20 Monday Aug 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Today’s chapter was a great leadership lesson given by Paul. It showed how Paul, a prisoner, was able to lead, even the Centurions, during their 14 days in the storm. Often we wait for God to place us in a position of authority so that we can be influencers. In reality, God’s power and Holy Spirit living in us is the only influence we need. We must be willing to be used by God in all circumstance and not wait for positional power in order to impact the lives of people around us.
17 Friday Aug 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
Tags
Paul continues to show courage and faithfulness where ever he goes. In this chapter, even while he is being accused by the Jews in front of Governor Felix, Paul is not deterred even to the point where it turns a bit personal to the Governor and makes Felix a bit uncomfortable and afraid. Most people are ok with discussing the gospel as long as it doesn’t touch them personally. The reality is the gospel is very personal. It’s about a personal relationship with Christ. Unless someone is touched by God in a way that changes them in a deep and personal way, it is just religion and ritual following of the rules and the law.
05 Sunday Aug 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
It is good to have a healthy self-worth. We should never think of ourselves as being less than what God has created us to be. At the same time, it is important to take an accurate assessment of ourselves and know that our identity comes from our relationship with God. Verse 3 says, For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. We are only as good as the measure of faith we have in God. We can never have true success without the Father. We may be successful in the eyes of the world, but our true measure comes from how we compare in the light of eternity.
25 Wednesday Jul 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
Today we start one of the most powerful books of the Bible; Romans! This book was written by Paul before he ever even visited the Romans. It was written as Paul prepares for his visit to Jerusalem and approximately 57 years after Christ’s sacrifice. He writes this letter as a presentation of his faith to the Roman people, which does not give it the typical form of a letter except for brief greetings at the beginning of the book and more detailed greetings at end. His intention in writing this is to introduce himself to the Roman church which is mostly Jewish, but also has a considerable number of Gentiles.
Within the first few verses Paul gets to the point very quickly and delivers the premise of his message. Verse 16 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. Paul does not mince words in expressing his belief and faith in the gospel of Christ. He was definitely not ashamed and he proved it over and over with each form of persecution and near death experience. Where we live in Franklin, TN it is not difficult to carry the flag of my belief in the gospel. My boldness and desire to serve God must go beyond the comfort of where I live. I pray that I am never ashamed to share what I believe no matter where I am or what I’m doing because the gospel is truly the power of God shown through salvation which is available to everyone, no matter where they live or what they have done.
16 Monday Jul 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
Verse 6 is always a very convicting verse to me, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. The Corinthian church was assured by Paul that God would meet all their needs. In the same way, my lack of faith is the only limiting factor to God’s provision. If I allow fear to keep me from giving freely, then I shouldn’t be surprised when I receive a limited amount of blessings. We should give generously (time, energy, money, etc.) if we are to receive generously.
07 Saturday Jul 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
Psalm 146:2-3 is such a good reminder that our trust should never be in men (or women) but in God alone. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. And if that’s not enough, verse 4 tells us why… When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing./strong> Men cannot help us. They are just like us; flawed, imperfect, and will return to dust just like us when they die. Only the creator of the universe can truly help and wants nothing more than to help us fully. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” – Revelation 1:8
27 Wednesday Jun 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
It wasn’t until recently that communion became more than a ritual to me. Growing up in a conservative church we were very careful to keep communion very sterile and plain and to keep it as a remembrance of Christ only. The problem was that it was barely a remembrance to me. It was just something we did every three months. When I read verses 23-26 I see that communion is not something to help us remember Christ, it is meant to recognize that He died for our sins, that His death brings us life, and that He is coming once again. As I read this passage I want be reminded that the eating of the bread and drinking of the wine means more than a simple ritual, I want it to remind me of where my purpose comes from. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
25 Monday Jun 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
Too many times we try to make the world conform to our view of Christianity as believers who already have a relationship with God. It’s almost as though we require them to act as though they have already experienced God’s grace before they even know who He is. Verse 19 hit me right between the eyes this morning; Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. Paul goes on to talk about how he becomes whatever he needs to become in order to reach people with the gospel. Even though I know people must experience God for themselves, I still want them to be just like me or just like the people in my church. I need to be more like them so they can experience Christ where they are instead of where I think they should be. Only God knows where they need to be in relation to Him. My job is simply to make the introduction.
07 Thursday Jun 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
A couple of days ago we talked about how Paul modified his approach to sharing the Gospel based on his setting. Paul’s approach, while very bold, never moved to a forceful method of reaching people. In verse 3 we see the underlying method and outcome of Paul’s approach; We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere does it say your “reach powered by force”. We must have faith in God which produces labor powered by love and endures because of the hope we have in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. This seems like a pretty good formula to me.
06 Wednesday Jun 2012
Posted in Daily Reading
I love reading Acts 18:6, But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Why do I love this particular verse? Because it is the beginning of our Gentile Christian heritage. Because the Jews rejected Christ as the Messiah and they reject Paul’s teachings, the Gentiles became the recipients of Paul’s full attention. We can trace the roots of our faith back to this very verse. God has a perfect plan for each of us. When it looks like one path is closed or closing it is usually because God wants us to go down a different path that fulfills His perfect plan.
Daily Devotion 