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10/12/2010 - I Thessalonians 5:14 What They Need Vs Who I Am
SCRIPTURE: I Thessalonians 5:14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. OBSERVATION: One of the biggest mistakes we make in helping people is to treat people according to our personality rather than their need. If we are the "warning" kind of people, we tend to "warn" everyone, no matter their true need. If we are encouragers, we encourage, if we are care takers, we give care. The problem is, not everyone needs encouragement or "tender care" at any given moment--they might just need a swift (but loving) kick in the rear!! We need the Holy Spirit's insight to know what each kind of person needs so that we are not enablers but helpers. For many of us the being patient part is the real challenge. We want to see change and we want to see it now. Patience communicates acceptance and acceptance is the only true basis for seeing real change. When someone sees that I am patient and kind with them then they can fill comfortable in taking the risk to try living in a new way. It is a semi-absurdity of life that we need to know that we are accepted just the way we are before we can begin to change into something else. APPLICATION: Patience is the part I need to work on. I expect everyone (especially family) to get "it" as fast as possible. I need to give room for others weaknesses and be as patient with them as God is with me. PRAYER: Let me never forget how patient and loving You are to me. Give me the grace to be that patient with the failings of others--even when they cause me pain and discomfort. 10/8/2010 - Colossians 4:5-6 We Ought To Be Salty
SCRIPTURE: Colossians 4:5-6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
10/7/2010 - Colossians 3:12-14 The Other Guy's Faults
SCRIPTURE: Colossians 3:12-14 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. OBSERVATION: It seems that learning to deal with and overlook the faults of others is a real key to having the kind of relationships God wants us to have. It is the only way we can forgive. It is absolutely nessesary if we are to maintain a tenderheart and show mercy. It come from humility and requires a commitment to kindness and gentleness. That is not to say that it is easy. The faults of others are so very obvious to us. Our only hope is to remember how much we have been forgiven by God and to put on the cloak of love that God so graciously offers to us. APPLICATION: There is someone who is really getting on my nerves at the moment. They could make life so much easier for me with just a small action on their part. Still, my job is to first love them then be gentle in the way I relate to them. I sense God calling me today to forgive and overlook their faults. That is exactly, with His help, what I intend to do. PRAYER: Lord, help me. I want to forgive. This thing is tearing me up. I want to let go. Give me the grace to do so. 10/6/2010 - Proverbs 24:26 The Kiss of Truth
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 24:26 An honest answer is like a kiss of friendship. OBSERVATION: Very often what we want from our friends is mere confirmation. We don't to be challenged. We don't want to be encouraged to grow. We don't want to be reminded to ask, "What is God doing in me during this tough time?" Our friendship should be a place where we can go for comfort and encouragement. We need to know that there are those in our lives who are there for us in the tough times. Still, that is not all that God has placed our friends in our lives for--we need to be challenged, we need to grow, we need to let God use our tough times for our good. So, next time your friend challenges you, next time they say, in essence, "time to grow up", don't get mad--be thankful for a faithful friend and get growing! APPLICATION: I am blessed with some great friends in my life and they are friend who will give me an honest answer--not always the one I want to hear, but often the one God wants me to hear. It's is often not easy. Sometimes I hate it that they don't simply agree with me and support me. Still, I know, deep in my heart, how important this truthful answer is. PRAYER: Thank you Lord for those in my life who give me an "honest" answer. Even when it is hard, it is good and I thank You for putting them in my life. May I always be open to hearing from You through them. 10/1/2010 - Psalms 73:23-26 Everything For Desire
SCRIPTURE: Psalms 73:23-26 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. OBSERVATION: Look at these great promises: God will always be at our side, He will always direct us, we have a "glorious" destiny. He will always strengthen our hearts and never leave us!! Wow!! What is our part? Simply to desire him--to want Him more than anything else on earth. Sometimes that is the hardest thing to do--but the most important one. If we seek after God and give ourselves over to a deep desiring of Him, everything else falls into place--direction, companionship, protection, destiny, strength . . . everything. APPLICATION: Honestly, I can not always say to God "I desire you more than anything on earth." All I can do is to simply ask God to deepen that desire. I want it to be that way. PRAYER: LORD, help me to desire only You. That is what I want my heart to be: fully given over to You, above fame, comfort, pleasure, anything else!! 9/29/2010 - Proverbs 24:10 The Pressure Test
SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 24:10 If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small. OBSERVATION: The measure of your strength is not how we manage when times are easy but when times are tough. When we "pop off" during times of stress we want others to believe that this is not what we are really like. The truth is that stress reveals the true us and our lack of true strength. This is not to condemn us but to send us running back in desparation to the only source of true strength we have--God Himself. APPLICATION: I am living through a time of real pressure and stress and I recognize that it is a test of my true strength--not how strong I am personally but how well I have learned to run to God and to access His strength. The evidence suggests that I still have some growing to do--but at least I know where to go and who to look to. PRAYER: You are my strength, Oh God. In this moment of stress and pressure, I choose to find my strength in You. Thank You that You are there for me. SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:10-11, 18 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. . . 