WHO ARE YOUR PEOPLE?

 JULY 1, 2022

Proverbs 13:20


20 Walk with the wise and become wise,
for a companion of fools suffers harm.



Galatians 6:2

2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:25-27

25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Hebrews 10:24

24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds . . . .



Community: a body of individuals who unite together in fellowship, sharing attitudes, interests, and goals.

Most of this week’s devotions have likely left us with the impression that to “rest,” to feed our souls in the presence of God we have to be alone, withdrawn from the world. There are times when we do need that solitude to refresh and renew.

Today, I want to remind you that intimacy with God doesn’t mean shutting yourself off from other people. In fact, at times it means making space for them. Rest is the perfect time to celebrate life with people you love. We’re not made to do life alone. We need each other. An important part of the experience of rest is to be in community. When we celebrate life with such people, Don’t set an agenda. Just show up and enjoy one another’s company.

God is community, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and God invites us into the awesome benefits and blessings of resting with others.

Think about the kind of people you want in your life, people who inspire you to be better, to be more like Jesus. I don’t think it is a secret to any of us that we are directly influenced by the people we spend the most time with. For times of rest, we need those occasions to hang with the people around us who are helping us grow.

REFLECT

This is Canada Day weekend, might be a great time to reach out today and invite a few friends to get together in person. If in- person isn’t possible, connect on a video or voice call.



REMEMBER

Don’t set an agenda. 

Just show up and enjoy one another’s company.

Afterwards, write down anything God showed you during your time together.

OPEN MY EARS, LORD

 JUNE 30, 2022

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

John 10:2-5

2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

Romans 10:17

17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Psalm 116:7

7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.


Psalm 91:1-2

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

 

Listen—to actively engage in hearing, giving thoughtful attention.


All Scripture is inspired by God. When we read or listen to God’s Word, and when we then actively reflect on what it says, over time, we learn to recognize God’s voice. That is a great outcome don't you think? However, focused time in the Bible requires making it a priority to focus on just being with God and his word.

Hear is a little hint I have found helpful. When you read or listen to Scripture, give it enough time and space to really let the words, the meaning, the tone, and the story sink in or wash over you.

Biblegateway.com  offers several audio versions of the Bible, so it’s easy to just put your headphones in, shut out the noise around you and press Play and listen.

Reflect

Set aside 10 minutes today to read or listen to God’s Word. During that time, snooze your calendar and notifications. Take notes and journal your thoughts.

https://www.biblegateway.com/ 

FINDING YOUR SOMEPLACE

 JUNE 29, 2022

Luke 6:12-13


12One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles . . . .


Luke 5:16 

16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.


Romans 12:2

2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.


Philippians 4:6-7

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


_________________________


This resting stuff sounds wonderful, but it sure is hard to practice, don’t you find? This resting stuff is good for us, and we believe that, but too frequently we are squeezed into the pattern of the world, go, go, go, …. Busy, busy, busy …. And we are drained physically, but maybe more importantly we are drained mentally and emotionally. When this kind of exhaustion hits us, we are often filled with worry and anxiety, we speak to others of frustration and maybe anger, we in these moments have nothing left to positively give to those we love, including our Creator. I am going to state the obvious this is NOT God’s intention for us. Remember God rested after the work of creation setting an example, God in the giving of the law gifted us with a day of rest – a sabbath. Most of us need a makeover, a change, a conversion in the structure of our lives.

Transformation—a process of profound change in character, condition, or composition.

Above, in Romans 12, Paul urges us to let God transform us, to allow His Spirit to renew our minds. We need to recognize that renewal is an ongoing process. Transformation and renewal happen when we make space and remove ourselves from the distractions and influences that surround us every day—just as Jesus modeled for us in our scriptures above. "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed," we read.


It’s important to find our someplace where we can slow down, stop even, and focus our hearts and minds toward what God is doing.

Where do you focus best?

Nestled in a corner of your kitchen with a cup of coffee?

Out for a run, listening to music?

