I must believe in His goodness, and that what He's saved me for is so much greater than what He's saved me from. - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
Lot's wife is a woman who, again, I have heard of several times and have heard the warnings of, but may never have really considered the ramifications of the situation. Lot and his wife were living in the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with their two daughters. The Lord had sent some angels to visit Abraham and tell him that He was going to destroy the two cities. Abraham bargained with God to the point where if the angels found five righteous people in the two cities, they would not be destroyed. The account never actually lets us know whether Lot and his family were considered righteous, but, in any case, four people is not five and so the city was to be destroyed.
The angels warned Lot and his family to leave the city and when Lot hesitated, they made sure that they got out and then told them not to look back. Two commands from the Lord of Hosts through His messengers. DON'T LOOK BACK! and DON'T STOP ANYWHERE IN THE PLAIN! Lot and his family began to head for the small town of Zoar because the angels had said they could. All they had to do was get to the city and not look behind them.
How hard is it, when you've become attached to a place, to leave and not look back at it? When you're driving away, you have that desire to see it one last time. If you can look back at it one last time, you'll be ok. Well, God had commanded that they not look back but Lot's wife was unable to place her faith so fully in God and she looked back. We don't know why she chose to do so, just that she did. Instantly, she became a pillar of salt, ceasing to be a person. When we question God's ability to carry us through a situation because we're much more comfortable with what we know than what we don't know, we doubt God. Whether that was exactly how Lot's wife felt, I can't say, but when God gives us a clear command, it is our place to do as He says, when He says.
"Remember Lot's wife." Luke 17:32 (NIV)
-Meg
Today we look at Lot's wife. The first passage/verse from scripture we were asked to read today was Luke 17:32 "32Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!" (NLT). If you aren't aware of the story behind this statement you may be a little confused because you wonder, why would we be told to remember? right. Well I have to admit I don't even know what the story is. Now as I start to read Genesis 19, I realize I do know the story, and I know what we are supposed to remember. "26But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26 (NLT), you see Lot's wife didn't follow a simple set of instructions, she was told not to look back, and in the end she suffered the punishment.
At the end of the devotional today we read this : "I must believe in His goodness, and that what He's saved me for is so much greater than what He's saved me from." -She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1. Let's not look back but look forward.
-Tiff
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Thursday, 12 September 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2012
Today is a day for memorizing a scripture verse.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
-Meg
-We need to lean on God's promises
-We need to have faith!
"5Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." -Proverbs 3:5-6
-Tiff
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
-Meg
-We need to lean on God's promises
-We need to have faith!
"5Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." -Proverbs 3:5-6
-Tiff
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Hagar is a woman that I've known about for a long time. As a child growing up in a Christian home and attending a Christian elementary school and Sunday school every week I heard about Hagar more than once or twice. I don't think I ever considered what lessons she would be able to teach me. Today in the devotional plan, Hagar is the woman that we watch. She is a slave to Sarai and Abram that they acquired while in Egypt. For all we see, Hagar and Sarai were completely satisfied with each other up to the point when Sarai decided to take matters into her own hands and get Abram a son through Hagar.
Poor Hagar! To be forced to marry your mistress' husband and bear him a child, I can't even begin to understand. Hagar learned of her pregnancy and despised Sarai because of it. She had no control over what happened to her because she was a slave and her mistress had forced her to do something she obviously didn't want to do.
After being mistreated by Sarai and running away and then being told by God to return and submit to Sarai with a promise that her son would become another great nation, Hagar returned to Sarai and continued to serve her while raising her son, Ishmael. Once Isaac was born, things changed. Sarah hated Ishmael because he was a threat to Isaac's inheritance and so she told Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Hagar was sent and she took her son and they began to wander. When they were out of water and were so dehydrated that Hagar couldn't stand to watch Ishmael die, she left him under a bush and walked away before giving up herself. However, God heard Ishmael and directed Hagar to a well where she could fill her water. He took care of her needs and didn't abandon her.
We need to remember, when we feel hopeless and helpless, God will always be there. He's not going to forsake us or forget us.
-Meg
-maybe we should focus and pray like this each day of our lives "Good morning, Lord. I lift up my voice in desperate need of your mercy right now-this day! My only option is You." -She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-God is always by our side, we can't give up because he doesn't give up.
-Don't wait til you hit rock bottom to ask God for help.
-Tiff
Poor Hagar! To be forced to marry your mistress' husband and bear him a child, I can't even begin to understand. Hagar learned of her pregnancy and despised Sarai because of it. She had no control over what happened to her because she was a slave and her mistress had forced her to do something she obviously didn't want to do.
After being mistreated by Sarai and running away and then being told by God to return and submit to Sarai with a promise that her son would become another great nation, Hagar returned to Sarai and continued to serve her while raising her son, Ishmael. Once Isaac was born, things changed. Sarah hated Ishmael because he was a threat to Isaac's inheritance and so she told Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away. Hagar was sent and she took her son and they began to wander. When they were out of water and were so dehydrated that Hagar couldn't stand to watch Ishmael die, she left him under a bush and walked away before giving up herself. However, God heard Ishmael and directed Hagar to a well where she could fill her water. He took care of her needs and didn't abandon her.
We need to remember, when we feel hopeless and helpless, God will always be there. He's not going to forsake us or forget us.
-Meg
-maybe we should focus and pray like this each day of our lives "Good morning, Lord. I lift up my voice in desperate need of your mercy right now-this day! My only option is You." -She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-God is always by our side, we can't give up because he doesn't give up.
-Don't wait til you hit rock bottom to ask God for help.
-Tiff
Monday, September 9, 2013
I was away at a cottage for the weekend, and there was no internet access and no phone signal, so I didn't do the devotional for the weekend. I am carrying on from where I left off.
Nothing - no matter how improbable, no matter how impossible it is to see, no matter how much it goes against everything we know - nothing is too hard for the Lord. - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
Abram is now called Abraham and Sarai is now Sarah. Not only has the Lord changed their names, He has promised them something that for all human understanding seemed impossible! After all, Abraham is 100 years old and Sarah is only ten years younger. Have you ever heard of a ninety year old woman giving birth to a child? The only 90 year old mother I've ever heard of is Sarah. It seems that it is impossible, and yet, God caused it to happen. When we think that something can't happen, we tend to laugh at its absurdity, just as Sarah and Abraham laughed when they were promised a child in their old age. Sarah had already taken things into her own hands and tried to fulfill God's promise to Abraham through her slave Hagar, but God was going to carry out what seemed like an impossible plan anyway. We may not understand what God is doing, and we may feel as though we have messed our lives up beyond repair, but God isn't going to throw us away. He's not finished with us(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=typAqPJ-Zn8), and we're never beyond repair(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laIzsL0waTQ).
-Meg
-God is bigger! He is so much bigger than anything in our lives.
-"Because, with God, just like that, everything can change" - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-Sometimes we don't put our trust in God but he is always faithful.
-God looks beyond our mistakes.
-nothing is impossible for God.
-Tiff
Nothing - no matter how improbable, no matter how impossible it is to see, no matter how much it goes against everything we know - nothing is too hard for the Lord. - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
Abram is now called Abraham and Sarai is now Sarah. Not only has the Lord changed their names, He has promised them something that for all human understanding seemed impossible! After all, Abraham is 100 years old and Sarah is only ten years younger. Have you ever heard of a ninety year old woman giving birth to a child? The only 90 year old mother I've ever heard of is Sarah. It seems that it is impossible, and yet, God caused it to happen. When we think that something can't happen, we tend to laugh at its absurdity, just as Sarah and Abraham laughed when they were promised a child in their old age. Sarah had already taken things into her own hands and tried to fulfill God's promise to Abraham through her slave Hagar, but God was going to carry out what seemed like an impossible plan anyway. We may not understand what God is doing, and we may feel as though we have messed our lives up beyond repair, but God isn't going to throw us away. He's not finished with us(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=typAqPJ-Zn8), and we're never beyond repair(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laIzsL0waTQ).
-Meg
-God is bigger! He is so much bigger than anything in our lives.
-"Because, with God, just like that, everything can change" - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-Sometimes we don't put our trust in God but he is always faithful.
