We live in an upside down world! Those who insult Islam or stand for Christianity are beheaded.
Terror attacks in Paris, Colorado Springs and San Barnardino have left us dismayed and horrified.
Our country is experiencing government corruption, lies spun as truth and our youth being mislead by the false propaganda of the media. We no longer trust our government, our leaders, our newspapers, our investors and even our religious leaders.
As we approach 2016 - Isaiah 60:1-2 is a verse to focus on!
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. We live in a world that is enveloped in thick darkness, God commands us to arise, let our Light shines, and the distinctive glory of our Lord will be obvious to all.
What do we do - knowing the enemy is advancing? Follow the example of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. When Jehoshaphat knew an evil army was advancing he inquired of the Lord and proclaimed a fast for all of Judah. We like Jehoshaphat should cry out in a desperate prayer for help before we plunge past the point of no return into the abyss of God's judgment. As believers we need to come together to seek help from the Lord.
God reassured Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:15, 17 - Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battles is not yours, but God's. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.
What do we do - we start the 2016 year in a position on our knees as we humble ourselves, seek God's face, repent our our sin, and intercede for out nation. Then having done all, we stand firm in our faith that God has heard and will answer our prayer.
Adapted from Anne Graham Lotz
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Friday, October 2, 2015
Joy verses Complaining by Angelika Smith
October 1 - The Divine Mentor Reading Plan - Psalm 126:3
S: My verse was Psalm 126:3 -
The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy (NIV)
Application:
My A was that God has done so much in my life, so many blessing, and the good far outweighs the bad, the best of all was Him loving me, saving me, Jesus giving his life for me, dying for me so that I may live. I should be joyful all the time, a smile on my face, but what do I do?
The slightest problem and I am praying for help, asking for more and more.
He has done so much and it is never enough for me.
Compared to most of the world, I live a life of privilege and am blessed beyond compare.
Prayer
My prayer is that the next time I feel like screaming over a messy house, dishes not done, not enough money to pay this months bills, someone being mean to me or just waking up feeling depressed over the bad things and heartaches that happened in my life, for Jesus to remind me how blessed I truly am and to be joyful no matter what the circumstances, after all He has done great things for us. I called it "enough already"
Another reason for me to share this today is that after I wrote in my journal, I turned on Joyce Meyer and she was speaking on joy. On how we so often live by our feelings instead.
Thanks for letting me share. Have a great day.
Lots of love,
Angelika
S: My verse was Psalm 126:3 -
The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy (NIV)
Application:
My A was that God has done so much in my life, so many blessing, and the good far outweighs the bad, the best of all was Him loving me, saving me, Jesus giving his life for me, dying for me so that I may live. I should be joyful all the time, a smile on my face, but what do I do?
The slightest problem and I am praying for help, asking for more and more.
He has done so much and it is never enough for me.
Compared to most of the world, I live a life of privilege and am blessed beyond compare.
Prayer
My prayer is that the next time I feel like screaming over a messy house, dishes not done, not enough money to pay this months bills, someone being mean to me or just waking up feeling depressed over the bad things and heartaches that happened in my life, for Jesus to remind me how blessed I truly am and to be joyful no matter what the circumstances, after all He has done great things for us. I called it "enough already"
Another reason for me to share this today is that after I wrote in my journal, I turned on Joyce Meyer and she was speaking on joy. On how we so often live by our feelings instead.
Thanks for letting me share. Have a great day.
Lots of love,
Angelika
Monday, September 7, 2015
Finding God's Call for your Life: by Phuong Schuetz
“Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.” Romans 12:2
Until a few years ago, I had always pursued what my mind thought was good without considering or including God in my plans. The idea that God’s purpose and my calling or vocation are connected sounded strange. I believed in God, but not to the point of seeking his counsel in determining my life’s work. Financial security, the job market and status in society were factors I considered in pursuing a career, not God’s wisdom. I was paving my own path in life and it led to a joyless, unfulfilled and passionless end. My job at the time was stagnant and it seemed God was closing doors I thought should be open. I was getting through the daily grind as a means of earning an income all the while sensing God was calling me to something more. During that time, I prayed harder than ever before but it seemed God was silent.
Then, in 2007 when I was pregnant with my first son, God used Romans 12:1-2 to prepare me for his purpose and my calling as a homeschooling mom. Over a span of several years, I began to see a change in the way I was thinking which in turn affected my decision making process. As my sons went from babies to toddlers to school age, I found myself having increasing confidence in not conforming to the patterns and ideas of those around me. Instead, I had an intense desire to do what was contrary to the norm of society in order to follow Christ. God’s Word had touched my heart and transformed my mind, giving me the ability to discern his good, pleasing and perfect purpose or calling for my life.
Even though God’s purpose for me is good and perfect, I haven’t always agreed with or liked what he has called me to do. Like Jacob, I’ve wrestled with God! I’ve questioned, resisted and tried to take a different path only to conclude that when you’ve been transformed by God, you will choose to follow where he leads even though you may feel inadequate for the job. In my inadequacies is where I’ve witnessed God working through me to accomplish the work he has called me to do.
Friends, God has a calling on each of our lives. To find your purpose or calling, do not conform to the ideas of the world but allow God to renew your minds with the truth in his Word. Only then will you be able to find his good, pleasing and perfect purpose for your life. Your calling will demand more than you have, challenge you beyond your human capacity, take you out of your comfort zone, bring you to unfamiliar places and put you at odds with others. In spite of all this, you will choose to follow the calling not because it is the natural thing to do. You do it because there is complete satisfaction and great passion in living out the purpose God has predestined for your life!
Phuong Schuetz is a home educator for her two sons at Romans 12 Triad Academy. She loves to share God’s story in her life with people and is passionate about transforming the world for Jesus through her speaking and writing endeavors. She shares her ongoing faith journey by blogging for Christian radio station WCTL in Waterford, PA and The Christian Post. Her writings has been published in Today’s Christian Woman of Christianity Today and It’s A God thing series with W Publishing Group (An Imprint of Thomas Nelson). Phuong currently lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband and two young boys.Saturday, August 29, 2015
God and His Wife by Dr. Laila Wahba
Marriage, divorce, adultery, gay marriage are top of mind issues. It is amazing, how through the last fifty years, the way people think of marriage has changed. The things that seemed unthinkable a few years ago, have become the norm. Divorce is an everyday occurrence that people do not give it a second thought. Adultery is thought of as a right, if the marriage is not going well, or one spouse is giving the other a hard time. Fornication, or sex before marriage, as the Bible calls it, has become normal. SO much so that it is unthinkable that someone would reach adolescence, let alone adulthood without having had sex or we applaud when someone is abstinent from sex for a week. Then, when these things became ‘normal’, along comes gay marriage, and who knows what else we will have to endure.
Today, as I was reading my Bible, it suddenly hit me that this is a well planned strategy of the enemy- satan (I never write his name in capital letters, because he doesn't deserve it). His plan is to make us feel that all this is just ‘normal’, not only to mess up individuals, marriages, communities, kids, cities, countries and the whole world; but he is doing something very dangerous: when we feel that divorce, adultery, gay marriage is normal, then when we read the Bible, and read about the eternal marriage covenant that God has made with us, we do not take it seriously. The thought that occurs is that these things are non relevant to our lives today. When we read in Isaiah 50. 1-3,
“Thus says the Lord:
“Where is your mother's certificate of divorce,
with which I sent her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering”.
Or when we read in Isaiah 62.4-5,
“You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you”.
Jeremiah 3.1-8
“If a man divorces his wife
and she goes from him
and becomes another man's wife,
will he return to her?
Which has become normal in our day and age.
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?
declares the Lord.
Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!
Where have you not been ravished?
By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
like an Arab in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
with your vile whoredom.
Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have the forehead of a whore;
you refuse to be ashamed.
Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
will he be angry forever,
will he be indignant to the end? ’
Behold, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”
The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah:“Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”
You see that which God used as abhorring, unthinkable examples of our straying away from God, has become a normal way of life today. We do not feel or see that there is anything wrong with a man cheating on his wife, or a wife cheating on her husband.
How can the Lord reach us when sin has become normal? When what He sees as horrific, we see as trivial?
In Hosea 2 and 3
We see how it was unheard of that a man should marry a woman who had sex with another man other than her husband, and God uses this example to show His mercy and love for His people, in accepting them back and showing the mercy once more in spite of the fact that they have committed adultery against God.
In Ezekial 16, the beautiful chapter on God’s grace and mercy, when He passes by and finds that “And … looked on you, and, behold, your time was the time of love. And I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. And I swore to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord Jehovah. And you became Mine”.
The beauty of God’s love to His people.
Having sex with someone other than your spouse, was a big issue.
We read in Leviticus 20.5
“then I will set My face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go lusting after him to commit adultery with Molech, from among their people”.
Going after other gods was seen as adultery, and because of it God would take away his blessing from a certain person or a certain people.
But this does not stop in the Old Testament, for in the New Testament, Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5.28, and as if to tell His listeners, this is not old stuff, this is still applicable today,
” You have heard that it was said to the ancients, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”.
He raised the bar, to include not only physical acts, but pornography too.
Mark 10.11-12
“And He said to them, Whoever shall put away his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and marries to another, she commits adultery”.
Why aren’t we reading our Bible? And if we read it, why aren’t we taking it seriously? Because this is what satan wants, he wants us to take lightly our life away from God, our ‘little’ sins, our ‘little lusts’, our secret desires. When we do not realize that we have broken the covenant with God, when we think lightly of adultery, marriage, divorce, gay marriage, we become so caught up and blinded that we will not see the audacity of what we are doing.
When God wanted to illustrate His relationship with His church, the only example He could think of (that’s an oxymoron) was between a man and His wife, so when this picture is tarnished by divorce, adultery, gay marriage, pornography, or whatever else will come our way, then we cannot understand what God is trying to tell us.
God loves His wife: the Church
Ephesians 5. 23-33
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself as the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So men ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord loves the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. But also let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and the wife that she defers to her husband
The church is called the Bride.
Rev 21.12
“And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband”.
Rev 19.7-8
“Let us be glad and rejoice and we will give glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints”.
How can we understand and appreciate these verses, if we do not know that white means pure?
Let us wake up, and see that satan’s main goal and strategy, from the beginning of time is to distort everything God has done, and to keep our eyes off His mercy and love lest we be saved.
“Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other”. Isaiah 45.22
Today, as I was reading my Bible, it suddenly hit me that this is a well planned strategy of the enemy- satan (I never write his name in capital letters, because he doesn't deserve it). His plan is to make us feel that all this is just ‘normal’, not only to mess up individuals, marriages, communities, kids, cities, countries and the whole world; but he is doing something very dangerous: when we feel that divorce, adultery, gay marriage is normal, then when we read the Bible, and read about the eternal marriage covenant that God has made with us, we do not take it seriously. The thought that occurs is that these things are non relevant to our lives today. When we read in Isaiah 50. 1-3,
“Thus says the Lord:
“Where is your mother's certificate of divorce,
with which I sent her away?
Or which of my creditors is it
to whom I have sold you?
Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,
and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
Why, when I came, was there no man;
why, when I called, was there no one to answer?
Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,
I make the rivers a desert;
their fish stink for lack of water
and die of thirst.
I clothe the heavens with blackness
and make sackcloth their covering”.
Or when we read in Isaiah 62.4-5,
“You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you”.
Jeremiah 3.1-8
“If a man divorces his wife
and she goes from him
and becomes another man's wife,
will he return to her?
Which has become normal in our day and age.
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?
declares the Lord.
Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!
Where have you not been ravished?
By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
like an Arab in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
with your vile whoredom.
Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have the forehead of a whore;
you refuse to be ashamed.
Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
will he be angry forever,
will he be indignant to the end? ’
Behold, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”
The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah:“Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”
You see that which God used as abhorring, unthinkable examples of our straying away from God, has become a normal way of life today. We do not feel or see that there is anything wrong with a man cheating on his wife, or a wife cheating on her husband.
How can the Lord reach us when sin has become normal? When what He sees as horrific, we see as trivial?
In Hosea 2 and 3
We see how it was unheard of that a man should marry a woman who had sex with another man other than her husband, and God uses this example to show His mercy and love for His people, in accepting them back and showing the mercy once more in spite of the fact that they have committed adultery against God.
In Ezekial 16, the beautiful chapter on God’s grace and mercy, when He passes by and finds that “And … looked on you, and, behold, your time was the time of love. And I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. And I swore to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord Jehovah. And you became Mine”.
The beauty of God’s love to His people.
Having sex with someone other than your spouse, was a big issue.
We read in Leviticus 20.5
“then I will set My face against that man and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go lusting after him to commit adultery with Molech, from among their people”.
Going after other gods was seen as adultery, and because of it God would take away his blessing from a certain person or a certain people.
But this does not stop in the Old Testament, for in the New Testament, Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5.28, and as if to tell His listeners, this is not old stuff, this is still applicable today,
” You have heard that it was said to the ancients, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart”.
He raised the bar, to include not only physical acts, but pornography too.
Mark 10.11-12
“And He said to them, Whoever shall put away his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and marries to another, she commits adultery”.
Why aren’t we reading our Bible? And if we read it, why aren’t we taking it seriously? Because this is what satan wants, he wants us to take lightly our life away from God, our ‘little’ sins, our ‘little lusts’, our secret desires. When we do not realize that we have broken the covenant with God, when we think lightly of adultery, marriage, divorce, gay marriage, we become so caught up and blinded that we will not see the audacity of what we are doing.
When God wanted to illustrate His relationship with His church, the only example He could think of (that’s an oxymoron) was between a man and His wife, so when this picture is tarnished by divorce, adultery, gay marriage, pornography, or whatever else will come our way, then we cannot understand what God is trying to tell us.
God loves His wife: the Church
Ephesians 5. 23-33
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself as the glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So men ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord loves the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh." This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. But also let everyone of you in particular so love his wife even as himself, and the wife that she defers to her husband
The church is called the Bride.
Rev 21.12
“And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband”.
Rev 19.7-8
“Let us be glad and rejoice and we will give glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints”.
How can we understand and appreciate these verses, if we do not know that white means pure?
Let us wake up, and see that satan’s main goal and strategy, from the beginning of time is to distort everything God has done, and to keep our eyes off His mercy and love lest we be saved.
“Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other”. Isaiah 45.22
Friday, August 21, 2015
God is not my Personal Genie!
The Problem with God
OnThe problem with God is, he is not my personal genie! He can’t be controlled or manipulated to do things my way. Being a control nut, I like to have everything figured out and of course I want to figure God out too. The problem with God is, he isn’t who my mind imagines him to be because he doesn’t do what I think he should do when I think he should do it!
This inability to figure God out has been a source of frustration for me through various trials. I tend to ask God the “why” question a lot! The problem with God is, he usually doesn’t answer my questions and prayers the way I wish he would but, he does answer! Most of the time, I don’t like his answers or agree with them so I assume God is not real and powerful enough to work in my problems. When God doesn’t answer specifically, I presumed he is not concerned about me.
The problem with God is, his ways are not easy or comfortable to accept. In every life situation, I have a choice to either push into God or pull away from him. My human instinct is to pull away from God when I can’t understand his answers. The unnatural way or the path God wants me to choose is to always push into him especially when the answer doesn’t make sense and I can’t figure out what he is doing. As I push into God with a heart that wants to know him more, he begins to show me how real he is by doing unexpected and unexplainable things in my life.
Funny thing is, the better I know God, the more I trust he will answer my prayers in ways that will grow my faith. When his answer is different than what I had hope for, I’ve learned to handle the disappointment like the apostle Paul. I boast about my suffering because I’ve seen how it has produced in me endurance for a life of faith in the real God. He gives me his strength to endure difficulties with the purpose of shaping my character. He continues to flush out impurities in me such as selfishness, pride, fear and controlling tendencies so I might learn how to hope and anticipate his goodness (Romans 5:3-4). Without trials, my faith would not have been awaken to how real God is because I would have missed out on experiencing his healing power, his protection, and his provision.
Friends, whatever you are struggling with right now, the problem is not with God. Your predicament may seem daunting but God wants you to know he is real and he cares deeply for you. Don’t pull away from him to go with your own ideas and efforts or you will forfeit God’s real power and goodness in your life. Being overwhelmed is your cue to push further into God for help. Then, be on the lookout for God to move in supernatural ways on your behalf! Your faith in God will be awakened as you witness his amazing works in your life!
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Joseph - From Potiphar’s Palace to Prison - Genesis 39:6 - 41:37
It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph - Genesis 39:7
Joseph had a reverence for God. In these verses of scripture the story tells of how Joseph, being a dedicated servant rose to a high position in Potiphar’s household. He was so trusted by his master, Joseph was given charge over everything Potiphar owned. If that isn’t evidence that the Lord was with Joseph even as a slave, what more possibly could be?
Considering the circumstances - Joseph being a slave, The Lord’s hand on him elevated him to what would have been an enviable life. But as it so often happens, it came to pass. And so Joseph being an attractive young man, caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife in Gen. 39:6. Unfolding in the verses from Gen. 39:7-13 is the story of a wicked woman driven by her lust and sense of entitlement. Also revealed in those same verses we learn even more about Joseph’s character. He could have taken her up on her offer to participate in adultery but Joseph angered her by being a rare and honorable man. Gen. 39:8-9
Can we say sexual harassment in the work place? We see Joseph fleeing from her so abruptly, he left his coat behind just so he could get away from her.
A trite phrase that may have originated with this story is “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!” When Joseph refused Potiphar’s wife - she wanted to destroy him and accused him of attacking her. Due to her false accusation, Joseph was thrown into prison. Gen. 39:20
Have you ever been falsely accused of anything? Has anyone ever projected the blame for their own wrong doing onto you in order to avoid the consequences of their actions or out of a determination to hurt you?
We can see from the life of Joseph that injustice takes place through no fault of our own. We also see that the Lord was with Joseph and He is with us too. Joseph was not guilty but he suffered as if he was. Have you ever suffered when you weren’t at fault? Why does He allow such trials in our lives? Is it because God really does have a plan for us? Is His purpose for us, higher than what we can understand? Is our understanding based on the present; the here and now while God has our future in His hands?
So where does this story leave Joseph?
So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. Gen. 39:20
Joseph did nothing to deserve it - Why did the Lord allow it? Why didn’t God rescue Joseph? Joseph kept his eyes on God and lived in the promises that God had a plan and a purpose for him. Would our lives look different; be more bearable if we could somehow live with the confidence of God’s plan and purpose for us - even when all around us is confusing, painful and unjust?
Joseph’s great confidence is found in Gen. 39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.
Dear Lord, we ask that You impress upon us the directive to trust You. Remind us as often as is necessary that You are faithful and trustworthy. Assure us as often as is necessary that even when injustice is heaped on us, our future is secure in You. Prompt us to always flee temptations of all kinds that would bring dishonor to Your name. We ask for favor; favor from You and from those we come into contact with so that You will be glorified in all our efforts. In the name of Jesus we pray all this. Amen.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
The Divine Mentor : Gift of The Holy Spirit
Today's Reading
2 Kings 23
2 Chronicles 35
John 7
Scripture : John 7:38
The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.
Objective :
Jesus wants us to know by our belief in Him we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to tap into the endless powers of God. The many streams of living water is how we are able to touch others along with being able to drink from the living waters of God.
Application :
We must be mindful of our words and actions. As Christians we the ability to share the Gospel and change lives. With that comes great responsibility because a nonbeliver can judge Jesus through the example we provide.
Prayer :
Lord I come to you broken. I ask that you build me according to your will that is pleasing to you. Thank you for the gift of The Holy Spirit. Please continue to give me the strength to always have a thirst for your Word when this earthly realm attempts to steal my time. In Jesus' name Amen.
Today at work the Holy Spirit gave me a very simple quote to write on the dry erase board I keep on my desk to share whatever He gives me. Now that quote doesn't seem so simple. This is what I wrote:
"We are walking billboards. What is your billboard saying?"
Obedience to the Holy Spirit brings great enlightenment and a life full of glorious confirmations.
2 Kings 23
2 Chronicles 35
John 7
Scripture : John 7:38
The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.
Objective :
Jesus wants us to know by our belief in Him we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to tap into the endless powers of God. The many streams of living water is how we are able to touch others along with being able to drink from the living waters of God.
Application :
We must be mindful of our words and actions. As Christians we the ability to share the Gospel and change lives. With that comes great responsibility because a nonbeliver can judge Jesus through the example we provide.
Prayer :
Lord I come to you broken. I ask that you build me according to your will that is pleasing to you. Thank you for the gift of The Holy Spirit. Please continue to give me the strength to always have a thirst for your Word when this earthly realm attempts to steal my time. In Jesus' name Amen.
Today at work the Holy Spirit gave me a very simple quote to write on the dry erase board I keep on my desk to share whatever He gives me. Now that quote doesn't seem so simple. This is what I wrote:
"We are walking billboards. What is your billboard saying?"
Obedience to the Holy Spirit brings great enlightenment and a life full of glorious confirmations.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
The Divine Mentor: Best Example
August 4, 2015
Today’s Reading
2 Kings 22
2 Chronicles 34
John 6
Scripture: John 6:11 (HCSB)
Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He
distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as
they wanted.
Objective:
Jesus leads by example, by giving thanks for the food before
distributing it. The miracle that He performs – He does it, yet He still gives
thanks to God. This is another example
of how Jesus never forgets the true power of God. Jesus humbles Himself to the will of
God. Though god has empowered Jesus He
still continues to show us no matter how high God elevates us we must not
forget to thank God.
Application:
We are to apply this example to our daily routine especially
since God expects it. Just as it is written in Psalm 95:2 and 100:4. If Jesus
could remain humble who are we to have pride and arrogance? Everything we have
and everything we are comes from God.
Prayer:
Lord, I come to broken. I ask that you continue to build me
according to your will. I pray that I remember to enter every day and
everything with thanksgiving. I thank you for the ability the walk the you
desire for me; to be there for my family and friends; and most of all thank you
for your son Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
The Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. Genesis 39:3b
Joseph becomes a slave in Potiphar’s house Genesis 39:1-20
Could life look any bleaker than being left to die in a cold, dark hole in the earth? Can you imagine the despair you would have felt as a teenager in such a situation and the agony of knowing that your own family members had treated you this way? The sense of betrayal would be overwhelming. Taking the story further we see in Genesis 37:26-27 that Judah and all of Joseph’s brothers except for the eldest, Reuben, agreed to pull Joseph up out of that pit, not to rescue him but to sell him. Yet the scripture assures us that the Lord was with Joseph… in the pit and in slavery.
Even when we don’t feel God near, when we can’t see what He is doing in our lives, when we don’t understand why things are happening to us, we can rest in the knowledge that God is with us. The story of the Lord being with Joseph is an assurance of the Lord being with us too. Not because we are favored like Joseph but because the Lord is faithful and unchanging. He is an ever present God. We know this because He tells us this in Psalm 139:1-12
Psalm 139:1-10
O LORD You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty to attain. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.
If God is everywhere as He claims to be - where else could He be if not with us?
Joseph knew that the Lord was with him. His life reflects the knowledge that regardless of the trials he was facing and even in the triumphs he experienced; the LORD was with him always. Do you know this truth? How different would our lives be if we lived, walked, and breathed in the reality that the Lord is with us?
Being sold into slavery was devastating and yet, God was in control - God’s will for Joseph was not to be mistreated but He knew the free will of his brothers’ and made provision for Joseph in the tsunamis of his life. It’s like a spiritual chess match - and God is always ready to move and counter move on our behalf. God is the ultimate chess master - there are no stalemates or draws - we will ultimately hear our heavenly master say “Checkmate”. God orchestrated everything for Joseph - the timing, the trader and ordained his purchaser. Joseph was sold to a high ranking official in Egypt. He became the property of a man named Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. The best estimate of Joseph’s age at this time would probably have been between the ages of eighteen and twenty years old.
Joseph trusted God and while he waited on God’s promises to be fulfilled, he got busy. Joseph used the talents he had been blessed with right where he was. He was different from those around him and prospered in Potiphar’s household. Gen. 39:2 says he became a successful man. His master, Potiphar, was blessed through him Gen. 39:3. Because of Joseph’s blooming where he was planted, he became highly favored and was put in charge of everything Potiphar owned.
How can Joseph’s life show us how to live differently? Why does God tell us these stories? Why does God reveal details of people who lived thousands of years ago in distant lands? What are we to glean from these stories and apply to our own lives?
Joseph was faithful - to the LORD and to those in authority over him. Joseph was completely trustworthy. His master soon learned that Joseph was a man of impeccable integrity. Joseph was diligent and excellent in all his endeavors. His gained favor in his master’s eyes because of his work ethic.
Maybe the LORD uses these stories, the lives of people like Joseph to encourage us, to remind us that regardless of the messes we find ourselves in, He is with us and His ultimate plan for us will not be thwarted. How different would we deal with our trials if we kept our focus on the LORD and what we knew to be true? How much more humble would we be in our triumphs if we recognized and acknowledged that those mountaintops could not have been summited but for the Lord working out the intricacies of the most infinitesimal details of our lives?
LORD, thank You for the truths You reveal in Your precious words to us. I pray that we would be found faithful like Joseph, regardless of any stumbling blocks You allow to cross our paths. I pray that we would be found completely trustworthy by all who come into contact with us. I pray that we would be a people of impeccable integrity. Lord, prompt us to be diligent and excellent in every endeavor. LORD may we find favor in all those we have dealings with, whether they be high above us in position or rank, or the lowest of the low in society but most importantly, may we find favor in Your eyes. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Joseph becomes a slave in Potiphar’s house Genesis 39:1-20
Could life look any bleaker than being left to die in a cold, dark hole in the earth? Can you imagine the despair you would have felt as a teenager in such a situation and the agony of knowing that your own family members had treated you this way? The sense of betrayal would be overwhelming. Taking the story further we see in Genesis 37:26-27 that Judah and all of Joseph’s brothers except for the eldest, Reuben, agreed to pull Joseph up out of that pit, not to rescue him but to sell him. Yet the scripture assures us that the Lord was with Joseph… in the pit and in slavery.
Even when we don’t feel God near, when we can’t see what He is doing in our lives, when we don’t understand why things are happening to us, we can rest in the knowledge that God is with us. The story of the Lord being with Joseph is an assurance of the Lord being with us too. Not because we are favored like Joseph but because the Lord is faithful and unchanging. He is an ever present God. We know this because He tells us this in Psalm 139:1-12
Psalm 139:1-10
O LORD You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty to attain. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.
If God is everywhere as He claims to be - where else could He be if not with us?
Joseph knew that the Lord was with him. His life reflects the knowledge that regardless of the trials he was facing and even in the triumphs he experienced; the LORD was with him always. Do you know this truth? How different would our lives be if we lived, walked, and breathed in the reality that the Lord is with us?
Being sold into slavery was devastating and yet, God was in control - God’s will for Joseph was not to be mistreated but He knew the free will of his brothers’ and made provision for Joseph in the tsunamis of his life. It’s like a spiritual chess match - and God is always ready to move and counter move on our behalf. God is the ultimate chess master - there are no stalemates or draws - we will ultimately hear our heavenly master say “Checkmate”. God orchestrated everything for Joseph - the timing, the trader and ordained his purchaser. Joseph was sold to a high ranking official in Egypt. He became the property of a man named Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. The best estimate of Joseph’s age at this time would probably have been between the ages of eighteen and twenty years old.
Joseph trusted God and while he waited on God’s promises to be fulfilled, he got busy. Joseph used the talents he had been blessed with right where he was. He was different from those around him and prospered in Potiphar’s household. Gen. 39:2 says he became a successful man. His master, Potiphar, was blessed through him Gen. 39:3. Because of Joseph’s blooming where he was planted, he became highly favored and was put in charge of everything Potiphar owned.
How can Joseph’s life show us how to live differently? Why does God tell us these stories? Why does God reveal details of people who lived thousands of years ago in distant lands? What are we to glean from these stories and apply to our own lives?
Joseph was faithful - to the LORD and to those in authority over him. Joseph was completely trustworthy. His master soon learned that Joseph was a man of impeccable integrity. Joseph was diligent and excellent in all his endeavors. His gained favor in his master’s eyes because of his work ethic.
Maybe the LORD uses these stories, the lives of people like Joseph to encourage us, to remind us that regardless of the messes we find ourselves in, He is with us and His ultimate plan for us will not be thwarted. How different would we deal with our trials if we kept our focus on the LORD and what we knew to be true? How much more humble would we be in our triumphs if we recognized and acknowledged that those mountaintops could not have been summited but for the Lord working out the intricacies of the most infinitesimal details of our lives?
LORD, thank You for the truths You reveal in Your precious words to us. I pray that we would be found faithful like Joseph, regardless of any stumbling blocks You allow to cross our paths. I pray that we would be found completely trustworthy by all who come into contact with us. I pray that we would be a people of impeccable integrity. Lord, prompt us to be diligent and excellent in every endeavor. LORD may we find favor in all those we have dealings with, whether they be high above us in position or rank, or the lowest of the low in society but most importantly, may we find favor in Your eyes. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Monday, July 27, 2015
The Lord was with Joseph ~ Genesis 39:2, 39:21
Really?
Have you ever considered the life of Joseph? His story is told in Genesis; from chapters 30 through 50 and he is referenced throughout the pages of scripture. His story is one of the most significant in all of the Bible. Few lives have been chronicled as Joseph’s and have been given such focus so there must be much for us to learn from his life.
What do we know of Joseph?
In Genesis 30:24 we are told that Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob, who was called Israel, and the eldest son of two sons by Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel. He was Jacob’s favorite son. Joseph’s story begins in Gen. 37:2 at the tender age of seventeen. We learn that he is a shepherd, a good son who is unwilling to participate in the misconduct he observes in his ten older brothers, is compelled to reveal that misconduct to their father and that he is highly favored in his father’s eyes. He is so highly favored that Jacob made him a varicolored garment commonly referred to as a coat of many colors.
This all sounds good doesn’t it? To be so favored in a father’s eyes and the recipient of such an outpouring of love must have been wonderful. However, all was not wonderful with his older brothers. To complicate their relationship, Joseph was a dreamer (Gen. 37:5 and 9) and oblivious to the impact of sharing his dreams with his brothers. His brothers already disliked him (Gen. 37:4) because he was their father’s favorite but dislike turned to hatred when they understood that Joseph believed he would rule over them because of what he believed his dreams meant for the future (Gen. 37:9) Joseph even provoked the wrath of his father when he told him about his dreams of ruling over not just his brothers but his parents as well (Gen. 37:10).
His brothers hated him; Hated him passionately! They plotted to kill him and would have if his older brother Rueben had not experienced a moment of conscience in Gen. 37:21. Rueben didn’t want to kill him outright but was fine with dumping him alive in a pit and allowing him to die a slow death in Gen. 37:24. With their little brother in the pit with no food or water, the ten older brothers could enjoy a meal and as they were doing so, a caravan of the sons of Ishmael were passing by which birthed an alternate plan. Brother Judah devised a way to make a little money for the trouble their brother had caused them. Gen. 37: 26 reveals Judah’s plan to sell Joseph rather than let him die in the pit. The ten older brothers all agreed to sell him as a slave to a band of Midianite traders and then lie to their father - saying they had found his special coat bloodied and tattered Gen. 37:32.
It sounds pretty dismal doesn’t it? Do you see in scripture any details that would lead you to believe that Joseph deserved to be treated so badly? At the whim and sin of his brothers, Joseph went from being a beloved son of his father to a slave of strangers in a foreign land.
Theologians teach that the Bible uses character’s stories as symbols or metaphors which point us to Jesus. These stories are intended to resemble Jesus and provide food for thought on God’s plan for salvation. Joseph is often referred to as a “Type of Christ”.
We know that Joseph was loved by his father - Jesus, the Son of God, was and is loved by God the Father.
Joseph was hated by his brothers - rejected and betrayed by them as well. Jesus was hated by the very people He came to dwell among. Jesus was rejected by those whom He came to save and they betrayed Him and plotted to kill Him.
Money was exchanged as part of the betrayals of both Joseph and Jesus.
Joseph found acceptance in the the land of strangers; Egypt. The message, the blessings, the salvation of Jesus as Messiah would be and has been embraced and accepted by gentiles in every foreign land since His coming up to this very day.
As referenced, the Bible clearly states that the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph as a favored 17 year old shepherd. The Lord was with Joseph when he was hated by those who should have loved him. The Lord was with Joseph in the bottom of that pit too.
Have you ever been hated? Have you ever been treated unfairly? Betrayed? Pushed out of the life, the relationships that were rightfully yours and forced to start a new life among strangers in a foreign land?
This is life! It isn’t a fabrication or just a story pulled from the pages of scripture - This is as real to us as it was for Joseph… and yet the Lord was with Joseph - just as He is with each of us.
Joseph’s life can almost be divided into 5 seasons - please come back and read the next season of a remarkable man whose entire life speaks of complete faith and trust in His God regardless of his circumstances.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Do You Love Me Daddy?
I recently watched a movie about a young girl who had grown up in the home of her mother and step-father. She only had vague memories of her biological father because her parents had divorced when she was 5 years old. The movie starts with the young girl, now 17 years old and a high school graduate, deciding to visit her father during the summer before she begins college.
Her father is portrayed as a selfish loner; as a misunderstood man deserving sympathy but the circumstances failed to generate such emotions. This young girl was standing on the brink of womanhood with a huge void in her life created by his selfishness. Oh, and he drinks too much because he is such a troubled soul. He is abusive and manipulative. She deserved far better.
Another glaringly obvious characteristic of the movie dad was that he would have been content to live his life without her in it. He was perfectly happy to live his life, doing his own thing with other people he had collected, as if she had never existed. The pursuit of a relationship was all on the part of the daughter and was even rejected and resisted by the father for a time.
In the closing scene, my heart broke. The dust was settling between the father and the daughter after a shouting match and they hugged. What was poignant was her fearfully worded question “Do you love me Daddy?” When he didn’t answer her, she asked again “Do you love me Daddy?” The fear of rejection was written on the daughter’s face and it seemed he wouldn’t answer. He finally responded “Yes, I love you!” ~THE END~
I thought is was one of the saddest moments in the entire film. That a father could love so poorly that his child has to ask if he loves her, is tragic. A father’s love should be a guarantee. What devastation when children do not grow up in the confidence of their father’s love. How painful for a child, even an adult child when they become aware that something just isn’t right and they risk their tender feelings by asking their fathers if they are loved by them.
As I watched the movie I couldn’t help but wonder how often that same story plays out in real life and my heart ached for all the little girls who grew up or will grow up one day and allow themselves to be treated unfairly by boyfriends and spouses because of a dysfunctional relationship with their fathers.
I wonder if women would live differently if their earthly fathers had nurtured them as God intended? I wonder if they would have chosen a different man to marry and father their children if they not been exposed to an environment that made putting up with a lot of frustration for the sake of a relationship seem acceptable?
Were you one of the fortunate ones to have known the love of an earthly father? Or were you one of the ones less than fortunate in that regard?
No one should ever have to wonder if they are loved by their father. No one should ever have to ask “Do you love me Daddy?” and yet it happens every day.
So where does that leave the ending of this blog? Are we without hope?
No we are not without hope. We have the only truly faithful Father that anyone has ever known. He is the best and a perfect Father. Our heavenly Father! He is a father that tells us over an over that He loves us. We don’t have to ask. He has written an entire book called the Bible that is all about His love for us. He left heaven to show us His love. He shed his blood to reveal the depth of His love for us. He indwells us so that we never have to wonder where He is. He loves us so much that He died so that we could be with Him for all eternity. Love shows up! Jesus definitely showed up to prove His love for us didn’t He?
…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide and how long and how high and how deep is the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:17-18
Regardless of whether or not our earthly fathers loved poorly or loved exceedingly well, our heavenly Father wants us to know that He loves us enough to be beaten, stretched out on cross and nailed to it and die because He loves us so much.
No matter what, we do not have to tremble and ask the question “Do you love me Daddy?” of our heavenly Father. He has already answered that question and we can live securely in His love. He loves us and He always will.
Abba, Father, Daddy,
I pray that all who read this have been, will be and will continue to be rooted and established in not just any love, but Your love. I pray that they will be able to comprehend, to truly understand that they as part of Your family, Your bride, Your people that your love is wider than the east is from the west; that the length of Your love is infinite and cannot be measured; that it reaches from us to You in heaven at a distance unknown to our finite minds and that the depth of Your love for us cannot be understood because it is not of this world, it is divine. For this great love to be felt and grasped, we thankfully pray in the name of the One who loves so well, Jesus!
Her father is portrayed as a selfish loner; as a misunderstood man deserving sympathy but the circumstances failed to generate such emotions. This young girl was standing on the brink of womanhood with a huge void in her life created by his selfishness. Oh, and he drinks too much because he is such a troubled soul. He is abusive and manipulative. She deserved far better.
Another glaringly obvious characteristic of the movie dad was that he would have been content to live his life without her in it. He was perfectly happy to live his life, doing his own thing with other people he had collected, as if she had never existed. The pursuit of a relationship was all on the part of the daughter and was even rejected and resisted by the father for a time.
In the closing scene, my heart broke. The dust was settling between the father and the daughter after a shouting match and they hugged. What was poignant was her fearfully worded question “Do you love me Daddy?” When he didn’t answer her, she asked again “Do you love me Daddy?” The fear of rejection was written on the daughter’s face and it seemed he wouldn’t answer. He finally responded “Yes, I love you!” ~THE END~
I thought is was one of the saddest moments in the entire film. That a father could love so poorly that his child has to ask if he loves her, is tragic. A father’s love should be a guarantee. What devastation when children do not grow up in the confidence of their father’s love. How painful for a child, even an adult child when they become aware that something just isn’t right and they risk their tender feelings by asking their fathers if they are loved by them.
As I watched the movie I couldn’t help but wonder how often that same story plays out in real life and my heart ached for all the little girls who grew up or will grow up one day and allow themselves to be treated unfairly by boyfriends and spouses because of a dysfunctional relationship with their fathers.
I wonder if women would live differently if their earthly fathers had nurtured them as God intended? I wonder if they would have chosen a different man to marry and father their children if they not been exposed to an environment that made putting up with a lot of frustration for the sake of a relationship seem acceptable?
Were you one of the fortunate ones to have known the love of an earthly father? Or were you one of the ones less than fortunate in that regard?
No one should ever have to wonder if they are loved by their father. No one should ever have to ask “Do you love me Daddy?” and yet it happens every day.
So where does that leave the ending of this blog? Are we without hope?
No we are not without hope. We have the only truly faithful Father that anyone has ever known. He is the best and a perfect Father. Our heavenly Father! He is a father that tells us over an over that He loves us. We don’t have to ask. He has written an entire book called the Bible that is all about His love for us. He left heaven to show us His love. He shed his blood to reveal the depth of His love for us. He indwells us so that we never have to wonder where He is. He loves us so much that He died so that we could be with Him for all eternity. Love shows up! Jesus definitely showed up to prove His love for us didn’t He?
…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide and how long and how high and how deep is the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:17-18
Regardless of whether or not our earthly fathers loved poorly or loved exceedingly well, our heavenly Father wants us to know that He loves us enough to be beaten, stretched out on cross and nailed to it and die because He loves us so much.
No matter what, we do not have to tremble and ask the question “Do you love me Daddy?” of our heavenly Father. He has already answered that question and we can live securely in His love. He loves us and He always will.
Abba, Father, Daddy,
I pray that all who read this have been, will be and will continue to be rooted and established in not just any love, but Your love. I pray that they will be able to comprehend, to truly understand that they as part of Your family, Your bride, Your people that your love is wider than the east is from the west; that the length of Your love is infinite and cannot be measured; that it reaches from us to You in heaven at a distance unknown to our finite minds and that the depth of Your love for us cannot be understood because it is not of this world, it is divine. For this great love to be felt and grasped, we thankfully pray in the name of the One who loves so well, Jesus!
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Who's Your Daddy?
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus ~ Galatians 3:26 NLT
The world we inhabit has changed. The role of the Father is often not being fulfilled as it should be in so many instances; the family has deteriorated and so has the culture. In America many homes are now headed up by single and sometimes overwhelmed mothers. The family is increasingly without benefit of a father as its spiritual leader. Even when there is a father present, he may be not be a godly influence due to the misconception perpetrated by the culture that he only needs to bring home a paycheck.
The modern father in Western civilization is depicted unfairly as ineffective and inept. He has been so emasculated in our society - his calling as a man, a husband and a father, the way God intended him to be - is going the way of dinosaurs. How sad and inaccurate a message is that for the future of families? In reality, the modern father is often distracted, disconnected, unwilling, unavailable and remote; An equally sad but truthful representation of fathers.
Many who read this grew up without a loving father. Other readers may be the women who raised children in homes where the father was remote and did not fulfill his god-given role to love his children. Others still, who read this may have had to be both mother and father to their children because the father simply wasn't in the picture. The good news is God still reigns!
There are some men who were and are faithful fathers - men who understood what they had been called to do in order for the word of God to be honored. We praise God for men who teach their children about the Lord and make it easy for them to believe in a loving Heavenly Father. There are still wonderful men who have compassion for their children and nurture them in the truth of God's word. Many men still live out the mandates of fatherhood of being slow to anger, abounding in love and of faithfulness to the Lord and to their families. For those men, we have reason to rejoice. They are worthy of honor.
But what about the rest? Who is their daddy? I contend that God Himself stands in the gap.
1 Corinthians 4:15b tells us "For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers....
Where does that leave the rest? Where is the daddy for us? Better - Who is the Daddy for us?
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1-2)
The Heavenly Father adopts us into His family. Hallelujah! What a promise and a provision!
I pray these written words should not be perceived as ones of doom, gloom or man-bashing. The world we live in is a painful one and to ignore the truth of the condition of the modern family is dangerous. So what is the remedy? Where can we look for good news? What balm will soothe our souls? What gives us relief from the painful reality that our fathers and the fathers of our children might not have been all they were called to be?
Regardless of the questions in our lives, the answer will always be Jesus. Always! And let's not forget to be grateful for and extend honor to the many men who loved and continue to love their families well and for those men who stepped in to fill the abdicated spaces.
On this Fathers' Day, to all my siblings in Christ I say: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2 NIV
I hope you are indeed happy on this Father's day knowing you have a faithful Father Who loves You so much that He died for you so you could be with Him for all eternity.
So... now tell me .... Who's Your Daddy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovIaa-lmSeg
The world we inhabit has changed. The role of the Father is often not being fulfilled as it should be in so many instances; the family has deteriorated and so has the culture. In America many homes are now headed up by single and sometimes overwhelmed mothers. The family is increasingly without benefit of a father as its spiritual leader. Even when there is a father present, he may be not be a godly influence due to the misconception perpetrated by the culture that he only needs to bring home a paycheck.
The modern father in Western civilization is depicted unfairly as ineffective and inept. He has been so emasculated in our society - his calling as a man, a husband and a father, the way God intended him to be - is going the way of dinosaurs. How sad and inaccurate a message is that for the future of families? In reality, the modern father is often distracted, disconnected, unwilling, unavailable and remote; An equally sad but truthful representation of fathers.
Many who read this grew up without a loving father. Other readers may be the women who raised children in homes where the father was remote and did not fulfill his god-given role to love his children. Others still, who read this may have had to be both mother and father to their children because the father simply wasn't in the picture. The good news is God still reigns!
There are some men who were and are faithful fathers - men who understood what they had been called to do in order for the word of God to be honored. We praise God for men who teach their children about the Lord and make it easy for them to believe in a loving Heavenly Father. There are still wonderful men who have compassion for their children and nurture them in the truth of God's word. Many men still live out the mandates of fatherhood of being slow to anger, abounding in love and of faithfulness to the Lord and to their families. For those men, we have reason to rejoice. They are worthy of honor.
But what about the rest? Who is their daddy? I contend that God Himself stands in the gap.
1 Corinthians 4:15b tells us "For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers....
Where does that leave the rest? Where is the daddy for us? Better - Who is the Daddy for us?
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1-2)
The Heavenly Father adopts us into His family. Hallelujah! What a promise and a provision!
I pray these written words should not be perceived as ones of doom, gloom or man-bashing. The world we live in is a painful one and to ignore the truth of the condition of the modern family is dangerous. So what is the remedy? Where can we look for good news? What balm will soothe our souls? What gives us relief from the painful reality that our fathers and the fathers of our children might not have been all they were called to be?
Regardless of the questions in our lives, the answer will always be Jesus. Always! And let's not forget to be grateful for and extend honor to the many men who loved and continue to love their families well and for those men who stepped in to fill the abdicated spaces.
On this Fathers' Day, to all my siblings in Christ I say: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2 NIV
I hope you are indeed happy on this Father's day knowing you have a faithful Father Who loves You so much that He died for you so you could be with Him for all eternity.
So... now tell me .... Who's Your Daddy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovIaa-lmSeg
Thursday, June 18, 2015
What about those who are lost?
Do we have the
same sense of urgency for those who are lost and separated from God? Do
we understand that God desires for all to be found?
I remember hearing of a family who went camping in a wilderness area. Their toddler somehow wandered away from the safety and security of her parents and their campground and was never found. She was but 3 years old. What was she thinking when she took those first steps away from safety? When did she know she was lost? Did she experience fear? What were her last moments on earth like? What ended her life? It's frightening to think about is it? A beloved child - safe one minute and in the blink of an eye too far from her parents to be protected and saved. Never to be seen again. No little body to bury. Leaving only a void that will never be filled. An ending known only to God.
The Bible shares examples of things being lost in Luke 15. Verse 1 tells of a single sheep out of a flock of one hundred that wanders away but describes a determined shepherd who does not rest until that precious sheep is found. Verse 8 relates the story of a woman who misplaces but turns her house inside out looking for a lost coin - rejoicing when she has finally found it. Verse 11 beautifully tells the well known story of the Prodigal son who demands his inheritance and trades the love of his father for the cheap imitation to be found in immorality. He chooses licentiousness instead of a righteous life. His father let him go - and grieved for the son, loved him, and was overjoyed when his son came to his senses and returned home.
Sometimes we choose to be lost. Like the Prodigal son made a personal choice to walk away from all the goodness of his home and his family. There are those who deliberately choose Sin and turn their backs on God and His people.
Sometimes we find ourselves lost and far from God because we aren't diligent and become careless. We are so distracted by the things of this world, we wake up one day and wonder what happened; we ask ourselves "How did I end up here?" We may be like that lost sheep who simply wanders away or we may be more like Rehoboam who ended up choosing evil because he did not prepare his heart to diligently seek the Lord. 2 Chronicles 12:14.
Other times, circumstances beyond our control jolt our lives and cause us to stumble. A devastating illness distracts us. A family crisis that comes out of nowhere can derail us. We have been betrayed by others and for a time we are reeling emotionally and can't seem to find ourselves. We are like that coin that was not handled with care - through no fault of our own, we lose our way because the path was disturbed by others and we were detoured without realizing it.
Regardless of the reasons for being lost - God doesn't want us to stay that way. That one lost sheep had a shepherd who was willing to secure the other ninety-nine then go and find that one sheep. Not only did the shepherd seek until he found the lost one, he saved it and rejoiced over it's being found more so than for the ninety-nine who never strayed.
In much the same way, the woman who lost the single coin took no comfort in the nine remaining coins she held securely. She would not rest until she recovered the lost coin and was so overjoyed at finding it, she had to tell all her friends about it.
The pain of the father of the son whose chose to leave him is implied. We know the father had another son and great wealth but he loved the son. He loved him but let him go which must have been excruciating beyond description. Can you imagine the father's heartache when his beloved son demanded his inheritance and rubbed his ingratitude in the father's face by walking away from him? Can you imagine the father's joy when the son came to his senses and came home? The father had been looking for him - no one knows how long the father had waited and hoped to see his son but we know he was waiting and looking and saw the son coming home from a great distance. The son came home to a loving father who had been waiting with arms open wide. The father's focus was not on the wealth he had retained or the son who had been faithful but on that precious prodigal who found his way back.
What kind of lost were you? What kind of lost are you? Look around you. You don't have to look very far to see many who are lost. The Lord wants them to be found.
Do you agonize with the Lord over the many who are like the toddler who wanders away? Are you concerned for people who are like that one lost sheep who unknowingly leave the safety of the flock and the protection of the shepherd? Are we like the woman who has lost that single coin? Do we turn our lives upside down to find someone who has been carelessly treated and has been misplaced? What about that Prodigal who rebelliously chooses to leave all that is good and righteous? Do we become dedicated and vigilant while we hope for their return? Are we like the older brother - resentful if they do return to full fellowship without being penalized for their rebellion?
Remember this: God rejoices when the Lost become the Found. Luke 15:5 says that when a lost sheep is found, the shepherd rejoices and holds them close. When the lost coin is found due to the diligence of the woman, she is overjoyed. Luke 15:10 Jesus says, "In the same way, I tell you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." In Luke 15:32 Jesus tells us to celebrate and rejoice for those who were once dead and lost who have begun to live and have been found.
Lord God, may we share your sense of urgency for the lost. If we can rejoice as ones who were once lost but are now among the found we praise Your Holy Name. May we be diligent in finding the lost and sharing the good news that they have a choice of being found. May we desire to see them reclaimed for Your Glory above all else. May we pray for those who have chosen to leave You - that they will one day return and when they do, please Lord let us welcome them home. In the name of our Shepherd and Savior we pray, Amen!
I remember hearing of a family who went camping in a wilderness area. Their toddler somehow wandered away from the safety and security of her parents and their campground and was never found. She was but 3 years old. What was she thinking when she took those first steps away from safety? When did she know she was lost? Did she experience fear? What were her last moments on earth like? What ended her life? It's frightening to think about is it? A beloved child - safe one minute and in the blink of an eye too far from her parents to be protected and saved. Never to be seen again. No little body to bury. Leaving only a void that will never be filled. An ending known only to God.
The Bible shares examples of things being lost in Luke 15. Verse 1 tells of a single sheep out of a flock of one hundred that wanders away but describes a determined shepherd who does not rest until that precious sheep is found. Verse 8 relates the story of a woman who misplaces but turns her house inside out looking for a lost coin - rejoicing when she has finally found it. Verse 11 beautifully tells the well known story of the Prodigal son who demands his inheritance and trades the love of his father for the cheap imitation to be found in immorality. He chooses licentiousness instead of a righteous life. His father let him go - and grieved for the son, loved him, and was overjoyed when his son came to his senses and returned home.
Sometimes we choose to be lost. Like the Prodigal son made a personal choice to walk away from all the goodness of his home and his family. There are those who deliberately choose Sin and turn their backs on God and His people.
Sometimes we find ourselves lost and far from God because we aren't diligent and become careless. We are so distracted by the things of this world, we wake up one day and wonder what happened; we ask ourselves "How did I end up here?" We may be like that lost sheep who simply wanders away or we may be more like Rehoboam who ended up choosing evil because he did not prepare his heart to diligently seek the Lord. 2 Chronicles 12:14.
Other times, circumstances beyond our control jolt our lives and cause us to stumble. A devastating illness distracts us. A family crisis that comes out of nowhere can derail us. We have been betrayed by others and for a time we are reeling emotionally and can't seem to find ourselves. We are like that coin that was not handled with care - through no fault of our own, we lose our way because the path was disturbed by others and we were detoured without realizing it.
Regardless of the reasons for being lost - God doesn't want us to stay that way. That one lost sheep had a shepherd who was willing to secure the other ninety-nine then go and find that one sheep. Not only did the shepherd seek until he found the lost one, he saved it and rejoiced over it's being found more so than for the ninety-nine who never strayed.
In much the same way, the woman who lost the single coin took no comfort in the nine remaining coins she held securely. She would not rest until she recovered the lost coin and was so overjoyed at finding it, she had to tell all her friends about it.
The pain of the father of the son whose chose to leave him is implied. We know the father had another son and great wealth but he loved the son. He loved him but let him go which must have been excruciating beyond description. Can you imagine the father's heartache when his beloved son demanded his inheritance and rubbed his ingratitude in the father's face by walking away from him? Can you imagine the father's joy when the son came to his senses and came home? The father had been looking for him - no one knows how long the father had waited and hoped to see his son but we know he was waiting and looking and saw the son coming home from a great distance. The son came home to a loving father who had been waiting with arms open wide. The father's focus was not on the wealth he had retained or the son who had been faithful but on that precious prodigal who found his way back.
What kind of lost were you? What kind of lost are you? Look around you. You don't have to look very far to see many who are lost. The Lord wants them to be found.
Do you agonize with the Lord over the many who are like the toddler who wanders away? Are you concerned for people who are like that one lost sheep who unknowingly leave the safety of the flock and the protection of the shepherd? Are we like the woman who has lost that single coin? Do we turn our lives upside down to find someone who has been carelessly treated and has been misplaced? What about that Prodigal who rebelliously chooses to leave all that is good and righteous? Do we become dedicated and vigilant while we hope for their return? Are we like the older brother - resentful if they do return to full fellowship without being penalized for their rebellion?
Remember this: God rejoices when the Lost become the Found. Luke 15:5 says that when a lost sheep is found, the shepherd rejoices and holds them close. When the lost coin is found due to the diligence of the woman, she is overjoyed. Luke 15:10 Jesus says, "In the same way, I tell you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." In Luke 15:32 Jesus tells us to celebrate and rejoice for those who were once dead and lost who have begun to live and have been found.
Lord God, may we share your sense of urgency for the lost. If we can rejoice as ones who were once lost but are now among the found we praise Your Holy Name. May we be diligent in finding the lost and sharing the good news that they have a choice of being found. May we desire to see them reclaimed for Your Glory above all else. May we pray for those who have chosen to leave You - that they will one day return and when they do, please Lord let us welcome them home. In the name of our Shepherd and Savior we pray, Amen!
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
The King is Coming! by: Debbie McGrath
God is in Control - yesterday, today and tomorrow!
As we are living in this godless society, it challenges me as a believer to lead a careful, watchful, Godly live and to evangelize to a hopelessly lost world headed for destruction.
I am not anxious about the days we live in because I know God is in control.
Actually, He is in absolute control of every detail of my life. I do not need to worry about the future because God has it planned - even before I ever opened my eyes on this earth. And He tells me thru Scripture, it is going to be all right. In the scripture, God says when you see these signs lift up your head and rejoice because I (God) am in control.
One day soon, we all will be sitting in heaven with Isaac, Jacob and Abraham.
We will live were the streets will be gold, the walls will be jasper and the gates will be solid pearl. I do believe Heaven is for Real! Can't wait to be there because in heaven we will never say goodbye and we will never see another tear. In heaven there will be no sickness nor disease. I can't wait till the day we cast our crowns at His feet and we lift up our heads and rejoice. I believe the King will come - I believe the King is coming soon. As a believer in Christ, we are all called to get ready - because the King is coming!
As we are living in this godless society, it challenges me as a believer to lead a careful, watchful, Godly live and to evangelize to a hopelessly lost world headed for destruction.
I am not anxious about the days we live in because I know God is in control.
Actually, He is in absolute control of every detail of my life. I do not need to worry about the future because God has it planned - even before I ever opened my eyes on this earth. And He tells me thru Scripture, it is going to be all right. In the scripture, God says when you see these signs lift up your head and rejoice because I (God) am in control.
One day soon, we all will be sitting in heaven with Isaac, Jacob and Abraham.
We will live were the streets will be gold, the walls will be jasper and the gates will be solid pearl. I do believe Heaven is for Real! Can't wait to be there because in heaven we will never say goodbye and we will never see another tear. In heaven there will be no sickness nor disease. I can't wait till the day we cast our crowns at His feet and we lift up our heads and rejoice. I believe the King will come - I believe the King is coming soon. As a believer in Christ, we are all called to get ready - because the King is coming!
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Is there a Goliath in your life?
Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:45-47
Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."
Objective:
Everyone has a Goliath or several, seemingly unsurmountable challenges, in their lives. Goliath was a Philistine giant who intimidated and humiliated all of Israel and insulted their God. No one wanted to take him on and their fear of him rendered them ineffective to either defend God's name and honor or to live a normal existence. A man of great faith, a very young man, who had found favor with the God of Israel was the exception. He was empowered by God to deal with Goliath and willingly accepted the role God would have him play. Because David knew God, he had the confidence to speak boldly to Goliath and predict that his God would prevail against him and that all the earth would know about his demise.
Application:
Using the example in this passage of Scripture as our example, wouldn't our Goliaths be cut down to size and be more manageable if we measured them by how big our God is? How differently would we approach our seemingly unsurmountable challenges if our perspective was similar to David's as he confronted his Goliath. Goliath's weapons were nothing compared to what David had - he was prepared to do battle in the name of the Lord of hosts. There are very serious struggles to be faced in this life - to be sure - are any of them too big for God to handle? And when He does handle those struggles for us - do we allow His handiwork to be seen so that all the earth knows that there is a God on the throne? David boldly stepped into the valley of Elah and we should do the same in our own valleys. Goliath was dead before he crashed to the ground from a small smooth stone thrown from the righteous hand of a shepherd boy. How different would our outcomes be if we looked at our own Goliaths and declared they were powerless against our all-powerful God?
Prayer:
Lord I pray that You will give us a fresh perspective on how much bigger You are than any problems we might face. I pray that You will give us a bolder spirit in approaching our challenges so that Your power and glory outshine all fears and that we make You and assured victory the focus. Lord, help us to slay the giants in our lives and live a life of triumphant faith. We pray this in the name of Jesus, who will defeat all enemies. Amen.
Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."
Objective:
Everyone has a Goliath or several, seemingly unsurmountable challenges, in their lives. Goliath was a Philistine giant who intimidated and humiliated all of Israel and insulted their God. No one wanted to take him on and their fear of him rendered them ineffective to either defend God's name and honor or to live a normal existence. A man of great faith, a very young man, who had found favor with the God of Israel was the exception. He was empowered by God to deal with Goliath and willingly accepted the role God would have him play. Because David knew God, he had the confidence to speak boldly to Goliath and predict that his God would prevail against him and that all the earth would know about his demise.
Application:
Using the example in this passage of Scripture as our example, wouldn't our Goliaths be cut down to size and be more manageable if we measured them by how big our God is? How differently would we approach our seemingly unsurmountable challenges if our perspective was similar to David's as he confronted his Goliath. Goliath's weapons were nothing compared to what David had - he was prepared to do battle in the name of the Lord of hosts. There are very serious struggles to be faced in this life - to be sure - are any of them too big for God to handle? And when He does handle those struggles for us - do we allow His handiwork to be seen so that all the earth knows that there is a God on the throne? David boldly stepped into the valley of Elah and we should do the same in our own valleys. Goliath was dead before he crashed to the ground from a small smooth stone thrown from the righteous hand of a shepherd boy. How different would our outcomes be if we looked at our own Goliaths and declared they were powerless against our all-powerful God?
Prayer:
Lord I pray that You will give us a fresh perspective on how much bigger You are than any problems we might face. I pray that You will give us a bolder spirit in approaching our challenges so that Your power and glory outshine all fears and that we make You and assured victory the focus. Lord, help us to slay the giants in our lives and live a life of triumphant faith. We pray this in the name of Jesus, who will defeat all enemies. Amen.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Do you want to be made well?
Scripture: John 5:5-9
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed and walked. NKJV
Objective:
Know that there is a God who heals. We all experience physical illnesses that are temporary and some of us may be stricken with life-long bodily challenges. Emotional health may be an issue for some. We are born with a Spiritual birth defect which separates us from fellowship with God due to a sin nature. However, God is willing and has the power to heal us of all our maladies. Exodus 15:26b says "... for I am the LORD who heals you." NIV
Application:
The conversation recorded in John 5:5-9 between Jesus and the man at the pool of Bethesda is rich with truth. Jesus knew the man before he laid eyes on him sitting in his infirmities beside the waters. Jesus went directly to him in the middle of a crowd of people. Jesus knew that the man had been there for a long time and knew exactly what his ailment was. He asked the man a simple but obvious question. "Do you want to be made well?" Simple enough! What is interesting is the man's answer. What should have been a resounding "Yes!" answer was anything but. The man begins to explain to Jesus his challenges and presents excuses as to why he hasn't been healed up to this point.
Jesus knows each of us. He has known us from our beginning. He knows the extent of our trials. He can spot us in any crowd and He knows our illnesses, our hurts and our challenges. Just as He came to that man at the pool of Bethesda - He comes to us and asks us if we want to be made well!
Jesus didn't address the man's statements. Instead He told him to get up, pack up and walk away. Regardless of what we have gone through, Jesus continues to tell us to trust Him, to roll up the comfortable place we have made for ourselves in our afflictions and to live in the truth of His healing.
He is Jehovah Rapha - The God who heals. When He asks us if we want to be made well, how do we respond? Do we sit in our afflictions and drone on about why we aren't healed yet or do we zero in on the fact that the God who heals is waiting to make us well? How often do we continue to sit where we are and miss the healing Jesus offers? We may not all experience physical healing this side of eternity but we can live in the truth that He will make us well and we can live in that truth as if it has already taken place.
Prayer:
Lord we praise you for being the God who heals. You are Jehovah Rapha and the God who knows us by name and loves each of us individually. Lord I pray that we will accept Your provision of healing for all of our illnesses whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual and walk away from our own pools of Bethesda with the confidence that our healing is guaranteed by You. In the name of Jesus, our healer I pray, Amen
Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed and walked. NKJV
Objective:
Know that there is a God who heals. We all experience physical illnesses that are temporary and some of us may be stricken with life-long bodily challenges. Emotional health may be an issue for some. We are born with a Spiritual birth defect which separates us from fellowship with God due to a sin nature. However, God is willing and has the power to heal us of all our maladies. Exodus 15:26b says "... for I am the LORD who heals you." NIV
Application:
The conversation recorded in John 5:5-9 between Jesus and the man at the pool of Bethesda is rich with truth. Jesus knew the man before he laid eyes on him sitting in his infirmities beside the waters. Jesus went directly to him in the middle of a crowd of people. Jesus knew that the man had been there for a long time and knew exactly what his ailment was. He asked the man a simple but obvious question. "Do you want to be made well?" Simple enough! What is interesting is the man's answer. What should have been a resounding "Yes!" answer was anything but. The man begins to explain to Jesus his challenges and presents excuses as to why he hasn't been healed up to this point.
Jesus knows each of us. He has known us from our beginning. He knows the extent of our trials. He can spot us in any crowd and He knows our illnesses, our hurts and our challenges. Just as He came to that man at the pool of Bethesda - He comes to us and asks us if we want to be made well!
Jesus didn't address the man's statements. Instead He told him to get up, pack up and walk away. Regardless of what we have gone through, Jesus continues to tell us to trust Him, to roll up the comfortable place we have made for ourselves in our afflictions and to live in the truth of His healing.
Prayer:
Lord we praise you for being the God who heals. You are Jehovah Rapha and the God who knows us by name and loves each of us individually. Lord I pray that we will accept Your provision of healing for all of our illnesses whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual and walk away from our own pools of Bethesda with the confidence that our healing is guaranteed by You. In the name of Jesus, our healer I pray, Amen
Sunday, May 17, 2015
What are we really hungry and thirsty for?
Scripture: Matthew 5:6
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Objective:
We have genuine needs that must be met.
Physiologically speaking; We are created to hunger and thirst, otherwise our bodies would perish.
Emotionally speaking; We are created to desire relationships, to crave companionship and cultivate community otherwise we would become despondent, disillusioned, lonely and unbalanced.
Spiritually speaking; God created a unique emptiness in us that cannot be filled with anything other than Himself. We are incomplete by perfect design and we keenly feel something is missing even when we attempt to fill it with the wrong things.
In all three categories of genuine need, we would serve ourselves much better by identifying what we are longing for. Yes, we all hunger and thirst. We have desires, yearnings and cravings. But for what?
Application:
When our perceived needs go unmet, we search for ways to meet them. It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum. The same is true for Spiritual emptiness. We are aware of a void and often try to fill it with the wrong things.
Do you ever get cravings? I do. Many of those times I am busy and distracted. I can be focused on a task but become increasingly aware of a yearning. I 'want' something! Before long, I find myself snacking - trying to appease my appetite and yet I'm still not satisfied. When I take the time to analyze those desires, I often realize I have misinterpreted what I was truly longing for. I discover I was not hungry at all but was thirsty. My body needed water but I misread the signal and thought food was what I wanted. Even though I may have enjoyed the food, my thirst was not quenched.
We do the same thing spiritually - we fill our lives with relationships, food, drugs, alcohol, careers and a myriad of other things when what our souls ache for is the Lord.
The Lord is the only suppressant for our most pressing appetite - our soul hungers for Him. "But my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19. All of my needs? YES, All of them!
Prayer:
Lord may we come to a sustaining knowledge that our deepest needs will only be met in a relationship with You. May we be ever aware of the longings we feel, recognizing that we hunger and thirst for You. I pray we strive to remember that You are Jehovah Jireh, the God Who provides. Lord bless us in our hungers and our thirsts and satisfy us with Your righteousness. In the name of Jesus, our provision, we pray. Amen.
Scripture: Matthew 5:6
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."
Objective:
We have genuine needs that must be met.
Physiologically speaking; We are created to hunger and thirst, otherwise our bodies would perish.
Emotionally speaking; We are created to desire relationships, to crave companionship and cultivate community otherwise we would become despondent, disillusioned, lonely and unbalanced.
Spiritually speaking; God created a unique emptiness in us that cannot be filled with anything other than Himself. We are incomplete by perfect design and we keenly feel something is missing even when we attempt to fill it with the wrong things.
In all three categories of genuine need, we would serve ourselves much better by identifying what we are longing for. Yes, we all hunger and thirst. We have desires, yearnings and cravings. But for what?
Application:
When our perceived needs go unmet, we search for ways to meet them. It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum. The same is true for Spiritual emptiness. We are aware of a void and often try to fill it with the wrong things.
Do you ever get cravings? I do. Many of those times I am busy and distracted. I can be focused on a task but become increasingly aware of a yearning. I 'want' something! Before long, I find myself snacking - trying to appease my appetite and yet I'm still not satisfied. When I take the time to analyze those desires, I often realize I have misinterpreted what I was truly longing for. I discover I was not hungry at all but was thirsty. My body needed water but I misread the signal and thought food was what I wanted. Even though I may have enjoyed the food, my thirst was not quenched.
We do the same thing spiritually - we fill our lives with relationships, food, drugs, alcohol, careers and a myriad of other things when what our souls ache for is the Lord.
The Lord is the only suppressant for our most pressing appetite - our soul hungers for Him. "But my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19. All of my needs? YES, All of them!
