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Memorial Day is a day of remembrance…remembering those who paid the ultimate price in military service for our country...a day of honoring our past. “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 CSB
There are those today who want to live as if the past never happened…to erase history instead of using what we can learn from our past to influence our present and help direct us to our future. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana “O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past— stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.” Psalm 78:1-8 What has God done for you? How will others know? “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?…” Romans 10:14-15 Take the hidden lessons in your life, whether good or bad, and share them…pass them forward to others…don’t just wait and let others try to figure out what makes you who you are…tell them…show them…teach them. Bro. Joe Scripture Reading for the Week: Psalm 78 Prayer: Lord, thank you for the lessons throughout my life. Lessons learned from the past...lessons lived in the present...lessons shared for the future. Amen
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Jesus had the natural ability to draw a crowd just about everywhere He went. Many were curious, interested in seeing if what they had heard was true. Some were in need of help while others were hungry. They heard Truth proclaimed and saw the living Truth in person, but many weren’t really interested in knowing the Truth. As a result, some fought...some fizzled...and yet, some followed. Many times just as quickly as a crowd gathered around Him, when He challenged them to commit to the Truth, He would lose them.
Some things never change. What was true in Jesus’ day is true in our world today. What was evident then as well as today is that most in the crowd couldn’t or can’t answer the question: “Who is Jesus?” There are still those who don’t believe His claims, and so they fight against Him. Others feel Jesus is asking a difficult thing of them...He asks for a real commitment, and they are unwilling to believe…and so they fizzle. “A faith that fizzles before the finish was faulty from the first.” But there are those who follow Him and make a commitment to Him because they’ve discovered the real Truth. In Christ we have...
Have you committed your life to Him? “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:32 Bro. Joe Scripture Readings for the Week: John 6:1-71 Prayer: Jesus, thank you for revealing the Truth to me. Thank you for setting me free. Help me to live in that freedom everyday. Amen Think about the spiritual journey of your life. If you were to chart your journey on a graph, it would most likely be full of highs and lows. Now think about the people you’ve encountered along your journey…those people that God placed in your life who have been a strong spiritual influence in your growth as a Christian.
Spiritual influences often come in the form of modeled behavior as we observe how others are living their lives...good or bad. Spiritual influences also come as we live life in the spirit together. Take a look at a mother’s spiritual influence in her son’s life. In 2 Timothy 1:5-7 NLT, Paul writes the following to Timothy: “I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Later Paul wrote: “But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:14-15 NLT In these passages we see the example of a mother’s legacy. Timothy’s mother Eunice and grandmother Lois passed to Timothy a legacy of faith, strength, a love for God’s word, and a hope in God’s salvation. What an incredible legacy. What have you received from your spiritual influencers? What is the legacy that you are passing on to others? Bro. Joe Scripture Readings for the Week: Sunday - 2 Timothy 1 Monday - 2 Timothy 2 Tuesday - 2 Timothy 3 Wednesday - 1 John 2:26-27 Thursday - Philippians 4:9 Friday - 1 Corinthians 10:34 Saturday - Romans 5:1 Prayer: Lord, thank you for those people you have faithfully placed in my life through the years who have passed along the wonderful legacy of knowing and loving you. Amen How would you complete this thought? Jesus is…
The Bible speaks to His identity saying Jesus is…
The Bible also speaks to His abilities saying that Jesus is able... “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” Galatians 3:20
Bartimaeus shouted to Jesus “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”...Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “My Rabbi, ” the blind man said, “I want to see!” Mark 10:48-51 NLT Jesus is asking you two questions today. “Who do you say I am?” “What do you want me to do for you?” Bro. Joe Scripture Readings for the Week: Sunday - Acts 1:4-8 Monday - Hebrews 13:8 Tuesday - Matthew 16:13-16 Wednesday - Mark 10:48-51 Thursday - Galatians 3:20 Friday - Romans 10:9-10 Saturday - 1 John 5:1-5 Prayer: Jesus, you are my Lord...my redeemer...my friend. I want to live in your power and strength and help others to know you as I do. Amen |
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July 2020
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