Ebenezer

I don't know about the rest of you, but God regularly sends people to me with messages. By that I mean He sends strangers to me to give me messages that He wants me to hear. It's happened maybe three or four times in my life. It happened again this morning.

I've been trying in fits and starts (more fits, than starts truth be told) to get us starting each day with prayer. I know that sounds all holy and everything. But I need it more than anyone else in the family. I've been wanting to use the Celtic Daily Prayer from the Northumbria Community. I've had it for over a year now. We begin every now and again. But I realized (after my chat with the doctor yesterday) that it really is important to me. So I decided to become very intentional about it.

But ... I tend to be sort of ADD sometimes. And I got distracted. I had a plan. But something else came up. Couldn't tell you what it was. LightGirl got up late, LightBoy was building a Bionicle, LightHusband got a phone call. Everyone was spinning off in their different directions and the way my head is right now, spinning in many different directions all by itself, well, the prognosis wasn't good. Then the doorbell rang. So I answered it and in so doing, groaned inwardly. Two ladies in dresses with Bibles. Oh no, it was probably Jehovah's Witnesses or something. YIKES.

But no, they just wanted to read one verse to me. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

And really, that was all they wanted to do. They didn't tarry any longer. Then they got in a car and drove away. Originally they'd said they were in the neighborhood knocking on all the doors, but they didn't seem to go to any other houses; just mine. And, it was just enough to remind me of my determination for prayer and how to begin the day.

And here was the Scripture that went with today's prayers:

Psalm 139:7-8
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

1 John 4:16-18
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

It seems arrogant to say that God had a message for me, but if there was any Scripture that I needed for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training today, it was those two. Today's meditation was extremely poignant as well. It was clear to me that God still pursues us and I wanted to mark it with an Ebenezer of some sort. I want to remember this morning that when I called out, He was gracious enough to reply.