Aimee Spencer Blog Post 7-16-18

The following was writing by Aimee Spencer I am posting it on her behalf. I pray you are blessed by it as much as I

Todays Versus:

1 Chronicles 22:1-23:32

Romans 3:9-31

Psalm 12:1-8

Proverbs 19:13-14

As we look at todays versus we see God is always there; past, present and future. Do we tend to get distracted by the things we think we need and not what's Gods Purpose is for us? 

God is with us every step of the way, you just have to devote your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God and everything you do be to the Glory of God. In Romans 3:9-18 Paul writes that no one is righteous and that as humans we are destined to sin and fall short without the Righteousness of God but through Faith, righteousness can be obtained by Jesus Christ to all those who believe. In Versus:22-26 Paul also writes that Jews and Gentiles are both sinful and we are justified Freely by his Grace through redemption as Jesus' death paid for our sins. By Grace we are justified by faith and our sins are fully atoned, this shows us the magnitude of Grace and Love God has for his children. 

"I use to carry the weight of all my sin and shame and I started to become an outcast feeling, lonely and heavy with emotion, I started separating myself from those who I love, until I could no longer bear the weight of my transgressions and opened the gates to my heart and gave all my burdens and worries to Jesus and by the Grace of God I was set free."

In Psalm 12:1-8 David describes the feeling of looking around and seeing how much the World has deteriorated into a sorry state and how he feels alone in his commitment to God. Living in a deceitful world can be lonelyand difficult but we are never alone in our battle against evil. In versus 12:2-4 we may be tempted to believe that some lies are harmless but God does not overlook deceit and flattery, each sin comes from a bad attitude and is expressed in our speech. The tongue is our greatest enemy be careful how you use yours. When we feel as though sincerity and truth have nearly gone out of existence, we have one hope and that is God's Word. God's word is as flawless and pure, so we must listen carefully as he speaks to us through the word. In Proverbs 19:13:14 it also says that contentment within the home must be a cooperative effort as one person can create misery for all others.

"Father I pray that we acknowledge the increase of faithless people around us and "Gather, Grow and Go", I pray we have the Wisdom to know that we cannot face our Trials and tribulations on our own and that our burdens are too heavy to carry on our own. I pray that our eyes do not wonder but stay fixated on you Lord and that we are not alone in our commitment to you Lord but as Children of God we can come together and help one another and worship you, Father I Pray that families are able to Worship you together and that they seek you whole heartedly. So I Pray that as we start this week we confide in you Lord with whatever it is that we are facing and that we speak the Fruits of the spirit. I Pray this in Jesus name, Amen."

 

July 14: Of the Permanence of God’s Love

1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17

Romans 2:1-24

Psalm 10:16-18

Proverbs 19:8-9

1 Chr 16:8 "…Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men on earth"

1 Chr 16:11-14 "I will raise up your offspring to succeed you…I will establish his kingdom…I will establish his throne forever…I will be his Father, and he will be My son.  I will never take My love away from him…I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever…"

If you are anything like me and my wife, you want some measure of security for yourself, and you want abundance for your children.   Then you read today's reading and then you wish God would make you the same promises He made David, but then you think David deserved them because - well, look at all he'd done!  And if you stop there, especially if you are like me, you conclude the sinner you are does not deserve the kind of promises God gave David.  

I'm going to say the same thing God put in my head this morning when I was reading this reading (a day late, admittedly - apologies!).  STOP.   God doesn't make us promises, God doesn't bless us because we are perfect.  Remember - when God was making these long term promises, David had yet to (1) commit adultery with Bathsheba and, in the process (2) murder Uriah; he had yet to (3) condone his sons' bad behavior.  But God already knew the plans He had for David, and for David's children.

When we sin, we kick start a vicious cycle.  We separate ourselves from God; the separation makes us susceptible to the lies of the evil one, who reminds us how unworthy we are of God's love, and so we stay away, making us susceptible to even more lies, and so on.  The truth is, we aren't worthy.  We are never worthy, by our own strength.  And, like David, we will turn away.  

