"A prayer of the prophet
Habakkuk" (Habakkuk 3:1) - Prayer and prophecy go together. Pray before
preaching God's Word. Let the prayers go up to the Lord. May the power
come down from the Lord. Keep on praying after the Word's been preached.
Pray that the Lord will follow His Word with His blessing. "...
renew... reveal... remember... " (Habakkuk 3:2). Pray that God will
remember us - "remember to be merciful." Pray that He will reveal
Himself to us as the living God, the God who works in our lives to
change us and make us more like Himself. Pray that He will renew our
life so that we are no longer walking in our own weakness. Now, we are
living in His strength. "Praise... power... paths... " (Habakkuk 3:3-6),
"His praise fills the earth, His brightness as the sunlight. Rays of
light stream from His hand. That is where His power is hidden." We need
to go to His Word. We need to let His Word shine upon us. We need to
pray that His power will reach us and change us. "The ancient paths
belong to Him." Which way are we to go? We are to "walk with the Lord
in the light of His Word." This is the way of blessing - praising the
Lord, receiving His blessing, walking in His pathway. The Lord reaches
out to us with His "salvation." He comes to us with "rivers" of blessing
(Habakkuk 3:8). The Lord saves us. He calls us to be His people. He
anoints us, touching our lives, shaping our lives by His Holy Spirit.
Why does He save us? Does He forgive our sins, and then leave us just
the way we were? No! He empowers us for "action (Habakkuk 3:9). As we
consider all that the Lord has done for us, is doing for us and will do
for us, we learn to say, "I will be happy with the Lord, I will truly
find joy in God, who saves me, The Lord Almighty is my strength... He
makes me to walk on the mountains" (Habakkuk 3:18-19). There is so much
in these verses to encourage us to go on with the Lord, strong in Him,
strengthened by His Word and His Spirit. To God be the glory!
“At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem”, the keynote of the service was joyful thanksgiving. They gathered together “to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving” (Nehemiah 12:27). “On that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43). They sang “songs of praise and thanksgiving to God” (Nehemiah 12:46). This joyful thanksgiving is only a foretaste of the greater joy and thanksgiving of heaven: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). In the city of God, “the glory of God” will be shining with everlasting brightness (Revelation 21:23). The Church of God will be “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). The beautiful picture of the godly wife in Proverbs 31 gives us an outline of what God is seeking to do in His people. It is summarized in Proverbs 31:30: “A woman who fears the Lord is to be
Comments
Post a Comment