May 11

1 Samuel 10:6

The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person

In Ezekiel 37:14 God says "I will put my Spirit within you and you will come to life".  Without God's Spirit, we are lifeless.  We just read through the book of Judges, and each time God raised up a Judge, His Spirit came upon them.  When Jesus was baptized, God's Spirit descended from Heaven to rest upon Him.  In each Biblical instance, the Spirit of God changed a person equipping them to carry out the mission God had for them.  As Christ followers, the Spirit of God changes us the moment receive Him as Lord.  His Spirit comes upon us. His Spirit equips us for the assignment He has given us.  The Spirit we receive does not make us timid, but gives us power (2 Tim.1:7). The Spirit we received brought about our adoption to sonship (Romans 8:14). A transformation takes place in us that enables us to cry out to Abba, God our Father, with the hope of an answer through faith in Jesus.  2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that we are new creations in Christ.  When we put all this together we can't help but look upon the situations in our life with a different perspective-- as children of God Whose Spirit rests upon us and lives within us.  I pray as we go about day, we carry this truth with us and just as Moses' face reflected the Glory of God, we reflect the Spirit of the Lord which gives us life.

Randi

Saturday, May 7, 2016

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Saturday, May 7, 2016

[by Kenny and Keesha Sullivan]

    Keep asking! Keep seeking! Keep pushing! God's help is on the way! As one songwriter wrote, "He [God] may not come when we want Him, but He'll be there right on time!" (Dottie Peoples - He's An On Time God).  Our God is a God that hears and sees us. He has heard the prayers that you have petitioned. He has seen the tears that you have shed and His help is on the way!

    Hannah learned this truth through her brokenness.  "In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:10). Hannah had been barren for years. Her rival Peninnah, who had bore children without fail, provoked Hannah in order to irritate her. Peninnah made Hannah feel worthless, as if God would never come to the rescue. However, Hannah kept asking. She kept seeking His face. She kept pushing for her miracle to come!

    "And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile [her first son] Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:21). WOW!!!  Hannah prayed for one baby, but God blessed her with six!  I am left in awe and wonder as I not only saw the Lord come to Hannah's rescue with what she asked, but He gave her six times what she asked for.

    As Christians we face a lot of persecution from the enemy. He works through people, media and even our own thoughts. He is our Peninnah. He makes us feel worthless and as though our God will never come to the rescue. It's a lie! The enemy speaks louder and more clearly when he knows that our blessing is right around the corner. He knows that the victory is ours and that God is on His way. He knows that if we persevere and that if we don't give up that the Just Judge will answer our prayers.  God may not come when we want Him, but He'll be there right on time.

    "Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).  What we're talking about here is faith and perseverance in prayer.  In Hebrews 11 (the faith Hall of Fame chapter) we read of men and women of God that persevered in faith.  They never received all of the promises for which they pressed into God, but we are those beneficiaries today.  We stand on their faithful shoulders, their prayers, and God's faithfulness to them. We have a responsibility to continue pressing into God for the legacy of victory for which the blood of Christ has paid!  Jesus has assured us, "In this world you will have trouble.  But, take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). We too are overcomers!  "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

    Lord, we need you! Please give us the strength to keep crying out for our miracle. Please help us to believe that You can. Please help us to persevere in prayer. We know that in Your word it says to pray without ceasing! Help us to never stop turning to You for our victory! We love You Lord, and we thank You in advance for the victory that has already been won! In Jesus's name. Amen!

Thursday, May 5

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2016

 

JUDGES 21:1–25

RUTH 1:1–22

JOHN 4:44–24:12

PSALM 105:1–15

PROVERBS 14:25

 

 

In today's readings, we see two clarion examples of God's heart for all people.  In the reading from Ruth, we find Ruth's surprising affirmation of following Naomi and her God, even forsaking her own people of Moab and the ongoing famine there.  In John 4, Jesus demonstrates a pioneering spirit of outreach to a heavily disliked people, the Samaritans, even crossing the male-female divide.

