God Delights in You - Zephaniah 3:17 & Clue #2 (Answer to Week 1)

 

 

 

 

Your God is present among you,
    a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love
    and delight you with his songs.

Zephaniah 3:17

 (The Message)

 

 

Do you ever wonder what God does all day?

I imagine - in my own finite mind - that God has the daily turning of the Earth, keeping the planets and galaxies in orbit, and the whole us breathing in a pretty good rhythm.

 

Sometimes I think that He delegates some of the projects ...and assigns a new master painter to paint the night sky each evening - or maybe when we get to heaven we get to try something totally new - and chefs are now painters and accountants are now farmers and celebrities are now librarians (this could go on for awhile - so I digress). 

 

God manages all of the seen and unseen and still has time for you and to me.

He has time to walk with us; talk with us; laugh with us and cry with us.

He shares our concerns, our fears, our failures and our triumphs.

Even though He knows all things - what has been, what is and what will be - He still celebrates when we win and weeps when we fail.

 

I love this passage from Zephaniah - "He'll calm you with his love....delight you with his songs". Isn't that exactly how it feels to have God working in our lives - a sense of calm delight - in the good or the bad.

 

God - The Master of All Things - chooses to spend His time focused on loving you.

You who worries and frets over whether you will pass a test, go to college, get a new job or fall in love.

You who laughs too loud, yells too quickly, or cries to easily.

You who is filled with countless frailties and failings.

God chooses to spend His time - His precious life giving time - focused on you.

 

Why?

 

He takes great delight in YOU.

Imagine that?

God delights in you!

He is filled with joy at being with you - at having you in His presence.

He longs to spend more and more time with you.

He wants to rejoice over you.

 

God wants to serenade you.

How crazy is that?!!?!

God wants to sing songs to you.

You are so precious to the Mighty, Wonderful, Savior God that He wants to spend His time celebrating you.

 

You must be pretty special....

So the next time you worry, fret, yell or cry - remember that God loves you.

Just knowing that - in your heart and in your mind  - will make you unstoppable.

 

Scripture

 

Zephaniah 3:14-20 (NIV & MSG)

 

Quote

Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.
- Helen Keller

 

CLUE #2

Okay....all of You Amazing GUMY's....

Check out this song from favorite - TOBY MAC....

The answer to next Sunday's clue is...

We Are...

 

What are we? Answer that question and you will be next week's winner. 1st GUMY to find me w/ the correct answer will win.

 

Answer to Clue #1:

You are alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship thee.

Remember - keep all of the clues for the summer to get a chance to win the prize!

 

Week #1 Winner: Elise Pickett -$5 Tim Horton's Gift Card.

Who will be next week's winner?!?!?!?

 



Are you putting God in a corner? (Clue #1 - GUMY Summer Challenge)

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Patrick Swayze, Dirty Dancing, 1987

 

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God? 

Psalm 42:2

Okay, so I admit it is a little odd to start a devotion with a quote from a 1987 coming of age movie, but the movie isn't the point - it is the quote. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." In case you haven't seen the movie, the character of Baby is pretty one dimensional fitting into the prefabricated position her family deems appropriate - until she meets dance instructor Johnny. He helps her to see that she is more than just one thing - that she is multi-faceted and beautiful. By spending time together, he teaches her that she is special and unique. She cannot be put into a corner, because she is not simply a box filling a square hole. She is a blooming flower - changing by the minute.

 

NOBODY PUTS BABY IN A CORNER.

 

Most of us have a predetermined vision of God.

Kind benefactor. Just Lord. Loving Father. Judge. Creator....But whatever vision we have is limited.

We choose to allow God to reside in this place we have decided He should live and that is where we go to meet Him. We put God in a corner.

 

We set certain times aside for God - Sunday worship, Sunday School, youth, morning devotions, evening prayer - times we think are holy moments. We anticipate God being there for each of those moments -- and He always shows up - - and then when those moments conclude, we walk back into our lives and leave God in the corner to wait for our return.

 

This is not what God intended our relationships with Him to embody. He wants to be in all of the moments - not just the holy moments. He wants to transform the ordinary, daily things of our lives into holy moments because He is in them. He wants to be in the details of our lives - in the mundane, the magical and the miraculous.

 

God is jealous of our time - and He doesn't want a single second to go by in which He is not fully knitted. He doesn't want to be left behind. He wants to be at the center.

 

But - the choice is yours. You can experience as much or as little of God as you choose.

 

By choosing to invite God into your daily life you will have the opportunity to gain greater and greater glimpses of what the future in heaven holds - an eternity in God's presences.

 

However, if you choose to leave God in the corners of your life you will miss out on how He is working for your good in the kaleidoscope of your days.

Because, whether you choose to invite Him in or not - God is working. And if you listen, He will tell you how to go.

 

God is more than anything you can ever imagine and the more you choose to get to know Him - the more your heart will long to be with Him - to worship Him.

The choice is yours...

Will you put God in a corner - or will you let Him take the lead in the dance of your life?

 

Scripture

Psalm 42
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+42&version=NIV

 

Quote

“Live by what you believe so fully that your life blossoms, or else purge the fear-and-guilt producing beliefs from your life. When people believe one thing and do something else, they are inviting misery. If you give yourself the name, play the game.”

