Thursday Devotional - Peace and Perseverance

Last week I mentioned our basement flooded. That day and week was anything but peaceful. The same day our basement flooded, James was very ill and could barely breathe. We didn’t know if we were going to have to take him to the ER. In the midst of trying to care for James is when I found the flood. My first thought was “I can’t handle all this at the same time!!!!” However, God reminded me that He has been there through all my other overwhelming situations. That’s when I was able to stop and praise Him. He also reminded me that the most important thing is to have peace with God and I knew James had peace with God through his faith in Jesus! 

Romans 5:1-5     “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Peace with God doesn’t mean life will be easy here on earth, but it helps us put everything in perspective and lean on Him as we persevere.

How have past sufferings developed perseverance and character in your life?

What current situation can you and I let God use to develop greater perseverance and character? 

Let’s give God the glory through all these circumstances, remembering our peace with Him is the most important!

Alice

P.S. – James isn’t back to normal, but we’re so thankful he’s doing much better.

Bless And Be Blessed

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.  Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.  So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

There is a gentleman at my church who is incredibly gifted and filled with the Holy Spirit. The other day, he gave me a picture.  On it were various thoughts of encouragement.  One of which caught me off guard.  It said, “Lord, bless this man.”  I paused reading it not because I thought something was wrong with him saying it.  It was humbling because it was directed toward me.  To acknowledge that someone thought so much of me that they would ask that God bless me was special.  This gave me strength throughout the day, and I harken back to the gift as a reminder that we all can both bless and be blessed.

Being encouraging of one another strengthens our faith in God. There have been many things in the world that cause sadness, and the sheer volume of them can seemingly steal our joy.  God however reminds us that these times shall pass, and one day we will have eternal life with Him.  Not for a short period of time but forever.  The letter of Paul to the Thessalonians is filled with words of encouragement like today’s verses.  Thus when times seem difficult for others, our role as Christ followers is to be His spirit to those disheartened by the many difficulties in life.  It may be a simple word or a gift.  Perhaps it could be a note just to say you are thinking of them, or a phone call to say you were thinking of them.  “God put you on my mind, and I thought to call and pray for you.”  This may sound minute and trivial in our minds, but for a person hearing it, it speaks volumes.  And for a person who may have been momentarily lost or needing to hear God’s voice, it could be the difference.

God’s powers are limitless. We often will look at things through our own lens, and see only what we can do.  If we change it to God’s view, we realize there is not much we can’t do.  We all need encouragement from time to time.  2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.””  Giving encouragement cost little, but its value could be immense.  Let us focus on those things which lift others up giving cheerfully to people in any way we can.  Who can you bless today in words or deeds?  How can you be encouraged by the blessing you are to Christ?  My prayer is that we look at ourselves realizing that we can both bless and be blessed.  Amen.

Taking time to learn

I’m sure someone among our group has a 12-year-old boy.  If you do not have one yourself, I’m sure at some point you have known one.  Boys at this age tend to like to play with their friends.  Maybe ride bikes, play sports, or many other things.  When you think of 12-year-old boys, you probably don’t think of a kid that wants to be at the Temple, listening and asking questions among a group of teachers. 

Luke 2:41-52

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.  After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.  Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.  When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.  After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Here Jesus was, as an ordinary man (boy) doing extraordinary things. How often do we take the time to sit among others to listen and ask questions?  While Jesus was at the temple, we can gather anywhere to take the time to be with our Heavenly Father. 

Thursday Devotional - Worship While Waiting

Are you still waiting for God to fulfill something He’s promised? Or, are you still waiting for an answer from Him about something you’ve prayed about for years? What are you and I doing while we wait?

Let’s see what Abraham did while he waited…

Romans 4:18-21            “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”  Romans 4:18-21

Abraham didn’t pout or wallow in disappointment. He didn’t weaken in faith or waver in unbelief, but was strengthened in his faith while he waited! He didn’t blame God or get angry with God, but gave glory to God!!!

