The Monday of Passion Week
Posted On: March 26, 2018
THE STORY
Jesus spent the night in Bethany at his best friend Lazarus' home. The next day they went back to Jerusalem (two miles away) for him to teach the word of God in the Temple. On the way he saw a fig tree that should've been fruitful but it wasfruitless. So, he cursed the tree.
Later, the disciples saw the tree had dried up and withered. His words had power. He cursed the tree because the fig tree represented the religious leaders of Israel. They should've had faith in him but they rejected him. They had no spiritual fruit. '" Have faith in God,' Jesus answered . " Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them" (Mark 11:22-23).
THE LESSON
The lesson of faith is important for us. We need to expect that our faith in God will produce results. When we speak words of faith things happen!
Jesus tells us that if we believe that what we say will happen then it will happen. Faith is found in our hearts but also in our words. "We believe , therefore, we speak" (2 Cor 4:13). The story reminds us that our words matter and that there is power when we speak words of faith in God.
THE ACTION
Talk about the ways you have seen the positive impact of words of faith, hope and love. What are some of the negative effects of words of doubt and discouragement? As you pray today, pray the prayer of the psalmist David, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer " (Ps 79:74).
Making Dreams A Reality
Posted On: March 08, 2018
That day in the future, you know the one I’m talking about. That dream of becoming a (Insert dream) will only be accomplished when you do the work today that needs to be done in order to get there. Dreams rarely just fall into your lap. Therefore, hard consistent effort must be you daily exercise.
When you apply faith to daily hard work, your dream will take one step closer to you. If you believe in your dream, and have the passion to see it come to pass, your dream will happen in God’s timing. Dreams are not accomplished through haste. Dreams require time to develop and grow. All great dreams take time to be accomplished. Don’t let impatience steal your dream by causing you to give up before you cross the finish line. You have the dedication it takes! There is no mountain you can’t climb with God help.
Nature often teaches us about patience if we will only notice. I spend a lot of time in the woods hunting and observing nature up close. For instance, I’ve seen birds building a nests as I’ve set for hours in a tree stand. I’ve watched them over hours and hours fly back, and fourth finding sticks and straw to build their nest.
At times, while the bird was away finding more material, the wind would blow away the previous work, but it didn’t deter the bird once it returned. The bird would simply replace what the wind blew away and continue building. The dream of a nest must move forward.
Pursuing your dream will not always be easy. You will have times that you feel like giving up and walking away. Hang in there! Don’t throw in the towel! God is with you and will give you the grace to take daily steps if you will just trust Him and keep moving and working. Don’t let anything or anyone discourage you from dreaming your dream and pursuing it. Don’t allow stumbling blocks and bad days to be the strongest voice in your life telling you to stop. Don’t settle for average, but instead, set your sights high and land among the stars.
John Maxwell describes a dream as “an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it.”
Allow me to give you a few tips on achieving the dream God has put inside of you.
1. Know what the dream is. (Write a book, Become a painter, Become…)
2. Plan the path and pray the path. (You need action steps empowered by prayer)
3. Bring others into your dream. (Find people who will keep you accountable)
4. Overcome fear. (Never allow fear to master you) 5. Stop waiting. (Today is the day you start and not tomorrow)
Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will you dream. Now get going.
Adapted from author Steve Wrights, 1/20/13, at http://bit.ly/YHFfXh
Do You Have Something to Give Up for Lent?
Posted On: March 02, 2018
The fact that my Catholic friends had to give up decent food in Lent always seemed to me to be one more good reason to be a Protestant. (Photo: I expect that the Lent Promo at the Luby’s in Kerrville is much better than my elementary school’s cafeteria rations.)
But, in the past fifteen years or so, I’ve sometimes decided to join my Catholic sisters and brothers in giving up something during Lent. This means, depending on how you count the days of Lent, fasting from something for about six weeks. (Officially in the Western world, Lent comprises the days from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. But many traditions do not count the Sundays during this period as belonging to Lent. Thus Lent covers 46 days, but only 40 days belong to the Lenten fast.)
People in my theological tradition (the Reformed tradition, pioneered by John Calvin) tend not to emphasize Lenten fasting. Partly this had to do with the conscious rejection of Roman Catholic practices that were not clearly based on Scripture. Lent is not prohibited in Scripture. But it isn’t taught there either. One can be a faithful, biblical Christian and never recognize Lent. So, in days gone by, many Reformed folk and other Protestants who wanted to make the season before Easter special in some way, chose instead to add a spiritual discipline to their lives as a way of preparing for Easter. It’s quite common today for churches that don’t have midweek Bible studies, for example, to offer a Lenten Wednesday Evening Study or something like this. Special Lenten spiritual retreats are also increasingly common in Protestant in addition to Roman Catholic circles.
But fasting still plays a prominent role in Lenten practices of many Christians across the denominational and theological spectrum. Throughout church history there have been different kinds of Lenten fasts. Nobody, to my knowledge, expected anyone to give up all food for the whole season. In the Middle Ages it was common for Christians to give up certain sorts of food, like meat and/or dairy products, for example. This explains why, in my youth, Catholics abstained from meat on the Fridays of Lent. Many Catholics still observe this discipline. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lenten fast is taken even more seriously than in the Roman Catholic church, with many Orthodox folk eating vegetarian meals during the season.
In recent years I have sometimes given up something in Lent, perhaps chocolate or watching television. The latter was particularly hard because I enjoy college basketball, and March Madness (the NCAA bastketball tournament) always falls in the middle of Lent. This year I have decided to give up something I enjoy. I’ve also adopted an additional daily spiritual discipline. It don’t think it would be appropriate for me to speak in detail about what I’m doing at this time. But I would like to share some reflections on what I’ve been learning through my version of a Lenten fast.
