A need indeed

If God does not enter your kitchen, there is something wrong with your kitchen.  If you can't take God into your recreation, there is something wrong with your play. 

We all believe in the God of the heroic.  What we need most these days is the God of the humdrum, the commonplace, the everyday. 

Peace

The ministry of the night

"And you will also learn, probably to your astonishment, that it is possible to live in all good conscience before God and men and still feel nothing of the "peace and joy" you hear talked about so much by immature Christians. How long you continue in this night of the soul will depend upon a number of factors, some of which you may be able later to identify; while others will remain with God, completely hidden from you. The words "The day is thine, the night also is thine" will now be interpreted for you by the best of all teachers, the Holy Spirit; and you will know by personal experience what a blessed thing is the ministry of the night. But there is a limit to man's ability to live without joy. Even Christ could endure the cross only because of the joy set before Him. The strongest steel breaks if kept too long under unrelieved tension. God knows exactly how much pressure each one of us can take. He knows how long we can endure the night, so he gives the soul relief, first by welcome glimpses of the morning star and then by the fuller light that harbingers the morning."
A. W. Tozer, from the book "That Incredible Christian"

Peace

From everlasting to everlasting.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

“Praise be to you, Lord,
    the God of our father Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;
    you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
    to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,
    and praise your glorious name.

Peace

Inhale/Exhale

Breathing is equal parts exhaling and inhaling. You can't inhale without exhaling. Likewise, you cannot exhale very long before inhaling.

I wonder if prayer is like that - equal parts exhaling and inhaling. The Scriptures are filled with people who exhaled, people who, from the depths of their souls, spoke words of honesty to God. Frustration. Doubt. Anxiety. Anger. Joy. Sorrow. Pain. Disappointment. Hope. Fear. Dreams. Brokenness. Just take some time to read through Psalms and you'll see these kinds of emotions and many more. Historically, the people of God knew one thing for certain: God is big enough for our emotions, good or bad. He knows about them anyway, so why not tell Him honestly?

The Scriptures are also filled with people who inhaled, people who sought for the Creator God to fill them with His presence, His goodness, with peace and wholeness. They sought God to fill their beings with His, to allow His Spirit to dwell with theirs. By inhaling, they were seeking to have their lives be more in rhythm with the way and life of God.

Take a few minutes today to breathe, really breathe. Allow yourself to inhale and exhale, to pray to God your Creator.

What do you need to exhale to God? What do you need to inhale?

Peace