Time with Abba, Singing Praising 親親爸父，唱詩歌頌 : OT DAY 313 - Stay Close, but Not Too Close, if You Are to See God Act (Please click here for English podcast)

Monday, September 7, 2015

OT DAY 313 - Stay Close, but Not Too Close, if You Are to See God Act (Please click here for English podcast)

Please click the link below to my new 40 days Break.Build site any time you like to having a 40 days "Break.Build" daily devotion with one to two people as a discipler to help those Jesus prepares for you to disciple. You need to know that the call and purpose of my Break.Build and this Discipler123 blog/podcast is for you to become a discipler to help more people to have a daily intimate relationship with Jesus and then they can become disciplers too:
http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Please click these links to the app. Andy Ng wrote if you have an Android cel.:

Discipler123: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ideal.rec.app

Break.Build: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ideal.bb.app

Silence

1. Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2. Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1. Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2. Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3. Open your heart to praise the Lord

15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

Psalm 107:21-22

Confession and Repentance

1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you:

“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2. Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

The Word (Joshua 3:1-4)

English(ESV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua 3&version=ESV

Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:1-4

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

My Listening
Stay holy if you want to see God act because He doesn't want to be close to you if you are filthy. Stay close if you want to see God act because you need to be close to Him so that you can see Him act. But, not too close as describe in today's passage. Why?

Let's see how Professor John Goldingay tells us:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goldingay) :

God's instructions at Sinai often warn about coming too close to the actual presence of the transcendent, awesome God, as subjects properly hesitate before going too close to a king. The people are to stay close in the sense that they are committed to following closely, but they are to keep in mind that this is the transcendent, awesome God. At the same time, the story has moved on since they were at the Reed Sea. Now they have the covenant chest to take with them. It is a more concrete symbol than the column of cloud and fire, which no longer appears.

John Goldingay. Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, p.17.

Have you been staying close to God so that you have seen how God acted lately? For me, staying close starts with my willingness to give my time, money, energy and everything I can give to God. How about you?

Then, what does staying close but not too close mean to you? Well, lots of Christians call Jesus as friend, but too friendly forgetting that He is also our Lord and King. It is our respect and fear of God as our friend, Lord and King so that we need to stay close but not too close.

If you know how to fear God, there is nothing you need to fear!
If you know how to be close to God, there is nothing you cannot do according to His will!

Dear Lord Jesus,

Lead us to be close to you each day and to know that you are the only One we need to fear so that nothing we need to fear anymore. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Reflect on these questions:
1. How close are you with God each day? How do you know you are close to Him, do you have any fruit of the Spirit lately to show that you are really close to Him?

2. How important it is that you know how to fear God? Do you have anything you fear lately? How can your willingness to fear God help you to cast away all fear in you?

3. What have you got from Jesus today?

Today's Time with Abba daily reading that I recited loudly

Psalm 102:1-11

Song of Songs 5:1 - 8:14

2 Cor. 9:1-15

Proverbs 22:24-25

Photos of my copying the Bible today using Time with Abba passages

Today's Golden Verse