jealous Archives - Daily Thoughts about God

by Roderick Marshall
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â€œ..standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. …And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”Â
Luke 7:38-50 (ESV)

I was in a queue at a set of traffic lights in town. We were stationary, so I looked expectantly towards the red lights in front of me, when a movement in the car in front of me caught my eye. It turned out to be a woman who had leant across to get up close and personal with her passenger: intimate. I thought; it must be love. You get exhibitions of young parting lovers making public declarations of affection. I can remember being like that once.

Anyway, the lights being still on red, and me being inquisitive, I watched this tableau played out before me. Only I realized the person on whom the woman was soÂ intent, was not her partner, no, it was her toddler son!

Presumably he was in a booster seat which raised his head up to adult levels. She was inspecting his face, then cleaning it and fussing him, prior to being dropped off at the nursery around the corner.

Well I was not wrong, I thought, it was love! Then the following words drifted into my consciousness: coming-towards-as-if-to-kiss.

Yes, I had been ambushed by God again. Proskyneo, the N.T. Greek word for worship means just that. Yes, I am no Greek lexicon, I had to look it up to find it again. It is not an amorous encounter, but rather one of trust, love, deference, respect and intimacy; like Mary Magdaleneâ€™s uninhibited entreaty.

As a Creator, God longs to be close with His children, just as this mother was to her son. The question is will we allow Him to get up close and personal? Close enough so He can clean us up, make us presentable, encourage us, and then send us out!

OK, are we ready to being open to Him in reverence today, even up close?

PRAYER: LORD, You are awesome and terrible, holy and majestic, yet You are also jealous of our worship, obedience and love. So we, with bended knee and humble hearts, say Our LORD come! Visit us once more today, in Jesus name, amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/06/06/rm_kissing/
Not to be reprinted without permission

by Rod Marshall
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â€œSo God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.â€?
Genesis 1:27 (ESV)

Last summer, we moved to a different house, and baby ZoÃ« was born.

As a Christian, the nice thing about being a dad again after twenty years is that I believe I am more in touch with who I am, both in the world and in the kingdom of God. I no longer see the frustrations and exasperations of a helpless baby’s crying and total dependency as belonging only to me or Caroline. Of course, they are ours in the sense that ZoÃ« is our baby, much longed for and loved, even in the small hours of the morning when we’d rather be sleeping.

How I view ZoÃ«’s antics and growing pains helps my faith grow stronger and helps me to understand better what it means to be made in the image of God as our heavenly Father. For, in truth, just as I see her in the morning and night-time, and covet her hugs and smiles, so God looks forward to our spending time with Him. Just as I accept ZoÃ«’s frustration and anger at being able to perform only the basic feats of communication, so God understands the limitations we work under while trying to communicate with Him and understand His will.

Amid these limitations, God has been gracious to help us understand Him through our commonality of nature. We are made in His image so that we may comprehend His nature, no matter who we are. We bear the marks of His authorship in our being. Thus, we can meaningfully respond to Him through ways that are set into our creation. No matter our physical condition or age, as Christians, we are loved in Jesus because He has first loved us, and we can respond, knowing that He understands.

More than I do ZoÃ«, He loves us and wants us to identify Him faithfully as our heavenly Father. We are jealously watched over.

Matthew 10:29-31 (NIV) â€“ â€œAre not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.â€?Â

Prayer:Â Lord, we have been too busy again. We have squeezed You out of our stillness; we are seldom still. At best, we take Your love for granted, and at worst, we ignore it. Please forgive us our presumptions. Like a baby, we revel in Your presence with us, as You hold us close in the power of the Holy Spirit. We rejoice in Your unfailing love towards us, no matter the time, our condition, or the situation, because You first loved us in Jesus’ name. Thank You. Amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2009/02/24/rm_born/

Not to be reprinted without permission

Kissing?

Born on the Third of July

Tag: <span>jealous</span>

Kissing?

Born on the Third of July