Thursday, August 11

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2016

 

 

“How abundant are the good things

    that you have stored up for those who fear you,

that you bestow in the sight of all,

    on those who take refuge in you.

In the shelter of your presence you hide them

    from all human intrigues;

you keep them safe in your dwelling

    from accusing tongues….

 

“Love the Lord, all his faithful people!

    The Lord preserves those who are true to him,

    but the proud he pays back in full.

Be strong and take heart,

    all you who hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:19,20,23,24)

 

 

God’s awesome protection and concern for His children should make us quite courageous, as we know that He will “preserve those who are true to him.”  In this sense, Christ-followers should be among the boldest of all people.  As Chuck Goulart indicated last Sunday, this boldness should well up into sharing truth with people in need of hope through the Gospel.

 

David urges us to “be strong and take heart.”  In several other passages, God motivates us to take courage (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:6–9; 1 Chronicles 22:13; Matthew 14:27; Acts 4; 1 Corinthians 16:13; and Philippians 1:20).  This courage emerges from a persevering and trusting faith.

 

When faced with threatening words and actions from the Jewish authorities in Acts 4, the early disciples gathered together to pray:  “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”  God immediately responded:  “After they prayed, the pace where they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (Acts 4:28–31)

 

From this passage, it seems that we need the empowerment of the Spirit to live boldly and share God’s Word.  Would you consider seeking that equipping for today?  How could you trust God for greater boldness?  How has He shown His faithfulness to you, even this week?

 

 

Lord God, thank You for empowering us through Your Holy Spirit to speak Your Word with great boldness.  Send Your Spirit into our hearts that we might love and serve others and might know You better.  Bring us courage to live completely for You.  We honor You and worship You today.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

 

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August 10

Ezra 10:11

Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will.  Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives


Ezra was a priest, a scribe, and a great leader whose name means "help".  His life was dedicated to serving God and the people of Israel.  The book of Ezra continues the history of the Jews recording their return to the land after their captivity.  The purpose of recounting the story is to show God's faithfulness and the way He kept His promise to restore the people of Israel. He set the standard of repentance by his own behavior (v.1) and this brought others to repent as well.  I think for us as believers and followers of Christ we have a lot to learn from his example.  It was his actions that brought others to follow him.  If we go one step further, our actions should lead others to Jesus or at least raise some questions about the life we live in Christ.  Although separating husbands and wives might have been an extreme step, it was necessary to preserve Israel as a nation committed to God.  As followers of Jesus we are not asked to separate ourselves from the world.  As a matter of fact Jesus told us to "go" and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). He gave us a command to repent, take action and go do His will.  Our challenge is as we "go" not to get mixed into the crowd.  We are supposed to stand apart, maintain our identity as children of God, bring the light of God into the world and through our actions bring people to know Christ Jesus. If the people of Israel intermarried they would once again begin to worship false gods and lose their identity.  The moment we take our eyes off Jesus, we lose ours.  Lord, I pray today for boldness like Ezra.  I pray Lord that by our actions the world will see we are Christians with strong faith, and our identity is rooted and grounded in You.  I pray Lord that as we "go" into the busy day we stand apart for You and in You. Like Ezra, we humbly commit ourselves to being obedient and serving You.


Randi

August 8: Of Paul, his frustration, sarcasm and example

"Already you have all you want!  Already you have become rich!  You have become kings - and that without us!  How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings like you!"

- 1 Cor 4:8

I find Paul to be such an inspiration.  Not only might he be considered one of the greatest of sinners - he not only sanctioned the murder of Stephen, he was going with full purpose to do the same to the Christians in Damascus.  I identify with such sinfulness, and am encouraged by the fact God not only forgave him, God found tremendous use for him in His kingdom.  

The other thing I liked about Paul was his evident humanity - see, Paul was not above sarcasm or frustration. In Galatians 5:12, when railing against those who insisted that a number of ceremonial practices, circumcision among them, were still binding on the church, it seems he goes so far as to say he wished they would go all the way and cut their own genitals off.  And in the verse above, taken from today's NT reading, Paul's emotion is on full display once again, with a people who had received the Word and yet, perhaps because of the prosperity they enjoyed, had permitted immorality and spiritual laxness to remain, even to flourish.  

