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“I am the Lord , the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27
We often look at the world with all of its trials, troubles, tribulations, heartaches. . . and ask:
Think of what we know about the majesty of God's limitless Power. God told Abraham that he was going to have a son in his old age…Sarah heard, and she laughed about the possibility. In Genesis 18:14, God asked Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" Later, Jeremiah gives the answer: “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!” Jeremiah 32:17 Praise God… …there is no promise too hard for God to keep. …there’s no prayer too hard for God to answer. …there is no problem too hard for God to solve. …there’s no person too hard for God to save. No matter what you’re facing…no matter what you’re dealing with, there is absolutely nothing too hard for God to do. Trust Him. Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Jeremiah 32:27 Monday - Jeremiah 32:17 Tuesday - Matthew 21:22 Wednesday - Revelation 3:20 Thursday - Isaiah 59:1-2 Friday - Luke 9:57-62 Saturday - Luke 18:18-27 Prayer: Lord, I declare my trust in you over all things in my life. Help me to fully surrender these things to your will everyday. Amen
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“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 Wherever and whenever you experience the Father’s love, you also experience His mercy, His grace and His faithfulness. Think about it. You really can’t experience any one of these without the others. It’s as if every character quality of God is interconnected. Yet, they are all unique to themselves. However, it is His faithfulness that truly binds them together. God is always faithful. God is faithful to his Word...to his promises...to his people...to his character. Why? Because he cannot be otherwise. You can depend on him 100 percent of the time. He will never let you down. God reveals His faithfulness…
No matter what you’re facing in your life today, the secret to your hope for the future is in the faithfulness of God. Every other basis for hope will eventually let you down – other people, your job, your possessions, your skills and abilities. Tell someone today how God has been faithful to you. “I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.” Psalms 89:1-2 NLT Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Lamentations 3:21-24 Monday - Psalm 119:90 Tuesday - Numbers 23:19 Wednesday - Isaiah 55:10-11 Thursday - Revelation 19:11 Friday - 2 Timothy 2:11-13 Saturday - Psalm 89:1-2 Prayer: Father, you have proven yourself faithful throughout my life. You said that you would never leave me nor forsake me. Thank you for fulfilling your promise. I love you, Lord. Amen How often do you pray?
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Never stop praying.” Is that possible? Can I really maintain constant communication with God? I believe it all begins with understanding that prayer is a relationship . . . a relationship with one who says He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is always with us. When we have a constant consciousness of His presence with us throughout the day, we can better maintain an attitude of talking and listening to God our Father. Another question we need to answer is: How important is prayer to you in your spiritual journey and growth? We must not only recognize its importance, but we must understand that it is absolutely essential to our spiritual lives. Our prayers must come often and regularly, not from legalistic duty, but from a humble heart, realizing our dependence on God in every aspect of our lives. Prayer should be personal and private as well as corporate with the body of Christ…His church. As we pray by ourselves and with one another we need to remember:
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth. In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.” 1 Timothy 2:1-8 NLT Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Acts 1:14 Monday - John 17:20-21 Tuesday - Acts 12:5 Wednesday - 1 Timothy 2:1-8 Thursday - Matthew 6:5-13 Friday - Matthew 21:13 Saturday - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Prayer: Lord, thank you for hearing me, responding to me and loving me. Amen Have you ever made a call to a company, been quickly greeted by an operator or secretary, and before you can say a word, they say, “Would you hold please?”
Or maybe you get an automated system that walks you through what seems like an eternal series of prompts, and when you finally get the extension you want, a recording says, “Please leave your name and number and somebody will get back with you as soon as possible.” Yeah, right. Does it sometimes feel like you’re constantly waiting? With the use of cell phones, internet, texting & email, we have become spoiled, expecting instant access. Whenever an operator puts us on hold, we feel as if we’ve been deprived. What about when God is slow in responding to your prayers? What do you do when you have to wait on God, when He puts you on hold? In Matthew’s and Mark’s gospel accounts, we read about the Canaanite woman who approached Jesus and asked for help for her daughter. Initially, Jesus didn’t respond to her. From this account, I believe we can learn what we should do when we are waiting on a response from God, when we feel as if God has put us on hold. #1 Keep on trusting in Jesus #2 Take inventory of where you stand with God #3 Surrender your whole life to God '“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Matthew 15:21-28 Monday - Mark 7:24-30 Tuesday - Romans 1;16 Wednesday - Matthew 10:1-6 Thursday - Psalm 27:14 Friday - Matthew 7:7-8 Saturday - Romans 12:12 Prayer: Lord, help me to wait on You. I know You hear me and I know You are faithful and just. Give me the peace that can only come from You in those moments in my life when I am waiting on You. Help me see what You are wanting me to learn. Amen “Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices…” 2 Chronicles 7:12
God hears your prayers because…
If…
God’s eyes will be open and ears attentive to His temple…because… We are God’s temple:
Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - 2 Chronicles 7:12-16 Monday - James 4:6-8 Tuesday - 1 Peter 5:5-6 Wednesday - Romans 12:1-2 Thursday - Proverbs 3:6 Friday - 1 Corinthians 10:13 Saturday - 1 John 3:6-7 Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving me your name and calling me your child. Help me to live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and lead others to do the same. Amen The 24th Psalm is a praise song written by David when he went to the house of Obed-Edom to get the Ark of the Covenant. It was a celebration for all of Israel. David worshiped the Lord as an expression of joy before the very presence of God.
We come to church on Sunday mornings to worship God. We often refer to our services as worship services. To most people, worship and going to church are the same thing. Going to church is important. But worship is more than simply going to church. Just because we say we attend church doesn’t mean that we worship. Worship is the act of entering God’s presence for the sole purpose of exalting Him. Each time we worship, we enter into the presence of God Almighty; therefore, our worship services should be memorable experiences. When we enter into His presence to express our humility, our respect, our adoration, our gratitude, and our love for Him, we experience true worship. And how can we truly experience the presence of God in worship and not be excited…impacted…changed? Listen to the excitement in David’s words: “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him. For He laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.” David was focused on God - and only God. He understood that everything - the earth, everything in it, everyone who lives in it - everything belongs to God. Is your love for God strong enough to focus only on Him as you worship? Set your heart to do more than simply attend church…worship the Lord your God. Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Psalm 24 Monday - Matthew 5:1-12 Tuesday - 1 Corinthians 6:19 Wednesday - Romans 12:1-2 Thursday - Psalm 15 Friday - Psalm 96 Saturday - Psalm 100 Prayer: I worship You, Almighty God. There is none like you. I worship You, O Prince of Peace. That is what I want to do. I give you praise…for you are my righteousness. I worship you Almighty God, there is none like you. There is none like you. There is none like you. Amen There are many questions in life that we must answer. The Word of God poses some of the most important questions we will ever respond to. In Matthew 16 Jesus is talking with His disciples, and he asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” He then asked Peter a question that He is asking you today, “But who do you say I am?”
In John 1:9 it says, “The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” In John 9:5 Jesus said, “But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
The Scriptures say in Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”
These are all questions worth answering and truths worth pondering. Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Matthew 16:13-20 Monday - John 3:19-21 Tuesday - 1 John 1:5-7 Wednesday - Matthew 5:14-16 Thursday - Mark 10:17-22 Friday - Philippians 3:8 Saturday - 1 John 4:9-10, 19-21 Prayer: Lord, you are my light, my strength, my hope, my salvation. Father, I give you my heart, my life, my all. Jesus, you are my Savior, my Redeemer, my King. Thank for being the answer to everything in my life no matter what the question is that I might ask. Amen Reflections - August 26th - September 1st Happy Days - Finding Contentment Through God's Blessings8/26/2018 Philippians 4:10-13
”How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8 “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” The contentment Paul speaks of can be defined as an inner sense of rest or peace that comes from being right with God and knowing He is in control of all that happens to us. Have you learned to be contented? How about your family? Do you intentionally pursue contentment in your life and home? Paul says:
We need the strength of Christ in order to…
Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Philippians 4:10-13 Monday - 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Tuesday - Matthew 7:7-11 Wednesday - Matthew 6:33 Thursday - Philippians 1:12-14 Friday - Philippians 4:9 Saturday - Revelation 21:1-4 Prayer: Father, help me learn to be content and rest in the person and work of your son, Jesus. Help me maintain a rightly ordered life that pleases you. Thank you Lord for the peace that comes with contentment. Your word says, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Help me keep my eyes focused on you and not myself. Amen Moses reminded the children of Israel of the ten commandments in Deuteronomy chapter 5. In Deuteronomy 6:5 he said, “you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, he goes on to say “you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going bed and when you get up.”
Wholehearted commitment: a call to go all in, to be sold-out, fully connected and obedient to the Lord’s commandments. Wholehearted commitment also comes with a responsibility: We are to teach His commandments to our family. We are to be All In…The Family. Although all of God’s commandments are important, today we’re going to focus on the 5th commandment: “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 What does it mean to honor someone? Author Gary Smalley says, “Honor is a decision we make to place high value, worth, and importance on another person by viewing him or her as a priceless gift and granting him or her a position in our lives worthy of great respect; and love involves putting that decision into action.” How about using the topic of honoring one another in a family discussion this week? Honor within the family is something worth talking about. Honoring our families. I’m going all in. How about you? Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Monday - Exodus 20:9 Tuesday - Proverbs 6:20-23 Wednesday - Ephesians 6:1-4 Thursday - 1 Peter 4:8 Friday - 1 Corinthians 13 Saturday - James 3:3-12 Prayer: Lord, I want to thank you for my family. You have blessed my life through my mom, dad and sister…my wife, children and grandchildren…my church family. They are truly a priceless gift to me. Through them I have been shown unconditional love and respect. I honor them today as blessings from you. Thank you Father. Amen What is the foundation upon which you are building your family? Many say, “Let’s get back to family values,” but where are we going to find those values? Whose values? What values are we going to accept?
In Exodus 20:3 God gives the first of ten commandments: “You must not have any other god but me.” Our God is a perfect Father who gave the original “foundation for family values.” God says in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children…” What are these words that God is referring to? Notice two things: (1) “These words…shall be in your heart” How many of you could name all Ten Commandments from memory? If you don’t know them, it’s going to be hard to live by them. God basically says, "Remember these commands." (2) ”Teach them diligently to your children.” In other words, pass them on. Do your children know these 10 God-given values? God says, “My commandments are important, remember them…teach them diligently.” Our families desperately need some time-tested, Godly, family values. That’s why I want us to spend time this month talking about Biblical Family Values and how we can apply them in our own homes. I believe as we look at this today, you will agree with me that our Father Knows Best. Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Exodus 20 Monday - Deuteronomy 6:6-7 Tuesday - Proverbs 3:5-6 Wednesday - Matthew 6:33 Thursday - Proverbs 3:9 Friday - 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Saturday - 1 Corinthians 10:31 Prayer: Lord, I want you first in my life. I don’t want anything or anyone to take priority over you in any area of my life. I need your help. I often allow other things to distract my focus from you. Forgive me, Father…please guide my steps and guard my heart. Amen |
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