Worshiping God in “bad” times and difficult situations can be hard. The more we are fully persuaded that God is all-powerful and sovereign over everything, the easier it is. God used our wait for children to grow me in this area.

So, when most of our basement flooded last week with water continually coming up through the floor with no where to go (while the sump pump ran non-stop), I was able to stop and praise God. I praised Him for who He is, knowing He is sovereign, in control and has power over everything. I could trust Him to help us, guide us and get us through. I then thanked Him for what I did like about our house 😉 and that we had a roof over our head! God then helped me put things in perspective, realizing it could be a whole lot worse. He also reminded me of some of the things I take for granted.   

How will you and I remember to stop and worship God in good times and bad or while waiting? He’s always worthy of our worship!!!

Alice

How Can I Win Today?

I hear the tumult of the raging seas
    as your waves and surging tides sweep over me.
But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
    and through each night I sing his songs,
    praying to God who gives me life.  Psalm 42:7-8

I have little notes at my desk.  Some are flip cards that I read every day.  Others are notes that I have made to keep me focused on the important things.  One of those notes simply reads, “How can I win today?”  It is a reminder that regardless of how the prior day went, it is over, and I must rise up to meet the challenges of a new day.  This made me think about my relationship with God.  Yes, I am saved, and I know I will spend eternal life with Him.  But have I made a difference in the world?  Have I stayed comfortable or do I continue to challenge my own faith to do better?  What have I done to win for God?

We should be asking questions on how we can better be God’s light in the world each and every day.  I came across today’s verses thinking how David loved God through good times and bad.  In the 42^nd Psalm, he seemed to be dealing with some rough times, but yet, he went to bed singing praises of God.  We should be going into each day thanking God for it.  Along those lines, day offers an opportunity to serve Him and reach newer heights in our faith.  It could be we read a bit more of God’s word, or perhaps we show love for someone who does not know God.  No matter what the we decide to do, we should remember as David did that God “pours His unfailing love upon” us each and every day.  Unfailing is important to note meaning it is a constant that never changes.  As such, we should focus on serving God in new and inspiring ways each and every day.  I say ‘new‘ because if we just do the same old things, we may never grow.

Each day is a gift from God.  Whether we feel great or not, we have an obligation to serve Him as best as we can today for while we are certain in our destination, we are uncertain as to our arrival date.  Thus, we must make a difference in our life and the lives of others each and every day God has gifted us with.  So let us be bold and determined to show the awesomeness of God just as He shows His unfailing love to us.  What plan do you have to make each day the Lord’s Day?  What can you change to grow in Christ? My prayer is that we look to God each and every day asking Him the question, “How do we win today?”  Amen.

Tues Devo: But I

Hello,

It is inevitable. We see opportunity to make an impact for Christ – and then Satan plants that little thought in our mind. The one that describes our inadequacy. The one that points out our failure. The one that implies we may be a hypocrite.

We cannot let that voice win. That voice is right. We have failed, we are not fully adequate, we do things against our better judgement – but instead of that disqualifying us from advancing His kingdom, we need to recognize that He called us knowing our failures. He uses us through our inadequacies.

Don’t let the voice win – trust the redemptive and forgiving work of Jesus to fill in our shortcomings, to be that qualifier for us.

Some verses related to this:

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” (NASB)

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” (NASB)

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 “Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anthing as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (NASB)

I hope this gives you a renewed strength and hope today,

Will Hill

Temptation

Think about a time that you were so hungry that you just thought for sure you could eat a whole cow or something huge.  Maybe you had to fast for some blood work or for some other reason.  I remember back to when I was in labor.  They don’t allow you to eat anything or have hardly anything to drink because of the chance of needing to have a C-section.  I was STARVING by the time I had my son!

Matthew 4:1-3

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

When I had my son, it had been about 22 hours without any food.  Hours, not days!  Here Jesus was at 40 days and 40 nights without food!  Jesus was, being tempted to turn the stones into bread.  Could he have done it?  Certainly!  Instead, he responded by saying:

Matthew 4:4

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

As we go through this time of year, known as Lent, I want to have us think about the extraordinary things that Christ did, as an ordinary man.  While we will never measure up to him, we are told to be like Christ.  He came to this earth and faced challenges, just like each of us have.  He has walked a mile in our shoes.  