I am no better than Paul.  Whether in situations where I am heavily invested (as a father, for example), or situations where I have far less standing (say, for example, in the pathetic verbiage that passes for political discourse this year), I find myself frustrated, even angry at the utter disregard for truth and fact.  And my tongue has, shamefully, been quick and harsh on many occasion.  Sadly, this has been particularly true when the stakes have been highest, when raising my children.  

"I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children."

"Therefor I urge you to imitate me.  For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord.

1 Cor 14,16-17

The thing Paul does well (and I could do so much better) is to bring it back, from frustration to love, and from words to examples.  I need to remember the love that is the reason for the concern and the frustration, and I need to remember that my children will learn far better seeing my example (and the example of others) than they will by hearing my (harsh) words.  And I would do well to remember that I have been cause for frustration on our Father's part, and that "His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime".

Father, help us to learn from the example of Paul's zeal for Your Word, to take encouragement from the humanity of his frustration, and to remember the root of our frustration and anger when dealing with our children is our love for them.  Teach us to be the examples to them Paul hoped to be to the Corinthians.  

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Saturday_August 6, 2016
By Keesha Sullivan

This year has been full of so many changes for me and so many of my loved ones. Whether we have been moving, having babies, buying houses, dealing with sickness, loss of a loved one etc., we all have one common thread that has tied us together. We all have had to trust in the Lord our God during this season of change.

The reason 99% of the human population hates change is because it brings in the aspect of the UNKNOWN. You have no idea how things are going to play out exactly. You can't necessarily see into the future, which means you are taking a huge leap of faith.

In our scripture reading today, it says, "Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." (Psalm 28:6-8) King David went through incredible life changes. He was almost killed; he became king; he built his palace; he lost a son to death weeks after that son was born; he had another son betray him and then try to kill him. Those were just a few of the changes that David would encounter.

In the midst of it all, David said, "my heart trusts in [God]." As I read that scripture I literally felt the peace of God settle my own spirit. David knew that no matter what circumstances life would bring that He could trust in the Lord. The Lord would help him go through each transition. Once David released his fears, worry, and anxiety to our Heavenly Father, his heart leapt for joy and he was able to sing songs of gratitude.

When we have heavy hearts that are filled with fear, worry, and anxiety, we too can release our burden to God. We can trust Him and know that we will be helped. We also then can follow in David's footsteps and have a joyful heart filled with gratefulness.

Lord, God thank You for seasons of change. Thank You Lord that many times these seasons cause us to look to You, from where our help comes. We need You God. We cannot hold the burden and anxiety of change by ourselves. We need You to come to our rescue and be our strength and our shield. Shield us from the enemy's lies and blows. Help us to place our complete trust in You. For Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. Give us joyful, peaceful hearts as we encounter change. We love You so much, Father. Thank You for always being with us. In Jesus's name, we pray. Amen.

Thursday, August 4

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2016

 

 

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.  He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.   God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:7–9)

 

“Are we there yet?”  Do you ever become antsy on a long trip?  Or powering through a never-ending meeting?  We have all faced the challenge of waiting, sometimes in anticipation of something ending or another beginning.  As Tom Petty sagely observed, “the waiting is the hardest part.”

 

We wait in hope and expectation:  hope in God's secure promises and expectation of complete redemption and renewal.  God does not abandon us in this worldly journey, giving us every spiritual gift so that we may best honor Him.  He has prepared us for perseverance and will carry us through with His faithfulness.  We wait with eager anticipation for a greater revelation of His glory.

 

In what ways do you find yourself waiting today?  How may you submit these areas to God’s loving control?  How have you seen Him provide faithfully as you have waited in the past?

 

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us a purpose larger than ourselves.  Thank You for showing us Your awesome example of living a fully committed Kingdom life.  Send Your Spirit into our hearts so that we may embrace Your larger purposes for us, and give us the courage to forsake lesser purposes in order to live first for You.  To You be all glory, praise, and honor in our lives and forever!  In Your Name, amen.