 

Ruth elected to choose Naomi and demonstrated great faithfulness throughout her life.  The story of redemption and restoration throughout this story points to the lovingkindness of God and His deep concern for the poor and broken-hearted (Psalm 34:18).  Ruth's redemption would come through Naomi's family line, a kinsman-redeemer named Boaz.  Boaz's blessing of his extended family -- more on that later in our reading -- provides a testimony of how we as Christ-followers may shower blessings on others from the blessings that we have ourselves received.

 

Meanwhile, Jesus crosses several significant cultural boundaries to bring the Gospel message to the Samaritans.  In our minds, we might have imagined a far different course:  Jesus, knowing the hearts of all people, might have selected someone close to God in Samaria and used this individual to reform this errant group.  Putting on our consultant hats for a moment, it seems that the path would have been much cleaner with a more "acceptable" first recipient of the Gospel there.

 

Nonetheless, Jesus's compassionate love and outreach sought out a woman far from God, whose life had been full of disappointment (and, reading between the lines, regret).  When Jesus identified the truth about her multiple relationships -- but only after offering her better "water."  He reached her at her point of physical need but leveraged that conversation to address her deeper spiritual need.  Through His compassion, He recognized through the Spirit that she would respond to His offer to quench her spiritual thirst.  We may grow in this aspect of ministry, I believe, through observing people around us and seeking to see beneath the surface.

 

Please take note at the Gospel's awesome penetration through this unlikely evangelist.  Knowing this woman's background, the surrounding community understood that change had indeed transpired in her life and became quite curious.  For this reason, we often hear that the power of a transformed life will speak much louder than our words.

 

How have you experienced spiritual transformation in your life?  How did Jesus speak to you most clearly? How may you communicate this great news to other people who may be thirsty too?

 

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for demonstrating such a heart of compassion for lost people.  Guide us in following Your example.  Bring about greater evidence of transformation in our lives so that we may share Your great news with others.  We love You and honor You today.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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May 4

Psalm 104:33  I will sing to the Lord all my life, I will sing praise to my God as long as I live


As I read this verse in Psalm 104 I couldn't help recall "A Journey to the Potter's House".  Along with everyone else in the sanctuary, my family sat in awe at the realization of how God molds us and shapes us.  We came to the same conclusion - that no matter how difficult a situation or circumstance is, God is awesome.  He is always in control and His praise should always be on our lips, as the Psalmist tells us.  I pray today Lord that our meditation be on You and that our work is a reflection of You.  I pray You rejoice in us as we go about our day.  Bless us Lord as we sing Praise to You, giving all of our issues to you, and watching You orchestrate Your work in our lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9AarM9w5lU




Randi

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

John 3:19-21

19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."

My post today will be rather brief as I read over the verses I have selected. My journey in life has gone from the darkness, into the light and back into the darkness on several occasions. I choose to think now that I have returned to the light. I know of people in my life who are not believers because they still feel strongly that God would never forgive their sins. This saddens me greatly because they do not even make the attempt to come to know the Lord. I keep trying to express my beliefs in ways so as not to offend or drive them further away from salvation. I leave them at the throne of God for Him to pick the opportunity He has chosen to make Himself known to them. I continue to pray. I do not like the darkness (except when I sleep), and I thank God each day for the freedom and joy that comes from living in the Light, Jesus!!

May 2: Of Samson's stupidity...and mine...and God's forgiveness

Judges 15:1-16:31

John 2:1-25

Psalm 103:1-22

Proverbs 14:17-19

Samson - so physically strong, so mentally weak.  He seems to have been the person described in today's proverb - the one who inherits folly, not the one crowned with knowledge. If his story weren't so tragic, he would remind me of Moose in the Archie comics.  I mean, seriously - what idiot goes back to a woman when he finds himself in the conditions meant to sap his strength not 12 hours after he described said conditions to her?  Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me...fool me thrice - well, I lose my strength, have my eyes gouged out and get taken to prison.  You'd think that after he'd woken up once, twice even, bound in ways he'd described to Delilah would take away his strength, he'd have learned his lesson - stay away from her!  She's bad news!  But no...