Early morning or late day walk by the river? A stroll through Ojibway? Kayaking to Peche Island?

Sitting in your backyard, or in one of our many local parks?

Find that somewhere that makes you feel close to God.

Then make it a habit to get in that space as often as you can to refocus your mind on the Creator.


Reflect:

Today in your focus space, take 5 minutes to think of things that may be distracting you. Things like circumstances that weigh heavy upon you, decisions you are struggling to make, ….. Maybe you will want to write them down, or punch them into your note app.

I want to invite you to do this: Each time you think of one of those disturbing, disrupting issues, offer it to Jesus in prayer just as we are invited to in Philippians 4:6-7,

in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

.

 

A GIFT FROM THE CREATOR

 JUNE 28, 2022

Leviticus 23:3

3“ ‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

Mark 2:27

27Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

James 1:17

17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Ephesians 2:8-9

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.



Rest is a Gift.

Rest—to relax, pause, breathe, and be at ease

Sabbath—a time set aside for rest, typically one day per week.

In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to observe a Sabbath, one day a week when they would rest. In the New Testament, Jesus makes it clear that God intended the Sabbath more as a gift than as a law. It’s important to God that we rest.

Busyness often makes us feel like we’re accomplishing something important, but that feeling can be counterfeit. Take for example, a principle of muscle building and strength and conditioning, MUSCLE IS BUILT WHILE RESTING, NOT WHILE TRAINING. In fact, trainers will tell you that without resting the body, the chances of injury and fatigue rise. So, “Pumping it out,” without building rest into one’s routine can have negative consequences.

I believe the same is true for us when we think about our lives. Focusing on activity, keeping busy may feel like we are really producing, accomplishing more. Many suggest without proper resting the opposite is true.

I was challenged by these words in a conference I participated in, “We often use activity to numb ourselves of our need for intimacy with God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift.” Including the gift of rest. We must take deliberate action to establish healthy boundaries around the different parts of our lives, work, family, rest, etc.—so that no one area becomes an idol in our lives.

Reflect: 

Do you have a specific time set aside each week when you don’t work? 

What would it look like to begin to create a space like that in your life?

 

MY FRIEND "REST"

 JUNE 27, 2022

Genesis 2:2-3

2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Proverbs 14:30

“A heart at peace gives life to the body…”




Study after study tells us that rest is critical for our physical, mental, and emotional health. Rest matters so much to God that He even made it one of His commandments.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Exodus 20:8

The Hebrew word translated as “rest” means “to be at peace,” “to be still,” “to be quiet or calm.”

Rest is a gift that we tend to push aside. But life without rest is not sustainable. Rest refreshes our bodies, giving us the energy, we need to honor God and to love, care for, and interact with others. Learning to practice rest is a spiritual discipline that helps us enjoy God’s presence and rearrange our priorities.

God Himself modeled rest for us from the very beginning. Immediately after He finished creating the universe—and everything in it—he gave Himself a day to look back on the goodness of all the work that He had just completed.


Reflect: When was the last time you slowed down, unplugged, and relaxed?

What steps might you take today to build moments of stillness and rest into your living?

Help me to rest in You, Lord. AMEN

MORE PROMISES, PROMISES, PROMISES

 JUNE 25, 2022

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

TRUST and SOAR

 JUNE 24, 2022

SURELY GOD IS IN THIS PLACE! HELP ME NOTICE. HELP US NOTICE TOGETHER.

We have been saying these words over the last month during worship as our prayer and acknowledgement and desire to notice where our Creator is at work around us. After all, Jesus promised that through the Holy Spirit he would be “with us always.”



As we close the week, I wanted to just share a personal experience of how this truth of being in God’s presence and noticing that we are in that company, gives comfort and strength.

First, let’s read todays scripture.

Isaiah 40:28-31

The Eternal, the Everlasting God,
The Creator of the whole world, never gets tired or weary.
His wisdom is beyond understanding.
29 God strengthens the weary
and gives vitality to those worn down by age and care.
30 Young people will get tired;
strapping young men will stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength.
They will soar on wings as eagles.
They will run—never winded, never weary.
They will walk—never tired, never faint.



