Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
"Before refrigerators, people used ice-houses to preserve their food. Ice-houses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut from the frozen waters, hauled to the ice-houses, and covered with sawdust. Often these ice-blocks would last well into the summer.
One man lost a valuable watch while working in an ice-house. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the ice-house during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch.
Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.
"I closed the door," the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking." (story taken from "Directions" by James Hamilton)
So often life can become so hectic that it becomes hard to find time to sit still and just listen to what the Lord is saying. But Jesus often secluded himself, so that He could commune intimately with His Father. In these days and in this hour it's so imperative that we spend time in our own prayer closets, so we can clearly hear what our Father is saying to us, through His still small voice. If we do, we may find some wonderful and valuable things that others have missed.
The question isn't whether God will speak, but whether we will take the time to be quiet and still enough to hear His voice. Let's be sure to take that time to hear what He's saying to us!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]In ancient times, lepers were social outcasts because of their highly contagious disease. In this passage, ten lepers came to Jesus begging for mercy and He graciously healed them.
Yesterday, I was talking to good friend of ours in the States who loves to fish. Fishing is one of his favorite activities and he goes quite frequently. As we were talking, he happened to mentioned some disappointment about a friend canceling a fishing trip they were to going to enjoy. I replied, “Bro, maybe the Lord wants you to go fishing for men today!”
When Yeshua (Jesus) was describing the societal atmosphere of His return, he said these peculiar words … “Remember Lot’s Wife.” It was a warning … and especially to the generation of believers just before His return.
We continue looking at Jonah, and find him in Chapter 4 displeased with God’s mercy toward Nivevah. The Assyrians were arch-enemies of Israel and among the cruelest nations in history. Instead of being elated that God spared 120,000 Ninevites Jonah preferred to see his own pronouncement of judgment executed by the Lord. “Let those Assyrians get what’s coming to them…
Jonah preached his 8 word sermon and the Ninevites were struck with the fear of the Lord and moved to complete repentance.
The king stood up (a sign of his serious intent), removed his royal robes (a sign of humility)…read more
When the Lord gave Jonah a second chance, He didn’t change His mind about the prophet’s destination. He didn’t lighten the load or change the burden Jonah was destined to carry. There was no negotiation with Jonah where the Lord expressed understanding about his reluctance to go to Nineveh. God didn’t concede to send him to Tarshish just because he’d been heading in that direction anyway. Jonah’s disobedience and repentance produced a clear and simple result…
A “second time.” Jonah’s repentance gave him a second chance to obey the Lord and to fulfill his ministry. And he did it successfully. The apostle Paul tells us that “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” [Romans 11:29]. Jonah’s disobedience did not take away his calling as a prophet. The discipline of the Lord was fruitful in his life. But compare King Saul. He also got a second chance after failing to wait for Samuel [1 Samuel 13] and he disobeyed again, and lost his kingship [1 Samuel 15]. But even that took many years to transpire after David was anointed.