I am Samson.  And, I suspect, so are many of you, reading this.  We suffer from persistent sinfulness, putting ourselves at risk, because we persist not so much in the sin, but in putting ourselves back into situations that will tempt us to the sin.  The sin is almost just an aftereffect of our actions, of the times we delude ourselves into thinking "it's ok.  This time I won't succumb to the temptation; this time I won't commit the sin."  In that way, I am a fool - because the truth is, it doesn't matter what my intentions for them are, when I put match close to dry paper, the paper will ignite.  Every.  Single.  Time.  And the only way to keep the paper from catching fire is to not approach the flame in the first place.

Our Lord understood that.  From today's NT reading, one might be excused for thinking he hated the vendors and money changers defiling the temple.  I prefer to think He loved them so much that their sin distressed Him, and chasing them out of the temple, away from the desperate supplicants they sold their wares and services to, away from the sinfulness of the transactions, was His way of keeping their paper, the paper He loved, from burning up in flames.

How to respond, then to our persistent sinfulness?  Despair is tempting, hopelessness seems the only logical response.  But we are not Spock.  We are children of the Almighty, Whose love for us, manifest in the suffering, death and resurrection of His Only Son, is far more powerful, far more persistent than any and all of our sins.  And so we are able to pray with the psalmist today - "Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion..."

Thank You again, God.  But could you please please please teach me to keep away from the flame?

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Saturday, April 30, 2016
By Keesha Sullivan

How does God see us? What are we worth to Him? God sees us as beautiful for we were made in His heavenly image. We are his treasured possession, the apple of His eye, His sons and daughters. We have a heavenly Father that sees us for our true worth because He is our Creator and He is perfect. God doesn't make mistakes.

I think the very first sentence of scripture that we read for today's reading spoke to how God viewed Jephthah. The verse said, "Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior" (Judges 11:1). The second sentence of scripture revealed how the world saw Jephthah."His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute" (Judges 11:1). As I read through the scripture for today, I felt sad for Jephthah. Much of his identity as well as our own identity unfortunately comes from the world and how others perceive us. Very little of it often times comes from the way our heavenly Father views us.

Because Jephthah's mother was a prostitute, his brothers and his earthly father saw Jephthah as worthless and rejected him. They told him, in so many words, "You are not part of us and you won't get a dime of our father's inheritance because you are just the son of a prostitute." Jephthah's father and brothers did not realize that they were talking about God's son whom he had knit together in his mother's womb. They didn't know that God had always had a plan for Jephthah, even before he was born, to prosper him and not to harm him. They didn't know that God loved him and that is why He made him. All they saw was what they could with their earthly lenses. They saw a "nobody."

The truth is "nobody is a nobody." God doesn't make mistakes. In fact, God used Jephthah, the son of a prostitute, to free the Israelites from the Ammonites. It says in the scripture from today, "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah...Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands" (Judges 11:29, 32).

God doesn't see us the way that the world sees us. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways. God saw Jephthah's true identity, and He sees us. We are worth far more to our heavenly Father than we could ever begin to fathom. It is time for us as sons and daughters to throw away the lenses that the world has used to identify us and to see ourselves through God's eyes.

Lord, thank You for making us. Thank You for loving us. Thank You for desiring to see great things for us, O God. Please help us today and every day to see ourselves through Your eyes. Help us to remember our worth and that You want to do great and mighty things with us. We love You so much, and we are so incredibly grateful to have You in our lives. Please bless us this day with new perspective and new lenses for ourselves as well as our fellow brothers and sisters around us. In Jesus's name, we pray. Amen!