Just a few thoughts...

Sometimes God shows multiple things to you in a day. Yesterday was an example of that. I was reading Habakkuk chapter 3. Verses 2 through 6 stood out to me. They read:

"2 LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.

3 God came from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Selah ^[a]
His glory covered the heavens
and his praise filled the earth.

4 His splendor was like the sunrise;
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power was hidden.

5 Plague went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.

6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled
and the age-old hills collapsed.
His ways are eternal."

This is the first part of a prayer of Habakkuk praising God for answering his questions and he knew that God was going to discipline Judah. These verses stood out to me because so often we talk about God's omnipotence and don't take it very far. This passage was a way for me to get a better understanding of what His power is really like. Do I grasp the fact that He spoke all of creation into being? How often do I "stand in awe of" God's deeds? Not just the big ones...but the little ones?

I then moved to Ephesians. Chapter 2 vs 3 says: "3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." I believe the last part of this verse gives us a clear view of our standing with God before salvation and is something we should not take lightly. Before God saved me...I was an object of wrath...I deserved only Hell...I had disobeyed, disowned, departed, and distanced myself from God by sin. Verse 13 says: "13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." This is where I can truly see the love and grace of God...when I realize how far away I was; how hopeless and how undeserving I was...and yet, HE SAVED ME! I do not deserve to be saved because of my sin...but, because of His love and grace...and the power of the Holy Spirit giving me the desire to repent of the sin that distanced me...the Holy Spirit generating the faith I needed to have in the finished work of Christ; I AM SAVED! And, I am continuing to be saved on a daily basis.

These are just 2 examples of asking God to show you something before opening His Word... watch out; He does!