01 - Connecting w/ God
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 01 | OVERVIEW
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 01 | OVERVIEW
Today we begin a NEW 40-day series of devotionals which I’m calling “40 Days CONNECTING with GOD.”
I’ve shared the following info before, but it deserves repeating.
The number 40 has some interesting significance in science, literature and in Scripture.
* “Forty” is the only number in English whose letters appear in alphabetical order.
* Minus 40 degrees is the only temperature that is the same in both Fahrenheit and Celsius.
* When the bubonic plague gripped Europe during the Middle Ages, ships would be isolated in harbor for 40 days before passengers could go ashore.
* The Italian word for 40 is quaranta—hence quarantine.
* Forget nine months… the typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks.
* It took chemists 40 attempts to develop the magic spray we call WD-40.
* *“40 winks” is the considered the perfect nap.
* 40 hours is the typical American work week.
* Ezekiel was instructed to lay on his right side for 40 days to “bear the iniquity” of Judea’s sins.
* Three great Hebrew kings reigned for 40 years each: Saul, David and Solomon.
* Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days before David defeated him.
* God destroyed every living thing on the Earth by flooding it for 40 days.
And so, we shall consider CONNECTING with GOD – from the Scriptures – for the next 40 days.
One of the questions that might come to your mind is, WHY would I care about doing that… Connecting with God?
Well, consider that PRAYER is something almost everyone does and EFFECTIVE prayer requires a CONNECTION with God. (Though surveys show that a percentage of atheists pray, but to whom or what? No idea. Of course, one of the leading modern atheists, Richard Dawkins, got in trouble from his fellow atheists when he said, “I guess I should really call myself an agnostic since I can’t prove that God doesn’t exist.” That was at least an HONEST statement.)
As far as CONNECTING with God… I truly think it is important. Followers of Christ should want to be able to TALK to and HEAR from Almighty God. When we ask for direction, ideas, strength, wisdom, insight, discernment and so on, we want to know that we’ve been HEARD and that the ANSWER is on the way. That’s connection.
When we go to church, we should want to CONNECT with God… to sense His presence in the music, the message, the fellowship with other Believers and so on.
When I call or video conference with my children or my grands, I want to CONNECT with them. I want to have a two-way conversation, I want to share a chuckle, I want to share in what they are doing, how things are going and so on.
I also want to do that each day when I talk with God. I want to CONNECT.
So, join with me for the next 40 days as I share thoughts on how to CONNECT with God.
Prayer: Lord, lead me as I learn how better to connect with you on a weekly, daily and even moment my moment basis. Teach me through this short Scriptural series HOW to connect with you better. Amen.
I’ve shared the following info before, but it deserves repeating.
The number 40 has some interesting significance in science, literature and in Scripture.
* “Forty” is the only number in English whose letters appear in alphabetical order.
* Minus 40 degrees is the only temperature that is the same in both Fahrenheit and Celsius.
* When the bubonic plague gripped Europe during the Middle Ages, ships would be isolated in harbor for 40 days before passengers could go ashore.
* The Italian word for 40 is quaranta—hence quarantine.
* Forget nine months… the typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks.
* It took chemists 40 attempts to develop the magic spray we call WD-40.
* *“40 winks” is the considered the perfect nap.
* 40 hours is the typical American work week.
On the Biblical side…
* Moses, Elijah and Jesus each fasted in the desert for 40 days.
* The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years.* Ezekiel was instructed to lay on his right side for 40 days to “bear the iniquity” of Judea’s sins.
* Three great Hebrew kings reigned for 40 years each: Saul, David and Solomon.
* Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days before David defeated him.
* God destroyed every living thing on the Earth by flooding it for 40 days.
And so, we shall consider CONNECTING with GOD – from the Scriptures – for the next 40 days.
One of the questions that might come to your mind is, WHY would I care about doing that… Connecting with God?
Well, consider that PRAYER is something almost everyone does and EFFECTIVE prayer requires a CONNECTION with God. (Though surveys show that a percentage of atheists pray, but to whom or what? No idea. Of course, one of the leading modern atheists, Richard Dawkins, got in trouble from his fellow atheists when he said, “I guess I should really call myself an agnostic since I can’t prove that God doesn’t exist.” That was at least an HONEST statement.)
As far as CONNECTING with God… I truly think it is important. Followers of Christ should want to be able to TALK to and HEAR from Almighty God. When we ask for direction, ideas, strength, wisdom, insight, discernment and so on, we want to know that we’ve been HEARD and that the ANSWER is on the way. That’s connection.
When we go to church, we should want to CONNECT with God… to sense His presence in the music, the message, the fellowship with other Believers and so on.
When I call or video conference with my children or my grands, I want to CONNECT with them. I want to have a two-way conversation, I want to share a chuckle, I want to share in what they are doing, how things are going and so on.
I also want to do that each day when I talk with God. I want to CONNECT.
So, join with me for the next 40 days as I share thoughts on how to CONNECT with God.
Prayer: Lord, lead me as I learn how better to connect with you on a weekly, daily and even moment my moment basis. Teach me through this short Scriptural series HOW to connect with you better. Amen.
Posted in Connecting w/ God