When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock solid guarantee--God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. (The Message)
This Scripture is talking about God's promise to Abraham. God put his reputation on the line and promised to bless Abraham with everything he had. And because Abraham stuck it out, he got everything he was promised.
Natalee found a Wooly Bear Caterpillar in her yard last week and carries it everywhere. It's her new pet, since her ladybugs died. (she has those lined up in a single row on the radiator in her room) She pats him and talks to him and he is a well loved little caterpillar.
I've learned a little bit about the Wooly Bear Caterpillar and found that it turns into a Tiger Moth. In Colonial days, farmers would look at the amount of black/brown and determine how severe a winter will be. If the stripe was thick, a bad winter and if narrow, a mild winter. Another thought was - if the band of black was wide, the caterpillar lived in wet conditions and if the brown band was wide, it meant it lived in dry conditions.
Farmers in the 1600's didn't have meteorologists and had to depend on nature to forecast what the weather would be. This little Wooly Bear's stripes can't promise to accurately give us the weather and certainly we can't depend on it as a sure thing. There is no guarantee.
But we can be sure that the promises God gives us are sure things, he guarantees them and we can depend on them.
Nancy
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Bragging or Edifying
In a discussion about spiritual growth in an individual, the subject came up about how to gauge our growth, and how we are reaching out to others and being a witness to unsaved people we come into contact with. Most everyone agreed that they are afraid to share their experiences with others in the congregation for fear it might be misconstrued as bragging. When Mike Crews shared with us one Sunday morning about how the Holy Spirit inspired him to give away his hamburger, he started the story with what amounted to be an apology because he didn't want to sound like he was bragging about himself, when in actuality he was relaying how he was being obedient to the Holy Spirit and giving witness to the Holy Spirit working in his life.
Dave mentioned we should share our stories with each other in order to give each other courage.
Romans 14:19 says So then, we must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help strengthen one another. GNB
Matthew 28:18-19 says Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. NIV
We are to be a witness to others who dont know Christ in our walk with Christ and maybe it is ok to give evidence to each other that we are doing this. We hesitate to share our stories because we dont want to be seen as bragging, but we can do nothing apart from Him. John 15:5 says "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in Him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me." GNB So we know it is His work in us. Maybe we can share but in doing so giving credit to the Holy Spirit. There is credit given to the Holy Spirit and God working in him in Acts when it is speaking of Stephen. Acts 6:5.....they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. NIV Acts 6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people NIV
Witness is given to the Holy Spirit in Acts 10:44 "While Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message." NIV
Maybe every morning we should pray that the Holy Spirit will use us this day and look for the opportunities to reach out to others no matter where we are. It can be as simple as listening to someone's problem and saying "I'll pray for you" and maybe ask if they want to be put on the prayer list at church. I have never had anyone say no or react in a negative way. Most have said yes with enthusiasm and appreciation. Even if they don't go to church or pick up the bible, they anticipate their prayers will be heard. I suppose that is because they have a sense of God as it says in Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." NIV
Only two come to mind that said yes,without enthusiasm, put them on the prayer list, almost like it didn't matter. That is because, I think, they didn't have much hope left, but we can pray for them about that too.
I recently read a book called The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. He suggests praying
O God and King, please expand my opportunities and my impact in such a way
that I touch more lives for Your glory. Let me do more for you!
We are kids of the Kingdom. Romans 8:14 says because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. NIV Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children NIV
We can do more for the kingdom through the work of the Holy Spirit and support one another by sharing what He's done.
Sue
Dave mentioned we should share our stories with each other in order to give each other courage.
Romans 14:19 says So then, we must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help strengthen one another. GNB
Matthew 28:18-19 says Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. NIV
We are to be a witness to others who dont know Christ in our walk with Christ and maybe it is ok to give evidence to each other that we are doing this. We hesitate to share our stories because we dont want to be seen as bragging, but we can do nothing apart from Him. John 15:5 says "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in Him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me." GNB So we know it is His work in us. Maybe we can share but in doing so giving credit to the Holy Spirit. There is credit given to the Holy Spirit and God working in him in Acts when it is speaking of Stephen. Acts 6:5.....they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. NIV Acts 6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people NIV
Witness is given to the Holy Spirit in Acts 10:44 "While Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message." NIV
Maybe every morning we should pray that the Holy Spirit will use us this day and look for the opportunities to reach out to others no matter where we are. It can be as simple as listening to someone's problem and saying "I'll pray for you" and maybe ask if they want to be put on the prayer list at church. I have never had anyone say no or react in a negative way. Most have said yes with enthusiasm and appreciation. Even if they don't go to church or pick up the bible, they anticipate their prayers will be heard. I suppose that is because they have a sense of God as it says in Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." NIV
Only two come to mind that said yes,without enthusiasm, put them on the prayer list, almost like it didn't matter. That is because, I think, they didn't have much hope left, but we can pray for them about that too.