There is a backstory to what I want to share with, and it is this, My Father-in-law passed away on October 1, 2021, and just last weekend (June 18, 2022) we held a Memorial Service to Celebrate his life. The above verses are the verses he wanted as the text for his Funeral. He highlighted vs. 31 as the key verse, “those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles. They will run—never winded, never weary. They will walk—never tired, never faint.”

Great verse and promise isn’t it!!

In my preparation, to officiate the service I was reading about Eagles. That line of promise struck me that those who hope and trust, (some translations say wait) upon the Lord “They will soar on wings like eagles.” Now I have seen Bald Eagles in flight in New Brunswick while heading to Nova Scotia, its an awesome sight. This word picture in Isaiah 40 illustrates the effect God’s strength can have on a person. Some of you know this, an eagle relies on rising currents of warm air, called thermals, to soar and glide. Once an eagle locates a thermal, it spreads its wings and circles around within the thermal, rising higher and higher. Moving from one thermal to another, eagles can stay in the air for hours, expending a minimal amount of energy while flying to a chosen destination.

So, I felt, like my Father-in-law was wanting to remind us that if we will trust God’s loving promises and lean into the warm currents of his strength and care for our lives will be like the picture of the Eagle in flight moving from thermal to thermal, “expending a minimal amount of energy” in the day to day stuff because we are under God’s amazing watch. We will know, what Isaiah 40:28-29 says, The Eternal, the Everlasting God,
The Creator of the whole world, never gets tired or weary.
His wisdom is beyond understanding.
29 God strengthens the weary
and gives vitality to those worn down by age and care.


That’s powerful truth to live by.

That’s the back story. When I walked into my office earlier this week for the first time since Dad’s Memorial my eye caught something that has been on my office wall for several years now. It was a gift, by a Church member and friend, something they saw, and they thought of me. What was hanging on my wall?

That picture on that day, was the comfort and strength I needed, it was as though God was saying remember what your Father-in-law lived by that “those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles. They will run—never winded, never weary. They will walk—never tired, never faint.” That was for me my “SURELY GOD IS IN THIS PLACE” moment and I noticed.

Thanks Dad!!

 

NOW THATS ASTONISHING

 JUNE 23, 2022

I can not tell you how many times in my life, this verse has been a genuine comfort and hope to me. In my view, this is an astonishing promise! What a picture of the love and kindness of God! Even when we struggle in our faith, He will remain faithful to us because we belong to him, we are God’s children and He can't deny himself. In other words the Faithful God cannot be unfaithful. The New Living Translation says ... If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

In 1 John 4:16 we read that God is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 describes for us the characteristics of love. “4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.” God will remain faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him because that is who He is. Love believes all things, hopes for the best, never gives up. If you are struggling today with your faith, don't give up because God won't give up on you! He loves you with all His heart and He has promised to be faithful even in the times when you are not. Do you understand why I say this is an astonishing promise?


Think about how we treat those around us who have done things to us that are disrespectful, or hurtful, or trust betraying. My gut reaction, and I hope yours is different, but my gut reaction is to push them away, to disconnect relationally from them. Yet, God is devoted to us, and patiently loves us through our spiritually weak times. Please, Please let the image of God that sticks in your mind be of a God who in friendship sticks close to you, not the image of “lightning bolt God” we mentioned yesterday, or a God who acts like I too often do. I read a post that other day, that said a friend is known by what they will go through with you. They don’t walk out when things get messy. God is like that, as proverbs puts it “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother or a sister.”

My longing for all of us is that today we would know our God and Father for who He really is. God is the complete expression of love, and His longing is that we would surrender to His relentless pursuit of our hearts, and simply let God love us more today than He did yesterday. What an astonishing promise!

I WILL BUILD THEM UP

 JUNE 22, 2022

Jeremiah 24:6

After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.




