{"id":35755,"date":"2023-09-18T03:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T10:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=35755"},"modified":"2023-09-15T16:13:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T23:13:21","slug":"september-18-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2023\/09\/18\/september-18-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"September 18, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Rain, Down on Us Lord<\/strong><\/h2>\n

“My word is like the snow and the rain that come down from the sky to water the earth<\/em>. They make the crops grow and provide seed for planting and food to eat. So also will be the word<\/em> that I speak\u2014it will not fail to do what I plan for it; it will do everything I send it to do.\u201d <\/em>Isaiah 55:10-11 GNT<\/p>\n

Rain can be the soft and gentle drops falling quietly to the ground, or maybe it\u2019s the strong and forcefully hard drops of rain that beat upon the parched soil. Wow! How can rain be so different?<\/p>\n

As I watch the weather pattern change from the warm\/hot summer to the crisp coolness of fall, I am reminded that those differences can be quite like us. We can be soft and gentle, especially when things are going well but, in an instant, we can change to be hard and at times harsh and unrelenting like rain. At each of those different times that is when we need God the most. It is also at those same times that we can either choose God or our ways. Let\u2019s see what God has to say about the rain.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s Word can be compared to rainwater as both types give life. God\u2019s words are nourishing to our souls as is the rain that falls and nourishes the good earth. As Christians we need His words\/His rain to drench our spirit and fill our souls, for without it we will walk our own path and quickly find that we are in a parched and desolate time. All of God\u2019s creation needs the nourishing He so freely gives. God showers us with blessings, grace and mercies that are new every day. God\u2019s rain is a necessity to us that we cannot survive without! Nor do we ever want to.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Isaiah 44:3-4 NIV).<\/p>\n

Have you been walking your own path, only to find yourself in that dry place? Has God been sending His soft and gentle rain to you, only to have it turned away as if shielded from your heart? Are you finding yourself feeling more and more hard-hearted, harsh and dry?<\/p>\n

Are you ready to feel His gentle rain again and hear His soft voice calling you back to His path to soak in His words and follow His ways? God wants us to be continually refreshed, fruitful and growing in Him. When we are drenched in His words and His ways, it is then that we can freely give it away to others. As God showers us with His blessings, that is His fulfillment of His promises.<\/p>\n

Father God, I ask that You send Your rain, Your words, to our ears and our hearts that we may once again invite You in, that we might feel that gentleness that only You can give. May our souls soak in and fill up with Your nourishing ways that You long to shower upon us. Fill us now God so that we can overflow to those around us.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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