I recently read a book called The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. He suggests praying
O God and King, please expand my opportunities and my impact in such a way
that I touch more lives for Your glory. Let me do more for you!
We are kids of the Kingdom. Romans 8:14 says because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. NIV Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children NIV
We can do more for the kingdom through the work of the Holy Spirit and support one another by sharing what He's done.
Sue
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A View From the Porch
1 Peter 5:8 (NLT) “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaming lion, looking for some victim to devour.”
We all know that Satan will do anything, absolutely anything to draw our focus away from God, to separate us from God. Sometimes, he will use the in-your-face approach, but more often than not, he’s subtle, sly, and conniving in his tactics. And since we have a sinful nature to begin with, we must be ever so vigilant. I’m not sure why this has been on my mind lately, but I am certain that because of God’s love for me, I have his armor to put on each day. (Ephesians 6: 10-18) (NLT)
Wayne
We all know that Satan will do anything, absolutely anything to draw our focus away from God, to separate us from God. Sometimes, he will use the in-your-face approach, but more often than not, he’s subtle, sly, and conniving in his tactics. And since we have a sinful nature to begin with, we must be ever so vigilant. I’m not sure why this has been on my mind lately, but I am certain that because of God’s love for me, I have his armor to put on each day. (Ephesians 6: 10-18) (NLT)
Wayne
Monday, May 12, 2008
1 Corinthians 14:1
Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it--because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. (The Message)
God gives us many gifts and says that when we use our gifts, we must do them with love. I know in this book, God is talking about gifts like spiritual gifts and not the type of gift that came to my mind. But this a story of a gift I couldn't forget. My friend, Jane, told me the story yesterday.
The story is about her four year old grandson who lives in another state and who she doesn't get to see as often as she would like. It's a story of a telephone call that lasted 3 1/2 hours and it wasn't just an idle chatter call, the regular hi and how are you stuff. This call was all about him,
what he wanted to say and it consisted of listening to him talk about everything he was doing at that moment, listening to him play a video game and hearing (and asking her to see) every move he made, it was having a virtual supper with him and then listening to his mom read him his bedtime stories, plus that extra one story. He wanted to keep the phone in bed beside him all night and he wanted Grammie to be there when he woke up.
Paul is talking about gifts of prophecy in verse 14, he insists (NIV) on whatever is done in the church must contribute to the building up of the body and love is the means by which spiritual gifts are made effective.
Jane is a constant in her grandson's life and when she can't be with him, she gets creative. He is her love and she is finding ways to give as much of herself to him as she can. The TLB version says, 'let love be your greatest aim.'
I guess I'm see a parallel in this. Jane not only uses her gifts inside the church and does it with love, but uses them outside as well. She looks to build up people as God says to do and one of those persons is her grandson. She uses her gifts for her gift.
Nancy
God gives us many gifts and says that when we use our gifts, we must do them with love. I know in this book, God is talking about gifts like spiritual gifts and not the type of gift that came to my mind. But this a story of a gift I couldn't forget. My friend, Jane, told me the story yesterday.
The story is about her four year old grandson who lives in another state and who she doesn't get to see as often as she would like. It's a story of a telephone call that lasted 3 1/2 hours and it wasn't just an idle chatter call, the regular hi and how are you stuff. This call was all about him,
what he wanted to say and it consisted of listening to him talk about everything he was doing at that moment, listening to him play a video game and hearing (and asking her to see) every move he made, it was having a virtual supper with him and then listening to his mom read him his bedtime stories, plus that extra one story. He wanted to keep the phone in bed beside him all night and he wanted Grammie to be there when he woke up.
Paul is talking about gifts of prophecy in verse 14, he insists (NIV) on whatever is done in the church must contribute to the building up of the body and love is the means by which spiritual gifts are made effective.
Jane is a constant in her grandson's life and when she can't be with him, she gets creative. He is her love and she is finding ways to give as much of herself to him as she can. The TLB version says, 'let love be your greatest aim.'
I guess I'm see a parallel in this. Jane not only uses her gifts inside the church and does it with love, but uses them outside as well. She looks to build up people as God says to do and one of those persons is her grandson. She uses her gifts for her gift.
Nancy
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Revelation 22:2
The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations. Never again will anything be cursed. (The Message)
Yesterday, David was cutting down some small trees in the backyard, just clearing out a few dead ones so we could put our trampoline up in a new place, when one tree decided to be errant. It didn't go where David wanted and 'chose' to fall onto the back porch. I heard a loud thud and there was the tree. Fortunately, only the railing was broken and nothing else.
I also thought of Disney's Animal Kingdom. There is a tree called, 'The Tree of Life' in the park. This tree is huge: 145 ft tall, 160 ft canopy, 103,000 leaves of 4 shapes and sized at more than 1 ft long, 8,000 branches with a trunk 50 ft wide which spreads to 170 ft in diameter at the root base. The trunk is carved with 325 images of endangered and extinct species of animals
and on the inside is a theatre. It looks like a real tree from a distance.
Then there is the 'Tree of Life' in the Book of Revelations. It's not errant, it doesn't have a theatre inside or carvings on the trunk, it isn't made of a refitted oil platform or have leaves made of Kymar. It's a real tree planted by God along side the River of Life leading to the new
Jerusalem, the new heaven.
Back in Genesis, the first book, Adam and Eve sinned and were prohibited from eating from the 'Tree of Life' and in the last book it says we have a chance to eat again from the 'Tree of Life'.
And how did we get that chance? By God giving us Jesus, who took our sins when he died on the cross. We have a chance again to have everlasting life, to eat the fruit and to live with God when we die.
Our backyard tree was not one to depend on as it can rot and fall. The Disney tree probably will never rot and fall, as it's a fake tree. But the Tree of Life in heaven definitely will not rot, fall or ever stop bearing fruit at any time, it's real and that's the kind of tree I hope to see sometime.
Nancy
Yesterday, David was cutting down some small trees in the backyard, just clearing out a few dead ones so we could put our trampoline up in a new place, when one tree decided to be errant. It didn't go where David wanted and 'chose' to fall onto the back porch. I heard a loud thud and there was the tree. Fortunately, only the railing was broken and nothing else.
I also thought of Disney's Animal Kingdom. There is a tree called, 'The Tree of Life' in the park. This tree is huge: 145 ft tall, 160 ft canopy, 103,000 leaves of 4 shapes and sized at more than 1 ft long, 8,000 branches with a trunk 50 ft wide which spreads to 170 ft in diameter at the root base. The trunk is carved with 325 images of endangered and extinct species of animals
and on the inside is a theatre. It looks like a real tree from a distance.
Then there is the 'Tree of Life' in the Book of Revelations. It's not errant, it doesn't have a theatre inside or carvings on the trunk, it isn't made of a refitted oil platform or have leaves made of Kymar. It's a real tree planted by God along side the River of Life leading to the new
Jerusalem, the new heaven.
Back in Genesis, the first book, Adam and Eve sinned and were prohibited from eating from the 'Tree of Life' and in the last book it says we have a chance to eat again from the 'Tree of Life'.
And how did we get that chance? By God giving us Jesus, who took our sins when he died on the cross. We have a chance again to have everlasting life, to eat the fruit and to live with God when we die.
Our backyard tree was not one to depend on as it can rot and fall. The Disney tree probably will never rot and fall, as it's a fake tree. But the Tree of Life in heaven definitely will not rot, fall or ever stop bearing fruit at any time, it's real and that's the kind of tree I hope to see sometime.
Nancy
Thursday, May 1, 2008
View from the Porch
Anger can give Satan a foothold.
Ephesians 4: 26-27
I was angry the other day. I mean, really angry. Heart pounding, red-faced angry. And I carried that anger around for most of the day, which obviously didn’t make for a pleasant day for me. Even though I put on a “smiley” face, I still let the anger consume me. Then, something happened. Must have been the Holy Spirit giving me a whack on the back of the head because it dawned on me that the only person I was making miserable was me and I had given Satan a foothold. I had suffered through a miserable day because I was foolish. Thankfully, God loves me, imperfections and all.
Wayne Moore
Ephesians 4: 26-27
I was angry the other day. I mean, really angry. Heart pounding, red-faced angry. And I carried that anger around for most of the day, which obviously didn’t make for a pleasant day for me. Even though I put on a “smiley” face, I still let the anger consume me. Then, something happened. Must have been the Holy Spirit giving me a whack on the back of the head because it dawned on me that the only person I was making miserable was me and I had given Satan a foothold. I had suffered through a miserable day because I was foolish. Thankfully, God loves me, imperfections and all.
Wayne Moore
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