October 31st: The Lightening Bolt

Posted by: Jeremiah Hann

Scripture:

“The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.” Psalm 103:8-9

Observations:

David spends this entire Psalm reminding himself and others that God loves us.  Every verse in today’s Psalm talks about that very idea.  And these 2 verses are no exception.  We are reminded of how much God loves us, that he has all these characteristics.

Application:

God is not sitting up in heaven waiting for us to break the rules.  He doesn’t have a lightening bolt in his hand waiting to throw it down on us.  Instead it is just the opposite.  God is forgiving.  He has a compassionate heart, and doesn’t get angry with us easily.  I need to live this way.  If my goal is to be more and more like God every day, these are a few principles I need to live by!

Prayer:

Hey God, thanks so much for this awesome reminder.  I love reading about who you are.  Please help me to always strive to be more like You.  Help me to be compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry, and to be filled with unfailing love, and help me to not keep a record of things people do wrong to me.  You are so awesome.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

October 30th: Speaking Words of Encouragement

Scripture:

Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart. Proverbs 26:22

Observation:

The power of words – that penetrate the heart.

Application:

It seems everybody has an opinion about everything.  Even things we typically know little about.  I love how God reminds us of the power of our words.

Ø  A Tree and its Fruit…………….for out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

Ø  Taming the Tongue – James chapter 3

Ø  With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. James 3:9

I enjoy listening!  Genuinely listening as others speak.  I can learn a lot about a person as they share their day.  Also, I can ask for guidance from God on how to help the other person.  For me, I have noticed as I have grown in my relationship with Christ I look for opportunities to listen (not to say I’m not still traveling that road).  I have spoken way too soon on way too many occasions and my words were hurtful. 

I am to be an encourager!  The Bible says, Therefore encourage one another and build each other up………….1 Thessalonians 5:11  I am to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19).  In the heat of the moment, I pray for strength from the Holy Spirit to live out these truths.

I encourage you to speak words of encouragement into the lives of those you have influence with today.  It will keep your heart pure and lift others up.

Prayer:

Lord, thanks for the reminder.  I know that anything You ask of me is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Help me to speak encouraging words to others today and model the life Jesus lived.

October 28th: Praising God!

By Dennis Johnston

Scripture:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and praise his name.  Psalm 100:4

Observation:

What an AWESOME privilege it is to enter God’s presence with a thankful heart and giving Him thanks and praises with our lips (from our hearts).

Application:

I find myself so easily approaching God with things I want His help with.  Fair enough!  God wants to be involved in my circumstances – at the same time, I must pause and reflect on who He is not what I desire Him to do in my life.

God is:

1.      Infinite – he is everywhere.

2.      Personal – he is not simply a force or substance, but a person.  God has personality.

3.      Sovereign – he is all powerful.  All creation and history are under His authority.

4.      Love – all his actions towards His people are motivated by this love.

5.      Holy – absolute righteousness.

6.      Eternal – he had no beginning and His existence will never end.

In what is commonly referred to as the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-15) I’m reminded of the model Jesus gave us.  “9This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name…..”  God is holy, He is to be exalted as I enter His presence.

This psalm is a great reminder for me to prioritize my time with God by giving him thanks and praising Him (authentically) before asking Him to move in my life.  Praise changes me and the Bible says, “Let me live that I may praise you……” (Psalm 119:175 NIV). 

Prayer:

Father, you alone are worthy of my praise.  I live to praise you!  Thank you for showing me the importance of entering Your presence with thanksgiving and praise. 

 

 

 

 

 

October 27th: God is no Idol!

by Paul Lewis

Scripture: Jeremiah 51:19

But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including his people, his own special possession. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!

Observation:

Our God is like no other. Jeremiah has been pointing out the fallacy of creating and worshipping false gos and idols. He points out the amazing power that the one true God has and the worthlessness of anything else. Here he declares that his name is Jehovah. Translated here in context he is “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Application:

We are to follow the one true God who is the creator of everything. He is our creator. He has all of the power. He commands the armies of heaven. It is so humbling to know that He, our God, wants to have a relationship with us.

