Saturday Devotional...6/1/13...Children of God

                                                  John 3: 16-17

For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in Him

should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

For God sent not His Son

 into the world

to condemn the world;

but that the world
through Him might be saved.

 

None of God's beneficence in any way means He approves of the conduct of sinful men, but rather it is a revelation of His nature that, despite men's wickedness, He has benevolent feelings toward them. He earnestly desires their happiness and is sincerely devoted to helping them make a success of life.

The whole world lies in wickedness (I John 5:19), and mankind is unable to extricate itself from it. Part of God's solution is to give a blessing, a gift, by which all the sins of humanity can be met and paid. Think of how much good fruit will be produced because of it! Can any kindness be greater than this? Absolutely not! But it does set a clear standard and pattern of conduct for us to exemplify in our lives so we too can be seen as children of God.

Written by

Annie Allen

Friday Devotional...5/30/13...REPENTANCE

“If we confess our sins, 

He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins 

and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 

I John 1:9

     Saying “I’m sorry” to someone we have hurt is almost a thing of the past.  We can see the effects of this in our society today.  Look at the cruelty, fraud, theft, killings – disregard for, disrespect for, disobedience, and rebellion against God’s laws which affect all of us.  Listening to court trials of news reports on television, the only thing we generally see is that the person is sorry they got caught.  This is not being sorry or “repenting” for the sins of wrongdoing.

     True repentance involves obedience, responsibility, action, and change.  How many of us compare ourselves to others so we do not look so bad – I’m afraid all of us do this from time to time.  If we viewed our sins as God sees them, however, we would be repelled by them and want to run from them.  Not only because sin causes so many problems in our own lives, but also our sins cause problems for those we love, for our society, for our world, and our sins ultimately separate us from God.

    

      However, God, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, holds out the gift of grace to all of us who truly “repent” and turn from our sinful ways to Him.  Forgiveness washes us clean of our sins and God no longer holds us accountable for them.  Then daily, relying on the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can walk in obedience to God’s Word and live lives both pleasing to God and also lives which will be best for us and everyone with whom we come in contact.  Repentance brings life.  We can get on with living in Jesus in the truest sense of the word.

Written by

Carol Lynn Steficek

Thursday Devotional...5/30/13

Oh, for a New Verb

I have always loved words, their meanings, usage and how definitions have changed through the years. Right now, I am fascinated with one of the growing trends in word evolution, verbifying, or the “verbing” of nouns.

Many nouns have enjoyed dual meanings for centuries, like garden – you can have a vegetable garden and you can garden in your garden. But recently, words which never had any intention of being a verb have morphed in common usage from nouns to “action” words.

The obvious example of “verbing” is Google, which started its humble life as the name of a company and now has come into common usage as the action of searching the internet for information. You can also RV, text, journal, dialogue and even guilt someone. You can also verbate, meaning to recite or write something word for word. Of course, verbate is not a real word, or I should say, wasn’t a real word, because folks are now verbating all over the place. 

Theologian Mary Daly wrote, “Why indeed must God be a noun? Why not a verb…the most active and dynamic of all?”

And, why not, indeed? If any noun, especially the greatest proper noun of all, deserves “verbing”, it is God.

I strolled through the first six chapters in Psalms and found God knowing, scoffing, giving, shielding, lifting, answering, sustaining, arising, saving, blessing, relieving, hearing, making, creating, redeeming, hating sin, destroying evil, leading, sheltering, surrounding, rebuking, chastening, healing, rescuing and saving. And that’s only six small chapters out of the 1,189 in the Bible. Our God is a very active God.

And Jesus came to seek and save (Luke 19.10,) preach the good news, proclaim and release the captives, recover sight to the blind, set free the downtrodden, proclaim the Lord (Luke 4.18,) bring in everlasting righteousness (Dan. 9.24,) render Satan powerless (Heb. 2.14,) give eternal and abundant life (John 10.10,) sacrifice his life for us (John 10.11,) and redeem us from sin (Eph. 1.7.) His entire being was focused on the actions necessary to achieve the will of God on earth.

I realized that the God of heaven, and the Jesus who walked on this earth, are never inactive. They are a constant force and a purpose in action.

When I seek God in my life, I am asking for His activity. I am “Goding” my intentions and requesting the Lord to “Holy Spirit” me. When I pray, I “God” my family and others in need. In doing so, I am asking for all God is, and is doing, to be actively operating in our lives and in the situations we face.

