February 2007
Bonjour! Bienvenidos! Wilkomen! Howdy y'all! I am so happy to have computer time again! I just recently moved and was without a computer for almost a week...and these days that is just crazy talk! In the midst of this enormous move and all the chaos that goes with it, I failed to prioritize a few things. One being getting this issue of EFW written and sent before February approached. So, please accept my humble apology for the tardiness. Also, to those of you who prefer the email format- another apology for this month.
The past two days I have been thinking a bit about conditionals. You know, those statements that go like this, "If _____ , then _____." "If you take out the trash, then I'll get all the recycling". Or perhaps, "if you clean your room in time we can read three books for nigh-nigh." There are a number of conditionals in the Bible as well. God loves us amazingly unconditionally as he looks at us through Christ's redemption, yet he has set forth parameters for us that involve some conditions. Just as parents have parameters for their children and when those are not followed out - there are consequences.
One example is in 2 Chronicles chapter 7. The new temple had just been built under David's command and all of Israel has been celebrating and praising God. David prayed in dedicating this temple for God's presence to dwell in and God answered with fire to consume the sacrafices on the altar. Talk about an amazing worship service! Music, singing and humbled hearts before the Lord. After it all, the Lord appeared to King David and gave him some conditions for Israel - his people.
2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. After all the celebrating this must have seemed like the coolest thing God could have said. David just witnessed his people worshipping God and dedicating their temple and really their hearts to the Lord. Then in verses 19-22 God gives a condition should Israel decide to loose their heart focus on the Lord their God and worhip other gods. Then I can only imagine that David's heart must've sunk. For he knew, down in his heart of hearts that some, maybe even many would do that very thing. As readers today we know that Israel did this very thing and they were uprooted from their land and the very temple of the Lord in Jerusalem lost its focal point in their culture and hearts (that is worshipping the Lord their God, not just the building).
As I scramble to make sense of some of my days, I am encouraged - and yes challenged by this conditional statement. If I, Elizabeth, humble myself and in prayer seek the Lord's face, turning from my own selfish rendition of life - then God's ear is ringing with my prayers! James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. 20 Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
Life can often be overwhelming. For me, living out of boxes, not knowing where most things are and trying to provide daily stability in my home can really weigh me down. Whatever it is that is getting you all boggy (am I making sense? I mean here, whatever keeps you down.) with prayer - you can rise above it. I know the days I spend more time in prayer (just praying as I am doing this and that) are the days that leave me less weary at bedtime. The days I try to manage or cope by myself, those days leave me with such anxiety about what I haven't accomplished and sheer exhaustion.
I hope to encourage you to read and to meditate on the "if...then..." statements in God's word. Be challenged and lifted up O Women of God!
Most Sincerely,
Elizabeth
p.s. The more I learn about being a parent, the more I understand how much God loves me. The more I learn about how much God loves me (through his word), the more I understand about being a parent.
The past two days I have been thinking a bit about conditionals. You know, those statements that go like this, "If _____ , then _____." "If you take out the trash, then I'll get all the recycling". Or perhaps, "if you clean your room in time we can read three books for nigh-nigh." There are a number of conditionals in the Bible as well. God loves us amazingly unconditionally as he looks at us through Christ's redemption, yet he has set forth parameters for us that involve some conditions. Just as parents have parameters for their children and when those are not followed out - there are consequences.
One example is in 2 Chronicles chapter 7. The new temple had just been built under David's command and all of Israel has been celebrating and praising God. David prayed in dedicating this temple for God's presence to dwell in and God answered with fire to consume the sacrafices on the altar. Talk about an amazing worship service! Music, singing and humbled hearts before the Lord. After it all, the Lord appeared to King David and gave him some conditions for Israel - his people.
2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. After all the celebrating this must have seemed like the coolest thing God could have said. David just witnessed his people worshipping God and dedicating their temple and really their hearts to the Lord. Then in verses 19-22 God gives a condition should Israel decide to loose their heart focus on the Lord their God and worhip other gods. Then I can only imagine that David's heart must've sunk. For he knew, down in his heart of hearts that some, maybe even many would do that very thing. As readers today we know that Israel did this very thing and they were uprooted from their land and the very temple of the Lord in Jerusalem lost its focal point in their culture and hearts (that is worshipping the Lord their God, not just the building).
As I scramble to make sense of some of my days, I am encouraged - and yes challenged by this conditional statement. If I, Elizabeth, humble myself and in prayer seek the Lord's face, turning from my own selfish rendition of life - then God's ear is ringing with my prayers! James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;19 but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. 20 Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
Life can often be overwhelming. For me, living out of boxes, not knowing where most things are and trying to provide daily stability in my home can really weigh me down. Whatever it is that is getting you all boggy (am I making sense? I mean here, whatever keeps you down.) with prayer - you can rise above it. I know the days I spend more time in prayer (just praying as I am doing this and that) are the days that leave me less weary at bedtime. The days I try to manage or cope by myself, those days leave me with such anxiety about what I haven't accomplished and sheer exhaustion.
I hope to encourage you to read and to meditate on the "if...then..." statements in God's word. Be challenged and lifted up O Women of God!
Most Sincerely,
Elizabeth
p.s. The more I learn about being a parent, the more I understand how much God loves me. The more I learn about how much God loves me (through his word), the more I understand about being a parent.
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