-God looks beyond our mistakes.
-nothing is impossible for God.
-Tiff
Friday, September 6, 2013
This - this distrust for God's plan and His timing, this need to take control, this manipulation of circumstances to fit our "needs" instead of His will - this is when disaster happens. - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
Sarai is a beautiful woman. The only thing she doesn't have is a child to love. God promised that she would have one, but that's not good enough for Sarai, so she takes things into her own hands and decides to live vicariously through her slave. Oh. My. Word. I actually find this hard to believe, but looking at the culture of the time, I suppose that it was a socially acceptable thing for a man to have children with more than one woman. I still can't imagine being a wife and being ok with, let alone encouraging it, my husband sleeping with another woman, even if the purpose was to get a child. That's crazy! God has a plan. His plan is right. When you try to make your own plan to speed up His plan . . . you're headed for disaster! Look what happened when Sarai did that, she ended up hating Hagar and Hagar ended up despising Sarai. The child that Hagar had ended up being the father of a nation that now fights against Israel, Sarai's future descendants. My advice, to you and especially to myself: DON'T TRY TO HURRY GOD UP! God's timing is much better than yours, so back off and let Him lead.
-Meg
"And suddenly -though well- intentioned and innocently enough - God's plans become our own." - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-Sarai was impatient, she was tired of waiting for God's plan to fall into place, so she took it into her own hands.
-taking God's plans into our own hands can lead to disaster.
-waiting for God's plan to happen/to be done is often hard.
-we need to remember that God has a plan. thinking that I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11 "11For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (NLT)
-Tiff
Sarai is a beautiful woman. The only thing she doesn't have is a child to love. God promised that she would have one, but that's not good enough for Sarai, so she takes things into her own hands and decides to live vicariously through her slave. Oh. My. Word. I actually find this hard to believe, but looking at the culture of the time, I suppose that it was a socially acceptable thing for a man to have children with more than one woman. I still can't imagine being a wife and being ok with, let alone encouraging it, my husband sleeping with another woman, even if the purpose was to get a child. That's crazy! God has a plan. His plan is right. When you try to make your own plan to speed up His plan . . . you're headed for disaster! Look what happened when Sarai did that, she ended up hating Hagar and Hagar ended up despising Sarai. The child that Hagar had ended up being the father of a nation that now fights against Israel, Sarai's future descendants. My advice, to you and especially to myself: DON'T TRY TO HURRY GOD UP! God's timing is much better than yours, so back off and let Him lead.
-Meg
"And suddenly -though well- intentioned and innocently enough - God's plans become our own." - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-Sarai was impatient, she was tired of waiting for God's plan to fall into place, so she took it into her own hands.
-taking God's plans into our own hands can lead to disaster.
-waiting for God's plan to happen/to be done is often hard.
-we need to remember that God has a plan. thinking that I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11 "11For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (NLT)
-Tiff
Thursday, September 5, 2013
She simply said, "Yes." - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
Sarai is the wife of Abram. She is a woman who was considered very beautiful, but she was barren. She was settled in life with Abram and his relatives and other than wanting a child, probably was very comfortable with her life. God had other plans for her, however. He commanded Abram to pack everything up and move to a new place. Sarai simply went with Abram where God was leading. There is no indication of what her thoughts may have been on the matter, but we know she said yes. When God prompts us to do something, we should, like Sarai, simply do as He asks.
-Meg
"through faith and patience, we too can discover that all things are possible with the Lord"-She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-obeying God when he shows us a direction to take in life, ends good for us.
-we need to say yes to God.
Let this be our prayer, "Lord, help us put our doubt aside, to answer your call no matter the questions we may have. May we make obedience our first priority and submit to your plan and rest in your faithfulness, out of the greatest and deepest of loves, let us say 'yes' today."- She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1.
-Sarai had doubts but she obeyed God and did as her husband asked. She gave up everything to join her husband in following God's calling. We should see her as an example, and follow in her footsteps.
"2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”" -Genesis 12:2-3 (NLT)
-Tiff
Sarai is the wife of Abram. She is a woman who was considered very beautiful, but she was barren. She was settled in life with Abram and his relatives and other than wanting a child, probably was very comfortable with her life. God had other plans for her, however. He commanded Abram to pack everything up and move to a new place. Sarai simply went with Abram where God was leading. There is no indication of what her thoughts may have been on the matter, but we know she said yes. When God prompts us to do something, we should, like Sarai, simply do as He asks.
-Meg
"through faith and patience, we too can discover that all things are possible with the Lord"-She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-obeying God when he shows us a direction to take in life, ends good for us.
-we need to say yes to God.
Let this be our prayer, "Lord, help us put our doubt aside, to answer your call no matter the questions we may have. May we make obedience our first priority and submit to your plan and rest in your faithfulness, out of the greatest and deepest of loves, let us say 'yes' today."- She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1.
-Sarai had doubts but she obeyed God and did as her husband asked. She gave up everything to join her husband in following God's calling. We should see her as an example, and follow in her footsteps.
"2I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”" -Genesis 12:2-3 (NLT)
-Tiff
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
2 Corinthians 11:1-3 (NIV)
I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led away from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Eve: the first woman ever created and the first human to disobey God. The serpent deceived Eve to the point where she added something to the command that God had given to Adam about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16-17 says: And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." In Genesis 3:1, the serpent asks a misleading question: "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Eve is quick to answer and is doing really well until she adds the last part of her statement, "and you must not touch it, or you will die." God didn't say they couldn't eat from ANY tree and He did not say that TOUCHING the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would cause death. It was the ONLY tree they were not to EAT.
I know that in that situation, I would have made the same choice that Eve did, because I would see the serpent right in front of me and it's so much easier to believe someone who is tangible than someone who was not present in physical form. The serpent made Eve doubt what God had said and she twisted His words. I know that we are guilty of changing the word sometimes when we're in a tight corner. That doesn't make it the right thing to do.
Adam was there, with Eve. He had heard the words of God. He knew the command God had given and had obviously passed on the command to Eve. It may be that he had added the "DO NOT TOUCH" clause to the command, but the passage doesn't tell us. It tells us he was there while the serpent was deceiving Eve. He knew the exact command God had given, so why didn't he step in and tell the serpent to just go away and get lost? Not only did he not stop Eve from sinning, but he chose to sin himself.
As soon as they had eaten from the forbidden fruit, which, by the way, was never named, so I don't know why everyone thinks it was an apple . . . but that's not overly important . . . they were suddenly aware of their nakedness. Up to this point, they had been walking around the garden, completely unconcerned with the fact that they were not covered. As soon as they ate the fruit, they felt the need to cover themselves and so they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Their perfect innocence was lost, as was their communion with God. They were no longer pure and blameless.
Because they had chosen to disobey the one command God had given, they were cursed. The serpent was cursed too and then, to keep them from figuring out the way to live forever by eating the fruit from the Tree of Life, God had to send them out of the garden and set up a guard to prevent them from returning. Things were suddenly no longer the easy and wonderful life that had been Eden. They were going to have to work hard for the things they needed.
We are similar to Adam and Eve in the moment after they ate the fruit in the moments that follow our wrong choices. We are quick to realize that we made the wrong choice, but like Adam and Eve, we try to hide our shame from God. Just like God came looking for Adam and Eve in the garden, He wants us to go to Him when we have sinned. We still have to face the consequences of our actions, but God will forgive us if we ask Him to.
We need to spend our days absorbing the Truth. We need to read God's Word and be comparing the things that pastors and church leaders are telling us to what we see in the Bible. If something doesn't match up, then we need to go with the Truth of the Bible and discard what the teacher claimed. The Word of God is the final authority and if a human says something that is not in line with the Bible, they are deceiving you. Be in God's Word daily because when you're in the Word, it's much easier to spot the discrepancies and you can make the decisions you need to based on the Truth in the Word, rather than what your pastor or Sunday School teacher is telling you.
-Meg
I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led away from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Eve: the first woman ever created and the first human to disobey God. The serpent deceived Eve to the point where she added something to the command that God had given to Adam about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16-17 says: And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." In Genesis 3:1, the serpent asks a misleading question: "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Eve is quick to answer and is doing really well until she adds the last part of her statement, "and you must not touch it, or you will die." God didn't say they couldn't eat from ANY tree and He did not say that TOUCHING the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would cause death. It was the ONLY tree they were not to EAT.
