A New Sun is Rising

I began my time with the Lord as usual this morning, praising and prayer. I had one very specific need to bring before His throne today. Before I get to that let me set the stage for you so you'll know where I'm going with this.

I met with my Discipleship pastor last night to begin planning for the next semesters women's Bible Study class. After taking this semester off from teaching the Lord has once again given me the opportunity to stand before women and teach His Word. And, yes, before anyone asks or gets all in a tizzy, my hubs has given me his blessing to do this because he recognizes that God has, first of all placed a calling on my life to teach women, and secondly he knows that God has given me the gift of teaching.

Can I just tell you that I am soooo excited! I am just beside myself! My mind is racing with thoughts and ideas. I've already begun praying for the ladies (and their families) who will be attending. I went yesterday and got the all important Bible study pen and paper. I mean who can do Bible study without a Pilot Precise Extra Fine Point pink pen, a Zebra Fine Point blue pen, and a tablet of graph paper? Ok, so maybe it's just me, but a girl's gotta be prepared. :)

Ask my parents and they would probably tell you that I've never been one to stick much to rules and regulations; I tend more, well, how can I put this- be on the radical side of things! I was the one to see just how far I could push things before going off the deep end. In talking with my pastor, one of his questions was, "What are you thinking? What direction is the Lord leading you?" My response was this, "I want to do something different. Something off the wall. I don't want to do the norm; let's do something RADICAL."

Well, guess what? We are. It's going to be different. It's going to be challenging. It's going to be awesome! Want a hint? All I'm going to say is archeology; that's all I'm going to say. Interested!?! Do I know yet exactly how it is going to work? Uh, no. Do I know yet what it's going to look like? Uh, no. Which brings me to my time with the Lord this morning. As I sat before Him my prayer was this in a nutshell, "Lord I need some help here. This new journey You and I are about to embark on, well, I don't know where we're going or how we're gonna get there. So could Ya help a girl out!?!"

God's timing is PERFECT! He is awesome. His response to me...

"5) I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, 6) that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7) I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things."

Isaiah 45:5-7, ESV

In keeping in context with this passage, the LORD was using the Persian monarch Cyrus, to be His instrument to His people, Israel. Cyrus was not a believer in Israel's God, but God found it necessary to use Him to shepherd and judge Israel. My first reaction after reading this text was, "Uh, Lord. I do know You. I'm not like Cyrus."

After meditating on these verses for a while here are my golden nuggets for today:

~1. Yahweh was, Yahweh is, and Yahweh will always be.

~2. I may not know exactly what Bible Study for next semester may look like yet, and I may not know exactly how we're going to go from point A to point Z, but my God knows and He will equip me to do the work He has called me to.

~3. My faithful obedience to God and His promise to equip me will bring Him honor and glory.

~4. He alone is God and only through the power of His mighty hand will His will be accomplished.

~5. I don't have any idea what God is about to do in my life and through my life, but I do know that if I remain faithful to Him and His calling, He and I, we're gonna see some mountains move. We're going to see some new suns arisen' and some old habits a settin' in the hearts of women. Can I get a HALLELUJAH!

"6) And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."

Philippians 1:6, Amplified Bible