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My God of Hope

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:15:10 -0600

All I need to do is trust. God supplies me with hope, peace, and joy. Lord, will you really do that for me? Can I trade my worries for peace just by trusting them to you? You are wonderful beyond description!
Verses: Romans 15:13

Eternal Perspective

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:06:42 -0600

That is why we never give up! What encouraging words to start with. Paul has just explained that God has entrusted his light in our lives that we carry around in broken vessels. And on top of being broken, we are persecuted, knocked down, hit with despair, and on and on. Then he reminds us that this is temporary - one day we will be with Him. And that is why we never give up! If I live to be 85 or even 185 and even if the life I live here is full of trouble and woe, what is that compared to eternity with Him? There are people around me every day who need to see the light that I carry. They need to accept the light that I offer..that indeed, He offers. Paul reminds us in the next chapter that we will someday be able to trade our mortal perishable bodies for glorified bodies. These verses fill me with hope. My friend that is fighting cancer will one day be whole and without pain. My mom who suffers mentally and physically will think clearly and run freely. My own back, which is crooked, fused, and supported by a metal rod will be straight and it will bend. And that's just the blessing of the new body. So let's quit focusing on the broken vessels we temporarily live in and focus instead on the light we carry within.
Verses: 2 Corinthians 4:16

HE watches over you

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:00:55 -0600

A visual devotion from Scripture in Pictures
Verses: Psalm 33:18-19

Witness

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:42:10 -0600

Do we ever consider our own live's and what people see in us? Look into the mirror daily for reflection and direction, that mirror being God's eteranl Word. In the mirror we see Jesus Christ: then let the imiage and reflection the world see's in us be Him. (KJV) Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,. Jesus gave his life for us. We have nothing to glory in saving Jesus and His Glory. So be happy to tell someone of Jesus and his great love.
Verses: Hebrews 12:1-2

The gold

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:33:32 -0600

This “treasure” (or “deposit”) is the “sound words” (or “sound teaching”). The Holy Spirit is to help us guard against error both in the Scriptures and our lives. If our teaching is sound and we obey it our mistakes (sins) will be dealt with.
Verses: 2 Timothy 1:14

Unique Difference

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:32:25 -0600

A few thoughts on 1 Timothy 2 :8
Verses: 2 Timothy 2:8

The Church Today

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:31:05 -0600

Seems like The Church hasn't changed much from Ezekiel's time until now. I say this because I see this very thing so prevalent in my own body. I attend a Church with an average Connection Class (Sunday School) attendance of around 900. Over the course of a three-service Sunday morning, there may be 2000 people who attend. Out of that number, I am curious to know how many leave the Church building and leave Jesus there as well. It saddens me to think that people come to hear only comforting words and that "everything is going to be alright if you serve God". While this is true in the end, the fact is that God wants us to put His teaching into effect in our daily lives. Lip service and Sunday morning Church attendance will not grant us an eternal home with our Lord in Heaven. Only by trusting in our Lord Jesus, serving Him and striving to become more and more like Him will we ever know what it truly means to be saved.
Verses: Ezekiel 33:31-32

When you win

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:23:14 -0600

It is all important that when you win that you go and read God’s word. Don’t think “Hey, I am good” for one second.
Verses: Joshua 8:35

Even while

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:18:29 -0600

Even while this is an evil city we can still learn from it. Satan loves to draw us in to unnecessary combat (like whether it is wrong so “Happy holidays”) to distract us from what really important.
Verses: Joshua 8:17

4 steps in to sin

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:04:43 -0600

He saw them… he hadn’t sinned yet but he had a choice to make. And he failed and… He coveted them… now he had sinned, he made the choice to sin and… He takes them… now he needs to repent but instead of repenting … He hides them… just as many of us hid our sins.
Verses: Joshua 7:21

My go to verse.

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:47:54 -0600

This verse has brought more comfort and assurance to me than most any other. I have it engraved on a garden stone. Thank you God for your faithful promises.
Verses: Isaiah 41:10

I am tightly held by God

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:41:37 -0600

This passage gives me a great picture of how tightly God holds me in his hands. I am held so tightly that I am imprinted and engraved on the palms of His hands. Thanks Beth Moore for this awesome teaching.
Verses: Isaiah 49:16

Who is the next Paul?

