Practicing the Presence of God

We come into the presence of the Lord by spending time in His Word.  I have been challenged a lot by the women in my Bible study lately to make these times of reading Scripture more meaningful.  I want to learn to pray the Word as I read it and meditate on it... to fully listen to God- to take the time to listen.  Lord, here I am.  I want to hear from You!

Isaiah 39-41:16
Hezekiah is told that one day the Babylonians will come and take all his possessions, including some of his sons, but he doesn't mind because he figures it won't be during his time.  What a stand-up guy.  (hint of sarcasm)  Then God begins to speak comfort to His people.  He talks about revealing His glory.  He talks about His greatness and all the things He has done and will do.  Then He tells the people to not fear because He will take care of all those who come against them.  Isaiah uses his really beautiful language in these passages.

Psalm 66
This is a psalm of praise that is basically thanksgiving to the Lord.  The writer says that he has been tested, but that God has brought him through his trials to a place of abundance.  He encourages us to "Say to God, 'How awesome are your deeds!  So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.  All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.'"  Go ahead... say it!  Tell the Lord how awesome He is.  I love that the beginning of my blog was about me wanting to pray scripture more and the psalm for today very bluntly tells me what to say!  God is so cool.

Proverbs 23:25-28
These verses encourage children to please their parents.  The father is also giving a little advice about avoiding certain kind of women.  I'm pretty sure if he avoided those kind of women, his parents would have been pleased!

Ephesians 1
Paul greets the Ephesians and then talks about how they were all chosen and predestined for adoption as sons through Jesus.  This is something I have wondered about before and don't know if it literally means that only certain people have been/will be chosen to enter the Kingdom of God and all others are lost.  As I read it just now, another thought occurred to me.  Perhaps we have all been predestined for adoption- God loves all His creation and wants a relationship will all of us, right?  So, maybe by the fact that He spent His time creating us, that means He chose us, or predestined us to belong to Him.  BUT, we don't all choose Him.  I truly believe He allows us to choose, because I know I belong to Him, but I'm not perfect because I've received salvation and don't always choose the His way as I live day to day. Anyhow... Paul then goes on to pray for the Ephesians that that would have a "spirit of wisdom and revelation" to fully understand all that Jesus Christ is.  That's a pretty big prayer!

Jordan-
This country lies on the eastern bank of the Jordan river.  There is a big mix of people groups there, with Palestinians being the largest group.  They suffer from the turmoil around them in the Middle East, which effects their economy and politics.  Poverty and unemployment are serious issues.  Islam is the state religion, but others are free to exercise religious beliefs.  The Church is visible and known in the country.