Unknown

 

GUMY SUMMER ONLINE SCAVENGER HUNT CHALLENGE

 



 Okay GUMY's, here is the first clue for the GUMY challenge. Just a few helpful hints as you collect clues along the way:

 #1 - Keep track of the clue # - this will be important for the final challenge.

#2 - The weekly clue will have something to do with the scripture - and - the overall challenge.

#3 - The 1st GUMY to find me on Sunday morning - the week after the weekly Sunday challenge is posted with the answer to the week's challenge will win a weekly prize. So this week's answer should be told to me next Sunday - May 26th.

#4 - A new clue will be posted with the blog each Sunday at 5PM.

#5 - Don't forget to keep each of the clues for the whole Summer....the prize the 1st week of GUMY will be worth it! (PROMISE!!!)

Now....let the games begin.... 

 

Clue #1 comes from this YouTube clip....it is also a paraphrase of today's scripture lesson (right at the beginning) and is what we feel if we are not putting God in a corner....Best Wishes....XOXO Courtney

 

Clue #1 - "The 2nd line of this song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpaurbHiiS8



How To Hear God's Will For Your Life.....

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

How do you know what God wants you to do?

Where do you know where to step next?

What service does He require of you?

What decision will you make today that will impact the rest of your life?

How do you know God's will for your life?

These are all questions that transform and confound each of our lives on a regular basis. I believe every person wants to live within the confines of what is good and right and holy - even in light of the tragic events of the past few weeks, months, years and even decades. People innately want to "do good" - but often the other voices of this world can distract, dissuade and disrupt the steps you are taking to live in God's perfect will.

So, how do we live in God's will?

First, we choose to not fall prey to the upheavals, twists and tumults of a world that changes direction on the whim of a breeze. We ground ourselves in the head knowledge of God's Word. By choosing to be fully grounded in God's message to this world, we can begin to test all things against His Own Words.

Second, we identify our roles in this world by embracing the gifts God has given to us.

In Romans, Paul wrote:

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others

Romans 12:3-5

We each have a specific, planned and purposeful role in this world. It is each of our own responsibilities to align our gifts within our identified roles to confirm that we are utilizing our individual gifts from God to best serve Him - recognizing that no one gift is superior to another, just as no one single person is superior to another in the Body of Christ.

Third, we put it all together.

Knowing God's Word is one thing - living His Word is an entirely different a path. When we combine our head knowledge with our action - utilizing our gifts - we will find that we are walking in God's good, perfect, pleasing will. We cannot simply know the Word of God and be fully living as Christians. We must also be actively utilizing the Word in our daily lives as we exercise our individual roles within the Body of Christ.

When we are fully aligned with God's Word and using our gifts for His purpose, we will find that hearing His voice will be was obvious as it as for Elijah as He waited for God on the mountain:

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

1 Kings 19:12-13

God will not ask you to live outside of His Will for your life. Sometimes this plan will feel uncomfortable - but it will always feel right. 
God's will may not be easy - but with each step down His path His still, soft whisper will begin to transform into a tremendous roar and you will know that you are walking with THE Lord!

Scripture

Romans 12

Check Out This Week's Video's from Our GUMY Sessions which discussed being a part of The Body of Christ & Hearing God When He Speaks

https://www.facebook.com/pages/GUMY/191903797616864?ref=tn_tnmn

Life is...

 

Life is big.

At times it can feel like you are standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon with the expectation that you are intended to reach the opposite end in a single jump.

 

Life is scary.

There are days when the idea of leaving through the front door and stepping into the unknown can cause a puddle of fear to pool in your stomach.

 

Life is hard.

Each day a new choice, a new decision, a new avenue, a new hardship and a new responsibilty must be acquired.

 

Life is big and it is scary and it is hard - but - life is also wonderful, beautiful and an adventure.

 

Life is both the bad and the good.

Life is a series of expecations - exceeded and missed.

Life is a true gift from God - one that we are not always so thankful to receive.

 

The prophet Jeremiah was called the Weeping Prophet because most of the news he shared with Israel was depressing. But even in the midst of the bad news of war, destruction, death, hatred and abuse, Jeremiah was able to share the hope God had for His people.

 

The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

Jeremiah 33:14

 

Woven throughout the 33rd chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord shares with Israel the desolation and destruction they will endure at the hand of their enemies, but He also tells His beloved people that He will restore their home, health and happiness.

 

Yes, Israel had to endure severe hardships, but He promises them a restoration of their relationship with God and His blessing on their nation.

 

Through His message to the Israelites, the Lord makes each of us the same promise.

He tells how some days our lives will stink.

We will face hardships.

We will lose battles.

We will become ill.

We will suffer extinction of wealth.

We will be miserable.

but

We have hope.

We can be restored to His good favor.

We can know that His love endures.

Wcan be assured that our sufferings will pass.

We can know that He will never forsake us.

 

Life is both good and bad experiences.

But regardless of whether we are up or down we are promised that He is always with us.

And we are promised that His love will endure forever.

That is a promise in life that makes the bad days turn into good ones.

Scripture
Jeremiah 33

Quote

 "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck