Naughty or Nice... by Heather Clark

It is make or break it. Your whole year has built up to this point. Children will wonder if they will get a car or celery? Candy or coal in their stockings. As Christmas gets closer, they will then try extra hard to suck up to the gift givers, call up relatives they haven't spoken to in a few months, refrain from attacking their siblings; no matter how annoying they seem to be, and try to make an A in their classes.

But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts, the trees, the lights, the cards, the dinners, the shows, family time, stockings, and Santa? For many people that is certainly not it. They don't have the money, they don't have the kids to buy presents for, or maybe they're missing a loved one no longer around. Despite these things Christmas is still a holiday that brings much joy, because it is a time when we're reminded of God's great love for us.

Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ. God sent his son Jesus into the world to be born. He sent his son into this cruel hard world so that one day he would bring salvation to us all, otherwise we all would've died in our sins. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Regardless of what is happening in our lives we can be happy knowing Heaven will be our home one day. I want to encourage you to invite Jesus into your heart this year, and to remember it's not the gifts, trees, lights, or even Santa but rather Jesus is the reason for the season. Enjoy your family and friends and thank God for sending us his one and only son. 

Have a Merry Christmas!

Do you Desire a Changed Life? by Debbie McGrath

Salvation is not the end - it is the beginning of a changed life.
A changed life involves a journey toward a deeper relationship with Christ.
Every day we should desire:

• To learn, understand and apply God's Word to our lives     
• To obey God's command
• To store God's Word in our heart
• To evangelize - sharing Christ with others
• To encourage other believers
• To renew ourselves spiritually every day

Every single one of us should be closer to Christ today than we were a year ago,

or even a month ago.  

How do you make sure that your spiritual life is thriving and not stagnant?

The first thing is you have to be a self-feeder and teach others to be a self-feeder.

We have to read our bibles - not just on Sundays - but we strive to read our bibles

daily!  Bible study and prayer are the basic keys to having a deeper relationship with God.  

When we spend time in God's word, the goal is not to learn new information, but also be transformed by what we are learning.  We should expect to be challenged by what we read. 

Note to remember: As you study and grow, being a self-feeder - you are not merely learning for your own benefit, but also for the benefit of others.

Living a life of Thanks-living!

While many associate Thanksgiving Day with family, overeating and over-shopping, it should propel us toward a heart of gratitude. It is a time to consider God's goodness, grace, and provision for us. He is the Author of encouragement, help, and hope. I like to think of Thanksgiving as trust-giving and thanks-living.

It is an act of trust-giving to be thankful even in the hard places of life. When things go well it is easy to forget to pause and say thank you to the Giver of those good things. Thanksgiving should not be a one day event, but a life committed to thanks-living each day. Paul exhorts us to give thanks in all circumstances. He said the Bible points us in the right direction. "Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom 15:4).

God's covenantal relationship with us is the basis for thanks-living. God said, "I will maintain My love to him forever, and My covenant with him will never fail" (Ps 89:28). The psalmist said, "He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever- holy and awesome is His name" (Ps 111:9). We partner with God when we affirm that we are holding on to Him and His goodness. Our thanksgiving testifies to others that He is worthy of trust.

Thanksgiving is a lifestyle, not a day. Can we commit to willing everything that God wills and cultivating a grateful heart that finds the goodness of God in all things even the hard things?

May you be blessed daily with a heart ready to praise God for all things in sincere trust-giving and thanks-living. 

Written by Sylvia Gunter

His Presence Refreshes- Debbie McGrath

Acts 3:19 - teaches us that "times of refreshing" come to us when we spend time in God's presence.  Until we come to the place where we want God's presence more than anything else, Satan will have an edge over us.
Once we see God's truth Satan loses his advantage and we begin making radical progress in our relationship and fellowship with God.

Most of us will try almost everything else before we finally learn that what we need is not what god can give us, but God Himself. These times often represent years of frustration and misery.  But thank God, His Holy Spirit lives in us, teaches us, and reveals truth to us as we continue to study, read, and listen to the Word of God.

God wants to bring a refreshing into your life, like a mighty wind.  Do not be poverty-stricken in your soul when the answer is so close.  If you are too busy to spend time with God, then make some adjustments to your lifestyle.  Do not get burned-out, upset, weary, and stressed-out when times of refreshing are available to you.

Learn to separate yourself from the busyness of life to spend time with God the way Jesus did.  I tell people. "You had better come apart and spend time with God before you fall apart."  I encourage you to take those personally and do the same!

How do I "pray without ceasing?" by Rachel Wojo

I read this and had to share.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:16-18

If you’ve read this verse and thought, “How do I really do that?” then you’re not alone. Should you never leave your prayer closet? Should you walk around with your eyes closed? We know that this type of prayer life is not humanly possible, so what did Paul really mean when he said to pray without ceasing?

Whenever I spend time in nature, I think about what it must have been like in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day. Imagine that! To physically walk with God. To be close enough to feel his breath as he spoke. To hear his voice speak directly to you and then respond with your own words while looking him in the eyes.

Adam and Eve lost this beautiful fellowship when sin entered the world. And since then? Every one of us are born longing for the return of intimacy and deep relationship with our Creator. We may not recognize the desire for what it is, but as Christians, we know that the more we are searching for is a relationship with Jesus.

But how do I pray without ceasing?

Prayer is the communication tool of an intimate spiritual relationship. Back to our introductory verse, Paul is telling us to maintain an attitude of prayer because prayer contains different methods of communication. Keeping a prayer-like attitude means to be purposeful and conscious of times to connect with the Father and not only talk to him, but listen. It means to be aware of his presence and how he is working in my life personally. It means to have my heart so in tune with his that I won’t miss the moments throughout the day that are available to give him praise, listen to his voice, and ask for his guidance.

So how can we practically do that? We can analyze our daily living and make the most of the opportunities we have. We can practically look for ways to keep a prayer attitude throughout the day and make the choice to do so. Easier said than done, right? Let’s take a look at these ways to truly “pray without ceasing.”

1. Enjoy scheduled times of prayer.

I know, this is not new news, is it? Daniel turned to Jerusalem three times a day to pray. Many of us have been taught to pray before meals, a natural time to remember to give thanks. We teach our children a bedtime prayer. Keeping scheduled times of prayer is one way to communicate with our Father.

2. Be a noticer of things to be thankful for and breathe thanks to God.

Choosing to consciously give thanks for life, breath, and all good things is a beautiful way to practically follow through on the command to pray without ceasing!

3. Give God your worries.

It’s easy to foster a spirit of worry and forget to give our cares to the Lord. Train yourself to trap initial thoughts of worry and turn them around to thoughts of prayer. An example of this for me is when I begin to worry about my daughter, Taylor, and her special needs. When I feel myself getting anxious over her terminal disease, I try to immediately give that thought to God. It might sound like this:

“Lord, you know it’s easy for me to worry over the details of Taylor’s disease. I ask you to prevent her from having seizures and give her the quality of life only you can give. Give her continued strength and help me to remember that you are in control of every detail of our lives. We love you, Lord and we know that every breath we take comes from you. Thank you for it. Amen.”

I’ve found that the sooner I trap these thoughts and catch myself before the downward spiral of negativity hits, the stronger my prayer life grows.

4. Open your eyes to the needs of people whose paths you cross and lift them up in prayer right then.

While I’ve tried to become more aware of opportunities to pray aloud for folks right on the spot when they have needs, the timing is not always appropriate. I don’t want to make someone else uncomfortable with praying aloud, especially if I don’t already have a relationship with the person. When I’m in the grocery store and I see people with canes or oxygen masks or any other hint of physical impairments, I try not to rush through and look over their needs, but instead, I want to remember to pray thoughts of mercy and grace for them. A simple “Lord, be with them” is one more way to keep a prayer attitude.

5. Keep a prayer journal.

Writing out our prayers is a wonderful way to choose a life of prayer. Using and keeping a prayer journal is a topic very close to my heart. One benefit of keeping a prayer journal is that we more easily remember what we write down. This practice will help us choose an attitude of prayer even when we aren’t wholly engaged in practicing prayer.

6. Use tangible tasks to remind us to pray.

Life is full of daily maintenance. There are tasks we do over and over and over again that can be monotonous yet they are purposeful. Transform the mundane task into a simple time of prayer. One way I’ve enjoyed teaching this point in the past is through the task of hand washing. When I wash my hands, I focus on the cleansing and I ask God for forgiveness for my failures and shortcomings. What a fabulous way of using a daily chore to become a prayer trigger!

Praying without ceasing isn’t impossible as we initially think upon reading the Bible verse. To pray without ceasing is to keep our hearts open before the Lord in communication with him. Have these ideas helped you? Which one stands out to you? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments today.

Reading thru the Bible with Holly - Hosea 1

HOSEA 1 - Holly Matthews

Today’s study is one that touches me every time I read it. Hosea’s obedience in the midst of such rejection is humbling. I can only imagine the ridicule he must have received from friends and family for choosing his wife according to God’s instructions. God used Hosea and his family to illustrate how He pursued both Israel and Judah. Hosea’s wife abandoned him repeatedly, just as Israel and Judah abandoned God, just as I abandon Him at times too. Hosea drags his wife out of sin over and over. He redeems, or buys her back, from each degrading situation she gets into. Jesus has done the same for each of us. He has bought us back, paid all of the debt we owe for our disobedience and given us a ridiculous inheritance. Reading Hosea always fires me up. In today’s throwaway society, finding someone who pursues us and refuses to give up is a rarity. How can we walk away from Him?

Reading and blogging thru the Word of God - Holly Matthews

So I started this blog to hold myself accountable for daily Bible study and reflection. Right now, I am using The Divine Mentor, by Wayne Cordeiro to guide my meanderings.  My hopes are that I can reflect on Scripture and how it applies to my life.  Since I plan to publish a few, I also hope that my thoughts ring true with others as well.  While I am no Bible scholar, I have studied with appetite and apathy for many years.  Since I spend so much time with technology, I should FINALLY use it  for accountability.
– Ozykha

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

My tech? Foolish? No way!

July 1, 2016
My universe becomes smaller with every new app and tech tool.  Do I use them to grow closer to my Source?  Not usually.  I’m beginning this blog in attempt to keep myself accountable to both God and me.  Anyone else who comes along for the ride must receive my apologies up-front.  It is abundantly clear that I am no pro, just attempting transparency.  My responses to Scripture begin with my studies through The Divine Mentor, by Wayne Cordeiro, recommended to me through my church.
Isaiah 1
What a sick world we live in today.  As Revelations tells us that in the latter days people will become lovers of themselves, we have birthed a generation of selfie-loving children.  Our desire to have all of our “friends” know exactly what we are doing/thinking/feeling at any given moment of the day is a disease of epic proportions.  Isaiah has much to say to us in this present condition.  We are the sinful nation in 1:4, with bruises, sores, wounds and without health.  He warns that the offerings of the people were hated by God because they were from a heart of iniquity.    How many times are my offerings like those in Isaiah 1, with dirt ground into my soul by the steady trampling this world offers, a weekly trip to Pamplona?  And how do I get clean and healthy, knit back together?  By reading God’s Word consistently and with the desire to understand it through my personal microcosm and macrocosm.   Thus my challenge to ignore the NUMEROUS distractions surrounding me through the same tech that can help free me.
Isaiah warns that the choices we make will shame us to blushing over them.  He’s right.  God however does not limit his prophet to words of doom alone.  We are redeemed, chosen, wanted.

Isaiah 2
“Stop regarding man…for of what account is he?” – v. 22 ESV
Isaiah warns that we will worship the creations of our own hands.  How about the creations that fit in our hands?  Access to anything, including the path to darkness and separation from all that is Good.  I love my smartphone, my tablet, my laptop AND my desktop.  I keep shopping and to-do lists on them and check with friends and family daily, possibly hourly.  My tech employs visual and auditory reminders of the numerous responsibilities and goals I have set for myself, therefore driving me further into this world and, in spite of the apps I have to assist me, away from my Father.  For what account are our tools and toys?

Isaiah 3
“…the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply…”    –v. 1 ESV
In the battle against worldliness that his people fought in this chapter, God warned that he would take away supplies and allow them to go down a path of total foolishness, a path in which their leaders were ridiculous.  Who leads me?  Our society sometimes chooses its leaders by convenience, or surface appearance.  “You have a cloak; you shall be our leader, and this heap of ruins shall be under your rule;” – v.6 ESV.  The leader in this reference even refuses the mantle of leadership.  I allow myself to be led by any number of foolish people and pursuits.  Later in this chapter, God explains that in their foolish choices, the people will lose all the empty trappings of prosperity that they have collected, including… beautiful HAIR!  I can recount many times I have been humbled by the loss of whatever unwise choice I was grasping (thankfully, I’m not bald).  I have always thought that God kept me on a tight leash, one that I willingly put on myself.  I don’t get very far off the path before I stumble and fall, ensuring that I stay close for my own safety.  I need that plan, I fear.

Titus 3
“…and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people,”    –v.8 ESV.
I thank God for this man and his Inspired words of wisdom to other believers in his time… er, mine too.  My day’s previous readings warn of dangers in my world.  Titus reminds me of all the wonderful things to which I should aspire.  God’s wonderful Word never leaves us with just a negative.  There is always hope in our Savior.  I should aspire to these good works, not because they save me from anything, but because I want to be a conduit of Goodness to those around me.  How I am thankful for being surrounded by others who want the same!  I am thankful to have found a church which provides myriad of opportunities to do good in both my microcosm and macrocosm.
-Ozykhan