Saturday, May 9, 2015

Saturday, May 9, 2015  [by Keesha Sullivan]

John 6:  "More Than Enough"

After over 40 years of marriage, he could not stand to see his wife in pain anymore. From the time she woke up until the time she went to sleep, she would have fitful bouts of pain. He knelt down by her bedside and laid his hand on her belly as she slept. He looked at her lovingly and then turned his face upward and closed his eyes. “Lord, please take the pain away. Please, Lord,” he quietly whispered not to wake her as tears welled up in his eyes. He went downstairs to begin preparing food for her and not even an hour later, Jesus took this man’s beautiful bride to heaven. God had heard his prayer.  

Anyone that knew this couple knew how much they loved one another. When we heard of her passing, Kenny and I prayed about whether to attend the funeral. It was out of state and we would have to fly. God gave us the green light. Because the flight had to be quick, it was going to be expensive. We agreed that we couldn’t out-bless God, so we took a leap of faith. We got back to find our account full. We had a surplus that not only covered the flight, but that left us with more than we needed.

We assumed that we had miscalculated some bills somewhere, but w

e

really

knew

Who

was responsible for this overflow.

In the scripture we read for today, it said, “5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do” (John 6: 5-6). I believe that Jesus was calling for his disciples to take a leap of faith. He wanted them to look past the physical realm and into the spiritual. He wanted them to look past the lack of money and food and to see God’s abundance. He was teaching them to "think like sheep," for if the Lord is Our Shepherd we are never lacking in anything - we have all

that

we need (and then some), regardless of how the circumstances present themselves (Psalm 23:1).

“8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:8). Jesus answers the question pretty promptly by praying to His Father and giving thanks. God took the lack of food, the five loaves and two fish, and fed the crowds. In addition to feeding them, they had twelve baskets left over.

Lord, help us to see past our physical circumstances. Help us to see your plentiful provision. Help us to look to you from where our resources and help come from. Fill us Lord and bless us with a renewed way of thinking. We need you, and we truly love you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!

Thursday, May 7

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015

1 Samuel 1:1–2:21

John 5:1–23

Psalm 105:37–45

Proverbs 14:28,29

 

 

1 Samuel opens at the tail end of the tumultuous period described in the last several chapters of Judges.  As with the story of Ruth, the story of Samuel’s birth and his rise as prophet speak to the ability of righteous men and women to make a difference in a challenging environment that has turned away from exalting God as King.

 

In the story of Hannah, we find a humble, gentle servant who diligently seeks God’s face during her time of infertility.  She dedicates her firstborn to the Lord’s service in her vow (1 Samuel 1:11), to become a Nazirite dedicated to purity.  As she poured out her heart before the Lord, her deep emotion caused her lips to quiver.  Observing her, Eli demanded that she stop her drunkenness.  Just this reference to a drunken person in front of the Lord’s presence highlights the shallow commitment to God that marked this era in Israel’s history.

 

God ultimately honors Hannah’s sincerity and faithfulness, and she appropriately names her son Samuel (“heard of God”), remarking, “Because I asked the Lord for him.”  While we may seek God’s blessing for our personal benefits, Hannah’s attitude of seeking to “partner with” God in His work provides an excellent role model for us.  Her husband Elkanah wisely allows Hannah to honor the promise that she has made before the Lord.  Eli then receives encouragement from hearing this testimony of God’s faithfulness, too, as Hannah presented Samuel before the Lord.

 

Hannah’s beautiful prayer contains wonderful descriptions of the sovereign power and authority of our God the King.  Her faith stands apart from this time when “Israel had no kind; everyone did as he saw fit.” (Judges 17:6)  May her declaration and trust in God’s faithfulness become ours:

 

“There is no one holy like the Lord;

    there is no one besides you;

    there is no Rock like our God.”

 

“The Lord brings death and makes alive;
    he brings down to the grave and raises up.
The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
    he humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
    and has them inherit a throne of honor.

 

For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
    on them he has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
    but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.” (1 Samuel 2:2,6–9)

 

 

Lord God, we humbly seek You as Hannah did.  Help us to partner with You in Your Kingdom work – not for our glory, but to the glory of Your Name.  Allow us to have our desires transformed in Your presence, and then grant us the desires of our hearts.  We love You and thank You for Your encouraging presence with us.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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May 8

1 Samuel 3 

One of my favorite movies of all time is "Field Of Dreams." It is the story of Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who in the middle of his corn field hears a voice speaking to him. The voice says, "If you build it, he will come." The conflict in the movie is how Ray will respond to the voice. Will he obey the voice and take the risk of financial collapse, or will he play it safe and raise corn.

