Monday, August 20, 2007

Wisdom from the book of Acts

I have been reading the book of acts aloud to the kids before we have our naps each day. On Saturday when I was reading from the 13 chapter there were a couple of verses that jumped out at me and I thought that I would share them with you.
The first one is the 19th verse:
"When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance- all of which took about 450 years."
I can guess that you're wondering, "Why in the world did that verse attract your attention?" And why it did is because of my reaction to it. When I read that verse my mind said "Hey!, wasn't it the Israelites that destroyed seven nations?" And if you read the old testament of course it was the Israelites that were doing the physical fighting but if it weren't for God they would have been so very, very badly wiped out, there would have been no Israelites to write about. It was God through them and by His miraculous power that those 7 nations were destroyed.
What it really convicted me of was my attitude of not giving God the glory and the praise for everything good that He does. So often I look back and think about all the things that "we" accomplished, and if someone compliments me I say "Thank you" and let it go at that. Who is really doing the work here? Is it me or is it God? If I truly have the Holy Spirit living and working in me, any good that I do come from God, not from me. I need to give Him all the praise and all the glory!
After spending Saturday thinking about this I was blessed to go to church on Sunday and here a good sermon by one of the younger men in the congregation and then afterwards overhear him complemented on the job he did and hear his response of "Praise God!".
The other verse that stood out in my reading was Acts 13:36 "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay." I wonder if after my body is undergoing decay if it can be said about me "She served the purpose of God in her generation." ? God does have a purpose for each one of us. We can learn it by reading the bible and spending time in prayer. I am really going to work at serving the purpose of God and I hope that you will too.

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