hope

Lamentations 3:26
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.

I would never think of bragging about my salvation. I certainly praise my Savior, however. It’s all about him. In the meantime, I want to serve others, reaching some with the good news that I heard for the first time long ago. I never get tired of hearing it.

Pray that the astounding hope of Jesus in your life never gets old.

all

Isaiah 53:17
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.

Jesus knows his suffering and death are for us. So, he takes it as it comes and he let’s all the injustice of it die with him. That injustice he goes through turns out to be our healing and eternal life. We deserve what he received, so we might receive him. How could I worship any other??

Thank Jesus for what he has done.

peaceful

Isaiah 32:17
17 And this righteousness will bring peace.
Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.

When we are right with God, we can handle all the “drama” that comes our way. Notice, I didn’t say we won’t have troubles, it’s just that we face them with God as our partner and so they aren’t really troubles in the long run, are they?

Pray for God’s eyes when you face challenges in your life.

the city

why does God love big cities so much?

(thanks to Rodney Stark and Tim Keller for background info)

available

Isaiah 30:15
15 This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it.

We don’t want to end up like God’s people, whom Isaiah is speaking to here. They are not willing to listen. It’s always a good idea to listen to God, but you can’t listen if you are doing all the talking.


Pray for God to guide your listening in prayer, as well as your requesting.

light

Proverbs 11:12
It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor;
a sensible person keeps quiet.

If you think advice would be helpful for someone else, then it takes great skill to actually earn the open attention from them to hear what you would like to share. If you want to criticize or show how much more you know than them, just know no one appreciates it deep down and you appear foolish, though people might not share that because they figure you wouldn’t hear it anyway.

As Stephen Covey once wrote, “Be a light instead of a judge.”

Pray for God to quiet your judgments.

how to be a genuine Christian without being a jerk

Dana is guest speaker at Oasis Christian Center
live and unplugged!

satisfied

Ps 131.2
Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

A child learns to trust that he/she will be fed by his/her mother, and no longer needs to cry out when hungry. Same goes for us with God. We do not have to have our needs met by God if he doesn’t agree. A few less “give me this/ give me that’s” in our prayers might be just what God needs to “hear.”

Pray for satisfaction of what you have already been given.

resting

Ps 62.1
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.

Without knowing I get to live with Jesus forever, I would have great fear wondering if I measure up. Thank God Jesus dies for us while we are yet sinners. We don’t earn what is not ours to possess. Life with God forever comes through Jesus, not my effort.

Pray for an extra anointing of God’s grace today.

defender

Ps 39.9
I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,
for my punishment is from you.

When we sin against God there is no court of appeals. We are 100% guilty 100% of the time. We can’t talk our way out it. All that is left is to throw ourselves on the mercy of the court. Thank God for our prosecutor who ends up being our defense, as well. The honorable Jesus.

Pray for honesty in your confession.

fade

Ps 4.4
Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent.

There is no law that says we have to speak up every time something ticks us off. It may be just as good for us to leave it inside and let it die out as it is releasing it, to “get it off my chest.” Many don’t have a hard time lashing out in anger, but few are skilled at letting it die inside, even though this may be as good or better a response.

Pray for patience and holding your tongue.

quiet

Job 13:5
If only you could be silent!
That’s the wisest thing you could do.

In this day of instant recordings, instant blogging, instant everything, everything you say can and will be used against you, if someone decides they want to put you down. Public figures can no longer deny saying something they said. Now, they can only say, “I didn’t mean what you think I meant.”

Leaving things unspoken unless our speaking is absolutely necessary to bring good into the situation may be a discipline to take on if you are challenged by speaking too much.

Pray for the ability to be quiet.

Bible study on John 2:1-11

celebrate life Jesus style!

Jesus has eternity to plan his first public miracle,
so, naturally he helps two young newly weds keep the party going , and avoid social embarrassment-
what's with that??

ignore

Job 6:24
24 "Teach me, and I will be quiet;
show me where I have been wrong."

If I stay busy enough, then I don’t have to be concerned about my sin. Too many things to do, right now, urgent and compelling-- to notice what I am already doing that is wrong or what I am not doing that would be right. Clever Tempter, good luck, God now has my attention.

Honestly confess the things you have done or left undone in the last week that have gotten in the way of God.

God

1 Kings 19:12
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came the sound of sheer silence.

“Sound of sheer silence.” With apologies to Simon and Garfunkel, God knows about this first. This is not a koan, as in Buddhist thought. “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” and such. Literally, to truly hear from God it is a much a matter of our preparation to hear as it is his availability to communicate with us.

What is God saying to you at 12 noon today?

intensity

1 Samuel 1:3
Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk.

Nothing like prayer to help on the booze budget. Now we know why they call it, “spirits.” Hannah is not drunk, however. She is just concentrating in the quiet of the hour. Focusing on her God. Praying intensely. Is intense prayer so rare for us that it seems unusual?

Pray intently for the Holy Spirit to come to you for a set period of time. “Spirit fill me.”

who trusts teenagers? God!

our best days are ahead of us and God working through young people is why

the model of King Josiah is alive and well today

attention

Tuesday
Genesis 24:21
Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.

Communication is about 90% non-verbal according to communication mavens. We hear with our “eyes.” Also, practically, we all know what we miss in conversation because we are not really listening as much as trying to think of what we are going to say next.

With God, our richest communication can occur by just paying attention to the world around us and see where he shows up.

Pray for deep listening skills with loved ones.

silence

Friends-

We have been focusing on scriptural passages that deal with issues of practical living with God (the “with-God” life), and actively praying about this. A key discipline of growth and renewal for Christians is practicing silence and solitude. In our information overload era, these are among the toughest ways to open up to the Spirit.

So, of course, we will do just that for the remainder or the year. I don’t know about you, but I always get a little frazzled from now until New Year’s. Not now! We are going to get a Bible vitamin every week day, starting today. Enjoy!

Silence: Closing off our souls from “sounds,” whether noise, music, or words, so that we may better still the inner chatter and clatter of our noisy hearts and be increasingly attentive to God (The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible)

Spend some time in quiet today and pray for guidance on this.

John 1:35-50 Bible Study

God works through relationships
Jesus starts building his team