Today's writing talks about our "CONNECTION" with others, how being connected is important for us, and how an unstable connection can let us down. Read below to explore two places where we know God tore something to connect from heaven to earth.
Blessings,
Jan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Devotional:
"CONNECTION"
by
Jan Andersen
“Can you hear me now?” That was an oft-repeated phrase from a cell-phone carrier commercial. They boasted that they had the best coverage for great connection on a cell phone… then the actor who made that phrase famous changed allegiance and started doing commercials for a competitor!
We often crave connection of another kind - that with other people. There are numerous articles about how to foster better connections with others. Psychology Today says, “Feeling connected means feeling in touch with someone who cares about us,” and “Each of us has an innate need to feel safely attached to another person who will be there in our times of physical or emotional need.” We need connection more than ever when we are suffering, lonely, or lost. When we find that connection, we want to build it, making it strong and long-lasting.
Cell phone WiFi connection can be unstable. So can human relationships where we thought we felt closely connected. But there is a greater connection that is always stable on the other end, and that is our connection with God. While we ourselves may falter, God never will. He is someone who truly “cares about us” and “will be there in our times of need!”
God the Father showed his connection with the Spirit and with his Son when Jesus was baptized. It was the appearance of all 3 persons of God at the same time. At the moment Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were torn open and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the Father spoke about how pleased He was with Jesus:
Mark 1:9-11 (NIV) At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
There was another time in scripture where God tears through from heaven to earth, this time to create a path of connection with people on earth. It was when Jesus gave his last breath on the cross, and the temple veil (a heavy curtain that separated the Israelites from the direct presence of God at the ark of the covenant) was torn from top to bottom by God himself. Because of this we are now able to be connected directly with God. This was all accomplished because of Jesus’ death on the cross. In baptism we are buried with Christ, and we receive the Holy Spirit who creates our faith and new life in Christ, our intimate connection with God. So there is a connection with the rending of the heavens at Jesus’ baptism, and the rending of the temple veil at his death - both show connections and were done by God himself, and both also revealed Jesus as the Son of God to people who were present at the time as well as to us today.
So whatever is separating us from God, whether it be our own inattention, life struggles, or outright doubt or rejection of his Word, know that God is tearing through those barriers to get us to renew our connection with Him. He is calling to us every day, asking “Can you hear me now?” because his connection never fails or drops. We just need to not hang up on him!
Dear Father in heaven, thank you for tearing through our barriers to scoop us up in your arms in loving connection. Teach us to relax and not struggle to jump out of your loving embrace. Help us to share that loving connection with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Song:
ALL OF CREATION
MercyMe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayers are lifted up daily for you by the Devotional Writers and the Monthly Writing Staff of Women's Focus Ministries
Blog writers:
Sandy Billingham, Karen Bennett,
Brother Thomas Ukwute, Jody Ward,
Bre Miller, Lynda Kinnard, Amie Spruiell,
Debbie Rodriguez, Carol Steficek,
Jan Andersen and Corinne Mustafa
No comments:
Post a Comment