In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

John 1:1

Sometimes it is hard to see and hear God’s voice in your life.  Human reasoning seems to get in the way, at least with me.  I try to take a step back to recognize how He is speaking to me.  Many times I still question whether it is coincidence or Him.  When it comes to the Word, I try to push out the doubt with all my might.  You know those times a verse just speaks to you and then the same verse continues to pop up in your life.  Whether or not it is a commonly used verse, it touches you more than usual.  I believe God speaks frequently to me in this manner.  It begins with the introduction or reintroduction of the verse…a “wow this verse really speaks to me” moment.  Then it is shown to me again and again, however many times I may need it.  Each time I hear the verse it gives deeper meaning to the verse and to my life.

John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” is the present verse being shown to me over and over again.  We had bible presentation at my church.  I was asked to do a reading.  I was handed the verse a few minutes before the service started.  I read it and I prayed over it.  It is never easy going in front of the congregation, but when I saw the verses I was given from John chapter one, a peace washed over me.  When I began to speak, “In the beginning was the Word…,”  I felt His power and His peace in the words.  A couple days after, someone told me they had a moment when I was up there reading the verse.  Pretty amazing how He speaks through us.

Yesterday, I went to my family’s church.  It was their 75th anniversary and they honored a few people, my grandma being one of them.  The church I now go to is a different denomination. I just find it so interesting to see the differences.  I know I belong in the denomination I go to, but a different perspective strengthens me.  I used to get confused and want answers to which is right and which is wrong.  The only thing I can come up with is there are strengths and weakness in every denomination.   (I know I have mentioned all this before.)  Why?  Because denominations are manmade.  The divides within the Christian church are not from God.  Heaven is not going to have separate places for each denomination.  “Lutherans go over there, Pentecostals over there, and Baptists here.”  We are one church.  We interpret things different.  We place emphasize on different things.  I am partial to the Lutheran ways, but that doesn’t mean Lutheran’s don’t have their weaknesses.

The sermon yesterday was a good old fashioned gospel message.  It truly was. The pastor began to speak the words of John 1: 1…a peace washed over me once again.  I’ll say he he had my full attention after that. I needed a good old fashioned gospel message.  He used great verses and examples that all pointed to the gospel.  It is funny, the last time I was at my family’s church was for my grandma’s funeral service.  The Holy Spirit moved me during her service.  I had been intending to read the bible…not just in the bible study sort of way.  I needed to read every single word of the bible.  After her service I knew I needed to start with the gospel…there was/is something about being at my family’s church, my childhood church that led/leads me to the gospel.  So I started with the New testament and then went through the Old Testament and then through the New Testament again.  Now I am going back through Old Testament.  I am glad I listened to Him and started with the gospels because He knew I needed it.

What I recently needed to be reminded of was to lay all my trust in Him, all of it.  It was His plan from the beginning. He knew we could not do it on our own…that is why His son did all the work for us.  Sometimes I place too much of my own weight and other peoples weight on my shoulders, instead of casting it all to Him.  I am not alone in this problem of trying to stand on my own, we all do it.  But we shouldn’t.

I will leave you with one example the pastor gave yesterday.  He pulled a chair over by him.  Now I am paraphrasing a bit but he said something like, “You can know the chair is a chair.  You can study it.  You can bow down to it.  You can even sing to it.  But what you really need to do is sit in the chair.  Put all your weight on the chair.  Stop trying to stand on your own when you have a chair that is always there.”