I can’t help but to be in a state of constant awe at the magnitude of what His love for me entails. He sacrificed His Son because of His love for me. He restrains His power because of His love for me. I am nothing, yet He chooses me, a broken vessel, to pour Himself into because of His love.

Prayer:

Thank you God for loving me! I will never understand it in this life, nor can I properly express my gratitude. You are the one true God, the Sovereign of creation. Thank you for inviting me into your family!

 

October 26th: Pure Hearts

Scripture

Titus 1:15

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure.  But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted.

Observation

When your heart is pure, you see everything through that lens.  When your heart is corrupt, everything has a bad twist to it.

Application

This is a heart check.  Do not read on, if you do not really want to be challenged. 

When in conversation someone mentions a phase that can be taken two ways, one pure and one impure…which one do you think of?

Prayer

God, create in me a clean heart.

October 25th: Have Patience

Scripture

2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

Observation

This passage written to Timothy as a pastor resonates with me on my responsibily to teach the word of God.  As I look closer however, it echos the responsibility I have as the head of my house to do this every day with my family.

Application

As the spiritual leader of my household, I need to have patience when I am dealing with issues.  I cannot neglect correcting or rebuking, even if the timing is inconvenient.  I need to lovingly teach spiritual truths to my family every day and shepherd them.

Prayer

God, help me to keep my family as my first minitry.

October 24th: Run!

Scripture

2 TImothy 2:22

Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust.  Instead pursue righteousness, love and peace.  Enjoy the companionship of those who call upon the Lord with pure hearts.

Observation

Timothy is Paul’s disciple.  He is training him to do what he does.  Timothy is now ministering outside of Paul’s physical supervision and is being coached by letter.  This passage contains some practical advise about how to resist temptation.

Application

I love the application because it is so easy to remember and so simple to put into action….RUN.  When you are tempted….get out of there.  Don’t test yourself, don’t try to turn the situation into a witnessing opportunity, don’t try to do anything else that our weak minds might come up with in order to justify the situation….RUN.

Prayer

God, keep my pride in check so I will not hesitate to run from temptation.

October 23rd: Good Start

Scripture

Psalm 92:2

It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning, your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by the ten stringed harp and the melody of the lyre.

Observation

This is a great reminder of how we are to start and end our days.

Application

I need to start my day with the simple celebration of God’s love.  Nothing gets your day in perspective like the reflection of the impact of God’s love on your life.  It allows me to put all the actions of my day through that filter. At the end of the day I get to close it my proclaiming his faithfulness.  That means sharing it. 

Prayer

God, may your love be the fuel of my day.

October 22nd: Relentless in our Mission

Posted by: Jeremiah Hann

Scripture:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.”  2 Timothy 1:7-8a

Observation:

Paul is writing to young Timothy and keeps giving him so much encouragement to continue telling others about Christ.  I love that Paul tells Timothy that he has nothing to be ashamed about when telling others about Jesus.

Application:

I LOVE working with Junior High students because when they are on fire for Christ, they are relentless in their mission to tell everyone, (or anyone who will listen), about Christ.  I can take this encouragement from Paul, that gets modeled by the students and put it into practice.  God has called me as a follower of Christ to tell everyone about Him.  I should never be ashamed of that.

Prayer:

Hey God, thanks so much for putting students in my life that I can learn from.  Help me to continue to be on the path of a fully-devoted follower of Christ.  Help me to always remember that you have given me a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.  I love you and thank you for the sacrifice of your son, in Jesus name, Amen.

Ocotber 21st: Heavenly deposits…

By: Brent Hodges

Scripture

“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable.”  1 Timothy 6:17a

Observation

Paul writes instructions in his letter to Timothy about how to teach on money. 

Application

I’m willing to guess that this verse carries a little more weight today than it did two years ago.  When the economy was rocking and people were set, we tend to think we got this thing down.  It’s during those times that our vision can drift…store up treasures in heaven because the material world will all pass away.  It’s much easier to identify with that today and much easier to grasp the vision…we don’t have as much that can distract us.   I may not be able to sock away a ton in my savings account, but what can I do today to begin depositing treasures into my eternal account?

Prayer

Lord, may I take every opportunity that you provide me to honor you by loving those around me.  May my focus not be on the riches of this world, but on that of the eternal.