Opening Up Our Heart

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.  1 Corinthians 13:1-3

There is a saying that vulnerability is the last thing I want you to see and the first thing I look for in you.  Here is an example.  When watching a news or press conference or news report, they always move to the center figure of the story.  At some point during the discussion, the person starts to break down in tears.  At that moment, the cameras focus intensely on them, and you can hear the rapid clicks of the cameras reacting to that moment.  We often see that when a person is retiring from something they have done or a relationship they have had for a number of years.  They talk about how much they loved what they did.  These are the things that bring us closer to the person. It speaks of truth, sincerity, and passion.  Many of us love God openly and unabashedly.  Yet at times in this world, some feel to say it or maybe even display it is showing weakness.  However if we cannot be open and vulnerable enough to show this very act, how can we truly love God and others?

Vulnerability to God means to open up your heart to Him as well as others.  The words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 speak to the very core of why love must be at the center of all we do.  He was speaking of having spiritual gifts and abilities and how they are rendered meaningless without love.  God’s love for us brings us peace, joy, and comfort.  Furthermore, it can also bring us trials, failures, and challenges to grow spiritually.  Our perception of love tends to be the former, and thus, to show it makes us seem weak and vulnerable.  However if we know the latter is also love, we realize that it is also strength and conviction.  Despite our flaws, God shows us love in both ways.  While loving a flawless God is easy, loving flawed people is very difficult, and leaves us vulnerable to being disappointed and hurt.  However if God is to love us in spite of all of our faults and our mission is to follow His example, we realize we must do the same.

As God loves us, we must love others.  Jesus said, “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:20-21)  Furthermore as to the greatest Commandment, “Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)  If we treasure our love for God and others the most, we will have the greatest rewards in Heaven, and that is what matters above all.  How can you be more vulnerable in showing your heart for God?  What steps can you take toward loving others as God loves you?  My prayer is that we show greater resolve for opening up our heart to God and others.   Amen.

Tues Devo: What is He looking for?

(*Authors note…last week I referred to the writer of Hebrews as Paul – that was slip. I don’t have any special revelation about the authorship of Hebrews! I apologize for that error)

Psalm 15 “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.” (NASB)

Hello,

As we go through our lives, it is obvious to say that we get busy and sidetracked. I know that I start to segment things, and align priorities within each segment. The issue becomes at some point you feel like there are multiple top priorities – well, what then? You have to recalibrate with what really matters. If you are anything like me when this happens, you start to look at how those competing priorities might support one another – leading to rationalizations and excuses. We start to tangle together priorities. We can start to think that focusing on other priorities all the time is what we are supposed to do. How do you pull out of this cycle? The answer, get simple. Go back to Scripture and see what it is that is simply required of us. The list is plain – walk in integrity, do righteousness, speak truth, don’t slander, don’t be evil to neighbors. The list goes further – and while doing these may be challenging, it is not complicated.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

RLD Week 1 - Have a Heart for Discipleship

 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

The thing that struck me the most in going through the first week was that we are each disciples.  Believe it or not, this was a foreign concept to me.  I had grown up hearing about the 12 disciples that followed Jesus and calling myself and others Christians, but disciples?  Was I really a disciple?

Yes.  I am.  Maybe I'm falling into that evangelical demographic by doing so, but I'm starting to call myself a disciple of Christ and not simply a Christian.  I think back to some of the classic literature I've read - being a gentleman was something you did and practiced, it wasn't a title lightly bestowed on everyone.  Quite frequently now, the term gentleman is used to describe anyone with good manners, and not someone who truly practiced that style of life.  The same has started to happen with the term Christian.  People will say they're Christian, but do you truly live for Christ?  Do you ache for those that are not following Christ?  Do you keep Christ at the forethought of your decisions?  Do you lean on him for everything - really EVERYTHING?  Do you eat, breathe, and sleep for Christ?  Do you bleed for him?

