Thursday Devotional - God is With Us, Meeting Our Different Learning Styles 5/19/22

Are you more of a visual or verbal learner? For the most part, I’m a verbal (or auditory-sequential) learner and Joe is a visual/spatial learner (opposites attract!). We will experience, see, hear or read the same thing and remember different aspects of it.

What kind of learners were the disciples or the women who went to the empty tomb? I’m guessing there were some of both. God took care to cover both types! Not only did God send an angel to sit on the stone to visibly confirm that the empty tomb and violent earthquake were God’s doing (as we saw last week), but God had the angel also verbally confirm this truth.

Matthew 28:5-7   ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” (italics for emphasis)

God reminded the women and the disciples (and us today) that all this happened just as planned and just as Jesus said! God offered the proof visually and verbally.

God teaches us today both visually and verbally. We can visually read His Word and verbally hear it taught. We can visually see His hand in creation around us and verbally interact with Him in prayer. Through His Word He gives us the big picture (spatial) of His redemptive plan for the whole world and He also gives us specific practical details (sequential) for everyday life.

God doesn’t just have one way of teaching. He reveals Himself in different ways for every learning style. He is the ultimate creative teacher with unlimited variety!

How has God used various ways to teach you His truths?

Alice

Thurs Devo: No More Delay!

I’ve been on several delayed flights recently. The worst one caused me to miss a connecting flight. The most frustrating part was that I received notification that my connecting flight was also delayed, but it ended up leaving on time (and without the 5 of us from my first flight)! I also received over a dozen notifications about changes to the departure time of the first flight. I understand weather delays can’t be avoided, but clear and accurate communication would be helpful. It’s stressful waiting, especially when the information given to us isn’t reliable.

God won’t keep changing times on us. He will accomplish His purposes and plans fully and we can trust Him to follow through.

Revelation 10:5-7     ⁵ Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶ And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

God’s given us the Bible which is full of His plans. We don’t have to be in the dark about the future. We can know the “mystery” of God as we read and study His Word. He’s given us exactly what He knows we need to be adequately prepared.

Do you and I truly believe God created everything, cares for everything, and has a master plan? If so, how are we taking advantage of the resources He’s given to us to know His plans for the future? The better we know His truths, the more we will experience peace while we wait. 

Alice

Thurs Devo: Servant Seal

Last week we saw how all kinds of people tried to hide from God to no avail. His final wrath and judgment will fall on all those that don’t belong to Him. God’s servants will be redeemed from the final judgment, though. God has a plan in place so that none of His children are lost.

Rev 7:1-3      After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ³ “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” 

Are you a child of God? Are you a servant of God? Do you have His seal?

Ephesians 1:13-14    ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

For those of us with God’s seal, we have a guarantee of a far better life to come!

II Corinthians 5:1 & 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands… ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Praise God for our seal, deposit and guarantee!!!

Alice

Angel Quiz (Part II)

Answers to last week’s Angel Quiz:

1. How many people were visited by an angel leading up to Jesus' birth?   3

2. Who were each of the individuals? Joseph (Matthew 1:20-25) Zechariah the priest (Luke 1:8-20) Mary (Luke 1:26-38)

3. How many of the angels are named?  1

4. What are their names? Gabriel (Luke 1:19 & 26-27)

5. How many times is it recorded that an angel appeared to Joseph before and after Jesus’ birth? 3-4 (Matthew1:20-24, 2:13-15, 2:19-20, 2:22-23)

After Jesus’ birth, who else was visited by an angel? Yes, the shepherds.

Luke 2:8-20   ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The shepherds didn’t get to quit their job, get a new job, retire early, or change their immediate circumstances in any way. However, they rejoiced in who God is and what He had done! They also spread the excitement of this truth to others!   

Have you and I responded like the shepherds? As we get to know God and His Word, do we spread the Word to others? Even when our own circumstances don’t change, do you and I glorify and praise God for all He has done, just as He promised? That’s real joy.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Angel Quiz

In past years, I've done a couple quizzes at Christmas time to see if we really know the details surrounding Jesus' birth as well as we think we do. So, this year, I was led to put together a quiz to see what we know about the angels surrounding His birth.

1. How many people were visited by an angel leading up to Jesus' birth?

2. Who were each of the individuals?

3. How many of the angels are named?

4. What are their names?

5. How many times is it recorded that an angel appeared to Joseph before and after Jesus’ birth?

I'll post the answers next week. Or, for those who can't wait, you can figure them out now on your own by reading the Matthew passage below and Luke chapters 1 and 2!

Matthew 1:20-24 "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us."

God came to live among us and in us! God incarnate, as Jesus, came to live among us. After Jesus death on the cross, to save us from our sins, we have God the Holy Spirit to live in us as believers. As we've been studying the last few Thursdays, God is always with us!

Alice