Today I want you think about what tempts you.  Do you easily give into that temptation or do you stand strong?

Thursday Devotional - Father Abraham

We talked last week about how God credits Christ’s righteousness to those who believe. We don’t earn it. The same was true for Abraham. He wasn’t righteous, but God credited him with Christ’s righteousness.

Paul goes on to explain this further.

Romans 4:9-12   Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰ Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹ And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹² And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Abraham was credited with righteousness not because of who he was or what he did, but because of his faith in who God is and what God would do! (As Kent talked about yesterday, God is faithful and can be trusted to do what He says He will do.)

Most of us are not Jews. However, as Paul says, Abraham is the father of all who believe (remember the children’s song “Father Abraham”??).

My chiropractor is a Jew, but I don’t think he is a true son of Abraham, yet. However, yesterday, he was the one who brought up Jesus in our conversation! I continue to pray for God to use me (and now my kids, too) as witnesses for Him. 

Do you view God’s promises as gifts or as standards to attain? 

Are you a son of Abraham?

Those who place their faith and trust in what God has done and what He’s promised to do in the future are true sons of Abraham!

Alice

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence.  He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.

But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.  Genesis 19:27-29

We have dealt with a great deal of tragedy this week.  Whether it be our children in fear of their safety or our way of living being challenged and questioned, there is plenty of stress points that impact us.  There was a time where during these moments I would feel like the world was closing in on me all at once.  Yet today, I feel at peace.  Someone reminded me that God is always in control, and thus, nothing happens without His knowing.  Many of us have worries about tomorrow, and simply do not have answers to tragedies.  But I have faith that He will take care of things.  As I continue my journey of faith, I am reminded of God’s faithfulness, and it is in that I carry forward not only with confidence but also with faith that in the end He will help us to make things right.

We should all have surety in God.  As I was reading the book of Genesis, I got a great deal out of the story of Abraham and Lot.  Abraham was of course one of God’s truly faithful servants such that he could request certain things of God.  One was that He protect the city of Sodom if there were righteous people there.  After further reading, we realize that the ‘righteous people’ there were the people connected to Lot, his nephew who Abraham loved like a son.  This was the covenant God made with him.  When it appeared Sodom and Gomorrah could no longer be saved, angels were sent to save Lot and his family.  There are a couple of things we can draw from this story.  First, through prayer we can actually gain favor with God where He will intercede on our behalf.  Second, God is always true to His word.  His promises are without fail.  He is always faithful, and our goal is to trust in this even as things surrounding us may not quite seem under control.

God is always righteous and always right on time.  A hymnal that always keeps me grounded speaks of God in such a way.  It begins simply:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

As the hymn says, He is never changing, compassionate, and of course faithful.  Let us move with confidence knowing God is always with us for we have asked Jesus Christ in our lives, and for that, we are truly saved.  What can you draw from Abraham’s faith into your own?  What surety can God provide in your life?  My prayer is that we remember who God is in times of uncertainty and indeed how Great is Thy faithfulness.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Into the mist

Hello,

We have had a ton of heavy fog lately – and it reminds me of a time back in 10^th grade when I was walking to school (uphill, both ways…..) on a very foggy morning. I kept looking at the fog as I was approaching it, wondering what it would be like to cross into this fog….but it never happened. I stopped, looked behind me and realized that I was already in this fog. I was so focused on what was coming next, I didn’t realize where I was now.

How true of this in our walk with Jesus also. We can get too focused on what is next, that we don’t take a moment to see where we are right now and look for the opportunities in that moment.

Now, there is nothing wrong with planning -in fact we are encouraged to plan as believers. But if all we are focused on is the future, and not right now-  we will be missing out.

Colossians 3:17 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (NASB)

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill