Devotion 2/6/11 Sunday
Through Joseph
Our comfort and our joy come not from this world. This world is topsy turvey. We can choose to rely on it and others, and even if they do not fail us, we place our trust and hope in vain. It is because the world we are living in is a broken one. This is not our home.
"I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home," is the line of a beloved hymn of mine. "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness," is another. We are wandering children, waiting for the day our Father calls us home to live forever. It is there that "he will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Rev 21:4).
Until that day arrives, we awake each morning with the joy that Christ saved us and we are His. There is no greater joy than that.
Prayer: Lord, flesh and blood pass away and let us down, but your mercy and love for us endures forever. Keep us in your love and care this coming week and in EVERYTHING we do, may we keep focus on you and glorify your name. Amen
Through Joseph
Our comfort and our joy come not from this world. This world is topsy turvey. We can choose to rely on it and others, and even if they do not fail us, we place our trust and hope in vain. It is because the world we are living in is a broken one. This is not our home.
"I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home," is the line of a beloved hymn of mine. "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness," is another. We are wandering children, waiting for the day our Father calls us home to live forever. It is there that "he will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Rev 21:4).
Until that day arrives, we awake each morning with the joy that Christ saved us and we are His. There is no greater joy than that.
Prayer: Lord, flesh and blood pass away and let us down, but your mercy and love for us endures forever. Keep us in your love and care this coming week and in EVERYTHING we do, may we keep focus on you and glorify your name. Amen
Devotion 2/7/11 Monday
By Joseph
A simple message for the start of this week. Whether you are facing pain or comfort, joy or sorrow, freedom or captivity, loneliness or large groups, or whatever it is that you run into, trust in the Lord your God. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Prov 3:5-6)
Sometimes we have great struggles, God never leaves us though. Trust in Him. Facing what I will this week, I will try to trust in Him alone daily and hourly. Let us all support each other in doing just that.
May the grace of God guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Seize our hearts, turn them your way. Amen.
By Joseph
A simple message for the start of this week. Whether you are facing pain or comfort, joy or sorrow, freedom or captivity, loneliness or large groups, or whatever it is that you run into, trust in the Lord your God. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Prov 3:5-6)
Sometimes we have great struggles, God never leaves us though. Trust in Him. Facing what I will this week, I will try to trust in Him alone daily and hourly. Let us all support each other in doing just that.
May the grace of God guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Prayer: Seize our hearts, turn them your way. Amen.
Devotion 2/8/11 Tuesday
By Joseph
Batteries
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Humans are a lot like batteries. In the beginning we are made full of life and energy. Throughout our battery life though, we are "drained" through the various activities we partake in. Sometimes we get put in the fridge because that apparently extends battery life, though at the time, we sit there and wonder why God is allowing us to be so cold. We can feel empty or lifeless. Some people are even spiritually "dead."
Thankfully we are rechareable batteries. We became dead and should've been cast in to the waste basket by God. Instead he sent His son Jesus as the battery recharger, he reconciled us to God so that we would no longer be "dead batteries."
Take some time today and this week to recharge your batteries, because the recharger is always available. Have a faith discussion with a friend, get into the Word, help someone else, spend time in prayer, etc. Get some of that battery life and gusto back.
I'm going to take the bold move and change some words in that initial Bible passage, because you see, God is in the recharging line of work. Let's see if you can notice the difference:
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new model has come: The old has gone, the new model is here! All this is from God, who recharged us with life us through Christ and gave us the ministry of recharging others: that God was recharging the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's lack of energy against them. And he has committed to us the message of recharging. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be recharged to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become full batteries to do the work of God.
Prayer: Lord, make us full, that we might share your fullness with others. Amen.
By Joseph
Batteries
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Humans are a lot like batteries. In the beginning we are made full of life and energy. Throughout our battery life though, we are "drained" through the various activities we partake in. Sometimes we get put in the fridge because that apparently extends battery life, though at the time, we sit there and wonder why God is allowing us to be so cold. We can feel empty or lifeless. Some people are even spiritually "dead."
Thankfully we are rechareable batteries. We became dead and should've been cast in to the waste basket by God. Instead he sent His son Jesus as the battery recharger, he reconciled us to God so that we would no longer be "dead batteries."
Take some time today and this week to recharge your batteries, because the recharger is always available. Have a faith discussion with a friend, get into the Word, help someone else, spend time in prayer, etc. Get some of that battery life and gusto back.
I'm going to take the bold move and change some words in that initial Bible passage, because you see, God is in the recharging line of work. Let's see if you can notice the difference:
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new model has come: The old has gone, the new model is here! All this is from God, who recharged us with life us through Christ and gave us the ministry of recharging others: that God was recharging the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's lack of energy against them. And he has committed to us the message of recharging. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be recharged to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become full batteries to do the work of God.
Prayer: Lord, make us full, that we might share your fullness with others. Amen.
Devotion 2/9/11 Wednesday
Through Colten Highley
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" -Matthew 7:22-23.
Garbage in, garbage out. We have all seen this principle at work, whether in sports, schoolwork, jobs, friendships, etc. Sooner or later everyone's true character is revealed. All too often we tell ourselves that the tv shows we watch or the music we listen to won't have an effect on our lives. But it does have an effect, and we find ourselves focusing on satisfying sinful desires, instead of focusing on Christ and remembering our many blessings. Our light grows dim, and we find ourselves being filled with darkness and bitterness.
On the other hand, if we devote ourselves to studying the word and fix our eyes on Christ, then we will surely be filled with light. Paul explained this in Phillipians:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or recieved from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." -Phillipians 4:8-9
Prayer: Father, thank you for sending your Son to die for our sins, and for all your blessings that You have bestowed upon us. Lead us not into temptation, but instead help us to fix our eyes upon You, so that we may be filled with light. Help us to keep our lamps filled with oil, so that our light may shine before men. Amen.
Devotion Thursday
Through Cody
Adversity. Everyone deals with adversity in their lives. During the course of a sporting event, everyone involved will go through adversity. Players deal with all sorts of adversity throughout the course of the game. The most frustrating things to see are the times when players put their head down. This to me is a signal of defeat; yes, you will lose games. That does not mean you are defeated. Putting your head down is a sign of weakness, and to me it shows that you cannot persevere through adversity. You have given up and do not trust your teammates or coaches.
Some people get down on themselves and or others.
Our spiritual health will also face adversity. God will always be there for us, but the real question is: “Do we trust Him when the things actually do get tough? Do we remember to call on Him?” We should not feel bad for asking him for help in times of trouble because he tells us in Psalm 145:18: The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. We must trust in Him in the good times along with the bad. He is always there for us, and will lead us through times of adversity. The most important thing is how we respond to adversity. We cannot let ourselves be defeated because we are giving up. This also tells God that we do not trust in Him. Keep your heads lifted high, high on your Lord and Savior.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for giving us your Savior who we can always trust in. Please help us to keep our eyes on you and to trust in you at all times. In your Holy name, Amen.
Devotion Friday 2/11/11
By Joseph Highley
Today is the start of pre-Valentines Day weekend, so from now until next Friday, the theme is love. Some of us are lonely during this time, others of us aren't. To be sure, I'm guessing that each of our Valentines Days will be a unique experience.
The simple reminder today, whether you have the love of a significant other in your life or not, is that God is the source of all. Love. I think the more we realize that, the more we will feel and give love to others in our daily lives.
There are literally hundreds of mentions of love in the Bible. Here is one: "God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8)
Make the conscious choice to reflect that same love to someone today.
Prayer: We love you Lord, because you first loved us. May we be reflections of your perfect love to others, so that they might see you through us. Amen
By Joseph Highley
Today is the start of pre-Valentines Day weekend, so from now until next Friday, the theme is love. Some of us are lonely during this time, others of us aren't. To be sure, I'm guessing that each of our Valentines Days will be a unique experience.
The simple reminder today, whether you have the love of a significant other in your life or not, is that God is the source of all. Love. I think the more we realize that, the more we will feel and give love to others in our daily lives.
There are literally hundreds of mentions of love in the Bible. Here is one: "God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8)
Make the conscious choice to reflect that same love to someone today.
Prayer: We love you Lord, because you first loved us. May we be reflections of your perfect love to others, so that they might see you through us. Amen
Devotion Saturday 2/12/11
Through Dan Schelp
Ever wonder what true love and attention feels like?
(The LORD said) "... I have called you by name; you are Mine!" Isaiah 43:1b
Ever feel like you are just a number? I know I do. Whether it be from a school, employee ID, a credit card or other group you are a part of you can often times feel as a number rather than as an actual person. Its very impersonal and often times doesn't come off very friendly.
Lucky for us, Christ has called us by name and has claimed us as His. He knows every hair on our head and knows everything about us before we are even born or before we even do it. Really, He knows you better than you know you. What a friend we have in Jesus!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for creating each and every one of us in our own unique way. And we thank you for assigning us names to be called by rather than numbers. Thank you for claiming us and providing us with the forgiveness we cannot live without.
Through Dan Schelp
Ever wonder what true love and attention feels like?
(The LORD said) "... I have called you by name; you are Mine!" Isaiah 43:1b
Ever feel like you are just a number? I know I do. Whether it be from a school, employee ID, a credit card or other group you are a part of you can often times feel as a number rather than as an actual person. Its very impersonal and often times doesn't come off very friendly.
Lucky for us, Christ has called us by name and has claimed us as His. He knows every hair on our head and knows everything about us before we are even born or before we even do it. Really, He knows you better than you know you. What a friend we have in Jesus!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for creating each and every one of us in our own unique way. And we thank you for assigning us names to be called by rather than numbers. Thank you for claiming us and providing us with the forgiveness we cannot live without.
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