Post by Richard on Apr 21, 2005 16:39:40 GMT -5
BUILDING BRIDGES
_________________________
Isaiah 40:27-31 (NRSV)
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
_________________________
You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.
-- Ephesians 2:19 (NRSV)
_________________________
WHEN I used to read the words of Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak" (NIV), I would see myself as one of the weak ones. After all, instead of witnessing to my many friends who don't really know God, I would let my loneliness and problems dealing with aged parents overwhelm me.
But the words of today's meditation in THE UPPER ROOM gripped my heart and, through them, God changed my thinking. The writer was struggling to live his faith among friends -- and even family -- who didn't really know God. He was from Santiago, Chile. I am a flight attendant and had just arrived in Santiago. My heart opened up, and I began to pray for this writer. Although the writer was someone I had never met, he was near me in location and in the circumstances of our lives. I felt honored that God would think enough of me to put me in that place at that moment to pray for him.
I could then see that God is working constantly to build bridges and to bring peace and reconciliation to our hearts, our countries, and our world. By nudging me to pray for another, God was showing me that I, too, have a part to play in bringing peace in Christ Jesus!
Prayer: God, as you work in our lives, help us to build bridges so that others may know you. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Praying for one another is an honor and a blessing.
-- Melanie Roberts (Arizona, U.S.A.)
PRAYER FOCUS: To recognize and obey God's call to pray for others
_________________________
Isaiah 40:27-31 (NRSV)
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
_________________________
You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.
-- Ephesians 2:19 (NRSV)
_________________________
WHEN I used to read the words of Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak" (NIV), I would see myself as one of the weak ones. After all, instead of witnessing to my many friends who don't really know God, I would let my loneliness and problems dealing with aged parents overwhelm me.
But the words of today's meditation in THE UPPER ROOM gripped my heart and, through them, God changed my thinking. The writer was struggling to live his faith among friends -- and even family -- who didn't really know God. He was from Santiago, Chile. I am a flight attendant and had just arrived in Santiago. My heart opened up, and I began to pray for this writer. Although the writer was someone I had never met, he was near me in location and in the circumstances of our lives. I felt honored that God would think enough of me to put me in that place at that moment to pray for him.
I could then see that God is working constantly to build bridges and to bring peace and reconciliation to our hearts, our countries, and our world. By nudging me to pray for another, God was showing me that I, too, have a part to play in bringing peace in Christ Jesus!
Prayer: God, as you work in our lives, help us to build bridges so that others may know you. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Praying for one another is an honor and a blessing.
-- Melanie Roberts (Arizona, U.S.A.)
PRAYER FOCUS: To recognize and obey God's call to pray for others