I know that in that situation, I would have made the same choice that Eve did, because I would see the serpent right in front of me and it's so much easier to believe someone who is tangible than someone who was not present in physical form. The serpent made Eve doubt what God had said and she twisted His words. I know that we are guilty of changing the word sometimes when we're in a tight corner. That doesn't make it the right thing to do.
Adam was there, with Eve. He had heard the words of God. He knew the command God had given and had obviously passed on the command to Eve. It may be that he had added the "DO NOT TOUCH" clause to the command, but the passage doesn't tell us. It tells us he was there while the serpent was deceiving Eve. He knew the exact command God had given, so why didn't he step in and tell the serpent to just go away and get lost? Not only did he not stop Eve from sinning, but he chose to sin himself.
As soon as they had eaten from the forbidden fruit, which, by the way, was never named, so I don't know why everyone thinks it was an apple . . . but that's not overly important . . . they were suddenly aware of their nakedness. Up to this point, they had been walking around the garden, completely unconcerned with the fact that they were not covered. As soon as they ate the fruit, they felt the need to cover themselves and so they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Their perfect innocence was lost, as was their communion with God. They were no longer pure and blameless.
Because they had chosen to disobey the one command God had given, they were cursed. The serpent was cursed too and then, to keep them from figuring out the way to live forever by eating the fruit from the Tree of Life, God had to send them out of the garden and set up a guard to prevent them from returning. Things were suddenly no longer the easy and wonderful life that had been Eden. They were going to have to work hard for the things they needed.
We are similar to Adam and Eve in the moment after they ate the fruit in the moments that follow our wrong choices. We are quick to realize that we made the wrong choice, but like Adam and Eve, we try to hide our shame from God. Just like God came looking for Adam and Eve in the garden, He wants us to go to Him when we have sinned. We still have to face the consequences of our actions, but God will forgive us if we ask Him to.
We need to spend our days absorbing the Truth. We need to read God's Word and be comparing the things that pastors and church leaders are telling us to what we see in the Bible. If something doesn't match up, then we need to go with the Truth of the Bible and discard what the teacher claimed. The Word of God is the final authority and if a human says something that is not in line with the Bible, they are deceiving you. Be in God's Word daily because when you're in the Word, it's much easier to spot the discrepancies and you can make the decisions you need to based on the Truth in the Word, rather than what your pastor or Sunday School teacher is telling you.
-Meg
In the devotion, they say it in a perfect way, better than I ever could. "I’m convinced that Eve gets a bad rap. Yes,
she deliberately disobeyed God. Yes, she was easily swayed. Yes, she
brought Adam down with her. (Though, to be fair, he made his own
decision to take a bite.)"- She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible Part 1. Proof of that statement can be found right in scripture, "6The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too." -Genesis 3:6 (NLT) . Adam was right there with Eve when she ate the fruit he willingly took it, Eve didn't have to convince him, he made the choice to eat the fruit all on his own. So I feel like we blame Eve so often but we forget that Adam and the serpent were both involved and they were both punished equally.
Today I think we are all subject to time where we choose sin over what is good, "We know truth and we live in it, but the lies just get so loud."-She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible Part 1. This statement reminds me of a passage from Scripture found in Romans "14So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.18And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 21I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22I love God’s law with all my heart. 23But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin." -Romans 7:14-25(NLT), this is one of my favourite passages i scripture because it reminds me of the state at which all of us live.
-Tiff
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
What are some of the first words that come to mind when you hear the name Eve? Possibly things like first woman, forbidden fruit, the Fall, perhaps even Wall-E. The writer of She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1 asks us to put aside all of our preconceived notions of who Eve was and focus on Genesis 1:26 - 2:25. This is the end of the Creation account where it is detailed how God created man and woman. It is at a time when everything in the world is new and perfect. Nothing has been destroyed, no one has sinned.
Not only did God speak our very world into existence, He took the time to make Man in His image. The account tells us that He spoke and most of the things He created were called into existence by His words, but not so for man. God didn't say, "Let there be man" and then there was man. He said, "Let us make man in Our image" and He took the time to form man from the dust of the ground and breathe life into him. When He made woman, He could have easily reverted back to "Let there be woman", but again, He chose to form woman from the rib of the man. God took the time to form our very first ancestors individually.
"This is the way we were created, friends -- with care and intention, with the very hands and breath of God." - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-Meg
When I hear the name Eve, I guess I think about sin and how she and Adam were the first to sin by eating the forbidden fruit. But Eve should be seen as much more than that. "27So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27, Eve is such an important part of the creation of humans, she is the first mom, she bore the first children, which made it possible for all of us to be here today. She was made in God's image just as Adam had been. Our focus today should be on the greatness of God not on the Sin that entered the world.
,
Not only did God speak our very world into existence, He took the time to make Man in His image. The account tells us that He spoke and most of the things He created were called into existence by His words, but not so for man. God didn't say, "Let there be man" and then there was man. He said, "Let us make man in Our image" and He took the time to form man from the dust of the ground and breathe life into him. When He made woman, He could have easily reverted back to "Let there be woman", but again, He chose to form woman from the rib of the man. God took the time to form our very first ancestors individually.
"This is the way we were created, friends -- with care and intention, with the very hands and breath of God." - She Reads Truth: Women in the Bible, Part 1
-Meg
When I hear the name Eve, I guess I think about sin and how she and Adam were the first to sin by eating the forbidden fruit. But Eve should be seen as much more than that. "27So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27, Eve is such an important part of the creation of humans, she is the first mom, she bore the first children, which made it possible for all of us to be here today. She was made in God's image just as Adam had been. Our focus today should be on the greatness of God not on the Sin that entered the world.
,
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
James 5:16 (NIV)
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
On this last day of the She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible devotional series, we are again challenged to memorize part of a verse.
-Meg
Another Verse to memorize.
"16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." -James 5:16 (NLT)
-Tiff
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
On this last day of the She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible devotional series, we are again challenged to memorize part of a verse.
-Meg
Another Verse to memorize.
"16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." -James 5:16 (NLT)
-Tiff
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Colossians 4:2 (NIV)
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
The two types of prayer, personal and corporate, are both very important in the life of every believer. Some people will find it really easy to pray privately, but when it comes to praying out loud with other people around, their palms begin to sweat and they feel like they are completely incoherent. Others will be able to pray quite comfortably in a group setting but find praying in private a task they can't figure out how to tackle. In both cases, the prayer you are comfortable with and the prayer that makes your heart beat irregularly due to nerves are equally important.
Personal prayer is talked about in several places in the Bible including: Matthew 6:6; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Acts 10:9 and Daniel 6:10.
The writer of She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible suggests a few steps towards making personal prayer a priority. The first thing we need to do is set ourselves a specific time to pray on a daily basis. Maybe get up earlier or eliminate something you do for pleasure such as reading an extra chapter in your book or surfing through social-media sites. I know that I get distracted by both of those very easily and end up wasting time that could be spent with God.
Secondly, she suggests that you pick a specific location and call it yours. Pick a spot in your house/apartment and always go there to spend time talking with God. It should be a place that is away from distractions such as your computer, your current reading material, your roommates or family members, just to name a few. It needs to be a place where you can concentrate on talking with God and listening to what He has to say to your heart.
Her third suggestion is to tell another believer what you have decided to do and commit it to the Lord. This is a good way to be accountable. If someone knows what you are planning to do, they can ask you every so often about how it's going and keep you from forgetting to do it.
Corporate prayer is also mentioned in several places in the Bible including: Acts 2:42; Acts 20:36; James 5:16 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Again, the writer has some suggestions. Her first is to ask God to show you someone that you can pray with. It doesn't matter who it is, just ask Him to reveal that person to you.
Once you have prayed about it, go and do it. Don't just sit back and do nothing. Find that person who you can pray with in the natural course of the conversation. Your prayer doesn't have to be long or eloquent, just sincere. Talk to God and tell Him what's on your heart and that's all you need to do. Also, in this intimate time with another believer, you can confess your sins and by doing so, encourage each other to stop sinning.
