From my reading today…
Seizing Your Divine Moment – Erwin McManus
- In his recommendation of this book, Dr. David Jeremiah says, “I wish I could say I couldn’t put Seizing Your Divine Moment down. The fact is, I had to put it down many times to think about what I had just read.” HE’S RIGHT! This book is packed with paradigm-shifting info that must be consumed a bite at a time! Anyway, a few takeaways…
- “A life touched by God always ends in touching others.”
- “All of us pass a bit of ourselves onto others.”
- “Often divine moments look like inconveniences on the front end.” Yup! I’ve felt “inconvenienced” many times before a critical moment! Sometimes (more often than I’d like) I’ve missed “divine moments” because I did not want to be inconvenienced. God forgive me!
- “One of the ways we miss divine moments is to treat what we consider nominal influence as irrelevant. We must never underestimate the importance of one moment, one word, one deed in the life of another human being.”
The Bible – God
- Some beautiful verses of worship (Psalm 89:5-18 NLT)…
5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord;
myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.
6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord?
What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?
7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.
He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!
Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?
You are entirely faithful.
9 You rule the oceans.
You subdue their storm-tossed waves.
10 You crushed the great sea monster.
You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
12 You created north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
13 Powerful is your arm!
Strong is your hand!
Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
They exult in your righteousness.
17 You are their glorious strength.
It pleases you to make us strong.
18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord….
This is one awesome blog.
I love reading the information that you’re sorting through, and hearing your “take” on it. Thanks for continually blessing me, man!
Paul,
That quote on the divine moments is so true. But what a great way to handle an irritant-laden day — “I wonder of God is up to something good in my life today? (smirk)” instead of “ERRRRR. This day is lousy. I want an easy way out! (snarl)”
Thanks for the bits of wisdom pre-mined,
Mike
PS — did you mention the psalm that the worship text is from?
I have had the book for a couple of days now and I have read it in small chunks. A good book to process and….
I counsel in a prison and one inmate was in deep despair ask to speak to me privatly. I carved out 20 minutes of my day for her. I am a punk!!!!
This women with all of her heart and soul purged deep sorrow and despair to of a lifestyle she was involved with since she was 12. She is only in her early 20′s. (God do I hate that this world is so vile)
I forgot about the time limit and I just spent as long as it took. My heart grieved for this young women. I was changed. The paperwork was irrelevent, the planned luncheon was less than a speck, the opprotunity for God to speak had changed all dimension of that day.
I could not shake it. I stayed in prayer for her and in my quiet time I picked up Siezing your Define Moment.
McManus (p23) gives the illustration of Rahab; a prostitute, without family, without support, without purpose:…She was used by God.
Not only did God give me confirmation on the importance to be connected to a moment he prepares, he also wrapped his arms around me when my heart was hurting for another.
Paul your previous blog really touched me when you spoke of a difficult situation of touching someone, reaching out to those that hurt. I have really kept that situation close to my heart. Thanks for all you share.