Sometimes, my daughter explains to people what I’m doing by saying, “Just go with it. Mom’s got to “Jesus” it, first.” It used to really bug me when she said this, but now I think she just may have the right idea. 

Jody Ward

Wednesday Devotional...5/29/13

 "He Totally Knows Me" 

Many of our family members and close friends know us well. They know the good, bad and the ugly about us. Part of that is that we have spent time together and have shared our hearts with one another. But there is someone that knows us better than anyone on this earth. That someone is Jesus Christ.

Let's take a good look at how God truly knows us by looking at His word. 

In Psalm 139:1-4 it says..... 

"O Lord, You have searched me and known me,

 You understand my thought afar off, 

You comprehend my path and my lying down,

 And are acquainted with all my ways, 

For there is not a word on my tongue, 

But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether."

It gives me great comfort to know that Jesus knows me completely, and knows what is the very best for me in every situation. We can trust God with our life fully and call out to Him for His perfect will for our life. He will guide us every step of the way, every day of our life, as we keep our eyes focused on Him. Great peace will follow as well, knowing we are in the best of care with Jesus. 

In His Radical Love,

Sandy Billingham

Devotional for 5/28/13

ENJOY NOT ENVY

My emotions flipped back and forth when my pastor started his message: Generosity is an Attitude of the Heart. It was conviction I was feeling because I have been generous in the past but I have been meaning to start sowing some financial seed into two ministries and I still haven't 'gotten around to it' or 'not ready to start yet' for months now.

Then another arrow seemed to shoot out of the pastor's mouth and fly right into my heart!

 "Stop envying what others have;

just enjoy the fact that they have received God's promises of blessing."

 

I instantly knew that that truth was for me! Sometimes I am content but sometimes I look at things that other people have and 'sigh'. I might not actually say to myself, "Oh, I wish I had that." But in my heart I am envying what I see.


This reminder to wait on God, to trust Him, and to be content during the process was just what I needed to hear. I look into my past and see the many miraculous times He provided for me and I am humbled. I determined right then to begin to train my heart and mind to enjoy and not envy.

Later as I entered the slow moving crowd of people in the aisle I leaned over and told a stranger that I was enjoying her shoes. She smiled and whispered back that she was enjoying my sweater. God is so good to show us that we are not alone.

You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled;

 [so] you become murderers. [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.]

You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain

 [the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek],

 so you fight and war.

 You do not have, because you do not ask.

³ [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive,

 because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives.

Your intention is [when you get what you desire]

 to spend it in sensual pleasures. 

James 4:2-3 The Amplified

 

Dear Lord, thank You for bringing this sinful habit to my attention. Thank You for pouring Your wisdom through my pastor's mouth to send me to the tools I may use to fight this desire in myself. In Your Son's precious name, amen.

Written by Mary M. Wilkins

Devotional for 5/27/13

TAKING THE DAY FOR GRANTED

It is Memorial Day and for most of the working population that means a day off. Schools, banks, and some stores close for the day to allow their members the opportunity to celebrate and honor those who have died for our country.

When I was young Memorial Day just meant an extra long weekend when I could sleep in on Monday. Age has softened my heart and expanded my awareness of how much has been done for me by those whom I will never meet. Now I can barely say the pledge of allegiance without tearing up; and when we sing the national anthem, keeping dry eyes is a lost cause.

The coolest thing about our military, and first-responders (police, fire, and medical personnel), is that they keep watching over us, protecting us, and preserving our freedoms, while we shop, socialize, sleep-in, eat at restaurants, watch movies, or even criticize them! Even when we are not thinking of them, the majority of them keep doing what they are supposed to do.

Although I desire to have a grateful heart, I tend to take most of the blessings in life for granted. The blessing of a strong military to protect us from those who would do us harm. The blessing of a justice system that even with it's weaknesses is the most fair and merciful in the world. The blessing of a government that is voted in by the people and for the people.

Even the love of God, that has saved us from ourselves, is something we can take for granted. We can forget what a miracle it is that He loves us, forgives us when we ask, and accepts us as His children. Even when we are not thinking about God - He is thinking about us.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,

you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy,

kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 

Make allowance for each other’s faults,

and forgive anyone who offends you.

Remember, the Lord forgave you,

so you must forgive others. 