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. OBSERVATION: What makes us strong? Our fortitude and strength of will and personality? Our general "toughness"? This passage gives us the key to staying strong--we can only do in "in the Lord", in other words, in the context of our relationship with Him. In fact, it is "in his mighty power" that we stand. Why do we even look to our own personal power? It is not even supposed to be the source of our power. How do we stay "plugged in" to this power? By recognizing the armor that God has given us to stand strong and by praying in the Spirit. Does the just mean using our spiritual language? In part, certainly, but even more it means being led by the Spirit as we communicate with our Father God. That is how we make sure that His power is running through us. APPLICATION: Frankly, this morning I feel like I could use an infusion of power. I know I don't have it in myself--I need God's grace, peace, power and presence today. PRAYER: Lord, thank you that my source of power is in You and through You. I need You. I can not make it today without Your presence and power. Thank You for being with me today and for Your power in me and through me. 9/27/2010 - Isaiah 52:12 Who You Gonna Fear?
SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 51:12 I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? OBSERVATION: This is a really good question and one worth thinking deeply about: Why am I afraid of "just folks"? Could it be that I have allowed my worth and value to be tied up in what they think of me? Could it be that I have concluded that my only hope for provision, blessing, comfort and reinforcement comes from what people can do for me? Perhaps we have forgotten that it is God's love and acceptance that meets the deepest needs we have for value and worth, that He is the one who has promised to comfort and to provide all that we need, physically, emotionally and in every other way. APPLICATION: I am way too sensitive to feelings of personal rejection. I know that it is because I allow my self worth to be whether I feel rejected by others or not. I want so much to live in the "grace bubble" that comes from fearing God alone and allowing His love and acceptance of me to be totally determinant of my emotional well being. PRAYER: I feel like I am so far away from trusting You alone, Lord. I do fear others. I do fear their rejection and their opinions of me and how I am doing my ministry. Help me!! Put my heart solely on You. You are the only one I can fully, fully trust. 9/24/2010 - Isaiah 45:9-10 Arguing With God
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 45:9-10 “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ 10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born?’ or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’” OBSERVATION: How often do we wish we were someone else--at least that we had their talents or beauty or ablities. How often is our self worth tied up in comparing ourselves with others. When we do, not only are we insulting our creator, we are missing out on using well the wonderfulness of what God made us to be. We each have a unique contribution to make. When we realize that we were made just for that contribution--nothing more and nothing less--it takes off a lot of pressure . . . and disappointment. While I can't do what some others can do (and I am jealous and wish I could) I also do not have their responsibility before God for those talents. And, when I am concentrating on what they have, I lose sight of what I alone can do. APPLICATION: I have a long list of things I can't do as well as I would like. I need God to remind me that it's OK to simply be me. He doesn't hold me responsible for what I can't do, only for what I can and don't do. PRAYER: You, Lord, made me just the way I am. Please let me see the beauty of that creation and honor You by using all the talents and resources You have given me and not envying what others have. SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 43:1-3a, 4b But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. 4b . . . because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. OBSERVATION: Look at what God has done for us: formed and created us, ransomed us, called us by name, made us His, promised to protect us, promised to be with us in the most difficult of times and let us know how precious, honored and loved we are. All of this gives us faith that when we face floods and fires we are not alone!! Yet, we need to remind ourselves of how valuable we are to Him. APPLICATION: Right now I am not feeling very precious or loved. I choose to believe that He will take me through the fire and flood that I am facing. He has said (and I believe it) that He will be with me in deep waters, that He will take me through difficulty and fire without it destroying me. I am so thankful that I am His!! I will cling to Him with all my might. PRAYER: Lord, be with me. I feel so weak sometimes. I feel alone sometimes. I am so thankful simply that You made me just the way I am and that You will never leave my side. I will hold on to that hope. 9/22/2010 - Isaiah 39:29-31, 41:10 Hope For The Weak
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 39:29-31 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. 41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. OBSERVATION: Who does God give strength and power to? The weak and the powerless. There is no shame in admitting that you are weak--it is an invitation to His strength to renew you. Even young men (that means all of us) can find ourselves at the end of our strength sometimes. Don't deny it. Don't pretend that it is not true. But come to God and seek for the renewal that we all need from time to time. APPLICATION: I am feeling a little tired and weak right now. I need to be renewed. These verses really talked to my heart and reminded me that it is OK to be tired, to feel weak and discouraged. Yet, here is what He is promising me: He is with me, I don't have to be afraid, He is my God, I don't have to feel discouraged. He is promising to strengthen, help and lift me up. I need to run to Him. PRAYER: Lord, help me to receive all of this from You. I really need it today!! Lift me up. Bring me out. Do good things on my behalf. 9/21/2010 - Galatians 6:7,9 Where's My Reward??