-Meg
"6But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you." -Matthew 6:6 (NLT)
Private prayer. When we are praying privately its a good idea to find a place that is our own. And to pick specific times to take out and spend with God.
"16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." -James 5:16
Corporate Prayer.Confession. Intercession. Kingdom Prayer. Find someone you can pray with on a regular basis. Someone your comfortable with but someone you will also be honest and open too. And a person who will keep you accountable.
-Tiff
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
The two types of prayer, personal and corporate, are both very important in the life of every believer. Some people will find it really easy to pray privately, but when it comes to praying out loud with other people around, their palms begin to sweat and they feel like they are completely incoherent. Others will be able to pray quite comfortably in a group setting but find praying in private a task they can't figure out how to tackle. In both cases, the prayer you are comfortable with and the prayer that makes your heart beat irregularly due to nerves are equally important.
Personal prayer is talked about in several places in the Bible including: Matthew 6:6; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Acts 10:9 and Daniel 6:10.
The writer of She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible suggests a few steps towards making personal prayer a priority. The first thing we need to do is set ourselves a specific time to pray on a daily basis. Maybe get up earlier or eliminate something you do for pleasure such as reading an extra chapter in your book or surfing through social-media sites. I know that I get distracted by both of those very easily and end up wasting time that could be spent with God.
Secondly, she suggests that you pick a specific location and call it yours. Pick a spot in your house/apartment and always go there to spend time talking with God. It should be a place that is away from distractions such as your computer, your current reading material, your roommates or family members, just to name a few. It needs to be a place where you can concentrate on talking with God and listening to what He has to say to your heart.
Her third suggestion is to tell another believer what you have decided to do and commit it to the Lord. This is a good way to be accountable. If someone knows what you are planning to do, they can ask you every so often about how it's going and keep you from forgetting to do it.
Corporate prayer is also mentioned in several places in the Bible including: Acts 2:42; Acts 20:36; James 5:16 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Again, the writer has some suggestions. Her first is to ask God to show you someone that you can pray with. It doesn't matter who it is, just ask Him to reveal that person to you.
Once you have prayed about it, go and do it. Don't just sit back and do nothing. Find that person who you can pray with in the natural course of the conversation. Your prayer doesn't have to be long or eloquent, just sincere. Talk to God and tell Him what's on your heart and that's all you need to do. Also, in this intimate time with another believer, you can confess your sins and by doing so, encourage each other to stop sinning.
-Meg
"6But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you." -Matthew 6:6 (NLT)
Private prayer. When we are praying privately its a good idea to find a place that is our own. And to pick specific times to take out and spend with God.
"16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." -James 5:16
Corporate Prayer.Confession. Intercession. Kingdom Prayer. Find someone you can pray with on a regular basis. Someone your comfortable with but someone you will also be honest and open too. And a person who will keep you accountable.
-Tiff
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)
Pray continually
When and where should we pray? Well, according to several passages in the Bible, it doesn't matter when and it doesn't matter where. We can pray anywhere and anytime.
Daniel 6:10 (NIV)
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Daniel had a specific time and a specific place that he would pray on a very regular basis. We should have a specific time and place, a meeting with God. He is, after all, our Saviour. We probably find ourselves neglecting spending specific time with Him alone because our lives are just "so busy". We may be at church every day of the week for different activities, but are we taking time to meet with God alone?
-Meg
Praying! Where and when should we do it?
Well the answer is real simple. Anywhere, Everywhere and continually.
"17Never stop praying." - 1st Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)
-Tiff
Pray continually
When and where should we pray? Well, according to several passages in the Bible, it doesn't matter when and it doesn't matter where. We can pray anywhere and anytime.
Daniel 6:10 (NIV)
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Daniel had a specific time and a specific place that he would pray on a very regular basis. We should have a specific time and place, a meeting with God. He is, after all, our Saviour. We probably find ourselves neglecting spending specific time with Him alone because our lives are just "so busy". We may be at church every day of the week for different activities, but are we taking time to meet with God alone?
-Meg
Praying! Where and when should we do it?
Well the answer is real simple. Anywhere, Everywhere and continually.
"17Never stop praying." - 1st Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)
-Tiff
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
As believers in Christ we should be always thinking "am I doing this to be impressive, or am I doing this because He’s impressive?"-She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible. Why are we sharing that verse on facebook, twitter, instagram, google + or other social media sites? are we being selfish and trying to make ourselves look good or are we trying to make God look good.
We need to take time out of our day and have private prayer time with God. We need to have our own time with God, spend time with just him. But we also need to take time and pray together. We need to confess our sins to each other, pray for each other corporately.
"16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results" -James 5:16
-Tiff
The last 17 days, we have been focusing on the different types of prayer. We have learned all about praise, petition, intercession and Kingdom praying. Today was the beginning of a challenge of who, where and when.
It is very important that we don't spend our prayer time seeking to glorify ourselves. We also need to be aware of our motives when we are praying. The attitude in which we pray is very important to God. The Pharisees would pray like they did everything else, self-important and judging other people. There is the story about the Pharisee and the tax-collector who were both praying in the synagogue. The tax-collector was humble and his conversation was meant for himself and God. He was praying with an attitude of submission. The Pharisee, however, was praying with an attitude of self-importance and was judging the tax-collector in his very public prayer. Jesus, telling this story to His disciples, told them that the tax-collector was the one who was justified before God, rather than the Pharisee.
Praying in private is an important part of our walk with God. We want to be in constant communication with Him, but it's not a thing that we need to be proudly broadcasting to the world to make ourselves feel important. When we're approaching it with an attitude of self-glorification, we are not pleasing God. When we approach Him humbly and seek His will and His glory, then He is pleased.
Praying corporately is also important. Praying together with other believers for things to happen is a powerful weapon against our enemies. The attitude is also very important, but getting to know our King corporately through prayer is not wrong. The Bible actually tells us to confess our sins to each other. When our attitudes are right, and we are gathered together with other believers who have the same attitude, God is listening.
-Meg
We need to take time out of our day and have private prayer time with God. We need to have our own time with God, spend time with just him. But we also need to take time and pray together. We need to confess our sins to each other, pray for each other corporately.
"16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results" -James 5:16
-Tiff
The last 17 days, we have been focusing on the different types of prayer. We have learned all about praise, petition, intercession and Kingdom praying. Today was the beginning of a challenge of who, where and when.
It is very important that we don't spend our prayer time seeking to glorify ourselves. We also need to be aware of our motives when we are praying. The attitude in which we pray is very important to God. The Pharisees would pray like they did everything else, self-important and judging other people. There is the story about the Pharisee and the tax-collector who were both praying in the synagogue. The tax-collector was humble and his conversation was meant for himself and God. He was praying with an attitude of submission. The Pharisee, however, was praying with an attitude of self-importance and was judging the tax-collector in his very public prayer. Jesus, telling this story to His disciples, told them that the tax-collector was the one who was justified before God, rather than the Pharisee.
Praying in private is an important part of our walk with God. We want to be in constant communication with Him, but it's not a thing that we need to be proudly broadcasting to the world to make ourselves feel important. When we're approaching it with an attitude of self-glorification, we are not pleasing God. When we approach Him humbly and seek His will and His glory, then He is pleased.
Praying corporately is also important. Praying together with other believers for things to happen is a powerful weapon against our enemies. The attitude is also very important, but getting to know our King corporately through prayer is not wrong. The Bible actually tells us to confess our sins to each other. When our attitudes are right, and we are gathered together with other believers who have the same attitude, God is listening.
-Meg
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Revelation 11:15 (NIV)
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever.
Ever have a moment where you hear about something going on in the world that just overwhelms you? Sometimes it's something really cool and you are blown away by how good people are. However, in more cases than not, it seems, the opposite is true. Bad things are happening, people are hurting and nobody seems to be doing anything to make things better. It's so easy to get discouraged by those things and then, because we hear about so many bad things, to start tuning it out and harden ourselves to it. We feel that we can't directly affect the situation and so we ignore it. God calls us to a higher service, He calls us to pray.