Above all, clothe yourselves with love,

which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Colossians 3:12-14 NLT

 

Dear Lord, thank You that You never forget Your promise to always watch over us and be with us. Please help us to learn the lesson of remembering that which we should remember and how best to let go and forget what we should forget. In Jesus name, amen.

Written by Mary M. Wilkins

ACCEPTANCE THROUGH FAITH

Sunday devotional for 5/26/13

There have probably been times when we all have felt God was asking us to do something without fully knowing why or what the outcome would be.  We may have approached a situation with prayer and meditation, asking for God to guide us to the "right decision" and felt as if we were being led in a certain direction, but were not quite sure if it was God's voice we were hearing.  It can be a very scary thing, to step out into the unknown.  

But if we take that course with confidence in Christ, it does not need to create fear or worry.  Some things just have to be accepted through faith, like the fact that God will work it out for our good because He loves us.  Sometimes we have to make a decision to take a certain path and simply ask God to bless it.

"Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see."  Hebrews 11:1

Today many churches are celebrating Trinity Sunday.  The Holy Trinity is a difficult concept even for Christian believers to fully understand.  It is one of those teachings from the Bible that we accept through faith, that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God in three persons.  We can't always fully explain it, but we can describe it and accept it.  Jesus described himself as being one with the Father and that the Spirit was "another advocate to help you" 

⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. ¹⁵ If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you...”  John 14:6-17 NIV

May you enjoy this Memorial Day weekend with thoughts that not only did fellow human beings in service die for your freedom in this country, but that the one true God and true man, Jesus, died for your freedom from the consequences of sin on this earth, and that he sent the Spirit to be another advocate before the Father for you.  May you accept this fully, with all awe and honor to our Triune God, through faith!

written by Jan Andersen

Saturday Devotional...5/25/13

What Size Is God?

Max Lucado
God's Roadmap For New Beginnings
Let The Journey Begin

What is impossible with man is possible with God. 

(Matt. 19:26)

Nature is God's workshop. The sky is His resume. The universe is His calling card. You want to know who God is? See what He had done. You want to know His power? Take a look at His creation. Curious

about His strength? Pay a visit to His home address: 1 Billion Starry Sky Avenue.....

He is untainted by the atmosphere of sin. Not hemmed in by the time line of history...unhindered by the weariness of the body.

What controls you doesn't control Him. What troubles you doesn't trouble Him. What fatigues you doesn't fatigue Him. Is an eagle disturbed by traffic? No. He rises above it. Is the whale perturbed by a hurricane? Of course not, he plunges beneath it. Is the lion flustered by the mouse standing directly in his way? No. He steps over it.

How much more is God able to soar above, plunge beneath, and step over the troubles of the earth!

Shared by Patty B.

Friday Devotional...5/24/13

REPENTANCE

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just 

and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 

 I John 1:9

     Saying “I’m sorry” to someone we have hurt is almost a thing of the past.  We can see the effects of this in our society today.  Look at the cruelty, fraud, theft, killings – disregard for, disrespect for, disobedience, and rebellion against God’s laws which affect all of us.  Listening to court trials of news reports on television, the only thing we generally see is that the person is sorry they got caught.  This is not being sorry or “repenting” for the sins of wrongdoing.

     True repentance involves obedience, responsibility, action, and change.  How many of us compare ourselves to others so we do not look so bad – I’m afraid all of us do this from time to time.  If we viewed our sins as God sees them, however, we would be repelled by them and want to run from them.  Not only because sin causes so many problems in our own lives, but also our sins cause problems for those we love, for our society, for our world, and our sins ultimately separate us from God.

     However, God, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, holds out the gift of grace to all of us who truly “repent” and turn from our sinful ways to Him.  Forgiveness washes us clean of our sins and God no longer holds us accountable for them.  Then daily, relying on the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can walk in obedience to God’s Word and live lives both pleasing to God and also lives which will be best for us and everyone with whom we come in contact.  Repentance brings life.  We can get on with living in Jesus in the truest sense of the word.

