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Have you ever given serious thought to just how much God loves you?
I believe we rarely catch more than a glimpse of how deeply God cares about and loves each and every one of us. Malachi 1:2 begins with this great affirmation: “I have always loved you, says the Lord…” In other words, there has never been a time when God didn’t love you. Listen to the words of the Psalmist: “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered” Psalm 139:13-17 What is most overwhelming is to realize that I have done absolutely nothing to deserve His love. Yet He loves me anyway. “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 The great hymn, “The Love of God” by Frederick M. Lehman, begins by saying, “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.” And then the third verse… “Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made; were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade; to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry; nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.” Remember…God truly loves you. Bro. Joe Scripture Readings: Sunday - Malachi 1:2-3 Monday - Jeremiah 31:3 Tuesday - Psalm 139 Wednesday -John 3:16 Thursday - James 1:17-18 Friday - Romans 8:35-39 Saturday - 1 John 4:7-21 Prayer: Father, your unfailing love sustains me. Forgive me when I take it for granted. Thank you for loving me as you do. Amen
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Reflections
February 10th - February 16th How will you respond when God says go? I didn’t say if…I said when. “Go”…a simple two letter word…one of the smallest of words…with one of the biggest of meanings. It may just be one of God’s favorite words. God told Abraham to go…to leave his family, his friends, even his own country. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh and lead His people out of Egypt. God asked Isaiah, “who will go for us?” God sent Jesus into the world to save the world. I know what you’re thinking: I’m not Abraham, Moses or Isaiah, and I’m certainly not Jesus. You are absolutely right. You are you, and as His child God has a calling for you to fulfill that will include going. For you see, to even respond to Jesus’ call to “come and follow me” requires that I go where He goes. The problem is we too have a small favorite word that often competes with God’s word “Go”, and that word is “Me”. It comes in various forms. “Why me?” Like how Moses responded when God told him to go. Or, it may go like this… “What about me and what I want?”…often followed by “not me” or ”that’s not for me.” Sometimes God’s calling to go is more than to a geographical place. Maybe it’s a spiritual place or perhaps a relational place…a place somewhere new…a place you’ve never been before with Him. One thing you can know for certain is that when God says go, He’s going with you. Remember, what God said to Joshua is still true for us today: “This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 Are you willing to go with Jesus? Bro. Joe Scripture Readings: Sunday - Genesis 12:1-4 Monday - Exodus 3:10-12 Tuesday - Isaiah 6:8-9 Wednesday - Jeremiah 1:4-7 Thursday - John 3:16-17 Friday - Matthew 28:18-20 Saturday - Ephesians 2:10 Prayer: Lord, my heart, my life, my all I bring to Christ who loves me so; He is my Master, Lord, and King…wherever He leads I’ll go. Amen Is there really any Hope for us today?
We as a nation need a Spiritual Awakening! We as the church need a Spiritual Awakening! Is a true Spiritual Awakening even possible today? How do we get there? While we must recognize the sovereignty of God in sending spiritual awakenings, I believe that 2 Chronicles 7:14 offers us tremendous hope for a great awakening in these days. “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 First, Spiritual Awakening must begin with God’s people…”If my people who are called by my name…” It begins in the lives of people who are related to God personally. Second, Spiritual Awakening must follow God’s plan. As far as I know, Prayer has accompanied every great spiritual awakening in history. Prayer in which we humble ourselves…Earnest prayer that is not so much for God to do something, or to give us something, rather it is seeking the Lord himself. Also, prayer that is truly repentant…”turn from their wicked ways.” We must remember that Spiritual Awakening is based upon God’s promises for those who seek the Lord with all their hearts. God says, “I will hear from heaven and forgive their sins and restore (heal) their land.” Throughout history, God has from time to time sent a Spiritual Awakening to His people. Oh that He might do it again in our day. Bro. Joe “Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?” Psalm 85:6 Scripture Readings: Sunday - 2 Chronicles 7:12-16 Monday - Jonah 3:6-9 Tuesday - John 7:37-39 Wednesday - Psalm 51 Thursday - Hosea 10:12 Friday - Isaiah 55:6-7 Saturday - Jeremiah 29:13-14 Prayer: Lord, may Spiritual Awakening begin right now in me. Amen On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate the power and effectiveness of prayer?
On a scale of 1 to 10 how would rate your prayer life? What is it that could facilitate powerful & effective prayers in your life? Listen to what James says in James 5:16: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” To be earnest means to have serious intention, purpose and effort while showing a depth of sincerity of feeling. Being earnest in prayer isn’t about volume, length, eloquence or the right words. It’s a heartfelt expression to the Lord. “The earnest prayer of a righteousness person” can best be understood through what Jesus said in Luke 18:9-14: “Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Righteousness is made possible from the humbling experience of recognizing and confessing who we are before God, and realizing who He is and what He has done for us. How about it? Would you like to have great power and wonderful results in your prayer life? Bro. Joe Scripture Readings: Sunday - James 5:13-18 Monday - Luke 18:9-14 Tuesday - 1 Kings 18:41-46 Wednesday - Matthew 7:7-8 Thursday - 1 Kings 19:1-9 Friday - Matthew 6:5-15 Saturday - Jeremiah 29:12 Prayer: Lord, “Be merciful to me for I am a sinner.” Thank you Father for hearing my heart and loving me as you do. Thank you for revealing yourself through your word. Thank you for the way…the truth…the life I’ve found in Jesus. Amen What’s God’s greatest promise found in scripture?
I believe it’s the promise of the Messiah…the Anointed One…Jesus The biblical prophecies about the Messiah are not a bunch of scattered predictions randomly placed throughout the Old Testament; they collectively form a unified promise of God. Each promise is interrelated and connected to God’s plan & purpose. The fulfillment of God’s promises regarding the Messiah is the very foundation upon which all of God’s promises are fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 1:20 - “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!' And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes') ascends to God for his glory.” The declaration of the fulfillment of this promise is made by Jesus himself in Luke 4:17-21: “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” God had a very specific plan and purpose for the fulfillment of this promise, and it really is Good News. Is the fulfillment of this promise evident in your life? Bro. Joe Scripture Readings: Sunday - Isaiah 61:1-3 Monday - Mark 1:1,14-15; Mark 13:10 Tuesday - Psalm 34:8 Wednesday - Revelation 21:4 Thursday - Galatians 5:1 Friday - Romans 6:7-11 Saturday - Romans 5:1-11 Prayer: Thank you Lord for the freedom found in your promise of Jesus . . . Freedom to come to you and to know you. In Christ, I’m standing on the promise found in John 8:36 - “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” Amen 40 Days of God’s Promises
I would like to invite you to join me on a 40 day journey of standing on the promises of God. Choose one of God’s promises everyday for the next 40 days, then focus your heart and mind on the fact that God has made that promise to you. Look up the scripture reference…pray it back to God…repeat it to yourself throughout the day…stand on it. See what God does in and through you. “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” John 15:1-11 NLT
What a beautiful imagery Jesus created for us in this passage. What captures your attention the most? The gardener, the grapevine, the branches, or the production of fruit? If we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves focused on our need to be fruit bearers. We may even spend a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what it is we need to do in order to produce the most fruit. However, Jesus makes our focus plain: we are to remain…abide…stay connected to Him (the vine). The branches simply display the fruit the vine produces. Our job is to remain in Jesus, trusting Him to produce His fruit through us. Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - John 15:1-11 Monday - Isaiah 40:28-31 Tuesday - Matthew 11:28-30 Wednesday - John 14:23 Thursday - John 1:36-39 Friday - John 14:27 Saturday - Colossians 1:9-10 Prayer: Father, as I abide in Christ, do your work in my life. Lord, produce the kind of fruit in and through me that will glorify you and draw others to you. Thank you God for grafting me into the vine and for pruning me in order that I might grow and produce much fruit. Amen Philippians 3:12-14 - “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Are you looking forward to what lies ahead in 2019? Are you carrying forward any regrets, failures, or even achievements from 2018? Let them go…don’t live in the past; Instead, look ahead with great expectancy and hope. Press on toward what God has in store for you in 2019. Paul says it well in Philippians 3:8-11 - “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” Make this your goal for the coming year: knowing Christ Jesus as Lord, which means giving Him control…complete reign and rule over your life. Jesus is the key to a rich, satisfying, and abundant life Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Philippians 3:1-14 Monday - Isaiah 43:15-19 Tuesday - John 14:21-23 Wednesday - 1 Timothy 1:12 Thursday - Philippians 2:9-11 Friday - 1 John 3:22 Saturday - 1 John 2:6 Prayer: Lord, I want to live with you as Lord of my life. I give 2019 to you. Guide my mind, my heart, and my actions so I might glorify you. May others see you and not me. Amen “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Peace…Is it really possible? It seems like we’ve had anything but peace since the world began. Has there ever been a time in human history where there was world peace? Remember Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 True peace is found in the Prince of Peace not in the world. Jesus promised he would leave us peace. He said in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Jesus has promised us an unimaginable peace; it’s our choice to receive it. In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul explains it this way: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests by made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Sounds good, doesn’t it. And don’t forget, if Jesus can bring peace in the midst of raging storms, He can deliver peace in your life no matter what you’re facing. Experience the unexplainable peace of God… His name is Jesus - The Prince of Peace. Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Isaiah 9:6 Monday - John 16:33 Tuesday - John 14:27 Wednesday - Philippians 4:7 Thursday - Romans 5:1 Friday - Romans 8:6 Saturday - Colossians 3:15 Prayer: Lord, I want to live in your peace no matter what I face in life. Thank you for providing the Prince of Peace who makes it possible. Amen “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Jesus is the Everlasting Father. God is an eternal being. Jesus said in Revelation 22:23: “I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” We are also eternal, having been created in God’s image. We were made to live forever. Our physical bodies may cease to exist, but our true self, our soul, will live on. Jesus provides the way for us to be reunited with our heavenly Father. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” God’s great love for us moved him to make the most improbable of sacrifices: He gave his own Son that we might be saved. John 3:16 says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” “He gave” that which is truly the greatest gift of all time: the gift of eternal life; a gift that is available for all who will receive it. In other words, you have to open the gift for it to be yours. How do you open this gift? John 3:16 says it is by believing in God’s son. Believing in Jesus is more than a simple head knowledge of Him or agreeing with information you’ve heard about Him. Believing is admitting to God that you need Jesus…that you need His forgiveness…that you need His leadership in your life. Believing is putting your total faith and trust in Him alone. Do you believe? Are you trusting Him alone? Bro. Joe Suggested Readings: Sunday - Isaiah 9:6 Monday - John 14:6 Tuesday - John 3:16 Wednesday - Ephesians 2:8-9 Thursday - Romans 5:12 Friday - Romans 6:23 Saturday - Isaiah 53:5-6 Prayer: Lord, thank you for providing a way through Jesus Christ that I can know for certain that I will spend eternity with you. God, your gift of salvation is absolutely the greatest gift I have ever or will ever receive. Father, keep me mindful of your gracious gift as I live my life for you. Amen |
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