Zechariah 10:1-2 TLV
Ask Adonai for rain in spring! Adonai makes the storm clouds and will give rain showers and plants of the field to everyone. 2 The idols utter deceit and diviners see lies. They relate false dreams and comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, afflicted because there is no shepherd.
Acts 14:13-20 TLV
13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was before the front gate of the city, brought bulls and garlands; he wanted to offer a sacrifice with the people. 14 But when the emissaries Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out among the crowd, crying out 15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are human, just like you! We proclaim the Good News to you, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. [a] 16 In past generations He allowed all the nations to go their own ways. [b] 17 Yet He did not leave Himself without a witness—He did good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with joy and gladness.” [c] 18 Even saying these things, they barely restrained the crowd from sacrificing to them.
19 But Jewish people came from Antioch and Iconium; and after they won the crowd over and stoned Paul, they were dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 But while the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went back into the city.
Job 5 TLV
“Cry out now! Will anyone answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 For resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.
3 I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
4 His sons are far from safety,
and crushed at the gate without a deliverer!
5 The hungry consumes his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pants after their wealth.
6 For evil does not come from the dust,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
7 Yet man is born for trouble,
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 But as for me, I would seek God;
I would lay my cause before God.
9 Who does great things beyond comprehension,
wonders without number.
10 Who gives rain to the earth
and sends water over the plains.
11 Who places the lowly on high
and lifts mourners to salvation.
12 Who frustrates the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands attain no success.
13 Who catches the clever in their craftiness,
and thwarts the plan of the cunning.
14 By day they encounter darkness
and grope at noon as if it were night.
15 But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth,
and from the clutches of the mighty.
16 So the helpless have hope
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the one whom God corrects,
so do not despise the discipline of Shaddai.
18 For He inflicts pain, but He also binds up;
He injures, yet His hands also heal.
19 From six calamities He will deliver you,
even in seven, no harm will touch you.
20 In famine, He will redeem you from death,
and in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
and not fear when violence comes.
22 You will laugh at violence and famine,
and will not fear the beasts of the earth.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know shalom in your tent,
and you will take stock of your home
and find nothing missing.
25 “You will know that
your descendants will be numerous
your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in vigor,
like sheaves of grain in its season.
27 Behold, we have investigated this—it is true.
Hear it, and apply it to yourself!”
This week the topic is giving thanks to the God.
Too often we ask and ask and take without realizing the goodness that Abba has sent our way.
Today, Pray and thank Adonai for the rain and the goodness you have received in your life.
Humble yourself, seek his face and give thanks. For Abba gives rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike.
As Job 5 says, those who follow in the ways of God will know Shalom in their tent, will take stock of their home and find nothing missing.