When we're overwhelmed by things that seem so horrible or tragic, God doesn't want us to harden our hearts and try to forget about it. He wants us to have compassion and talk to Him about it. There is no way that we, as individuals, can make a great change in the things that concern us, but we can pray that God's kingdom will be advanced because of the circumstances. We can pray for the people who are able to be there to give relief and comfort. We can support the Christian organizations that go into disaster areas or that are in place to help people who are in the middle of a crisis. We can pray that through the tough situations God will soften and touch the hearts of those affected.
God touched us, we should be praying and hoping that He will touch the hearts of many more. If He loved me, who could not possibly deserve His love, why would I ignore the other undeserving people? God gave me an indescribable gift, I should be praying for it to be given to many more and doing whatever I can, to share it with others.
-Meg
We need to remember to pray about the big picture, the things happening in the world around us, not only the things that are happening in our lives. I personally feel we forget the big stuff and only focus on the little things. I think its like that because we live in a society who focuses on the "me" not the "us". We need to remember that God has a plan for us and that we need to trust in his plan. We need to stop avoiding the bad and take action by praying about it.
"The poor, brokenhearted, captives and prisoners are being set right in front of us. What better opportunity to pray?" -She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible
We don't need to ask God to always give us the outcome to all the bad things but that He will use these things to his advantage, for his kingdom.
"15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever.
Ever have a moment where you hear about something going on in the world that just overwhelms you? Sometimes it's something really cool and you are blown away by how good people are. However, in more cases than not, it seems, the opposite is true. Bad things are happening, people are hurting and nobody seems to be doing anything to make things better. It's so easy to get discouraged by those things and then, because we hear about so many bad things, to start tuning it out and harden ourselves to it. We feel that we can't directly affect the situation and so we ignore it. God calls us to a higher service, He calls us to pray.
When we're overwhelmed by things that seem so horrible or tragic, God doesn't want us to harden our hearts and try to forget about it. He wants us to have compassion and talk to Him about it. There is no way that we, as individuals, can make a great change in the things that concern us, but we can pray that God's kingdom will be advanced because of the circumstances. We can pray for the people who are able to be there to give relief and comfort. We can support the Christian organizations that go into disaster areas or that are in place to help people who are in the middle of a crisis. We can pray that through the tough situations God will soften and touch the hearts of those affected.
God touched us, we should be praying and hoping that He will touch the hearts of many more. If He loved me, who could not possibly deserve His love, why would I ignore the other undeserving people? God gave me an indescribable gift, I should be praying for it to be given to many more and doing whatever I can, to share it with others.
-Meg
We need to remember to pray about the big picture, the things happening in the world around us, not only the things that are happening in our lives. I personally feel we forget the big stuff and only focus on the little things. I think its like that because we live in a society who focuses on the "me" not the "us". We need to remember that God has a plan for us and that we need to trust in his plan. We need to stop avoiding the bad and take action by praying about it.
"The poor, brokenhearted, captives and prisoners are being set right in front of us. What better opportunity to pray?" -She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible
We don't need to ask God to always give us the outcome to all the bad things but that He will use these things to his advantage, for his kingdom.
"15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:
“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign forever and ever.”" -Revelation 11:15
-Tiff
Thursday, 29 August 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus tells us not to worry at the end of Matthew chapter 6. He points out that we don't need to worry because God will take care of our needs. If God cares about the grass in the fields and the birds in the sky, then He most certainly cares about you and I. We are not to worry but rather, we are to focus our hearts and minds on seeking to do God's will. We are to further His kingdom and He will take care of our needs.
-Meg
"2These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields" - Luke 10:2
-God takes care of us.
"33Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." -Matthew 6:33-34
-He cares for us even when we don't think he is, we just have to open our eyes and see that he is always there.
-Tiff
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus tells us not to worry at the end of Matthew chapter 6. He points out that we don't need to worry because God will take care of our needs. If God cares about the grass in the fields and the birds in the sky, then He most certainly cares about you and I. We are not to worry but rather, we are to focus our hearts and minds on seeking to do God's will. We are to further His kingdom and He will take care of our needs.
-Meg
"2These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields" - Luke 10:2
-God takes care of us.
"33Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." -Matthew 6:33-34
-He cares for us even when we don't think he is, we just have to open our eyes and see that he is always there.
-Tiff
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
We are a part of His kingdom, and when we turn our attention to the things He cares about, then we are opening the door for Him to bless us as well. - She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible
We have gone over prayers of praise and how important it is to acknowledge what God has done. We talked about petitioning God. Intercessory prayer has been covered. Confession is key. Now, we focus on praying for the kingdom of God. When we pray for God's kingdom, we are praying for His will to be done. Instead of focusing on how awesome He is, or how much we need His mercy, we are focusing on what He wants to happen on this earth. We are praying for His plan to be worked out on earth. We ask that He would use us as His instruments to grow His kingdom. When we are willing to be used by God for His glory, we will be blessed by the things He will show us in the process of growing His kingdom.
-Meg
What I learned:
-Praying for the Kingdom is important
-we are asking God to bring heaven to earth when we are kingdom praying
-we should be kingdom praying on a regular basis
-we often focus on ourselves too much
"Turn your attention outward, sisters. See this world through His eyes, with the love He has for His creation. See His grief for the bruised and scarred state we’re in. And pray." -She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible
-Tiff
We have gone over prayers of praise and how important it is to acknowledge what God has done. We talked about petitioning God. Intercessory prayer has been covered. Confession is key. Now, we focus on praying for the kingdom of God. When we pray for God's kingdom, we are praying for His will to be done. Instead of focusing on how awesome He is, or how much we need His mercy, we are focusing on what He wants to happen on this earth. We are praying for His plan to be worked out on earth. We ask that He would use us as His instruments to grow His kingdom. When we are willing to be used by God for His glory, we will be blessed by the things He will show us in the process of growing His kingdom.
-Meg
What I learned:
-Praying for the Kingdom is important
-we are asking God to bring heaven to earth when we are kingdom praying
-we should be kingdom praying on a regular basis
-we often focus on ourselves too much
"Turn your attention outward, sisters. See this world through His eyes, with the love He has for His creation. See His grief for the bruised and scarred state we’re in. And pray." -She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible
-Tiff
Monday, 26 August 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Matthew 6:10 (NIV)
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Today, we memorize another verse.
-Meg
Today we were to memorize Matthew 6:10, I don't think I have ever been very persistent in memorizing scripture, but today I have come to realize that its quite important and I need to work on remembering scripture.
-Tiff
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Today, we memorize another verse.
-Meg
Today we were to memorize Matthew 6:10, I don't think I have ever been very persistent in memorizing scripture, but today I have come to realize that its quite important and I need to work on remembering scripture.
-Tiff
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Ephesians 6:18(NIV)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
Today was an assignment to write out an intercessory pray for an individual, or a group. We are to put into practice what we have been learning about over the past few days.
-Meg
I share this verse again because I think its important.: "18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere" -Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Today as Meg has said we wrote an intercessory prayer for someone. Well I chose to write one for my family. And its great to get to practice what we have been learning.
-Tiff
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayer and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
Today was an assignment to write out an intercessory pray for an individual, or a group. We are to put into practice what we have been learning about over the past few days.
-Meg
I share this verse again because I think its important.: "18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere" -Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Today as Meg has said we wrote an intercessory prayer for someone. Well I chose to write one for my family. And its great to get to practice what we have been learning.
-Tiff
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Intercessory prayer is less about changing God's mind and more about participating in His mercy. - She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible
Sometimes it is impossible to understand God, and that's alright because, after all, He is the Creator and we are His creation and the creation is never greater than the Creator. This is the way that it is with prayer, especially intercessory prayer. God has a plan, and He will carry out that plan, but through prayer, we can choose whether or not to be part of that plan.
When we pray for someone, we are participating in the plan that God has set out for their life. He wants us to get closer to Him by bringing our troubles and the troubles of others to His attention. When you talk to someone about what is troubling you, you will find that you begin to feel a closer relationship with them. I am excited to think about how people are praying intercessory prayers for me, and I don't even know it. I am even more excited that I have that same authority to talk to God about things that I have seen in the lives of others that I can pray about.
