townsfolk to meet in the square for an important announcement. The merchants resented having to leave their businesses. The farmers could scarcely see how they could leave their fields. The housewives protested against leaving their chores. But, obedient to the call of their spiritual leader, the townspeople gathered together to hear the announcement their teacher felt was so important to make at the time.

When they had all gathered together at the town's square, the rabbi said, "I wish to announce that there is a God in the world." And with that, he departed.

The people stood in silence - stunned, but not bewildered. They understood what he had said, with an understanding born of a heartfelt conviction. They realized they had been acting and living as if God did not exist. While they observed rituals and recited the correct order of prayers, their actions did not comply with the commandments of God. Their daily bread was sought and taken with little thought or reverence for God.

We may not openly deny God, but we try to confine Him to some remote corner of our lives. We keep Him away from our daily doings, associations, obligations, experiences, joys, heartaches, and all the commonplace things required to keep body and soul together. The fact is, however:
  • There is a God in the world you call your neighborhood.
  • There is a God in the world you call your workplace.
  • There is a God in the offices you frequent, the hospitals and doctors offices you visit, the airports through which you travel, the shops in which you make your purchases, and the dozens of places you walk through and in during the course of a day, a week or a month.
There is a God...and He wants to be a part of everything you do.

Recognize He is with you wherever you go today. The knowledge that He is with you and that He is interested in every detail of your life will bring joy and peace to every experience.

My prayer...
Father God - how often I do place You in a box and confine You only to religious ritual? Forgive me, I pray. May my eyes and my heart be opened to the possibilities of You being a very real and present part of my life on a daily basis. So my Lord... I ask You to be a very real presence in my life on this very day. May it be seen and felt by not only me, but by everyone who I may come in contact with today. In Jesus' name I pray ~Amen!

I am adding additional prayers for Janine from Sniffles and Smiles who is having surgery today.  I so appreciate all the comments and prayers from our neighborhood - you ladies are awesome! 

So Lord, I do lift our sister Janine up to You at this time.  I pray that You give her a sense of peace and calm.  Guide the surgeon's hands and give him wisdom.  Then Father, may she recover and be back with us in blog-land soon.  ~In Jesus' name - Amen!

We women are a resilent lot... we can live without our breasts, we can live without our hair.  What we can't live without is hope.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Consider this a reminder for a self-exam all my bosom buddies!

Yours, because we're His,

Tamara

3 comments:

  1. Beautiful post Tamara...my eyes filled with tears as I read it...no one can take our hope an thoughts away unless we let them!

    Luv and Smiles,
    Wanda

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  2. I loved this post and as always love your prayer....let's always keep God in our lives and prayers in our heart especially at this time for Janine....:-) Hugs

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  3. By the time I comment you will probably have today's devotional up...think I am sometimes like the dog chasing its' tail!

    My daily Bible readings have been all about keeping rituals and the letter of the law rather than the love for one another.

    We do compartmentalize God and put him in certain areas of our lives when He truly belongs everywhere at all times and wouldn't we have a wonderful world if we could all do this??!!

    blessings and thankful hugs for your great insights and quotes,

    marcy

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