Let Us Pray

Dear Sisters,
I ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

I also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Amen

from Colossians 1:9-14

Every Wednesday, we Walk with Him, posting a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to His heart.

The Living Word

All Scripture is God-breathed . . .*
The word of God is living and active.**
In the beginning was the One who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created received its life from Him, and His life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out. . . The Word was in the world, but no one knew Him, though God had made the world with His Word. . . . some people accepted Him and put their faith in Him. So He gave them the right to be the children of God. They were not God’s children by nature or because of any human desires. God himself was the one who made them His children. The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw His true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From Him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us.***
“My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine” [says the Lord].
 . . “The rain and snow come down from the heavens
 and stay on the ground to water the earth.
 They cause the grain to grow,
 producing seed for the farmer
 and bread for the hungry.
 It is the same with my word.
 I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
 It will accomplish all I want it to,
 and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”****
The Word that gives life was from the beginning, and this is the One our message is about.*****

* 2 Timothy 3:16
** Hebrews 4:12
*** John 1:1-5, 9-10,13-14 (CEV)
**** Isaiah 55:8, 10-11 (NLT)
***** 1 John 1:1 (CEV)

Wooed

Maybe because the Gratitude List was so fresh in my mind, my first thoughts while considering~ How your Soul’s Lover has wooed you with His Love Letter ...~ were of a list of means.

He woos me in so many different, amazing, and surprising ways. Sometimes it takes my breath away . . . the intimacy, something that would only mean something to me. Or the timing, just the right Word at just the right time. And the myriad means He uses to get my attention, to pull me in, to get me to dig deeper, sometimes so extraordinary, sometimes seemingly mundane~
* in a regular morning Bible reading, seeing something in a way I’ve never seen it before
* hearing a long familiar verse in a different translation causing me to stop and ponder it anew
* while explaining a Bible passage to my kids, I see something a little differently this time
* listening to a hymn I start to wonder about the story behind it
* watching a youtube video of a beautiful hymn, seeing/hearing/feeling it in a new way
* reading a provocative blog~ maybe at the time it was written or maybe months later~ and having it be just what I needed at the time that I read it
* listening to a sermon, hearing something that gives me a new perspective on an issue
* reading a devotion or prayer that evokes deep emotions of love, gratitude, joy
* in conversation with a friend or a total stranger, hearing “something” meant for me
* a scripture coming to mind in a time of need (mine or someone else’s)
* “just happening” to pick up that book, click on that blog, tune into that message, turn to that particular scripture, see that article or advertisement, pray that particular prayer . . .

The Word, His love letter, contains His life-giving, life-sustaining words. Scripture is His living, active, powerful Word. He knows I need it, need to feed on it and because He loves me, He woos me.

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ Acts 17:28 (NIV)