Be Still and Know...Then and Now

In my quiet time a few days ago I found myself in Isaiah. I think it is one of my all time favorite books. It is so full of God’s promise and it gives us a very clear picture of just how much God loves us. However even with God’s unfathomable love there comes consequences if choices are made to live outside of His plan. I know I have lived outside of God’s plan many times in my life. It’s human nature to think we can come up with a better one. It’s human nature to want to listen to our sinful side. Listening to the world is so very easy. Isaiah heard God’s voice so very clearly. There are times when I would wish for that clarity, but then I know that with that clarity comes the reality of what happen next. 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”    And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” And I said “Here am I. Send me!” Those are very powerful words when spoken, even more powerful if you really mean them. I know there have been ...

It is not often that you receive an instant pay off for something you do. I did not have to wait 12 weeks for my rebate to show up in the mail. My reward came in just a few short hours. You see, I received a complement today, it was a very nice complement from someone who I had just recently met. I taught my Sunday school lesson yesterday morning and this person came up to me later that day and shared with me how much he appreciated my lesson. It was amazing the impact it had on me. I do not know this person very well as they have just recently began to visit with us in our class, however his words of encouragement and praise had an impact on me. This person did not have to tell me what he did, however he stepped up and shared with me what was on his mind. Afterwards I felt very encouraged, I felt that my efforts had not been in vain and I felt energized as well as feeling a sense of accomplishment that I had actually connected with someone about something important. It was just anothe...