SCRIPTURE: Galatians 6: 7,9 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. . . . 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. OBSERVATION: Certainly it is true: you will reap what you sow. However, here it is telling us that the justice of God not only requires that those who do evil are punished but that those who do good are rewarded. It is wonderful to know that the power of God's justice is on the side of my reward when I am doing His will. The only caveat that this section suggests is that we have to "keep on keeping on". Reward will come. Not always in what we consider the "right time" (which is always RIGHT NOW as far as we are concerned) but in what He considers the "right time". Receiving the blessing is dependent on not giving up. APPLICATION: I want to give up!! Where is my reward? I need to have the faith to believe that God's justice requires Him to reward everyone (myself included) that obeys Him and stays faithful. I'm looking for it and expecting it! PRAYER: Help me to remain faithful to You. May I see my reward soon! Thank You that You are so much more faithful to me than I am to You. 9/20/2010 - Galatians 5:24-25 The Power To Stay On The Cross
SCRIPTURE: Galatians 5:24-25 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. OBSERVATION: The way to do vs. 24 is by doing vs. 25. More and more I am seeing that it is God's work in me that produces holiness. The place to start in defeating our sinful nature is not by running into the fight and giving our sin nature that old "one, two". It is by running to the Holy Spirit and getting so close to Him that He is directing ALL of my life. When it comes time to deal with my sin nature, He is there to direct and empower me. APPLICATION: This is why mornings just like this one are so important. I need to begin each and every day giving myself over to the rulership of the Holy Spirit. Then, when I am tempted, the Holy Spirit is already there to take over and remind me that I have been crucified with Christ. PRAYER: Holy Spirit, fill me, lead me, protect me from my own sin nature. Remind me that I was crucified with Christ and give me the power to live as a New Man today!! 9/17/2010 - Isaiah 26:3 The Key to a Worry Free Life
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! OBSERVATION: This scripture has two prescriptions for peace of mind: first, we have to trust God. Second, we have to discipline our minds to think about Him instead of the problem. How many times do we wallow in anxiety simply because we are not trusting God? We need to remind ourselves of all the times He has been so faithful. We need to say, sometimes outloud, "God I trust you", "I know you will take care of me". We need to consider what are minds are "fixed" on. In stressful times we tend to think about two things: the problem or something or someone to distract us from the problem. How about meditating on God? Memorizing His Word, especially the book of Psalms, and "fixing" (adhering, attaching, not letting go) our minds on those truths rather than the circumstances we have to deal with. One more thing: then obey!! When we fix our minds on God, He may very well give us a solution. When He gives it to you, DO IT! Even if it is not the most direct way to address the problem. He knows. Trust Him and obey Him. APPLICATION: Yesterday was very stressful. I need to learn better how to fix my thoughts on Him rather than my challenges. I need the peace that will come. PRAYER: Lord, remind me to fix my mind on You when I am under stress, worry and anxiety. As I do, please give me Your peace. 9/16/2010 - Gal. 2:20 Whose Life Is It Anyway?
SCRIPTURE: Gal: 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. OBSERVATION: What a difference it makes when I realize that I am dead. Dead to my old way of life. On the other hand, I now have the oppournity to live like I have always wanted to; not controlled by my old self (who wants that!!) but to live a life made possible by the one who lives in me. If I want this to be reality, I need to spend time every day (sometimes many times a day) focusing on who lives in me and through me. APPLICATION: I am learning what a difference it makes to live with the reality of Jesus in me. I am asking Him, nearly every day, to live, love and respond through me. What an honor, previledge and responsibility to think that Jesus actually lives in me. PRAYER: Jesus, again today, I take into myself the bread of your presence and remind myself that you are alive in me. May I live, always, like this is true. 9/14/2010 - Gal. 1:10 If You Please, Who Do You Please?
SCRIPTURE: Gal. 1:10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. OBSERVATION: This statement is so couter to the culture that we live in. It is also, unfortunately, counter to the way we typically view life. So often we feel like, if we are good people, that we will live our lives trying to please others. Here Paul tells us that this motivation is acutally counter to being a servant of God. It suggest a whole different way of evaluating our life, our choices and our definition of success. APPLICATION: There was a time in my life where I could truly say that pleasing others was utterly not my goal in life. Unfortunately, I discovered that my deepest motivation was not to simply please God (although I was trying to do that as well) but to prove to the nay sayers that, sooner or later, I would be proved to be right. I am now at a place in my life where I must stay on alert against sliding into being a people pleaser. I love people. I want to serve people but, sometimes, my service orientation leads me to try to please people in ways that God is not telling me to do. I need to remember that it is sometimes possible to deeply disappoint people and yet to be, at the same time, a faithful servant of God. PRAYER: Increase my love, devotion and commitment to serve Your people. You love them. You serve them. You meet their needs and I want to be like you. Help me Lord, though, to never lose sight of whose servant I am--Yours and Yours alone. SCRIPTURE Isaiah 6:1-7 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” 8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” OBSERVATION: Being in God's presence brought awe, repentance, cleansing and a willingness to be sent out for God. It is what we all need. It is what we all should be wanting to experience. APPLICATION: I need to bathe regularly in God's presence. I need to be reminded of His greatness and of my need for change. I need to experience, regularly, the cleansing that only He can bring about. I need to know that I am "on a mission from God" because I have heard it directly from His mouth. PRAYER: Help!! I need to to know You more deeply and really than ever before. Forgive me my lack of passionate pursuit of knowing You. I know that it would/will make all the difference. 9/9/2010 - Ps. 53:1 What Atheism Does to The Brain
SCRIPTURE: Ps. 53:1 Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” OBSERVATION: Stephen Hawkings in his new book, The Grand Design, makes the assertion that there is no need for God. He claims that the universe exists because of natural laws and that is all you need. Here is a very smart guy saying something very foolish. Natural laws tell us clearly that matter/energy is not self-generating. It has to come from somewhere. This is a fact that is abundantly self evident but Hawkings misses it completely and become a fool because he has concluded that there is no God. If you want to be counted with the wise, begin with the truth that there is a God and evidence for Him is all around us. 9/8/2010 - 2 Cor. 10:3-5 How To Change Their Minds
SCRIPTURE: 2 Cor. 10:3-5 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. OBSERVATION: How do we usually work to change people's minds? Too often through argument and pursuation. How did Paul do it? It appears that he did it through prayer and spiritual warfare as well as speaking what the Spirit gave him to say. APPLICATION: There are some people in my life that need some pursuading. I need to make the commitment to concerted spiritual warfare to see those minds changed. PRAYER: Lord, it is so easy to depend on my mouth and brain to bring about change. Too often those are just "waging war as humans do." Save me from that and teach me to battle on a spiritual plane. I know that it will make a huge difference. 9/7/2010 - II Cor. 9:6 The Value of Planting Generously
SCRIPTURE: II Cor. 9:6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. OBSERVATION: My part, as one of God's farmers, is to plant many seeds. The harvest is in relationship to how many seeds I plant not what I do to make the seed sprout and grow--that is God's job. My job is to merely plant--lots of seed. APPLICATION: I must always remember, it is not my job to bring about results, it is my job to plant many good seeds, in people (both Christian and non), in leaders (including staff members), in my family, in my wife. If I "seed" them generously, I will get a result. PRAYER: Lord, help me to remember this truth. Show me when and how to plant into others lives. Help me to be generous with the seed. 9/3/2010 - II Cor. 7:1 Why Should I Deny Myself?