God is always listening. He will never turn a deaf ear to you. Never be afraid to bring your concerns to Him, no matter the size of the problem. God wants you to know that you are loved.
-Meg
Sometimes it is impossible to understand God, and that's alright because, after all, He is the Creator and we are His creation and the creation is never greater than the Creator. This is the way that it is with prayer, especially intercessory prayer. God has a plan, and He will carry out that plan, but through prayer, we can choose whether or not to be part of that plan.
When we pray for someone, we are participating in the plan that God has set out for their life. He wants us to get closer to Him by bringing our troubles and the troubles of others to His attention. When you talk to someone about what is troubling you, you will find that you begin to feel a closer relationship with them. I am excited to think about how people are praying intercessory prayers for me, and I don't even know it. I am even more excited that I have that same authority to talk to God about things that I have seen in the lives of others that I can pray about.
God is always listening. He will never turn a deaf ear to you. Never be afraid to bring your concerns to Him, no matter the size of the problem. God wants you to know that you are loved.
-Meg
What I learned today:
-prayer is so important. And throughout this devotion I am continually reminded of that.
-we should be praying for each other
-prayer causes change
-"Intercessory prayer is less about changing God’s mind and more about participating in His mercy." -She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible reading plan on Youversion Bible App
-Tiff
Friday, August 23, 2013
I came across John 17:20-26 in my reading last year sometime. I had decided that I would read the entire Bible in 3 months, and though I didn't manage it in 3 months, I did get through it within a year. I don't think I had ever realized that Jesus prayed for us while He was here on earth before and the fact that He did was really special to me. Jesus intercedes for us with the Father and He wants us to be unified with Him and each other. I am so blessed that my Saviour loved me enough to pray for me.
Nehemiah also prayed an intercessory prayer in the very first chapter of his book. Our church was studying Nehemiah a few months ago and the main theme that carried throughout the entire study was that Nehemiah was all in. He was completely committed to doing God's will and he wasn't distracted by the antics going on with the people who were trying to pass themselves off as part of the Israelite nation when really, they were posers. He interceded for his people with God and then He set to work to build the walls that needed to be built to bring the people back to right relationship with the Father.
Sometimes it is important to intercede for other people when we are praying. We see that someone is in need of that intercessory prayer and we take the time out to pray for them. Those prayers are powerful and will build our faith and the faith of those we are interceding for. If Jesus intercedes for us, we can certainly intercede for our fellow believers when we realize a need.
-Meg
"12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying" Romans 12:12
What I learned:
-to intercede is to pray on behalf of another person.
-I often intercede in prayer for people who are not even aware that I am doing it, I pray for family, friends, classmates, and often people I don't even know.
-One of my most recent memories of when I interceded in prayer for someone I don't know is when me and my friend Dusty were heading back to school after a weekend home and we saw a car accident, we stopped and prayed for the people in the car and then also prayed for others who were also driving down that road.
-we have the ability to pray for others and we should. Jesus did it all the time, we should follow his example.
-I challenge you if your reading this to follow Christ's lead a pray for others.
-Tiff
Nehemiah also prayed an intercessory prayer in the very first chapter of his book. Our church was studying Nehemiah a few months ago and the main theme that carried throughout the entire study was that Nehemiah was all in. He was completely committed to doing God's will and he wasn't distracted by the antics going on with the people who were trying to pass themselves off as part of the Israelite nation when really, they were posers. He interceded for his people with God and then He set to work to build the walls that needed to be built to bring the people back to right relationship with the Father.
Sometimes it is important to intercede for other people when we are praying. We see that someone is in need of that intercessory prayer and we take the time out to pray for them. Those prayers are powerful and will build our faith and the faith of those we are interceding for. If Jesus intercedes for us, we can certainly intercede for our fellow believers when we realize a need.
-Meg
"12Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying" Romans 12:12
What I learned:
-to intercede is to pray on behalf of another person.
-I often intercede in prayer for people who are not even aware that I am doing it, I pray for family, friends, classmates, and often people I don't even know.
-One of my most recent memories of when I interceded in prayer for someone I don't know is when me and my friend Dusty were heading back to school after a weekend home and we saw a car accident, we stopped and prayed for the people in the car and then also prayed for others who were also driving down that road.
-we have the ability to pray for others and we should. Jesus did it all the time, we should follow his example.
-I challenge you if your reading this to follow Christ's lead a pray for others.
-Tiff
Friday, 23 August 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Philippians 4:6-7(NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes we forget how much God really cares for us. We know it in an abstract way, but we forget how real that love is. When you care about a child, I mean really love that child, you are so excited to do whatever it is they need you to do, no matter how small that task may be. That's how God loves us. We can ask Him anything. Even the tiny little things that we sometimes decide aren't "big enough" for God to be concerned with are the things that He wants us to bring to Him, tell Him about, and let Him help us with.
When we pray to God, we are talking with Him and we want to express our gratefulness for what He has done in our lives. We also want to tell Him about the things that we are experiencing. We want to tell Him absolutely everything because He cares about absolutely everything in our lives. He is big enough to handle all the little and big things that we can possibly think to tell Him about. If something seems insignificant, still talk to Him about it. If something seems to big to handle, talk to Him about it. He is our amazing and wonderful God. He is omnipotent after all, so why do we keep thinking He has limits?
-Meg
- prayer is often repeated
- we should take everything to Jesus, our worries, our needs, our sins, our praises, our thanks.
“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit,O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” -What a Friend we have in Jesus by Joseph Scriven
-always pray for God's will to be done in our lives
-be specific and bold while praying
-bring everything to him
-Tiff
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes we forget how much God really cares for us. We know it in an abstract way, but we forget how real that love is. When you care about a child, I mean really love that child, you are so excited to do whatever it is they need you to do, no matter how small that task may be. That's how God loves us. We can ask Him anything. Even the tiny little things that we sometimes decide aren't "big enough" for God to be concerned with are the things that He wants us to bring to Him, tell Him about, and let Him help us with.
When we pray to God, we are talking with Him and we want to express our gratefulness for what He has done in our lives. We also want to tell Him about the things that we are experiencing. We want to tell Him absolutely everything because He cares about absolutely everything in our lives. He is big enough to handle all the little and big things that we can possibly think to tell Him about. If something seems insignificant, still talk to Him about it. If something seems to big to handle, talk to Him about it. He is our amazing and wonderful God. He is omnipotent after all, so why do we keep thinking He has limits?
-Meg
what I learned today:
- practice makes perfect“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit,O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” -What a Friend we have in Jesus by Joseph Scriven
"6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." - Phillipians 4:6-7
This verse has got me through so much. It has been a verse I look to in the hard times.-Tiff
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
The pleas of an honest heart following hard after God are music to His ears. - She Reads Truth: Prayer in the Bible
When David is in trouble, being seized by the Philistines in Gath, he cries out to God to save Him. He pleads with God. He holds nothing back. David has a completely honest and forthright conversation with God.
Do we ever have a completely honest conversation with God? Are we willing to put it all on the line when we talk with our Creator? I know that I am not completely open with anyone. It's a little stupid to be so closed off with the people you care about, but it's even more ridiculous to be closed off with God. For starters, God already knows you intimately. He created you and is present in every moment of your life, so why would you not talk to Him about the things He already is aware of? Secondly, God is wisdom. He knows what is best for you and if you're in intimate conversation with Him, you will begin to see what He has planned for you, even when you only see the next step you're supposed to take.
Do we understand the privilege that we have in talking to our heavenly Father? Do we realize the boldness that we can have in approaching Him with our concerns and needs? God is righteous, and He will do what is best. We are just required to ask for what we need. God will cause justice to prevail. He knows the whole story and knows what is right. We can trust Him to lead us where we should go.
-Meg
What I learned from today Scripture and Devotion:
-always pray and never give up (Luke 18:1)
-God listens to our prayers.
-prayer is not some formula it is a conversation with God.
-God hears our prayers.
-Tiff
When David is in trouble, being seized by the Philistines in Gath, he cries out to God to save Him. He pleads with God. He holds nothing back. David has a completely honest and forthright conversation with God.