Prayer:
Lord may we come to a sustaining knowledge that our deepest needs will only be met in a relationship with You. May we be ever aware of the longings we feel, recognizing that we hunger and thirst for You. I pray we strive to remember that You are Jehovah Jireh, the God Who provides. Lord bless us in our hungers and our thirsts and satisfy us with Your righteousness. In the name of Jesus, our provision, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Open his eyes that he may see....
Scripture: 2 Kings 6:8-17 NASB
Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
Objective:
We have eyes - but what do we see? Better, what we would be able to see if we would look through the prism of the truth that God has revealed? What if we were to change the way we look at circumstances?
The passage of scripture is taken from 2 Kings 6:8-17. The story is told of a king who is an enemy of Israel whose every attempt to cause trouble for the people whom God favored was thwarted. Elisha was divinely informed of each of those attempts and the king who ruled over Aram was enraged and made plans to seize Elisha to put an end to his ability to predict and prevent the harm this king would have visited upon Israel's king, people and nation.
We read in verse 16 where Elisha's servant brought the dreadful news of the impending capture. The servant was in a panic and was befuddled that Elisha took the news in complete peace. The servant went so far as to try to explain of the impending doom Elisha was to be subjected to and yet God's prophet was undisturbed. Elisha could see what the servant could not. Elisha looked at life through the prism of God's faithfulness.
Application:
We are not to live our lives looking at our world and seeing only the circumstances that leave us anxious, filled with trepidations or paralyzed with fear of what could be the worst thing that could happen to us. We are not to live as if defeat or disaster awaits us; as if God is too distant or too uncaring to protect and provide.
We are to live our lives with eyes spiritually wide open; looking through a lens of faith so we will see God's supplying and His assurances.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 reveals that faith in the Lord is the biblical LASIK surgery that gives us the ability to see what would otherwise be invisible.
Prayer:
Lord, I ask that you would give me the faith that would enable me to see You in every trial. Open my eyes the way you opened Elisha's servant's eyes so he could see that you are the God who provides and is faithful. I ask that You create in me a greater faith which enables me to see what would not be visible with my finite eyes so that my fears can be laid to rest. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Savior. Amen
Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
Objective:
We have eyes - but what do we see? Better, what we would be able to see if we would look through the prism of the truth that God has revealed? What if we were to change the way we look at circumstances?
The passage of scripture is taken from 2 Kings 6:8-17. The story is told of a king who is an enemy of Israel whose every attempt to cause trouble for the people whom God favored was thwarted. Elisha was divinely informed of each of those attempts and the king who ruled over Aram was enraged and made plans to seize Elisha to put an end to his ability to predict and prevent the harm this king would have visited upon Israel's king, people and nation.
We read in verse 16 where Elisha's servant brought the dreadful news of the impending capture. The servant was in a panic and was befuddled that Elisha took the news in complete peace. The servant went so far as to try to explain of the impending doom Elisha was to be subjected to and yet God's prophet was undisturbed. Elisha could see what the servant could not. Elisha looked at life through the prism of God's faithfulness.
Application:
We are not to live our lives looking at our world and seeing only the circumstances that leave us anxious, filled with trepidations or paralyzed with fear of what could be the worst thing that could happen to us. We are not to live as if defeat or disaster awaits us; as if God is too distant or too uncaring to protect and provide.
We are to live our lives with eyes spiritually wide open; looking through a lens of faith so we will see God's supplying and His assurances.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 reveals that faith in the Lord is the biblical LASIK surgery that gives us the ability to see what would otherwise be invisible.
Prayer:
Lord, I ask that you would give me the faith that would enable me to see You in every trial. Open my eyes the way you opened Elisha's servant's eyes so he could see that you are the God who provides and is faithful. I ask that You create in me a greater faith which enables me to see what would not be visible with my finite eyes so that my fears can be laid to rest. I ask this in the name of Jesus, my Savior. Amen
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
The Divine Mentor: Walking the Walk
Todays Reading
Deuteronomy 16-18
Psalms 38
Galatians 2
Scripture : Galatians 2:14 HCSB
But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?
Objective:
It's very important as believers we don't just talk about the Gospel but we are to live it. Our relationship with Christ isn't to be something we just do when it's convenient. Our journey is one that non-believers should at the least want to learn more about through the example we lead in our daily lives. If we as believers speak of the loving power, Grace of God and how being a Christian has changed our lives but the life we actually live is an example of how a non-believer lives we will be unable to lead others to Christ. It's just as important to hold other believers accountable for their actions as well. We are our brother's spiritual keeper.
Application:
I will continue to make a concious effort to let what's in my heart shine through for others to see. Now I need a lot of work and help from the Holy Spirit to become confident to confront other believers more often. It's not as difficult for those I fellowship with on a regular basis.
Prayer:
Lord, I come before you grateful, humble and broken. Please continue to build me daily to become the woman you desire me to be. Give me the strength to be bold with love toward my fellow Christians when it's necessary. In Jesus' name Amen
Deuteronomy 16-18
Psalms 38
Galatians 2
Scripture : Galatians 2:14 HCSB
But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?
Objective:
It's very important as believers we don't just talk about the Gospel but we are to live it. Our relationship with Christ isn't to be something we just do when it's convenient. Our journey is one that non-believers should at the least want to learn more about through the example we lead in our daily lives. If we as believers speak of the loving power, Grace of God and how being a Christian has changed our lives but the life we actually live is an example of how a non-believer lives we will be unable to lead others to Christ. It's just as important to hold other believers accountable for their actions as well. We are our brother's spiritual keeper.
Application:
I will continue to make a concious effort to let what's in my heart shine through for others to see. Now I need a lot of work and help from the Holy Spirit to become confident to confront other believers more often. It's not as difficult for those I fellowship with on a regular basis.
Prayer:
Lord, I come before you grateful, humble and broken. Please continue to build me daily to become the woman you desire me to be. Give me the strength to be bold with love toward my fellow Christians when it's necessary. In Jesus' name Amen
Monday, March 9, 2015
God's Love is LIMITLESS!
March 9, 2015
Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 10-12 and Mark 16
Scripture:
Deuteronomy 10:2
“I
will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke…”
Objective:
Just like Moses we sometimes get upset with the
actions of others and ourselves when what God expects isn’t being done. When that happens it can cause us to do
things such as judge others, use profanity and sometimes feel guilty enough to
walk away from God. This verse shows
that even though Moses was mad enough to destroy the tablets containing God’s
law he was forgiven. God’s love is
limitless! This is another example of
God’s love…..no matter what we do with what He gives us He is ALWAYS willing to
give it again.
Application:
I will apply this verse during those exact
times! When I feel that others or myself
aren’t living up to the standards God has set forth for us I will remember to
just return to Him to receive His word.
Prayer:
Lord, I come before you humble and broken. I ask that you continue to build me daily
through your word. In Jesus’ name Amen.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Cross Pointe Women: God's Attributes by Debbie McGrath
Do I fully understand what God is like?
This week, I was challenged by a friend to get to know God on a deeper level.
To really know and understand who God is -she suggested I study the attributes of God. Here is the first one I have studied for today.
What is God Like?
ALL-KNOWING: (omniscient)
God knows the future (Exodus 11:1)
His wisdom and knowledge are way beyond us
(2 Samuel 17:14; 2 Kings 2:10; Job 12:13, Romans 11:33)
God misses nothing about us
(2 Kings 20:19; Job 7:17; Psalms 33:13-15; Jer. 1:5)
God's unfathomable knowledge of His people
(Psalm 139:1; Romans 11:33)
One cannot escape God (Psalm 139:7)
God knows the believer's heart
(Psalm 139:23; 1 John 3:20)
God sees it all
(Proverbs 15:3; Matthew 23:5-7)
One cannot hide from God
(Jeremiah 23:23-24; Ezekiel 8:12)
God knows all things perfectly (Hebrews 4:13)
Friday, February 27, 2015
The Divine Mentor: Seeking God to Navigate Through Life
February 27, 2015
Today’s Reading: Numbers 21-23 and Mark 6-7
Scripture:
Numbers
22:18 HSCB
…”If
Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against
the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great.”
Objective:
We have to remember that no matter what someone may
offer us if it is against God’s commands we must not accept the payment offered
or the task requested without guidance.
As a non-believer it’s easy to justify doing something knowing it’s
wrong because the non-believer doesn’t understand what God requires and
definitely not the consequences of going against God. Non-believers aren’t the only ones that find
ways to justify their actions. We as Christians will sometimes find ways to
justify something at work or personal decisions that we may not be certain if
it is against God’s command by siding on the one that best suits our situation
or benefit. This is why a relationship
with Jesus is so important so that we can receive the gift of The Holy Spirit
to seek for guidance when unsure and to provide the strength necessary to be
obedient to the word we receive. When it
comes to job related situations the “silver and gold” comes into play because
we justify our need for what the paycheck provides such as housing, food,
clothes, gas, car note, kid’s activities, etc.
We have to remember to stand strong in our faith and God’s
promises. By no means am I saying God
wants everyone to quit their job everytime we are faced with a situation that
can put us in the position of disobedience.
Just as Balaam went to God for his decision so must we. In Numbers 22:20 God told Balaam “Since these
men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what
I tell you.” After Balaam obeyed his first word in Numbers 22:12 telling Balaam
he couldn’t go. This is an example of
how obedience is key. God will assist us
in doing worldly things as long as we follow His instructions while doing them.
Application:
I will continue to work toward not going against the
command of God no matter what the worldly reward is. I will continue to seek His guidance in all
my decisions and blindly trust the word He gives me.
Prayer:
Lord, I come before you humble and broken. I ask that you continue to assist me daily to
become who you desire me to be. In Jesus’
name, Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)