It's tough to go through that total and complete surrender.  I'm still working on it.  It's a huge leap of faith, and it's a huge commitment.  You will be vulnerable and raw to open yourself up like this.  Even if it's something you're working on, you're a disciple for Christ.  You are a disciple.  Just as the twelve who followed Jesus were unique and different from each other, we too are different and unique.  We are disciples in different ways and in different stages of our walks with Christ.  You are a disciple, just as those twelve were disciples. 

Send me!

Isaiah 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

I must say that anyone that has never done any sort of mission work, near or far, is missing out!  This morning I prayed that the Lord would show me what to write about as I just didn’t have anything really on my mind to write.  I briefly checked Facebook and saw a post from my niece that said, “I leave for Dominican in one week.”  I knew then that I wanted to use the scripture from Isaiah 6:8 for today’s devotion. 

Mission work does not have to be to another country.  It doesn’t even have to be out of state.  Although I could go on and on about how amazing it is to do mission work in another country. 

Look around you, we are living in a mission field every day!  With the water situation in some of the cities in Michigan, mainly in the news is Flint, there is a great opportunity for people to serve. 

Too often we sink into the comfort of our own lives and when the question comes up, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”, we hide in hopes that someone else will volunteer so we don’t have to feel guilty about someone not doing it.  Brothers and sisters, I urge you, don’t hide.  Step forward and say, “Here am I.  Send me!” 

Serving others is such a good way to have yourself filled with love.  Look around you today and see how you can go forth for Christ.

Thurs Devo: Salvation Belongs to Our God

Have you ever heard or sung the praise song – Salvation Belongs to Our God? It has a catchy chorus “Be to our God, forever and ever, Amen.” (Several different Christian singers and groups have recordings of it.)  Whenever I sing it at church, I usually hum the chorus in my head the next day or so.

How does this relate to our study of Revelation? Well, the words to this song come right out of Revelation 7!

Revelation 7:9-12     ⁹ After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

¹¹ All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,¹² saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

Are you humming the song yet??? I am.

The multitude in heaven, the angels, elders and four living creatures used these words to praise God right after He sealed His servants that were still living on earth (see last week’s devotional). So, the next time you and I hear or sing this song, let’s remember that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are also sealed for eternity. God has guaranteed our eternal salvation through Jesus the Lamb, no matter what happens to us in this life.

Alice

Free Indeed

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”  John 8:34-36

My coming to God felt a bit unique.  Many people come to God when times are at their worst.  They have nowhere to turn to, and there they find God.  In my case, it was more of a revelation.  I was not in any stress nor struggling in any way.  For the longest while, I believed that my sins would forever distance me from God.  It was during that time that I came to give what would become my testimony.  I shared with others that I had indeed been sinful, and by no means would I deserve to be in Heaven.  Instead, my goal was that maybe I could save someone through the tales of my mistakes.  This moment of admitting my own vulnerability to sin became the day of my liberation.  That is when God showed me His grace, and thus, I have been able to tell of this and literally hundreds of other stories because of it.

Showing our vulnerability to God is liberating.  I mentioned that many people come to God when times are at their worst.  Most of those will say they had been fighting and losing their battles with the world, and after agonizing in their sinful ways, they looked to God asking Him to free them from the bondage of their circumstances.  Even though we are saved through Christ, many of us still remain susceptible to believing we are not free.  Jesus said, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”  This is our moment of vulnerability.  We know none of us alone are free from this, but Jesus followed this up saying, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”  Thus through the confessing of our own sins to God, the weight of our past (our guilt, sorrow, pain, suffering, and bitterness) goes away.  To a new believer, they are born again.  To those who have served God for years, they are strengthened and renewed by the power of God to take away that which might hold them down in bondage.

God’s truth gives us freedom.  Jesus said to His believers, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31b-32)  The truth is Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives, and through Him, we are saved from God’s judgment.  There is nothing wrong with saying we are vulnerable to sin because we all are.  However if we can meet it with the determination and faith that our Lord Jesus Christ saves us, we are free.  What sins are holding you from the freedom Christ provides us with?  How can you free others through the testimony of your own vulnerabilities?  My prayer is that although we sin, we realize that through Jesus Christ we are free indeed.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Imitation

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who led you, who spoke the Word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” (NASB)

Hello,

What do you think of when you think of imitation? Some think of fake, others think of borrowed inspiration and yet others may think of looking for a role model. When reading through this verse (and surrounding ones as well) notice the 2 sides of imitations are present: those who imitate, and those are being imitated. Obviously, when Paul directs others to imitate someone else – there is a reason there. I think we all ought to look at how we can be on both sides of imitation.

First side – are you conducting yourself before God in such a way that others would be wise to imitate you?

Second side – do you have someone you can look to imitate – someone that has shown the fruits of their faith and choices with God?

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

The race before you

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The past few weeks I’ve talked about the plans that we have for our lives and aligning those with God’s plan for us.  I think it’s a great fit to continue this with talking about running a good race and throwing off everything that hinders this plan that God has for us or the race that has been marked out for us. 

Sunday would mark the 96^th birthday of my Grandfather.  About this time of year, I often think of his passing and it takes me back to his funeral.  My Grandfather was very special and being able to sing at his funeral was such a blessing to me.  He truly was a good man. 

This scripture and others that talk about running the race set out for us are often used at funerals.  It’s the end of that journey on earth.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, while we don’t want to have to think about our own funerals at this point, I think we need to in some ways.  We need to be focused on the Jesus, as the ending of our race here on earth, yet the beginning of eternity. 

Will it be said of you or me at our funerals that we endured such opposition and that we did not grow weary or lose heart?  Will others see that we ran our race with perseverance, focused on Jesus?  

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

The Case for Vulnerability - Pt. 2 (Vulnerable As A Child)

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.  Then he said,“I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Matthew 18:1-3

My pastor talked about some of the ugliness in our lives that we would not want others to see.  God sees all this, and yet, we will still play naïve thinking we can somehow justify this to Him.  For me, I know that I should be honest with God and look to Him saying, “Lord, I am so weak.  I do not know why you love me, but help me in my weakness.”  That is the epitome of being vulnerable; being at the point where you are so desolate and helpless that you can only go to Him and admit your faults.  It sounds sad, but here is the most amazing thing about this point.  That is exactly where God wants us!  He wants us to acknowledge our dependency on Him, and in spite of our flaws, we are perfected through Jesus Christ.  We are wonderful, amazing, and beautiful both through Him and to Him.

If we are to realize that being vulnerable to God is a good thing, then we must also acknowledge that we are both weak to the world and cannot survive without Him.  Jesus clearly spells out where our dependency on God should be at the beginning of Matthew 18.  I often asked myself, “Why would Jesus want us to be like little children?  Doesn’t He want us to grow spiritually to become mature?”  The answer to this is of course yes, but the point Jesus is trying to make is not for us to act like little children that are naïve to the ways of the world and indulgent to it like not knowing when to stop eating cookies from the cookie jar.  It is to understand that little children are both incredibly vulnerable and dependent.  They need nurturing and love from their parents to be taught right from wrong.  Similar to this, we are susceptible to the ways of the world, and thus incredibly vulnerable.  However, we have an all knowing Heavenly Father who we can depend on, and He provides us with both love and protection should we reach out to Him.  Furthermore, His word teaches us how to live a fulfilling and righteous life.

Surrendering all to God is our goal as Christians, and we simply cannot do so without admitting to our own vulnerability and weakness.  Paul took pleasure in His vulnerability in last week’s verse, and this week, Jesus says we all must acknowledge that without Him, we are spiritually weak and vulnerable to attack from the world.  It is only through this admission that we gain access to God’s Kingdom.

Over the next few weeks, I will cover a lot of ground on how God uses our vulnerability to make us strong.  In the meantime, ask yourself these questions.  How can you like Paul find God’s strength in your vulnerabilities?  What parts of your life can you display a child-like dependency on God more?  My prayer is that we spiritually mature into vulnerable children serving an awesome loving and forgiving God.  Amen.