But what is equally true is this: as He did with David, God loves us despite the sins He knows we are going to commit.  Like David, we can trust  that He will be our Father, and we will be His children, and He will never take His love away from us.  

Father, when we sin, as inevitably we will, remind us of the persistence of Your love, and help us to draw back to You as David did.  

July 15, 2018

"No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people." Romans 2:29 NLV

I don't know if it was because I grew up in a communist country, but I was always taught to put the mind above the heart. The intellect was highly valued, while heart matters were more for the weak.  And… you couldn't have both.

Three years ago, today I made the decision to follow Christ. Up until that point, I was following a religion and believed in a God that was aggressive and unpredictable. There were rules and regulations, beautiful churches and carefully chosen Sunday outfits but there was no heart in all that. Emptiness.

A while back when I chose my major in college, I went for something that made sense from a job market standpoint. I didn't love what I chose, my heart was not in it. I wanted to do something else, but that something else was not as marketable. Fast forward, even though I graduated and got my degree, I never used it. It was an empty pursuit.

In today's reading, we see that God is after our hearts. From the beginning, God did not only want a physical circumcision. He wanted his people to circumcise their hearts.  "The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live." Deut. 30:6. "Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer" Deut. 10:16.

To me, this is a great reminder to pay attention to my heart. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Mat 6:21. For a long time, I believed that I needed to choose between following my heart and following my mind.  The heart and the mind don't have to exclude each other. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" Luke 10:27. The heart touched by God's spirit is the life, the power, the fuel for our decisions, dreams, plans, investments. "A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination" Nelson Mandela

July 13

July 13, 2018

Romans 1

God's Existence and the Mice Story

The apostle Paul states that every human being knows in their heart of hearts that God exists. The existence of God is self evident to every person on the planet. But if that is the case, why is there so much unbelief? The answer is because in our pride we believe we can run our lives better than God can. We don't want God to exist and tell us how to live and act. So even though we see the evidence of his existence, we willfully turn away and deny the truth.

It reminds me of a story about a community of mice who lived all their lives in a large piano. To them in their piano world came the music of the instrument, filling all the dark spaces with sound and harmony. At first the mice were impressed by it. They drew comfort and wonder from the thought that there was someone who made the music - though invisible to them - above, yet close to them. They loved to think of the Great Player who they could not see. To this Great Player they gave their worship and reverence.  

Then one day a daring mouse climbed up part of the piano and returned very thoughtfully. He had found out how the music was made. Wires were the secret; tightly stretched wires of graduated lengths, which trembled and vibrated. At once he demanded that all of the old beliefs had to be revised. This mouse went on to receive a science degree, write a book and eventually became a university professor. The whole piano culture started to change rapidly and before you knew it, all but a few old fashioned conservatives still believed in the Unseen Player.

Later, another explorer carried the explanation further. Hammers were now the secret, numbers of hammers dancing and leaping on the wires. This was a more complicated theory, but it all went to show that they lived in a purely mechanical and mathematical world.

Soon the belief of an Unseen Player came to be thought of as a myth. But the music continued to play.

--

"Multiplying leaders to change the world"

Thursday, July 12

THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:  first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:  The righteous will live by faith.'" (Romans 1:16,17)

Today, we begin reading through the Book of Romans, Paul's great treatment of the Gospel.  It includes some of the deepest theological arguments in the entire testimony of the Scriptures.  Its riches give us context for understanding major doctrines, including sin, justification, sanctification, and the true nature of freedom.

While these doctrines receive ample airtime, Paul highlights in Romans 1:16,17 that the letter will focus on the Gospel, through which God has introduced the pathway to receiving Christ's righteousness—by faith.  Romans 1 to 3 will underscore the depravity of each person and the reality of our sin.  In Romans 3:20-28, Paul will show that the Law, which provides boundaries and a moral yardstick, leads us to seek Christ's righteousness.  Chapters 4 to 8 will speak about the working out of that righteousness, through the life of faith.  The second half touches on the spread of the Gospel message and its outward manifestation in Christian community.  Please pay close attention so that you may gain the maximum teaching from Romans.

