Posts
Conversation
Hearts
By Susanne
Scheppmann
Key Verse:
Isaiah
28:23, “Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.” (NIV)
Devotion:
Conversation
Hearts Candies top my list of favorite things during the month of
February. I remember all the way
through elementary and high school attempting to converse with my friends
through passing the tiny sugary messages underneath our desks. Short, sweet, fun. But you must pay attention to the words or
you might miss the implication of the sender.
For
example, a friend of mine woke up one Valentine’s Day to a trail of
Conversation Hearts left by her husband.
A couple placed near the coffee pot.
One or two left by the bathroom sink.
A few cute sayings greeted her as she sat in her favorite chair.
Later
that evening her husband asked, “Well, what do you have to say to my message of
love I left for you this morning?”
My
dear friend realized she had missed something important. She responded, “I didn’t read them, I just
ate them as I found them.” Oops!
I
think God must feel we miss many words sent from His heart. We rush from one task to the next. We attempt to squeeze in a few moments of
devotional time. We read our Bible and
pray a quick list of our needs. We check
“Quiet Time” off our things to do list and head out for an hour-long
conversation with our girlfriend over a mocha latte.
But
what if today, we decided to discover little conversations placed strategically
by God throughout our day. Maybe while
reading our Bible, a phrase might jump
out at us. Or perhaps, as we pray a
thought will pop into our minds from the Holy Spirit. Possibly a meaningful daily devotional could
speak God’s heart to us. Conceivably, we
could discover God’s conversation to read something like the following.
My bride (Songs of Songs 4:8, NIV)
Now
listen..
(Isaiah 44:1, NIV)
Be still, (Psalm 46:10, NIV)
Hear me.
(Luke 6:27, NIV)
I AM (Exodus 3:14, NIV)
Everlasting
Love.
(Jeremiah 31:3, NIV)
My Love (John 15:9, NIV)
Endures Forever. (Psalm 117:2, NIV)
Today
let’s listen for God’s message of love to us.
Also, let’s remember that his voice might come to us in a whisper. That’s how the old Prophet Elijah heard the
voice of God.
The
Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord,
for the Lord is about to pass by."
Then a
great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before
the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an
earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a
fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle
whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out
and stood at the mouth of the cave. .. (1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV)
So as you meander
throughout the day, keep your eyes and heart open for a sweet and delightful
message from the Lord, a love declaration given for your heart only.
Prayer:
Lord,
help me to hear You today. Remind me to
slow down my hectic pace of life so that I don’t miss any love message from
You. Keep my heart attuned to Your Holy Spirit as You whisper words of love to
me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application steps:
Buy
some Conversation Heart Candies.
Tonight before you go to bed, reflect on the message you discovered from
God today. Then, try to write a
meaningful reply from your heart to God by placing the tiny candies on a
plate. Have fun with this and let your
imagination flow freely. Then write your
message on a piece of paper and place it your Bible as reminder to watch for
whispers from the Lord.
Refection points:
Do
I believe that God will speak to me?
How
has He spoken to me in the past?
Power verses:
Revelation13:9,
“He who has an ear, let him hear.” (NIV)
Song
of Songs 8:13, “You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me
hear your voice!” (NIV)
John
10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
(NIV)
© 2006 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment