Spring Rain

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Where I live, it rained Saturday night. You know what they say: “April showers bring May flowers.” I want spring flowers, so the storm made me happy.

 

God also sends spiritual rain. It doesn’t bring flowers.

Isaiah 45:8 (NIV)
You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it.

Spiritual rain brings spiritual blessings.

Pour out Your Spirit, Lord. Flood us with the rain of righteousness and salvation!

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Fire and Whispers

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

 


God doesn’t always meet us with rushing winds and tongues of fire.

 

1 Kings 19:11-12 (MSG).
Then he [Elijah] was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.”

A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.

“A gentle whisper.” We can have long, quiet conversations with God.

 

 

 

Read Elijah’s quiet conversation with God in 1 Kings 19:13-18

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Fire and Light

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

“Holy Spirt, the life that gives life . . .
You are the fire that warms our hearts;
You are the light that guides our feet.
Let all the world praise you.”
Hildegard of Bingen, (1098-1179)

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Fire and Wind

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

Usually, wind + fire = disaster. In God’s hands, wind + fire = Holy Spirit. 

Acts 2:2-4 (CEB)
Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

We call it Pentecost.

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Fire and Warmth

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

Fire, used properly, is a blessing. We could say it is a gift from God.


“Thou fire so masterful and bright,
that givest man both warmth and light,
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!”
St. Francis of Assisi, 1225
Paraphrase: William Draper, 1919

I remember this verse from All Creatures of Our God and King when I cozy up to our wood stove on a cold winter’s night.

The fire praises its Maker. Let’s do likewise.

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Fire and Destruction

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

 

My little corner of the world just experienced a three-day brush fire. I’m grateful that firefighters, first responders and God’s downpour kept everyone safe.

 

Set me to thinking about fire’s destructive power. It brings to mind God’s judgment.

1 Corinthians 3:13 (TLB)
There is going to come a time of testing at Christ’s Judgment Day to see what kind of material each builder has used. Everyone’s work will be put through the fire so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished.

What works of my hands, I wonder, will survive God’s fire?

 

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Waiting for the Promise

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

Acts 1:4 (NIV)
Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift
my Father promised.

Waiting on the Lord, for the promise given;
Waiting on the Lord, to send from Heaven;
Waiting on the Lord, by our faith receiving.
. . .
Waiting on the Lord, longing to mount higher;
Waiting on the Lord, having great desire;
Waiting on the Lord, for the heav’nly fire.
Charles F. Weigle, 1903

What about you? Are you like the disciples, waiting in faith? Are you waiting on the Lord with great desire, trusting His promises? 

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Waiting on God

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Jesus told His disciples to wait.

 

 

Acts 1:4-5 (NIV)
 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The instructions were short on details. I don’t think they knew what to expect. Nevertheless, they waited.

It still happens that way. We wait on God, not sure what’s next.

Here I am, Lord, waiting. Go ahead, surprise me.

 

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Prepared to Wait

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

 

Lent is a season of preparation. Pentecost (50 days) is a season of waiting. It is tied to the Jewish feast of Shavuot, seven weeks after Passover, marking the wheat harvest.

 

In Acts, we learn that Jesus met with his disciples several times in the 40 days after his resurrection. Before He ascended to heaven, He told them to wait.

Acts 1:4 (NASB)
Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised.

As farmers eagerly wait for harvest, the disciples waited for the Spirit. 

How about you? Are you prepared to wait?

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He Is Risen Indeed!

Posted on April 10, 2023 by Shirlee Abbott

 

This is the message of the resurrection:
Love wins.
Indeed, God’s love wins. 

 

John 3:16 (ESV)
For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.

Thanks be to God.

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