Do we ever have a completely honest conversation with God? Are we willing to put it all on the line when we talk with our Creator? I know that I am not completely open with anyone. It's a little stupid to be so closed off with the people you care about, but it's even more ridiculous to be closed off with God. For starters, God already knows you intimately. He created you and is present in every moment of your life, so why would you not talk to Him about the things He already is aware of? Secondly, God is wisdom. He knows what is best for you and if you're in intimate conversation with Him, you will begin to see what He has planned for you, even when you only see the next step you're supposed to take.
Do we understand the privilege that we have in talking to our heavenly Father? Do we realize the boldness that we can have in approaching Him with our concerns and needs? God is righteous, and He will do what is best. We are just required to ask for what we need. God will cause justice to prevail. He knows the whole story and knows what is right. We can trust Him to lead us where we should go.
-Meg
What I learned from today Scripture and Devotion:
-always pray and never give up (Luke 18:1)
-God listens to our prayers.
-prayer is not some formula it is a conversation with God.
-God hears our prayers.
-Tiff
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Matthew 7:7-8(NIV)
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
The prayer of petition is the one that we probably find ourselves praying the most. It's ok to ask God for things and as these verses say, God actually expects us to ask for things. The thing we need to remember, however, is that God will do what is right and good. If what we ask for is not the right thing, then it won't be done. God answers our prayers, but He may not answer them the way that we expect or want Him to. When Jesus was praying the garden of Gethsemane just before Judas betrayed Him with a kiss, He asked God to take away His cup. He wanted to be relieved from having to go to the cross. He understood that the cross was going to be a painful and horrible experience, and He wanted out. But Jesus wasn't under the impression that our wants and our needs are the same things. He didn't just pray to be relieved from the suffering He was about to experience, He also prayed that God's will would be done rather than what He wanted. He knew that God's will is always better than what we want. If there had been any other less painful and horrible way for Him to reclaim our souls from Satan, He would have taken it, but He was willing to suffer that painful death if God willed it.
We should always remember that we need to ask for the will of God to be done in our lives and the lives of the people we pray for. We aren't always going to understand or even like what God's will is, but it is way better than ours. Maybe God will call you to do something that will put you out of your comfort zone. Maybe He will give you exactly what you asked for in exactly the way you wanted it. Whatever God gives you, that is what is best for you. The best thing about it is that He is with you through it all. If you ever feel that you can't handle what He's given you, ask for His Holy Spirit. God will not withhold good gifts from His children.
-Meg
"40There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”"-Luke 22:40
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
The prayer of petition is the one that we probably find ourselves praying the most. It's ok to ask God for things and as these verses say, God actually expects us to ask for things. The thing we need to remember, however, is that God will do what is right and good. If what we ask for is not the right thing, then it won't be done. God answers our prayers, but He may not answer them the way that we expect or want Him to. When Jesus was praying the garden of Gethsemane just before Judas betrayed Him with a kiss, He asked God to take away His cup. He wanted to be relieved from having to go to the cross. He understood that the cross was going to be a painful and horrible experience, and He wanted out. But Jesus wasn't under the impression that our wants and our needs are the same things. He didn't just pray to be relieved from the suffering He was about to experience, He also prayed that God's will would be done rather than what He wanted. He knew that God's will is always better than what we want. If there had been any other less painful and horrible way for Him to reclaim our souls from Satan, He would have taken it, but He was willing to suffer that painful death if God willed it.
We should always remember that we need to ask for the will of God to be done in our lives and the lives of the people we pray for. We aren't always going to understand or even like what God's will is, but it is way better than ours. Maybe God will call you to do something that will put you out of your comfort zone. Maybe He will give you exactly what you asked for in exactly the way you wanted it. Whatever God gives you, that is what is best for you. The best thing about it is that He is with you through it all. If you ever feel that you can't handle what He's given you, ask for His Holy Spirit. God will not withhold good gifts from His children.
-Meg
"7“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. 8For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
-this verse is always a reminder to me that God will give us what we need if we ask for it.
-I think that there is limits to what he gives us because sometimes we think we need something when really we just want it.
"40There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”"-Luke 22:40
-this verse reminds me that we have to not only pray for forgiveness but also pray that we will not give into the temptation to sin.
"13Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14Are
any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come
and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15Such
a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make
you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
16Confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and
produces wonderful results. 17Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops." James 5:13-18
- Prayer is powerful. I have a little example from my life where prayer showed to be powerful. In February of this year I was accepted by Power to Change to go to the United Kingdom on a missions project over the reading break. Leading up to the trip each student going had to raise support to go. I contacted every Christian I knew and asked them to support me financially or prayerfully. The Monday before my departure day, which was on a Friday, I was still $700 short of my fundraising goal, I was nervous because the responses to my calls, letters, and emails were becoming very little. A few girls on my campus were planning a wedding shower for some girls and when we were there we prayed about my support raising. By the time I arrived home that night I was only $70 short of the goal. I was on facebook, I was pretty excited because I knew that I could put $70 from my own pocket to cover the amount. But something amazing happened like a few minutes after I signed in. I received a message from a girl on my campus who had graduated a year or two ago. She said "how much do you need to reach your goal Tiffany?" and so I told her $70, she immediately told me that she would donate $70. I jumped for joy and thanked God, I had prayed with those girls and we within hours God answered our prayers, it was then clear that He wanted me to go to the UK. Prayer is powerful. Don't ever doubt it.
-Tiff
Monday, 19 August 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Romans 12:12(NIV)
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Memorizing scripture. We tend to push this aside when we come across verses that are a little more complicated or difficult because we don't want to take the time to commit them to memory. Most Christians know John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Jeremiah 29:11 and probably John 11:35, even if they don't know the references. Those are wonderful verses and I love them myself, but what about all the others that are so full of the Truth that God has given us.
I am so grateful for the Christian education that I received as a child. I grew up in a Christian home and went to church and Sunday School every Sunday. I was also blessed to be able to attend a Christian school from kindergarten to grade 8. Every morning at school we would come into our classroom, stand and sing Oh Canada along with the music coming over the P.A. system, listen to the announcements for the day, and then we would sit down and begin our lessons for the day with Bible. We would learn about the passage we had been studying and then we would look over the verse we were to memorize for the week. Thanks to this education that my parents sacrificed for me to have, I am able to say that I have a small amount of Scripture memorized.
Though the Christian education gave me a firm standing and taught me a lot of Scripture, I didn't continue learning verses on my own. I know that it is a good thing to do, as David states: "I will hide Your word in my heart that I may not sin against You." Psalm 119:11 but I still find myself struggling to practice it in my own life. I know that it is good to have the Word memorized so that I am always "...prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [me] to give the reason for the hope that [I] have." 1 Peter 3:15 and yet, I still struggle to do this on a regular basis.
I think the key is to be deliberate about anything you do to be more like God. We need to deliberately set time aside to spend time meditating on His word everyday. We need to deliberately plan out how we are going to memorize scripture, not just single verses, but entire passages. We need to deliberately take time to stop the hectic pace of our lives for a time to talk with the One who loves us more than any other person ever can. Jesus sacrificed His all for our salvation, can we not sacrifice some time for Him?
-Meg
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Memorizing scripture. We tend to push this aside when we come across verses that are a little more complicated or difficult because we don't want to take the time to commit them to memory. Most Christians know John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Jeremiah 29:11 and probably John 11:35, even if they don't know the references. Those are wonderful verses and I love them myself, but what about all the others that are so full of the Truth that God has given us.
I am so grateful for the Christian education that I received as a child. I grew up in a Christian home and went to church and Sunday School every Sunday. I was also blessed to be able to attend a Christian school from kindergarten to grade 8. Every morning at school we would come into our classroom, stand and sing Oh Canada along with the music coming over the P.A. system, listen to the announcements for the day, and then we would sit down and begin our lessons for the day with Bible. We would learn about the passage we had been studying and then we would look over the verse we were to memorize for the week. Thanks to this education that my parents sacrificed for me to have, I am able to say that I have a small amount of Scripture memorized.
