Quiet Time: Day Two
/Day Two
Today was a little harder for me to get up and get rolling, but honestly the excitement I felt from getting to have coffee got me right up out of my bed! I got my coffee all brewed and ready to go, walked past the full sink of dirty dishes and headed for my yellow chairs. Sometimes doing day two is the hardest day, it is easy to stay in bed and feel like it doesn’t matter, but I want to encourage you to push through those feelings. You can do it and you will be so glad you did!
Worship:
For the beginning of my quiet time, I started listening to one of my current favorite songs, Way Maker. I really like this version of it (Bethel), but one surprisingly good version was found accidentally by our worship leader and it is so so good! You can find that one here.
Word:
I am continuing on in the book of Luke chapter 2. One thing that can be hard for me as I read the Bible is not to be a skimmer, especially when I am familiar with the passage I am reading. Reading about the birth of Jesus, the story of Mary and Joseph heading to Bethlehem only to find there is no room at the inn. This is one I have heard a time or two. I decided before starting that I would read it looking for something I had never seen before. For some of us, we may have only heard this story and never actually read it, what a great time to dig into the story of Jesus’ birth!
S: Scripture → Luke 2
There were a few verses that really stood out to me as I read this morning…
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
40 “ Jesus grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
52 “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and men.
O: Observation → There was a plan for my life from the start. Jesus came to rescue us all, a light of revelation for the Gentiles. This was an issue for many people throughout Jesus’ life, mercy was an issue. Religious people don’t like mercy for everyone, they prefer judgment and justice.
Jesus took the time to learn and grew in the spirit so that he would be prepared to do all God had called Him to do. I love seeing how he was truly a human being, he had to grow in spiritual things, to put in the effort to become aligned to God’s character as a man. A further example of how he does not ask us to do more than he himself has done.
A: Application → The calling comes first → preparation time → then the fulfillment of the promise. We can be sure of this in our own lives because as Jesus is our example he was called this day in the temple, then he spent time growing in wisdom and grace and then he saw the promise fulfilled through His death on the cross.
I can not rush this process! If God had a plan for my salvation the day he decided to send Jesus, I can be sure He will be faithful to fulfill the calling and the plan for my life. If I align and grow in spiritual things I can be sure that God will do all He wants to do to accomplish the calling in me.
P: Prayer → Thank you for rescuing me. Thank you for sending Jesus to me. I give you my life today, help me to grow in mercy and in your favor. Give me the wisdom to guide my way. I want to go faster, but I know you are faithful to do the work you set out to do. Help me to be prepared for the NEXT thing you have for me. The next step, the growth that you want to do in me. I surrender to the process.
I continued to think about these passages all day, meditating on the word. Meditating is another word that is super hard for some people to understand. Many of us my think meditating is some form of eastern religion, but really meditating on is a Biblical principle!
“But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.” ~ Ps 1:2
This word in Hebrew is the word hagah meaning to ponder, mutter, imagine.
The Bible encourages us to think on the word, to speak it out loud and let God speak to us throughout the day and night! I like to find one verse and think on that one verse, even if you only read one verse a day, that is a great place to start and it will change your life. I love finding a verse and looking up the original words and meanings to get a better understanding of what the verse is saying. If you are a word nerd like me you can find a great resource at blueletterbible.com.
Many years ago the first verse I learned was 2 Corinthians 5:17. I spoke it out loud, wrote it down for months and thought about it and eventually, it was reflective of my life.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
It is the word of God getting in hearts that changes us from the inside out! Great job for committing to Day Two!
