Category: Lectio Divina

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World’s Way vs God’s Way

Verse
Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. (1 John 2:15-17 MSG)

My Word or Phrase
World’s Way vs. God’s Way

My Image
The world’ sway is like being trapped in a sphere. You are free to move around and interact with the things in the sphere but you are unable to interact with all the things that are outside the sphere. God’s way is the vastness of things outside the sphere.

My Invitation
My invitation is to not limit or confine myself to the world’s ways (being trapped in the sphere) rather I need to be engaged in the plans and blessings God has for me not only working inside the sphere but wandering the vastness of His space outside the sphere.

The question to ask is “Where are you today?”

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My Invitations

This is an expansion of My Invitation from my lectio blog posting on 1/24/14

My invitation is to simple emulate Jesus and serve one another in love. Easy to say but tough to do.

My invitation is to open my eyes and seek after God seriously. To often I go through life seeking God but my eyes are closed so I don’t see him, my ears are closed so I don’t hear him, my life is to busy so I can’t experience the things God has for me. I need to step out with my eyes open, my ears attuned to that still small voice, and taking the time to experience the life God has for me.

We are told in Matthew to love God with all we are – heart, mind & soul and to love others as well. My invitation is to make sure that my loving God and loving others is a continuous process. Like the stream of flowing water, my love must be allowed to run free; to continually be loving God and loving others. I must make sure that there are no dams that have been built to block my love from flowing freely. What are the dams that I build to block this flow?

I am being reminded that as a Christ-follower I have a standing invitation to “continually” partake in an intimate and rich relationship with God. My question to myself is why don’t I always take advantage of this?

My invitation is to drop God’s love on another so that they can then start their own ripples of love.

By extending the gift of hospitality we are in fact extending God’s love to those who are seeking rest. Let me look for opportunities to show hospitality.

Think about ways that I can love other’s in practical ways on a more regular basis.

Love, that is God’s love flowing through me allows me the the opportunity to live out all my beliefs and values and minister to those around me. I simply need to listen and follow God’s promptings. I also need to remember that I don’t need to do it all, I am but a single strand in the cable that is God’s love, holding us all together.

What is God inviting you to do this year? Month? Week? Even today?

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Coming Alongside

Verse
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 MSG)

My Word or Phrase
he (God) brings us alongside someone else

My Image
Though I don’t remember the specifics I recall seeing more than once at the end of a long race (marathon, triathlon) where a competitor falls short of the finish line and another competitor comes along or comes back to help them across the finish line. They know the pain the fallen one is in and come alongside to help.

My Invitation
I need to be open and willing to respond to the prompting of God when he puts another in my path who needs someone to walk with them awhile.

What does it look like to come alongside another? Sometimes it means sitting and listening to their story. Other times it might be a simple word of encouragement. Listen for God’s prompt and respond as best you can. The smallest thing can make a great impact in another’s life.

So who is God prompting you to come alongside?