Though the Christian education gave me a firm standing and taught me a lot of Scripture, I didn't continue learning verses on my own. I know that it is a good thing to do, as David states: "I will hide Your word in my heart that I may not sin against You." Psalm 119:11 but I still find myself struggling to practice it in my own life. I know that it is good to have the Word memorized so that I am always "...prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [me] to give the reason for the hope that [I] have." 1 Peter 3:15 and yet, I still struggle to do this on a regular basis.
I think the key is to be deliberate about anything you do to be more like God. We need to deliberately set time aside to spend time meditating on His word everyday. We need to deliberately plan out how we are going to memorize scripture, not just single verses, but entire passages. We need to deliberately take time to stop the hectic pace of our lives for a time to talk with the One who loves us more than any other person ever can. Jesus sacrificed His all for our salvation, can we not sacrifice some time for Him?
-Meg
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12
A verse with so much truth. It's such a great reminder to be rejoiceful, to be patient not only in tribulation but always, and to pray often. I guess I have I admit I don't pray as often as I should. I kind of forget to do it, it's something I really have to work on doing more often.
-Tiff
Sunday, August 18, 2013
"It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to help you hate and flee from sin as you should." - A. W. Tozer -
The task for today's blog was to write out a prayer of confession. We are so caught up in our own lives that we find ourselves rushing through our time with God. We read a few verses from the Bible and say a quick prayer and then we feel like we've accomplished our devotional requirement for the day. That is, when looked at objectively, a very sad way to approach our relationship with God.
When we begin a new relationship with another person, we tend to be very excited to spend time with them. We make plans to see them so that we can talk with them. We find out everything we can about them and we want to get to know how to make them happy. We are so excited about making our lives work together. Unfortunately, for a lot of people, their relationship with God, though it may have started out that way, has become more of a chore and they just grab a quick moment before getting on with the rest of their day. If we were to treat our earthly relationships the same way, we wouldn't know very much about the person and it wouldn't be much of a relationship.
If we spend time getting to know God on a daily basis, and I mean spending more than five or ten minutes reading a short passage and then saying a quick prayer, we will begin to have a much deeper relationship with Him. When we have a deeper relationship with Almighty God, He will reveal to us more of Himself. When we see more of who God is, we will understand more about how the things we continue to do that are against His commands are grieving Him. We will begin to get a real grasp on how we are hurting the One who loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to be our Saviour, Redeemer and Lord.
Today, we need to look at our lives and our hearts and discover for ourselves what it is that God wants us to change in our lives. He will be there every step of the way to help us overcome our difficulties and sin nature. All we need to do is draw near to Him and resist the devil. We will see what we should change when we see who He is.
-Meg
-Tiff
The task for today's blog was to write out a prayer of confession. We are so caught up in our own lives that we find ourselves rushing through our time with God. We read a few verses from the Bible and say a quick prayer and then we feel like we've accomplished our devotional requirement for the day. That is, when looked at objectively, a very sad way to approach our relationship with God.
When we begin a new relationship with another person, we tend to be very excited to spend time with them. We make plans to see them so that we can talk with them. We find out everything we can about them and we want to get to know how to make them happy. We are so excited about making our lives work together. Unfortunately, for a lot of people, their relationship with God, though it may have started out that way, has become more of a chore and they just grab a quick moment before getting on with the rest of their day. If we were to treat our earthly relationships the same way, we wouldn't know very much about the person and it wouldn't be much of a relationship.
If we spend time getting to know God on a daily basis, and I mean spending more than five or ten minutes reading a short passage and then saying a quick prayer, we will begin to have a much deeper relationship with Him. When we have a deeper relationship with Almighty God, He will reveal to us more of Himself. When we see more of who God is, we will understand more about how the things we continue to do that are against His commands are grieving Him. We will begin to get a real grasp on how we are hurting the One who loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to be our Saviour, Redeemer and Lord.
Today, we need to look at our lives and our hearts and discover for ourselves what it is that God wants us to change in our lives. He will be there every step of the way to help us overcome our difficulties and sin nature. All we need to do is draw near to Him and resist the devil. We will see what we should change when we see who He is.
-Meg
I have to share the quote again.
“It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation
with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have power to
help you to hate and flee from sin as you should.” ~ A.W. Tozer
What I learned today from Psalm 51:1-12 and the
corresponding devotion:
-Be open and honest with God. He knows everything we do, so
we should always be honest with him.
-Be willing to change and flee from sin.
-Confess your sins; the weight of them will be lifted from
you.
-Ask God to reveal the sins you may not recognize.
-Pray from the heart.
-Be thankful for God’s forgiveness.
-Tiff
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Luke 15:20(NIV)
So he got up and went to his Father. But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; He ran to His son, threw His arms around him and kissed him.
We all make mistakes. Whether we make what we perceive as small ones, or big ones, or massive ones, we all make them. There is no chance in all of the universe that you or I will get through even one hour without making some sort of mistake and sinning against God. We rebel against His authority in our lives and live the way that we want and sometimes feel entitled to live. We turn away from the Father and do our own thing with the wonderful gifts He has given to us. We squander our talents and use them for personal gain rather than for building up the kingdom of God, but at some point in our lives, we will realize that doing things our way is not satisfying.
When we come to the point where we realize that we are not being satisfied by things that we are doing, we have a choice. We can either spend our days being dissatisfied with what we have in our lives and just continue to do what we've always done, or we can look to the Father and run back to Him with the heart of a servant, ready to serve Him and His kingdom in whatever way He has called us to do so. We also need to do this without expectations. We can't go running back to the Father expecting Him to give us an elevated position or a wonderful experience. We should go back, humble and ready to do even the most menial tasks to build His kingdom. He will put us in the place that is right for us. He knows where our talents are best used and where they will build His kingdom the most.
My most cherished part of this parable is verse 20. I love how when we make the decision to turn back to the Father, even though we feel like we are so far away from Him, He will run to us and fold us into His arms and just love us. When we choose to go back to Him, He will be there, no matter how far we have strayed from His purpose for our lives!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt9M_QHgapY Please take a look at this video about this parable of the prodigal son. It is a beautiful song about the love God has for us, even when we have turned our backs on Him.
-Meg
So he got up and went to his Father. But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; He ran to His son, threw His arms around him and kissed him.
We all make mistakes. Whether we make what we perceive as small ones, or big ones, or massive ones, we all make them. There is no chance in all of the universe that you or I will get through even one hour without making some sort of mistake and sinning against God. We rebel against His authority in our lives and live the way that we want and sometimes feel entitled to live. We turn away from the Father and do our own thing with the wonderful gifts He has given to us. We squander our talents and use them for personal gain rather than for building up the kingdom of God, but at some point in our lives, we will realize that doing things our way is not satisfying.
When we come to the point where we realize that we are not being satisfied by things that we are doing, we have a choice. We can either spend our days being dissatisfied with what we have in our lives and just continue to do what we've always done, or we can look to the Father and run back to Him with the heart of a servant, ready to serve Him and His kingdom in whatever way He has called us to do so. We also need to do this without expectations. We can't go running back to the Father expecting Him to give us an elevated position or a wonderful experience. We should go back, humble and ready to do even the most menial tasks to build His kingdom. He will put us in the place that is right for us. He knows where our talents are best used and where they will build His kingdom the most.
My most cherished part of this parable is verse 20. I love how when we make the decision to turn back to the Father, even though we feel like we are so far away from Him, He will run to us and fold us into His arms and just love us. When we choose to go back to Him, He will be there, no matter how far we have strayed from His purpose for our lives!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt9M_QHgapY Please take a look at this video about this parable of the prodigal son. It is a beautiful song about the love God has for us, even when we have turned our backs on Him.
-Meg
What I learned today:
-God loves us no matter what!
-we are lost but found in Christ and in Luke 15:11-32 it is
illustrated by the two sons and their father.
-we have to confess/admit our sins to ourselves too, if we can’t
admit we did something then really we haven’t truly confessed.
This devotion and passage reminded me of a conversation I had with my mentor Sarah. She used this parable as an example when I was struggling with some family issues and was upset that my parents were favoring my brother over me. It really helped me come to terms with it, and see everything in a different way.
-Tiff
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