Romans covers the reality of life and death.  We were called at creation to honor God, but we, like Adam and Eve, have turned aside from God.  We have instead focused on serving ourselves and our sinful nature.  We deserve God's wrath for this disobedience; we would rightly be considered God's enemies.  Nonetheless, God has offered salvation by faith, through grace, only through the shed blood of Christ on the cross.  We respond to God's love by embracing Him and living a life of obedience, honor, and joy through the Holy Spirit.

With this introduction, how would you like to grow as a result of reading through Romans?

Lord God, thank You for giving us a pathway of salvation by faith.  Strengthen us by Your Spirit so that we may honor You in all things.  Give us opportunity to proclaim Your Gospel through our lives and our testimony.  In Jesus's Name, amen.

July 18

1 Chronicles, Acts 28

Life is all about choices. Whether it's what to eat or how to dress, they range from "oh that's an easy one" to some that are a bit more difficult.  As we read through the book of Chronicles, we learn that each king had to make a choice.  They were either going to obey God or reject him. They could follow in the path before them, or make a new one. Some had good role models, others didn't but either way, they had to make their own choice. We also learn in today's reading from Luke's account of the Apostle Paul's life, that Paul chose to follow another own way, breaking away from all the traditions he ever knew, and his choices weren't easy either.  His choices got him beat up, thrown in jail, tossed in the sea and eventually executed.  Since his conversion however, we see that nothing could stop him from spreading God's word and his passion fueled his mission. He made a choice and as a result, traveled over 10,000 miles in his lifetime as a missionary spreading the The Gospel. Paul knew in his heart that the Gospel is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).  So as I was reading all of this, I was trying to piece it together and apply it to my life.  I remembered that God has given us free will and we have the choice to behave like some of the kings in 1 Chronicles who followed their fathers and rejected God, or, like Paul who realized his responsibility and pushed forward to advance God's kingdom.  I could have easily followed in the footsteps of the generations before me and passed down to my children eyes that don't comprehend what they see and ears that don't understand what they hear, and lived my life with a hardened heart, but God had a different plan for my life. I believe he has a unique plan for everyone reading this blog. As Jesus has touched all of our lives, I pray  that we recognize the person God will put in front of us today who desperately needs to hear the message of The Gospel and about how much Jesus loves them. Then, let's pray they make the right choice.

Randi

July 10

July 10

1 Chron. 9:1-10:14

Acts 27:21-44

Psalm 8:1-9

Proverbs 18:23-24

In the midst of countless obstacles, frustrations and setbacks today we see Paul speak a word of encouragement and hope to everyone aboard the ship.

"I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship…"(v.7) Paul goes onto explain the visitation he had from an angel and later instructs everyone to eat, reminding them that not a hair on their head will perish. Bold words considering their current plight! 

While everything around him looked hopeless, Paul rested in the word he had received from God that while there were more challenges to come, He would see them through. A word from God in the midst of a harrowing circumstance can change everything. While the circumstances weren't immediately resolved, Paul's perspective was infused with confidence in God. 

Like Ruth wrote yesterday, often our first instinct in the midst of a storm is to look to our own strength and our own solutions to get ourselves out of whatever we're facing. A friend reminded me recently "Prayer and listening God is an active solution." While a storm is raging, how can we attune our ear to what God is saying? His words of life and promise spoken over us can buoy us in the midst of storms. 

Maybe you're not going through a storm right now. How can you train your ear to be sensitive to God's words of hope and promise even in the midst of the mundane? Usually the reflexes we develop in our every day lives will be our reflex when a storm hits. 

God, when we hear you speak into our lives and circumstances, it changes everything. I pray for my brothers and sisters experiencing storms this morning, that You will provide a word of encouragement and hope that would strengthen their hearts. Give us the grace to experience Your nearness as we persevere through storms with our confidence fully in You.