Practice Being Speechless: Part 2

WE DID IT! WE'RE 50% DONE with the "Year of the Bible!" (Well, 50% done if you're a glass-half full person; 50% to go if you're a glass half-empty person.)

Either way, CONGRATULATIONS!

Here's the question and answer from Tuesday:
Who is Luke writing to? (Luke 1)
Luke 1:3-4 3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.


And from Wednesday (since I didn't get a chance to blog it):
Who is the one who judges? (Psalm 75)
Psalm 75:7 7 But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.

And here's the question of the day:
What is the name of the king of Persia? What did God tell him to? (2 Chron 36)

And here's the reflection of the day:
In the reading from Luke today, we pick back up with Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:39ff). When we saw them last, old Elizabeth was pregnant by her equally aged spouse Zechariah who had been stricken mute because he doubted. (Boy, does that sounds like a soap opera plot, or what?!)

It's now the appointed hour and Elizabeth gives birth to a bouncing baby boy (verse 57). Her neighbors and relatives rush to her side to "share her joy." (Remember, she went into seclusion in verse 24, although the text is not clear if it's the first 5 months, the last 5 months, or maybe the gestational period back then was only 5 months. Hmmm. . . ) Through all these longs month, Zechariah has remained silent.

Then comes time to name the child. The religious leaders wanted to name him Zechariah after his father, but Elizabeth protests. She is ignored. They look to Zechariah for his decision. He writes, "His name is John." After writing these words "his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God" (verse 64).

The first words out of his mouth were words of praise. Incredible! In his place I can only imagine the words that might come out of my mouth after many frustrating months being unable to communicate.

As a follow up to the post from earlier this week, be on alert for speechless moments before God, but also consider what you will say when you share them with someone. Keep those special times to yourself for a while; then decide how you will share it with others.

Those times may be filled with painful but purposeful duress or they might be filled with sunshine and roses. Either way, how we respond to them is crucial. Light is not meant to be kept under a bushel nor is a glimpse of God mean to be kept to oneself. They are meant to be shared so that they might nurture the faith of our neighbors.

So, now get to sharing!
Allison

Practice Being Speechless

Greetings, once again! I'm sorry to all those warm-weather lovers out there. But I'm GREATLY enjoying the cooler weather today--slippers instead of sandals on my feet as I sit down to blog today. But enough about the weather. . . let's get to the good stuff:

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
What are the pieces of the “armor of God?” (Eph 6)
Ephesians 6:14-17 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And here's the question of the day:
Who is Luke writing to? (Luke 1)

And here's the reflection of the day:
A little bit of doubt goes a long way, don't you think? Take Zechariah for example (Luke 1:1-38). Had he just been able to keep his mouth shut, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble. . . like months of not being able to talk! Instead of soaking in the holiness of the moment, Zechariah's doubt overflows. What could have been stopped had he kept it inside, comes flowing out of his mouth like a babbling brook.

It makes me wonder: how often are we struck speechless by God these days? Not very often, is my guess. Is that because God isn't doing tremendous things around us or is it because we're just not paying enough to see what's going on?

Maybe we need a little bit more practice at being speechless. . . a little more practice at treasuring things in our hearts, as Mary did.

Here's a secret: preachers often preach to themselves, and in this case, I am guilty as charged. What a blabbermouth I am! But I don't think I'm the only one who needs to take some time to practice being speechless--a time to ponder and think over something; a time to turn over and over in my mind what God is doing in my life.

When was the last time you were struck speechless by God?
Allison