H-revelations

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-
he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. 

v.1-11 Call to worship
v.10-11 The Lord foils the plans… he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. Our plans may not be His plans.
v.16-19 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.  A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.  But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.  

Free me from distractions of the world, Lord.

Genesis 22:1-19 Abraham Tested

Some time later God tested Abraham.  He said to him,”Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey.  He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.  When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.  On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.  We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”  And the two of them went on together.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.  He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said.  ”Do not do anything to him.  Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.  So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide.  And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.  Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba.  And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

v1 God says one thing, Abraham’s name.  And Abraham responded.  I realize I often pretend like I don’t hear because I’m afraid of what He’ll ask for.
v1-3 It took Abraham less than 24hrs to give up his son.  He woke up early the next morning already decided and determined to follow through.  
v5 “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Abraham and Isaac retreated to worship Him. 
v8 Portrays a father’s heart in comforting his child in the midst of his inner turmoil.
v9 Abraham was ALWAYS in an intimate relationship with God and was able to communicate and “hear” Him.
v12 “Now that I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only Son.”  A child was what Abraham desired most in the world but sometimes, God asks for us to do seemingly unreasonable things. 
v14 The Lord will Provide.  ”On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
v17-18 God promised to bless Abraham with more than he could imagine. And He did.

I pray for M&Y and P&E to follow in the example laid out by Abraham, a man of great faith.  If we were each asked to give up the one thing we love most, how many of us would succeed?  For some reason You alone will know, You have asked these couples to do exactly this, give up what they love and hold dear.  Help them to take that request from You daily and wake up each morning determined to carry out Your will, setting aside a time to worship You and engaging in an intimate relationship with You in order for them to hear You, Lord.  

Sometimes, You ask for scary things.  Scary in the sense that we, as individuals, would NEVER want to hear You ask for…  And to top it all off, a lot of the times, we are not given a reason or an understanding of why that request was made.

Help us to know and have faith in Your Character, Lord.  You are faithful and perfect, and in control of all things.  Help us learn to ask not so much for reason, but a deeper understanding of You and Your faithfulness.  

I pray for strength and boldness for these couples to trust in You that “You will Provide” (v.14-18)  Grant them peace and rest in You and help them to wake up each morning refreshed and ready to carry out their lives according to Your will.  Help them to shine that faith to their child as they comfort Z and T.  

Thank you for Your faithfulness.

While reading this, I realized that it doesn’t just relate to the couples.  What am I holding onto the most in this world?  Success, health, finances, fame, relationships, knowledge, and/or security?  M&Y and P&E have obvious urgencies at this present time but what am I most afraid God will ask of me?  Could I do the same?  If the future of that one thing I hold dear becomes questionable, would I be able to give it up in faith?

I wish i had a reason to dress up… -____- all i wear are pajamas and scrubs these days..

Mmm… the job application process is no joke. LOL
But it DEF beats studying for the NCLEX. xD 

We’ll see where I end up.

I want to stop living at home.. I love my family.. but I want my own place.

Claustrophobic in Bergen.