What I’ve Learned by Fasting During Lent
First, giving up something allows me to make a tangible sacrifice to the Lord. Although certain sacrifices are already present in my life, they’re sort of “built in” at this point. I don’t often experience giving up something for God on a daily basis. The act of sacrifice reminds me of my commitment to God and my desire to make him first in my life.
Second, by giving up something I usually enjoy on a daily basis, I have sometimes found myself yearning for that thing. Frankly, I’ve been tempted to give up my Lenten fast at times. I could easily argue that it’s unnecessary (it is optional, after all) and certainly not taught in Scripture. But, though I don’t think my effort at fasting makes God love or bless me more, I do think it raises my awareness of how much I depend on other things in life rather than the Lord. I see how easy it is for me to set up all sorts of little idols in my life. Fasting, in some way, helps me surrender my idols to God.
Third, when I give up something I like and then feel an unquenched desire for it, I’m reminded of my neediness as a person. And neediness, I believe, is at the heart of true spirituality. Jesus said:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . . .
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:3, 6
Of course feeling hungry for one of life’s pleasures isn’t quite the same as hungering and thirsting for righteousness. But when I feel my hunger, when I sense my neediness for some other thing, I can use this to get in touch with my hunger and need for God.
Fourth, as I continue with my Lenten fast, I find myself less eager for the thing I’ve given up. Ironically, this makes my fast easier. It’s almost something I can take for granted, thus dulling the spiritual impact of the fast. But I’m also gratified to know that one of my little “idols” is being set aside in my heart, as I learn to depend more upon God. I’m experiencing a bit of freedom that makes me gladly thankful for God’s grace at work in me.
Written by: by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts
What is Lent?
Posted On: February 13, 2018
What is Lent?
For some Christians, Lent has always been a part of their spiritual life, but for others it is unfamiliar. Lent is a season leading up to Easter, a time when Christians have historically prepared their hearts for Easter with reflection, repentance, and prayer. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and proceeds for forty days, excluding Sundays, and culminating with Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Since Sundays are weekly celebrations of the resurrection of Jesus, the six Sundays in Lent are not counted as part of the forty-day season, which focuses on introspection, self examination, and repentance. Many Christians choose to celebrate a fast throughout the season of Lent, but the focus is not on depriving themselves of something as much as it is on devoting themselves to God and his purposes in the world.
Lent is an important season of the church year. The church year is an excellent way to help focus our attention on God with the way we organize our time. Rather than following the solar calendar's more familiar structure, organized by the rhythms of nature, the church calendar is organized around God and his activity in the world. The church calendar follows six seasons of varying length: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. Each of these seasons have different focuses: Advent focuses on the anticipation of God's coming into the world, both in the incarnation and in Christ's return. Christmas focuses on the birth of Christ. Epiphany focuses on the light of God's presence shining in the world. Lent focuses on human sin and God's gracious solution. Easter focuses on resurrection life. Pentecost focuses on the ongoing activity of the Holy Spirit in the world. The annual rhythm of these seasons can have a powerful effect on personal and communal spiritual growth.**
Begin the Lent season today by reflecting on God’s grace in your life and the areas you need His grace to manifest. We would love to hear from you today @ [email protected]
**Devotion taken from www.youversion.com
Unless the Lord Builds the House
Posted On: January 25, 2018
Imagine that a contractor comes to you and tells you that they want to build for you a house with unimaginable splendor and glory. Not only will he build the house for you He has promised to pay all of the costs. God has done this for YOU! The house came at no easy cost, but He sacrificed His own Son so that you may have every blessing. Although the builder will build the house, He has asked for your help, for you to come alongside Him and do His will. He will strengthen you to do His will and give you all that you need.
All the builder requires of you is obedience. Although obedience sounds like an easy task, your flesh will resist it. You will want to do good to satisfy the builder, but the good you will want to do, you won’t and the evil you desire to resist you will give into. Some of the complaints about the builder are His time schedule and how it is natural to wait on Him even though He is good and His plan is perfect. Another popular complaint about Him is that He is all glorious and humbles those that are lifted up, whereas in our natural state we love control and to be able to call the shots.
Despite our failure to wait on Him or submit humbly to His will, He is still faithful to build the house, not on any merit of our own, but because of what His Son has accomplished on our behalf. The Lord knows our weakness and insufficiency. He is a patient and loving Father whose mercy endures forever. Even though you don't deserve it, He always delights in blessing you. How much more that should motivate you to obedience and let HIM build your house.
Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; (Psalm 127:1)
5 Steps to Finding Your Testimony!
Posted On: January 12, 2018
"Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."Mark 5:19
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" Revelation 12:11.
There is power in our testimony! The more you share it, the more the Lord can use your story to help others.
But, sometimes it is hard to express your testimony into words. Here are 5 steps to discovering your testimony.
- Thank the Lord for all He is done in your life so far. Creating a thankful heart is the first step to seeing all the goodness God has lavished on you.
- Reflect on all the incidents the Lord has come through for you. Dwell on His perfect timing, and how He always knows what is best for you.
- If you are having a difficult time thinking about the good things the Lord has done for you, ask Him to open your eyes to see His faithfulness in your life. The examples are there, but sometimes our attitudes need adjustment before we can see God’s work in our lives!
- Now, look at all the examples of God’s goodness in your life. See how He has changed the bad situations into good things of Him. Try to locate a theme amongst all of the examples. (His faithfulness, His unending blessings, His peace, His comfort, etc)
- Once you have found your story, begin sharing it to others! The more you share it, the more the Lord will allow you to see how He has used your life for the glory of God!
How has discovering your testimony been beneficial in your life? If you have not taken the time to discover it, what do you think is keeping you from finding it?