This is not a Christian movie but the parallels are obvious. We are people who have heard a voice from another world. It is a voice from beyond the physical, material, and financially focused world. Not everyone has heard the voice. But we have heard the voice, now what will we do?

92% of Americans believe in God. But does this God still speak?  If he does, has he spoken to them?  If he has spoken to them, have they obeyed the voice?  These are the critical questions that we must each answer.

Samuel was one of the mightiest men of God. It is no coincidence his first assignment from God necessitated that he learns how to hear God's voice. Samuel's ability to hear the voice was his most important priority.

There are lots of voices speaking to us in 2015. Every day we hear the voices of government officials, we hear the voices of media people, friends, bosses, and family. But is there any more important voice than God's?

A few observations on the voice of God:

1. It is a real voice that speaks in our language. Not every one hears the voice audibly, but we certainly hear his whisper in our hearts and our conscience.

2. His voice can be heard in his Word the Bible.

3. It is a friendly voice. It will not ask you to violate anything in his written Word.

4. His voice is a quiet whisper. We must be silent to hear it. When was the last time you sat quietly for an hour?

5. His voice is blocked by sin.

6. His voice speaks to young people, even elementary age children.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to listen. The times we live in are noisy, and our ears are weary with the 1000 raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give us the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to you, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Let us hear you speaking to our hearts. Help us to become acquainted to the sound of your voice. And then give us the courage to obey. We pray this in the name of Jesus, our Lord, our Savior and our articulate God. Amen.

 

--

"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

May 6

John 4:50

Jesus replied "You may go.  Your son will live."  The man took Jesus at His word and departed.

When I read this passage this morning it made me stop and think - Do I take Jesus at His word - Do I truly trust in His Holiness and display the same kind of faith that the man did?  The royal offical came a long way to see Jesus.  Perhaps he had legal authority over Jesus, however he humbles himself immediately by calling Him "Sir."  In doing this he places himself under Jesus' Holy authority.  Unlike the others, this man trusted Jesus before he saw the miracle.  He believed and demonstrated his faith by being obedient and returning home.  It wasn't until he got there that he saw in the natural the miracle that took place the day before.  Throughout the gospels we read multiple accounts of Jesus' grace and holiness.  He performed miracles to increase the faith of everyone around Him,  I believe it's no different for us today. So as I sit in prayer this morning, lifting up to our Lord not only my own requests but those of others, I challenge myself to take Jesus at His word.  I place myself under His authority and  trust in His Holiness and will display my faith to my Lord by "departing" from the kitchen table and going about my day knowing that Jesus has heard my cries.   Lord I pray for my brothers and sisters that you give them the faith to do the same and I thank you Lord that as we pray, You are sending Your angels to attend to us and answer our prayers.  Lord increase our faith.




Randi

May 4: Choices, Obvious and Difficult

Judges 19:1-20:48
John 3:22-4:3
Psalm 104:24-35
Proverbs 14:22-24

Today's psalms give testament to the overwhelming power of God, and to how completely we can depend upon Him. It talks of how He created the sea, full of creatures, even Leviathan "which you formed to frolic there". Consider the idea of creation - of the formation of something from nothing. Man has not seen its process - anything we "create", we really only transform. We take wood and turn it into furniture. We take food and turn it into energy. We do not really create anything from nothing. But God did - and His creations are not inanimate - they are "living things both large and small".

His greatness does not end there. Where my sons might build something out of their Lego pieces, they then leave their "creation" on the shelf. God is different - He gives His creations "their food at the proper time"; and when He opens His hand, "they are satisfied with good things." As inexplicable are HIs decision to create us and His power to do so, so too is His desire to provide for us inexplicable as well. Yet there it is - He is faithful, and we can trust in His provision.

In that context, then, when confronted with difficulty, with pain and with troubles, as was the man whose concubine (whom he'd just reclaimed from her unfaithfulness) was brutally raped and murdered, when confronted with situations we cannot understand, situations that lead us to question where God was or whether He cared - we have a choice It is a difficult one, but make no mistake - it IS a choice. We can choose to focus on the situation we do not understand, or on the God Whom we know exists, trusting that He will give us our food at the proper time, and satisfy us with good things.