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:10:19 -0600

I'm wondering who in your circle of friend is a chief sinner today, and tomorrow they will be an influential leader for the purposes of Christ? And are you reaching out to help them find Christ?
Verses: 1 Timothy 1:15

Christian Ambition

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:07:11 -0600

Seems like this blessing that is unanswerable unless there ARE plans and dream. A case for Christian ambition.
Verses: Psalm 20:4

Breath or Two

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:18:37 -0600

The worship team at Granger Community Church (GCC) performs "Breath or Two" by Jimmy Needham as a message illustration during the fourth week of the series "Distant."
Verses: Psalm 23:1-3, Isaiah 40:29-31, Matthew 11:28

All Around Me

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:15:27 -0600

We all have things in our life that are overwhelming, but we don't often see God in those things, or feel him in those times. Granger Community Church (GCC) performs this drama during the series "Distant" showing three different people experiencing this in three very different ways, followed by the song "All Around Me" by David Crowder Band.
Verses: Psalm 32:8, Psalm 46:10, Isaiah 65:24, Jeremiah 29:11, Malachi 3:6, Matthew 5:14-16, Matthew 6:34, Matthew 11:28, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5

Psalm 143

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:08:35 -0600

It's easy to forget some days that God is always with us, that he loves us, that he is different from everyone else around us. But then we remember - we were handcrafted by a Father who has a much bigger and better plan for us than we imagined for ourselves. Granger Community Church (GCC) created this monologue during the series "Distant" to express what so many of us feel, while the song "Psalm 143" by Shane & Shane is performed in the background.
Verses: Psalm 57:1, Psalm 143:1

wide open skies

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:06:18 -0600

But friends, you're not in the dark, so how could you be taken off guard by any of this? You're sons of Light, daughters of Day. We live under wide open skies and know where we stand I love the way that the message reads that we who are sons of Light and daughters of day live under wide open skies. What great word picture of how we are to live life under the scope of our Heavenly Father’s eyes. In that thought there is both comfort and fear rolled into one. Just the other day I was watching Chloe run with some of her friends and she ducked behind some trees and seemed to disappear for a few moments. I had to walk over and find her and communicate to her that she needed to stay in a place where I could see her....where her father could protect her. How sweet to live in obedience and to know that in obedience we are living under the protective eye of our Father....yet how troubling when we duck behind the "trees" and live according to our own wants and desires and in some twisted way believe that God is not watching or that the skies have been closed for a few moments. 2 Chron. 16:9 - "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.." He is looking for those who will step out from behind the trees and live as a son of light/ daughters of day, under a wide open sky. With out a doubt the mind set of Jesus' return triggers a response to live a life underneath a wide open sky. Father may I delight in You today. May my life be lived under a cloudless sky before You. May I delight in the fact that Your eyes is upon me...to protect...to guide....to strengthen and may there be a sense of Holy fear to shun the temptations of today.
Verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:4

Serious Child's Play

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:34:13 -0600

I am grateful for all of the little kiddos I have in my life. I love them, of course, but spiritually God teaches me through them. Today's passage is a MAJOR lesson and it's a great reminder! If I don't become like a child, I will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Yikes!
Verses: Matthew 18:1-5

Using "We" Instead of "I"

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:13:31 -0600

As with much of Genesis, this is a foundational narrative for perspectives and values, with Jacob seen as an ideal worker and Laban's behavior as an example to be avoided. What is Laban's response when he stands accused of deception? "We shall give you the other [daughter] also for the service you shall serve with me yet another seven years" (verse 27). Why is it that Laban did not honor his original dowry agreement? Laban spoke with guile. Notice the plural pronoun, "WE" rather than "I". He told Jacob that things were not done this way in our place, implying that the community would not let him act like that since it violated their conventions. We should draw the lesson from here that "one of the characteristic signs of a wicked man standing in the way of reformation is the flight from personal responsibility…he regards himself as forced into it because the community or some vague body to which he belongs compelled him to act thus." There are implications for those who would make a distinction between taking personal responsibility and citing low community morals in defense of personal choices.
Verses: Genesis 29:27

Deuteronomy 27:15-26

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:59:02 -0600

Amen! How fun would it be to hear someone during a church service yell, “Word to ya motha!” instead of amen?.....
Verses: Deuteronomy 27:15-26

Deuteronomy 26:12

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:57:23 -0600

I have differing views on “tithing” but I love this rule...
Verses: Deuteronomy 26:12

Deuteronomy 25:13-16

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:56:25 -0600

Could you have two different bags?
Verses: Deuteronomy 25:13-16

Deuteronomy 25:11-12

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:55:27 -0600

What? Why? Is it because the woman touched another mans junk?
Verses: Deuteronomy 25:11-12

Deuteronomy 25:5-10

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:54:23 -0600

Is this because the brother was living in the basement due to job loss?
Verses: Deuteronomy 25:5-10