Inspired Word November 7, 2007

INSPIRED WORD

November 7, 2007

SHARING / EXHORTATION

It wasn't too many days ago, on a night much like tonight, that Mel and I were walking along a beach down in Mexico , near the place where we were staying. There were three of us and we walked out to the water. We had noticed that the water was pretty far out, but we wanted to walk out as far as we could go to get away from the lights. We looked up into the sky and Mel had said that we were in the area of the Milky Way. We saw the millions of stars that were in the sky, and Mel recalled the Scripture where God says He has named each of these stars. I can only speak for myself, but I got a little weak at that point – to look up and see the wonder of the creation that God has made - the divine plan - and to see how small we were in that scheme of things. In the Words of Scripture God said He did place the stars in the sky and He did name each one of them . (Psalm 147:4 ) How awesome it is to know that He loves us so much that He gave us this creation. The love that He has for all of us is beyond comprehension. So when we talk about this God of wonder and you really want to know Who He is in your own life, go somewhere to be alone – I mean really alone; go in a place of quiet and look at something that He created and marvel at that creation. And know that He created it just for you and me, so that we would see all of His creation, know His glory and His wonder - He did it for us. That is overwhelming! I challenge you to do that because the reward is going to be a blessing in knowing God's love for each of us.

SCRIPTURE / PRAYER

…..the previous songs that we were singing about preparation and the river, it brought me to this Psalm 1: 1- 3: “ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.” I grew up in Amarillo , Texas and I guarantee that if you see a tree anywhere, there is a river there. I would like to pray about that: “Father, we thank You so much for giving us Your Word and the admonitions of Your Word. We ask that You help us to see clearly and that Your Word be the lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We pray that You would cause up to be like those trees planted by the river of waters, the water of Your Presence, that we would be able to abandon ourselves to Your Presence and Your purpose. We thank You, in Jesus' holy Name. Amen.

CONFIRMATION

I want to confirm the river. As we sang “Let the River Flow”, I had an image of a very peaceful, gently winding and flowing river with forests of trees all around it. It was absolutely beautiful and very serene.

SHARING / EXHORTATION

I was blessed to go to a Catholic high school and each year there was a retreat for the students. In the junior year there was Junior Encounter and it was the biggest retreat of the fours years. We went to a place called Saint Benedict's Lodge on the McKenzie River in Oregon . It was a simple but huge lodge with a huge fireplace on the inside. It had a deck and near the deck was the river. We would always have some quiet time during the retreat.

I had my special spot picked out that I had liked ever since the eighth grade when I was able to go on a special retreat to that lodge. In this spot you could sit right on the rocks and nearby was an eddy that pulled aside with a little waterfall. You could sit there and listen to the surge of the river. You think of oceans having waves, but you forget that rivers can have waves too. If you sat still, you can hear the water just push in and rest, push in and rest.

I would always find that one leaf and try to follow it through the bubbles and see if I could see it on the other side, but I never could. It was that moment of stillness in the midst of the motion, a little moment of peace, that I had some of the most powerful experiences of God. It was an overwhelming sense of ‘I am God, and you are not, and it is okay.' I can always go back to that quiet place when I can't find another quiet place in the craziness of life. Find your spot, find your image, and find your moment that you can hang on to and bury it deep in your heart, so that you can bring it out at any moment that you need it. Place yourself in that quiet spot again in your mind – it is the greatest gift that you can have for yourself because again it reminds you that He is God, you are not and it is okay.

TONGUES

INTERPRETATION

Immediately as he was speaking, I saw a river gently flowing along a beautiful bank. The Lord was saying that He is lifting all of us up to that place of peace with Him. It was very gentle.

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 55: 1 – 3: “ Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to Me; hear Me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”

PRAYING OVER INIDIVIDUALS

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