 

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August 3

2 Chronicles 34

I've spent the past week cleaning and painting the boys room.  We've come across many old books that we would read together when they were younger which brought back a flood of wonderful times and memories. There was a very strong pull on this Mama's heart each time I heard "Oh wow!! I remember this!! Do you remember this one Mom?" One story in particular was written by Joseph when he was about 7 years old and it was dedicated to his Dad.  It was a wonderful reminder of an original plan as it was told from a child's view of how his Dad was his hero.   As I was reading this mornings passage, I couldn't help but think of what the expression on Hilkiah the priests face must have been when he "found the Book". I just started to think how we go through life and much like the books, our original design gets dusty, or gets put on the back shelf for many different reasons and we drift from the original plan.  It's so easy to lose sight of who and how God made us. (Gen. 1:26) and how we are supposed to live our lives (Deut. 6:4-7).  Imagine after all the years of disobedience and turning their backs on God, the Book of the Law was found.  A reminder of that we were meant to follow the Lord and keep His commands, regulations and decrees with all our hearts and souls. The original Covenant, and promise was read out loud and everyone in Jerusalem rededicated and pledged themselves to it. Like the people of Israel, I guess sometimes we need to be reminded of where we came and what was done on the Cross (Romans 5:8) so we can refocus and realign ourselves with God.  The Good News is that because of His great love we are not consumed for His compassion never fails. (Lamentations 3:22-23)  His mercy is new every day!!

Randi

August 1: Maria, Assunta and Forgiveness

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves."

- Rom 15:1

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."

- Rom 15:7

"Remember, Lord, Your great mercy and love,

   for they are from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth

   and my rebellious ways."

- Ps 25:7

I struggle with Paul's admonitions.  Those who know me know I have been known to carry a self-righteousness fueled grudge over a long time and over long distances.  I have struggled to understand differing points of view, much less accept them - especially those that do not seem grounded in fact and logic.  The funny thing about this is, the unforgiveness with which I approach others, I find I apply to myself.  The sins of my youth, during my rebellious ways?  I cannot tell you how often I find myself thinking back, regretting what I did, wishing I could change things.  My inability to forgive others is a heavy enough burden; the consequent inability to forgive myself seems like poignant justice in its weight.  

Yet, we are called to forgive, in the same way we cry out to God for His forgiveness, and I wonder - is it really possible?  I mean, ok - Stephen asked God not hold his murder against those who stoned him, but maybe he was an exception who benefited from having experienced Jesus first hand?  Then I remember the story of Santa Maria Goretti, and of her mother.  Maria Goretti was born in 1890, to a poor family in Italy.  She died just 12 years later when, while caring for her infant sibling, Alessandro, the son in a family with whom her family shared a house tried to rape her and, when she resisted, stabbed her repeatedly.  She died, after surviving long enough to say what happened.  Her attacker was caught and jailed for 27 years.  And it is here that that Assunta, her mother, comes into play.  While in prison, Alessandro repented.  And after his release, he sought Assunta, Maria's mother, and begged her forgiveness.

PAUSE: I have a daughter.  Were someone were to hurt her, or any of her brothers, it would be very difficult for me not to want to seek vengeance.  Forgiveness and mercy?  Well, you already know, those haven't always been my strong points.  They would probably be very difficult.  One would have to have the superhuman, forgiving heart of God, wouldn't they?  

It turns out, it isn't beyond man's ability to forgive, even a sin so grievous as murder following an attempted rape.  Because Assunta forgave Alessandro.  But, it turns out, that isn't all.  The story has it that Maria survived 24 hours after she was stabbed, during which time SHE expressed forgiveness for Alessandro.  She even stated, as she lay dying, that she wanted him in heaven with her.  

I believe they chose to forgive, and God honored their choices, and gave them the ability to do so.  I pray that I remember their example each and every time I find myself faced with the opportunity to offer forgiveness as well.