Written by 

Carol Lynn Steficek

Thursday Devotional...5/23/13

This is a poem based on verses from Isaiah 54.
The author said that it really is not a paraphrase,
just another way that she thinks think God showed it to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His Treasure

Your life,

I set with crystalline metals

The foundations of your heart,

In strongest sapphire blue

Your soul,

With deepest sparkling rubies

The love of your heart,

Gates of purest diamonds

And strings of precious stones

Guard your days

You are My treasure

More valuable than jewels

That are only earthly gems

Fading with time

You are worth My life

My gift of love

Greater than diamonds

You are cherished

Precious in My sight

Valued beyond measure

My treasure

Written by

Jody Ward

Shared b y

Corinne  Mustafa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poem based on Isaiah 54

God's word is filled with passages that teach, share who He is. His scipture also tells us His thoughts about who we are to Him and how He feels about us. Isaiah 34 is one of the beautiful examples of this factor of the Bible that presents treasures to His treasures to you, His created treasure...made in His image and likeness.

YOU

ARE

HIS
GEM

Corinne Mustafa

Wednesday Devotional...5/22/13

"Fully Trust"
 

It is one thing to say I trust in the Lord fully, but it is another thing to actually walk it out. So many times some of us can allow a cloud of worry and fear to keep us from relying on God. We may want to really give that situation over to the Lord, but there are so many distractions that keep us from doing so.

What the Lord is asking of us is to take the action on our part that is necessary and then trust Him to help us and act on our behalf. He so deeply wants to move in our life and give us rest and allow Him to do what He does so very well.

His word tells us in Psalm 34:8

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; 

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

When we are able to release all the worrying, fretting and stewing and fear into His hands completely and not taking it back, then that is when He can began to move mightily in our life. The pressure if off because we have a powerful God that wants to take care of us and He wants to bless us.

When we fully trust in the Lord, we can experience great peace, joy and rest in Him and know our God has our back! 

In His Radical Love, 

Sandy Billingham

Devotional for 5/21/13

HOUSE CLEANING

I dreaded the task ahead.  I’d rather clean an oven.  I wish I hadn’t seen the sign from the local Mission asking for used and other no longer needed items for their yard sale.  Now I have to go to - The Attic!  I loved my grandmother’s attic, but that was as a kid playing dress up.  Hearing the doorbell I knew my past was about to be on display.  

I apologized all the way up the stairs: for the attic dust, smell, dim lighting, and he said he understood perfectly.  I reached for the door knob.  It was stuck.  I pushed, I pulled, I wiggled, I pounded, and I kicked – surely that would be “the key”.  The driver asked to try - he turned that knob like it was well oiled!  I was amazed at the amount of things that had accumulated over the years. How did that happen?  We looked at stuff, handled things, laughed & shook our head at times.  He pulled items out of the corners, off the walls, and from the rafters.  Crevices, nooks, and crannies, were being set free of forgotten and hidden items.  The driver was always wearing a smile as he worked, evidently he enjoyed his job.    

Like the doorknob, an old trunk’s latch didn’t want to allow entrance it seemed.  But the driver used his touch and took out the first item - an ugly blouse that was labeled: Blouse of Bitterness.  The next item was a real shocker – a Pantsuit of Worry.  I didn’t know I was keeping that.  All the accessories were attached to it:  mistrust, anxiety, negative thinking and critical attitude. I was shocked. The bottom layer left me speechless and embarrassed as he asked, “Do you want to keep these Shoes of Pride and Gloves of Anger?  For some reason the shoes weren’t easy to part with. 

Putting everything into the old truck and locking the lid he asked if he could take it with him, not to be given to others, but destroyed.  Being near tears, I could only nod my head.  When he lifted the load and carried it out, I saw letters on the bottom- F.E.A.R. I experienced the release of that load in my soul and spirit, a lightness washed over me, as I remembered :

“Come to Me all you who are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart;

and you shall find rest for your souls.

 For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30.

 

He walked out the door and invited me to call him again sometime.  I was confident I wouldn’t clutter my life like that again and left the attic door open so the sweet fragrance and the brightness of his presence would linger. A week later I received a Fruit Basket with his card inviting me to call him anytime, that he would be waiting for my call, 24-7.  Now, you may wonder what kind of fruit was given in that gift – well, there was the fruit of LOVE – the fruit of JOY – the fruit of PEACE – the fruit of PATIENCE – the fruit of KINDNESS – the fruit of GOODNESS – the fruit of FAITHFULNESS – the fruit of GENTLENESS – and the fruit of SELF-CONTROL. There is only One Source for that kind of fruit. Mmmmm, yummy!  The name on his calling card is JESUS and He is waiting for your call.

 

Written by Sandy Schott

Monday Devotional...5/20/13

I apologize that this devotional is posted so late in the day...already Tuesday in some parts of the country.