Scripture: II Cor. 7: 1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. Observation: Why should we attempt to stay morally clean? For at least 3 reasons: 1) God has made such great promises to us. We both should respond with great gratitude for His grace and seriousness about not missing out on them. 2) They defile our body and spirit. They just make us feel dirty on the inside and can even destroy our physical health. 3) We fear (or ought to fear) God. He is big and He hates sin and He disciplines even those He loves. All good reasons to live straight!! Application: When tempted, I need to remember these 3 reasons to live right. I want to receive all God has for me, my family, my church, my ministry. I want to feel clean and stay healthy. I do fear God and I want to live like it. Prayer: Dear God, remind me of the costs and the reasons to live right for you. Please forgive me for my failures and give me to grace to live as you would have me to. 9/2/2010 - What Are Your Eyes On? II Cor. 6:10
Scripture: II Cor. 6:10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. Observation: It seems that it is not unusual, when you are actively ministering to others, to live in two worlds at once. In one world we may be aching, poor and own nothing while at the same time being joyful, having much to share and being fully fulfilled. It seems that it is a matter of which side we put our attention on. Application: It is too easy for me to live with my eyes only on the poor, aching, having less than I desire side. I need to actively encourage myself by keeping my focus on the joy, sharing and fulfillement that God intends for me. Prayer: Lord, thank you for the reminders, recently, of what my life is accomplishing. Give me the strength to keep my eyes on the joy you have for me and to be constantly fulfilled simply doing what you have given me to do for your people and for your church family. 9/1/2010 - 2 Cor. 5:18-20 The Reconcilers
Scripture: 2 Cor. 5:18-20 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” Observation: What an incredible thought: we have the job of reconciling people back to their creator. How often do we fail to even recognize that we are called to do this. How different we would live every day if we understood that God is, daily, making His appeal through us. Application: I just don't live like this often enough. I want to live as Christ's ambassador and let Him make His appeal through me but, so often, I don't. I don't have enough non-christian friends. I don't do enough to make them. I need to live differently. Prayer: LORD help!! Show me how you want me to be an ambassador for You. 7/28/2010 - Bible Reading for Today
"One Year Bible" Reading 2 Chronicles 21-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7 7/28/2010 - The Hypocrite and His Kids Proverbs 20:7
The Hypocrite and His Kids It seems to me that one of the most common reasons that children walk away from God when they get into their Jr. High, High School and college years is that one or both of their parents do not live in private what they profess in public. If we want our children to be blessed, if we want them to have a close relationship with God, we need to make sure we walk with integrity outside and inside of our private lives.
PRAYER: Lord, I want my children to be blessed. Help me always to have integrity. Help me to find the time to lead them into prayer and study of your Word. Thank you for my family. 7/27/2010 - Bible Reading for Today
"One Year Bible" Reading 2 Chronicles 19-20:37; Romans 10:14-11:12; Psalm 21:1-13; Proverbs 20:4 7/27/2010 - How To Win 2 Chronicles 20:15-22
How To Win 1. Be aware that if we make it a matter of prayer, it is God’s battle and not ours. (Vs. 15) So often we are activist and want to roll up our sleeves and make something happen and God calls us, instead, to realize that it is His problem, ultimately, and not ours. 2. Take your position (Vs. 17). In other words, we should do what we know we are supposed to do. Love our kids. Work hard to pay every bill we can. Then stand firm and expect God’s hand in it. 3. Recognize that God is with us (Vs. 17). The only reason we have not to be afraid or discouraged is because God is with us. Not only is He our deliverer but He stands with us and beside us as our comforter. 4. Have faith in God and in what He has told us personally or through prophetic people. God expects faith from us. Not just a grim holding on, but a faith filled confidence that He is going to act. If we have a hard time believing, we should remind ourselves of all He has done for us in the past and all the ways He has delivered us from difficulties. 5. Worship Him even before we fight. There are times when we must enter the spiritual battle (even then, it is with the knowledge that He has already won the victory), but the first thing to do is to worship God. Worship Him verbally, worship Him daily. When we are feeling discouraged or afraid, worship Him ever minute of the day, if we need to. What will be the result? God will bring the victory. Our problems will start to resolve themselves but we need to do our part.
PRAYER: Lord, You know the pressures I feel. I give them to you. Sunnyside is Your church. You said that You would build it. I am asking You to do just that and I will trust You to do so. 7/27/2010 - Easy Laziness Proverbs 20:4
Easy Laziness
Observation: The problem with sowing in the right season, the reason it is easy to get lazy, is because we don’t see any harvest in the planting season. Planting is hard work and the payoff is delayed. It is like going to college. There is so much work and expense and the benefits only come years later. A wise man is able to recognize when it’s planting season and work hard even when there seems to be no results. Results will come, if we are faithful and don’t give up in the planting season. PRAYER: Lord, You say that You will not forget the efforts I put into Your Kingdom. I believe that, and I believe that if I give up houses or lands or other things for You and Your Kingdom that You will return in abundance. I’m believing for that blessing. 7/27/2010 - Beautiful Feet Romans 10:14-15
Beautiful Feet
Observation: We can be really happy simply being believers. We have our friends, we have our church, we’re happy with God and He loves us, but what about the rest of the world? Can we really be happy knowing that they are on their way to an eternity without God? Who is going to tell them if we don’t? We need to be shaken up by this verse and be ready to be sent out to let them know the Good News. If we don’t who will? NO ONE!!
7/18/2010 - Bible Reading for Today
"One Year Bible" Reading 1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34; Romans 4:13-5:5; Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 19:17 |
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