Typing while sitting in a train on the way to work, the right choice seems so obvious as to be silly. I pray that when, inevitably, God chooses to permit us the challenging situations we need to grow according to His will into the people He plans for us to become, that we will have such a relationship with Him that the choice will remain obvious, and will not be so difficult.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. (Ps 104:1)

I love all that this Psalm has to say about how our God takes care of his creation. 'He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.' (Ps 104:5). 'They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.' (11-12)

I am just so in awe of God's creation. When I hear someone say that this all happened by chance, through evolution or whatever, I want to shout at them, "Open your eyes!! Look around you! Look how everything works together!! There is no way this is all an accident!"

God planted trees and brought water to keep them alive. Their branches became a place for birds to build their nests and provide us with the first music. Songs unique to each type of bird. Plants and berries provided food for the birds and even today, I believe that God stirs the hearts of some people to throw out bread or hang a bird feeder to keep the birds alive through the winter. I read about a certain flower in South America that has a very long, curved shape. The nectar and pollen lie at the base of the inside of the flower. Now can you guess what also lives in the very area where this flower grows? A certain type of humming bird, equipped with a very long, curved beak. The only bird that can reach the nectar and the pollen to keep bird and flower from becoming extinct. Accident? I think not. Divine design? Without a doubt.

I cannot help getting so excited about nature and how God caused it all to be with his spoken word. How awesome is the one who thought of every tiny detail!! How nothing was forgotten, not one mistake made. The more I think about how it all works, the more I want to praise God and thank him for opening my eyes and my heart to receive him.

Lord, let me never lose my childlike wonder of who you are and what you have done. I am excited to know that the best is yet to come. In Jesus Name. Amen.

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Saturday, May 3

Saturday, May 2, 2015

[Keesha Sullivan]

In the reading, Samson finds a fresh jawbone of a donkey and kills one thousand Philistines after they burn his former stepfather and wife to death. After the victory, "because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord, 'You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" (Judges 15:18). This passage stood out to me as I thought about Samson giving immediate glory to God for his victory and then asking God for water. His knowledge and awareness of God's power was more than evident in these verses. 

Samson knew that "every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). I wonder how many times I have a victory and I don't give immediate glory to God and then ask for help with the next thing. Over the last several weeks, I've been learning a lot about the "god of me". The "god of me"steals God's glory and takes praises for the victory. The "god of me" tries to figure things out and refuses to humbly ask God for help. I've realized that I need to destroy, annihilate, and starve the "god of me." 

This past week our students have had to complete state testing on lap tops with Wi-Fi. When we tried to complete the practice test to ensure the state test would go flawlessly, we realized that we had some serious issues. Over ¾ of the students could not access the Wi-Fi. We were not able to complete the practice test due to the Wi-Fi problems. 

Teachers and students were fearful of what problems the real test would present. We knew that we had had some serious issues to overcome. Monday morning, I prayed to God. I asked Him for His help. I didn't want this testing week to turn into a debacle. I felt God's presence hovering over me as I prayed. I felt the atmosphere change. I knew He had heard and answered my prayer. 

Monday as well as the rest of this week the testing went flawlessly. Not one student was prevented from getting on the Wi-Fi. Teachers commented all week on how surprised they were at how easy this process went. I told them it was God. I gave Him the glory and got some weird looks from my colleagues at the same time.

In order to tear down the "god of me", I realized that I need to pray for everything. I need to pray for getting safely to work. I need to pray for God's protection throughout the day. I need to pray for my interactions with my beautiful students that I would show them the same unconditional love that my Heavenly Father shows me. If I pray and ask, it is much more likely that I will know Whothe victory came from when it comes. I will know Who to give the glory to. I will know Who to ask for help from the next time. 

Lord, help us to get rid of the "god of me" and to recognize there is only one true God. Help us to give Youglory for the victories that you give us each and every day, whether they are great or small. Help us to ask you for help instead of seeking to figure things out. Lord thank You for Samson's example in this reading passage. Help us to be more like him. We love you Lord. We thank You for being a God that gives us good and perfect gifts. In Jesus' name, we pray amen.