Hope that you are not too busy to read two on Tuesday.

God bless

Corinne Mustafa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Passages

In 1976 Gail Sheehy published a book called PASSAGES which covered the different stages and of life and the challenges and crises built into each stage of passage. At that time I was thirty three and not to concerned about the later stages. Ms. Sheehy had some interesting theories. I felt that some applied and that some were not relevant to life as I understood at the ripe old age of 33. The book was well received and everyone was talking about it. I had a copy of the book, but sometime in the ensuing  thirty six years I have lost track of it. 

Somehow I managed to walk through the stages that were defined with only a few disasters.

In the nineties Gail Sheehy wanted to do a sequel to her book and when she studied the attitudes, beliefs, habits, and practices that were prevalent she found that people were staying longer in each stage. They were not gracefully rushing towards their elder years as defined in the mores of the 70’s. Rather they seemed to be slowing down to smell the roses and enjoy each level longer than before. At this time she added ten years to each stage. That is good news to many of my peers as we reach the last stages of our lives.

Our family could be said to be finished. However, this is not true. On April 20, 1968 a wife came into existence.  The earlier years were times of adjustment and compromise. Children came into the max and the marriage was a fluid thing…growing and evolving. This has not stopped even almost forty-five years later.

On June 11, 1973 my son was born. His mother was also born. This is a lifetime roll that we adjust to fit the needs of the changing ages of our children. Then it expands in  adulthood to adding in someone else’s adult children who become our “children” by marriage. 

Grandchildren are added into the mix. If we are blessed enough we might even meet our grandchildren.

I am at a stage when, while I do not dwell on it, I think about death more often. It used to be a thought about the distant future, now it looms closer. I heard a quote once that I cannot repeat word for word. However, it speaks to me. The gist of it is that it is a question asking, “God, if You wanted me to be happy to go to heaven, why did You make the world so beautiful?”  I could add lots to a list starting with beautiful world such as grandchildren to watch grow up, travel that now is possible, fellowship that is so wonderful.

While these things are true there are other things that are not so pleasant. As I age I find that my body is weakening. I have poor balance and less stamina. It takes me longer to get things done, and there never seems to be enough time. I get tired easily. I have to tell myself that there were always blessings and challenges at every stage. These are just the blessings and challenges of this later stage.

I am blessed that I am not afraid to die…still I think I would like to be here longer. I know that this is a tad silly and that I need to get a grip…to  put things in perspective so to speak. I need to do what is called Carpe Diem, seize the day and all that God has for me. This also includes letting go of things that have become too difficult to engage in as frequently. Life is good; it is filled with God’s blessings at every stage; we must be mindful to run with the things we have. God is orchestrating our lives according to His plan. I need to remember this at every turn in my path and embrace the fact that I will soon see God face to face.

The Bible says:

 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, 

no mind has conceived what God 

has prepared for those who love him"

1 Corinthians 2:9

Eye hath not seen...
 This is the same as saying, that no one had ever fully perceived and understood the value and beauty of those things which God has prepared for his people. All the world had been strangers to this until God made a revelation to his people by his Spirit. The blessedness which the apostle referred to had been unknown alike to the Jews and the Gentiles.      True that.

Father, Thank you for your plans and what you have prepared for your people who love You. Help me to keep sight of the wonder of this and to accept life as You give it to me with joy.
Amen

Written by
Corinne Mustafa

VIOLENT WIND

Sunday devotional, 5/19/13

There have been many violent wind storms recently in the news.  Tornadoes that have killed people and flattened entire towns.   Giant walls of dust engulfing entire cities.  Hurricanes with such great damage that years later there is still rebuilding occurring.  Powerful winds can do great damage.

Sometimes our lives seem to be filled with "violent winds" that toss us about.  Health issues, financial troubles, addictions, grief over losses and deaths, etc. all whip us around and can cause us to struggle to remain grounded in faith. God promises to be with us and to help us through the storms of life. 

 

But sometimes a violent wind can hold great blessings.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4

God's gift of the Holy Spirit on that day of Pentecost blessed many people who heard his word in their own languages. God continues to fill us with his Holy Spirit and enables us to speak to other people of his great love for us and all the blessings he has showered upon us.  May we continue to share with others the blessings of faith in God within the violent wind storms of life until the day we meet him in heaven!

written by Jan Andersen