Give me God

"God, of thy goodness, give me Thyself; for Thou art enough for me, and I can ask for nothing less that can be full honor to Thee. And if I ask anything that is less, ever shall I be in want for only in Thee have I all.” (Julian of Norwich, English anchorite and writer died 1416)

Here are my seven words for the week and the readings they are from:

plumbline  -  Amos 7:7-17

judgment  - Psalm 82

near  - Deuteronomy 30:9-14

humble  -  Psalm 25:1-10

pray  -  Colossians 1:1-14

neighbor  -  Luke 10:25-37

scroll  -  Revelation 5

"The only thing too hard for the Lord is our deliberate and continual disbelief in His love and power, and our ultimate rejection of His plans for us. Nothing is impossible for God to do for those who trust Him." (Messages for the Morning Watch)

"Submission to God's divine will is the softest pillow on which to rest.

It filled the room, and it filled my life,

With a glory of source unseen;

It made me calm in the midst of strife,

And in winter my heart was green.

And the birds of promise sang on the tree

When the storm was breaking on land and sea."  (unknown)

Some thoughts on listening to scripture from Adam McHugh in The Listening Life)

The Bible is a deeply personal book, a stage of encounter between God and His people, but the details of interpretation and the convoluted levels of methodology can crowd out its personality.

The mystery of the Word that originates from the Creator is that it reads us. We open the Book, lay it down in front of us, but we instead discover that we have been opened, your soul laid bare by it.

The Word is a seed planted in our hearts, growing new life..

Biblical revelation is less about what is revealed and more about who is revealed. Biblical revelation means that the temple curtain is torn, the glory is unleashed, and God is on the loose.

What we are looking for in reading the Bible is the ability to turn the two-dimensional words on paper into a three-dimensional encounter with God.

Our relationship to the God of the Bible is to listen to God so we can love God more deeply and love others more completely.

I have always liked and seek to follow the words from Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it for then you shall make your way prosperous and find success."

May the Lord bless you and cause His favor to be upon you!