Includes...
The other day I came across Exodus 31:16-17 which says, The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come. 17 It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”
This passage got me thinking... If God never gets tired, why was he refreshed?
Then a few days later I came across Philemon 1:20 where the apostle Paul says...I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.
The word refresh in the Exodus passage is the Hebrew word Naphash, which means to refresh with breath or with a current of air. This is the same word that is used when God breathed into Adam's nostrils.
Then Proverbs 11:24-26 came to mind,
One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. 25 A generous soul will prosper, and he who refresh...
In October our message was on writing out prayers and as we went through the month we discussed the idea of turning these prayers into love letters to God, that are written from the heart. During October I saw God miraculously answer much of what I had written out, but there were many times when I wanted a prayer answered within a certain deadline and in almost every case the prayers were answered after the deadline.
And almost every time when the deadline had already passed there was the temptation to quit and give up. Something I am learning is NOT to get defeated by time. Often we are believing for something to happen and when it doesn't happen in the timing we want there is the tendency to give up or get discouraged. This is simply getting defeated by time. Even if a deadline has already passed God can still do the impossible.
God has an appointed time for everything and the timing may not be for us to know. It is for God to decide when the perfect time is....
Isaiah 1:18-20 says, "Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land. 20 But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”
While homeschooling my kids this year the thing I care most about is their willingness when it is school time. My number one rule is for them to do what they know to do and do it with a good attitude. If they need help with anything they can ask, but when their hearts are not willing to do the work for whatever reason it makes the day so much harder and shuts off real learning from taking place. When their hearts are willing it is so much more enjoyable for everyone and they learn and grow so much faster. Working with anyone who is unwilling is never very much fun.
A willing heart is one of the things God most wants from us. Go...
Today's communion is a time to meditate on Psalm 34, which has some amazing promises. David wrote this Psalm during a very trying time when he was on the run from Saul and was fleeing the country to escape. This Psalm has some of our 4 fundamentals in them.
Psalm 34
Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Magnify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fe...
Time is often the biggest source of pressure in our lives. Imagine you have a bill to pay or project to complete and it's due 5 years from now versus tomorrow. The difference in time creates much more pressure. To give someone extended time, is to give them grace. We even call it a grace period.
I believe God built time and change into the world because he loves us too much to let us stay the way we are right now. But, God gives us extended time to get things right. The other night I was reading in the gospels about the disciples asking Jesus when everything would be fulfilled in his kingdom. And Jesus told them, 'It's not for you to know the dates and times the Father has set."
This may be a silly question but why are we not supposed to know this? I think it is because God uses this principle of extended time, and if we knew the dates and times we would think they are too far out.
The gift of extended time is also something we can implement into our own live...
We are in a time of the year when God starts shifting things around. This is often a time of transition where people might be moving, changing roles, or other doors of opportunity may open. When these opportunities come they are good but the transitions can often be messy and disordered as our old rhythms and routines get disrupted.
Order is about positioning and when pieces are shifting around we have to recreate order. Order doesn't last... it's dynamic and must be flexible and adaptable.
When things shift and change we will have to find new rhythms, habits, and systems that work to create the new order. The old order won't work anymore because the pieces and environment are different so we must be diligent about making adjustments to put things back into position. With new changes and growth the initial disorder can seem overwhelming and stressful, but remember God is a God of order and he lives within you. He will help you get it all structured and ordered i...
Understanding God's grace with our hearts is a very important part of our walk with God.
Colossians 1:6 says the gospel bears fruit in our lives ever since the day we understood God's grace.
To truly understand something we must "get it," from all angles and perspectives. We often think of God's grace as his unmerited favor and him treating us better than we deserve. And this is a big part of grace but there are many more angles to consider.
Here are some additional angles of grace to meditate on today.
The other night my daughter said something very interesting...
She said, " When people are blind their ability to hear improves and I think since we can't see God it improves our ability to hear from him and grow our faith."
Then we began to discuss Romans 10:17 which says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God(some versions say the word of Christ).
Faith comes by hearing, but it is possible not to have ears that hear. This week in our Partner's Zoom we were discussing how we can hear the same things over and over and keep getting new things out of them. Sometimes our ears filter things out for whatever reason. I think that as our faith grows it opens up new dimensions of hearing, and we can hear things that we were deaf to before. But hearing comes by God's word and the anointed word of Christ. God's anointed word is what opens our ears to hear so that our faith increases.
A habit that I developed early in my walk with God is listening to v...
When we lose something it is often more exciting to find it again than it was to have it the first time. I once had a time when some money fell out of my pocket. I searched and searched for the money but couldn't find it any where. A few hours later it finally turned up and it was more exciting to find it again than it was to receive it the first time.
In Luke 15 Jesus tells three lost and found stories... The parable of the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep, the parable of the woman who loses one of her ten coins, and the parable of the prodigal son.
In each instance when the lost was found it brought great joy and they celebrated with their neighbors and friends.
As we take communion today let it be a reminder of how much joy it brings God when any of us miss it but turn back to him. Let it also be a time to remember that God restores and when he restores something that was lost it is cherished even more.
I am praying for you.
...During this time of the year many transitions happen and often we may find ourselves with new people in leadership roles around us. It is very important to God that we honor the people he has placed in authority and leadership in our lives. This means children honoring parents, spouses honoring one another, employees honoring bosses, honoring church leadership, honoring mentors and coaches, and honoring governmental leaders. We are supposed to outdo one another in showing honor. Honor has a lot to do with what we say and the tone in which we say it. Honor is also conveyed in our actions.
Honor is about the heart. You can be in total disagreement with someone but still honor them. When we get honor right it helps us stay positioned in the light. This was the original sin of Satan. He didn't have honor for God and thought he could do better, so he rebelled. When we step out of honor we step out of the light and shut off the flow of God's grace. A lack of honor usua...
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