I believe we are likely all aware that one of the ways a self-doubting person builds themselves up is by pulling other people down. By making somebody else look inferior, the person doing the 'pulling down' might feel superior, at least temporarily. While this is a very unhealthy way to go about life, many people think that God is waiting to do the same thing to us. He is just watching for an opportunity to criticize us and point out all shortcomings, to pull us down. You know God with the Lightning Bolts in hand ready to launch them at the slightest misstep, like the Roman God Zeus. While God’s servants have sometimes, by their words and actions portrayed God in this way, that is not who God is.


The exact opposite is true of God. God is not waiting to find fault in us, God is looking for every opportunity to pull us up! In today's promise, we read of God's heart for His people and His desire for only good things for them. Now notice this promise comes after some hard places for his people. He promises to only do good things for us, to build us up and to plant us in solid fertile ground and God uses our experiences to do just that.

You know what I really believe? That God is always looking for new opportunities to encourage us so that we might fulfill our calling as His beloved community. My prayer today is that we would simply believe that the Jeremiah 24:6 promise is true and that means God is FOR us in every way!

I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

GOODER THAN WE THINK!!

 JUNE 21, 2022

Psalm 40:5

Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.



A Psalm of David we are told, here David declares to God how wonderful His works are! Sometimes I forget that worship is a dialogue. You know it is a conversation between the Creator and His people. That means God doesn’t do all the talking, God listens as we speak of his worth and works. So, David words to God are Your works are amazing!! He goes on in Psalm 40 to talk about the many good things that God has planned for us.

Let's read again Psalm 40:5 our textual focus today,

Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.


The goodness of God has no end. Many times throughout the Bible, the phrase... The Lord is good and His mercy endures forever is declared. These are uplifting and encouraging words, don’t you think? I was thinking as I write about the facial expressions of our congregation when we say in response in our worship “GOD is GOOD all the time, and the response is All the time God is Good.” It is a joyful reminder of the one we worship.

I recall reading a story of a family giving thanks to God for God’s goodness, they went around the room and listed the many things, family, friends, crops, flowers, lakes, Jesus, and the list went on …. Finally one of the youngest members of the Family blurts out “Wow, God is “gooder” than we think!”


I think David would be in agreement with that child’s declaration. David had it correct when he declared that the good things that God has planned for us are too many to count. The truth is that God is for us... not against us. (I never get tired of that truth) He loves us with all His heart and He only wants the absolute best for our lives.

This does not mean that we will be shielded from trials and hardships along the way, but even in the middle of our hardest experiences and struggles, there is nothing in all creation that will ever separate us from His amazing love. (Romans 8:35-39)

Today, lets let the words of Psalm 40:5 take root in our lives, let this be our truth to live by today and everyday. What a promise!! Our creator has planned such wonders for us they are too many to count! Yes, God is "Gooder" than we think!!

Romans 8:35-39:

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PROMISES, PROMISES, PROMISES . . . .

 JUNE 18, 2022

Let us Review God's Promises 

from this past week. 

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THIRSDAY

FRIDAY

 

SOMETHING NEW TO WEAR

 JUNE 17, 2022

Isaiah 61:3

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, ...

3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

If you read all of Isaiah 61 you will find it is loaded with abundant and amazing promises from God to his people. If you listen to the words there you will no doubt notice that these promises were filled full of meaning and reality through Jesus. Well look at Verse 3 above, this one verse alone contains at least four promises that could occupy our thoughts for the rest of today. However, I want us to consider the one promise that says that God “will give us a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

It seems that no matter what Bible translation you read this verse from, there is widespread agreement among translators that what God promises is a beautiful exchange of a heavy and despairing spirit for a garment (mantle) of praise. If you have the Amplified version of the Bible, you will see that there it describes the spirit of heaviness as 'a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit' that God wants to lift off us, and then clothe us with a renewed spirit, that results in praise.

Does that sound good to you today? I mean, we all get discouraged. We all despair at times. Truth is some of us perhaps struggle with this kind of experience more than others. It is part of the human condition.

Lately, we have seen a great deal of writing about “a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit” in our media and culture. Mental health has been in a prominent place, talk of depression, anxiety, and other struggles, have been getting the attention these conditions deserve. I am thankful that Counsellors, Social Workers, and the Medical field have helped us to better understand issues surrounding such health issues. I find that God’s guidance and wisdom has provided many helpful medical solutions to treat these conditions. We need to be wise and follow the advice of professionals if we are being treated for such a condition.

I believe we all know that there are times in life where a fearful thought or a discouraging thought makes us feel heavy and burdened? In today’s reading, we hear that God will give us a garment of praise in exchange for our heavy spirit.

I am not sure how it works for you, in my personal experience I have found that when I place my focus on praising God and reflecting on who God is, embracing his promises for me, my perspective is transformed. My outlook starts to change. I’ll be honest some days it takes a great deal of praising, and focus on God’s goodness and promises, yet even then the exchange God promises of a garment of praise for my discouraged and heavy spirit becomes real.

Today, I pray that we would be able to perceive the awesome greatness of our God. I pray that God would clothe us with a garment of praise in exchange for a spirit of heaviness. God is able!!

CAN YOU IMAGINE

 JUNE 16, 2022

Ephesians 3:20 

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us....

If you have read our Bible verse for today, I invite you to take a moment and try to imagine the biggest, out-of-the-box far reaching thing that you could possibly think of for your life. Do you have it?Now read on. No matter how enormous you think, God's plans for you are way greater! The NLT Bible translates the bigness of God's plans as 'infinitely more' and the NASB Bible says 'abundantly beyond'.

The teaching of this scripture verse, regardless of the Bible translation you read in in, says God can do way more for us than we will ever be able to comprehend according to His incredible power that is at work in us...right now! This is present moment stuff. Many of you know that we also read in our passage a little further on that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us and how that power is greater than any other power in the universe. That’s the power that spoke creation into being, and the power that transforms death to life.

It is my prayer, for each of us today, that the Holy Spirit will give us the power to remove or break though the limitations that we have placed around the Spirit’s work in our lives, so that God can demonstrate in our living, in the present moment, the mind-blowing enormity of His plan and intention for our lives.

May each one of us open our hearts and minds to things that are exceedingly abundantly beyond what we could ever dare to ask for.

LISTEN, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET

 JUNE 15, 2022

Psalm 25:14

The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him.
He will show them his covenant.

King David is the author of this psalm. Today's promise teaches us that God shares His secrets with those who fear Him. It is important that we know that the word 'fear' isn't intended to mean that we are afraid of God, rather that we revere Him and deeply respect His awesome power. As another translation puts our verse “ONLY those who stand in awe of the Eternal will have intimacy with Him and He will reveal His covenant to them.”

This promise captures a very intimate picture. What picture comes to mind for you? A parent taking time out from a busy day to put their arm around one of their little ones to share a secret with them. For me, the picture I have is of sitting in my Dad’s garage, just the two of us, having heart to heart conversations.

Isn't it incredible to think that this verse is saying that our God and Father wants to share His intimate secrets with us? A few weeks ago in our service on GEMS Sunday we were reminded that we are friends of God, that’s an amazing Bible truth! Our Creator God is always looking for those with whom He can share His heart with.

My prayer is that we will be able to quiet ourselves from all the distractions and noise of our day so that we might hear the gentle whispers of the “still, small voice” of our God as He confides in us the secret things of knowing him more completely.

CALL OUT

JUNE 14, 2022

Jeremiah 33:3

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Parents and Grandparents know that young children are the most enquiring people on the planet. While at times their questions maybe never ending they do ask some toughies. What is so wonderful about this, to me, is that children are filled with awe about their surroundings and continually asking their questions about what, where, when, why, how, etc. Every time I witness this I am reminded that I have lost that sense of awe and wonder in my life.

On the weekend, we had a birthday party for my granddaughter Elina, and I noticed the interaction between her brother, Mateo and their loving family members. For Mateo, the question seemed be mostly why (?) for example, Why can I hear the airplane but not see it?

I was impressed by the patience of us all answering these kinds of questions. I wonder if the answers are not what is important. Quite honestly, I am not sure Mateo understood our answers fully. As I watched, and participated, I had the thought that maybe what is important is that as a family we were making space to be available to hear and answer the questions as though we had all the time in the world.

Our verse above teaches something like that. God has invited us to ask Him all the questions we want. That’s amazing, isn’t it? To think that the God who created all things, has all the time in the world to answer our questions.

I need to acknowledge here that not everyone has had the patient family who were always ready to take questions. If you have had parents that weren't available to answer your questions when you were younger, you might think that God will respond the same way to you.

The truth is that God is Our Father in the most perfect sense of the word, and He invites us to ask our questions and His promise to us, that we read above is that He will not just answer us but he will show us great and unsearchable things!

 

HAVE A LITTLE FAITH

 JUNE 13, 2022

Matthew 17:19-20 

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, “Why weren’t we able to cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

In this promise, Jesus tells us that even if our faith is as tiny as a mustard seed, we are able to tell a mountain to be thrown into the sea. I often wonder what Jesus meant when He said these words to His disciples. After all we do not witness too many mountains being pitched in the ocean or seas, do we.

We all have many figurative mountains in our lives that we face on a daily basis. Perhaps it isn't the literal mountains around us that need moving, but these figurative ones? Maybe one day we will see literal mountains cast into the oceans, but in the meantime, what are the mountains in your life where you need a miracle? I love the fact that Jesus encourages us that we don't need much faith at all to make a big impact.

From what I understand, a mustard seed is a very small seed, yet Jesus says even if our faith is that small, nothing will be impossible to us. Maybe it is time to start exercising the faith that you have? Start speaking to the mountains in your life with a childlike simplicity, just believing that they have to go away in Jesus name. Who knows what may start to happen?

When I think of this promise, I am reminded of the man who came to Jesus to ask Him to deliver his son and Jesus asked him... Do you believe?. The man responded Lord, I believe, help my unbelief! Jesus didn't rebuke the man for this response but healed his son instantly.

God understands our frailty, yet He continues to encourage us to simply have faith and watch what happens. Today I am going to speak to the mountains in my life, how about you?

NOW THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL PROMISE

JUNE 10, 2022

This week in our devotions we have looked at passages of scripture that are often read on Pentecost Sunday. I pray that the truths about the God we worship have put a bounce in your step this week. With God's people of the Old Testament we exclaim "who is a God like our God!"

Today I invite you to take the next 4 mins and watch the video below of God's beautiful promise to us and our world through his Holy Spirit.

 

TRUST THE WIND

 JUNE 9, 2022

 

JOHN 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

In this encounter with Nicodemus Jesus is pointing to the gift of the Spirit, the gift from above, from outside ourselves, from some other source. "What is born of the flesh is flesh," Jesus says, "and what is born of the Spirit is spirit." A word of caution here, it seems that when we hear that word flesh in the Bible, we often understand it as something negative. In these verses above, Jesus didn't say, "What is born of the flesh is bad." After all, remember John 1 where we read "The Word became flesh and lived among us." Jesus is simply saying, "What is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Spirit, "Pneuma" is the word in Greek as in our word pneumonia, affecting the lungs, or a pneumatic tire filled with air. The Greek word can mean wind or breath or spirit. Jesus uses these meanings to try to reach Nicodemus and give him understanding. "The wind blows where it chooses and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." You see, Jesus’ message is not that the flesh is awful, it's just that we cannot learn everything through our fleshly, human selves. Yes, we can learn many things through our flesh, the difference between hot and cold, for example. We can learn to speak, to add and subtract even. Let us be honest we cannot learn of the things of God the same way we learn to read.

So, Jesus says do you want to know the things of God then "Trust the wind,” Nicodemus. You must be born from above." Jesus repeats these words a second time, but this time something changes. When Jesus says, "You must be born from above.” Like Nicodemus, You and I must trust the wind. Learning the things of God cannot be done with our minds alone.

Though we cannot see the Spirit, we can see where the Spirit has been. Jesus is the sign of God's wind blowing. Jesus moved in certain directions and not others, directed by the Spirit that came upon him from above. This Spirit isn't for Jesus alone, but for Nicodemus and each of us. This becomes clear at the end of John's gospel when Jesus and his disciples gathered for their last meal. It was then that Jesus gave them this promise: "I will not leave you orphaned.... The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you."

Perhaps you have known the Spirit's power in your own life. People have talked and written about their own experience of the Spirit's presence: a dark room suddenly filled with unexplainable light, a feeling of being comforted at a time of aching despair, a deep silence that wasn't empty but held a connection with the source of all life, a voice that assured, "You are not alone, I am with you." Others speak of times when the Spirit gave them new understanding of a familiar Psalm or a Bible story. The Spirit blows where it will; you can't pin the Spirit down or set it within a particular boundary. What Jesus is teaching Nicodemus, and you and me, is that God is active, and always on the move through the Holy Spirit.

Trust the wind. Look at the life of Jesus to see where the Spirit has been, then still upon the tree, the cross, nailed down, crucified. The story didn't end on that lifeless tree, did it. Just like in the beginning of creation, God breathed and brought Jesus out of the tomb. When the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples, he said to them, "Peace be with you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Listen for the sound of the wind. Listen for God's Spirit bearing witness with your spirit.

The wind blows where it will. You cannot pin it down or explain its coming. God is always at work, the ceaseless action of Spirit teaches us that. "I will not leave you orphaned," said Jesus. Rest today in that promise. And may the God’s Spirit catch us unexpectedly and surprise us.



As you look forward to your Day be reminded that you are not alone, that going with you is

The God who REJOICES over you with DELIGHT!!

The God who is your PROVIDER!!

The GOD who IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES!!

And

the God who is ALWAYS ON THE MOVE with ceaseless action so "Trust the Wind".

WAIT FOR IT .... WAIT FOR IT ....

 JUNE 8, 2022

ACTS 1:4-5, 8-14

4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying . . . . 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

ACTS 2:1

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.




Let me ask you a question to start today. Do you ever feel like God may have you waiting longer for an answer to prayer, or a desire of your heart, than you would like to wait?

There is a lot of waiting in Acts chapter 1 isn’t there. Jesus told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. The disciple’s obedience is on display, they did just what Jesus said, and they gathered in an upper room for prayer and seeking God day after day, waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled.

Jesus never told them how long they would have to wait. I sometimes think about what the disciples’ expectations were. I’m not that great at waiting, so I feel if I were in their place, I might think, “On the third day, God will send the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” After all, the resurrection of Jesus was three days after His crucifixion. But it wasn’t on the third day. Surely it will be the seventh day. Seven is God’s number of completion and fulfillment. But it wasn’t the seventh day.

Acts 2:1 opens with telling us they waited until the Day of Pentecost had come, (in some Bibles it says “fully come”). Yet what stands out is that they didn’t know ahead of time how long they would have to wait. But they had to wait a full 10 days, until the Day of Pentecost had fully come.

The disciples had to wait, probably longer than they expected to wait, or wanted to wait. I can relate, can’t you? Yet wait they did and prayed for the promise of God to become a reality. Faithfully obeying the command of Jesus without knowing the “when” or “how long” the process was going to take. But the outpouring of God’s Spirit was worth the wait!! You never wait too long for something this amazing.

There are several take aways from our passage today, but the one that really grabs me is what it teaches, or reminds us about God. God keeps his promises!! God is faithful. Yes, sometimes the waiting gets uncomfortable for us, but so many of us can testify to the truth, that if we Keep trusting God; we are not going to be disappointed, we will be overwhelmed by how the fulfillment of God’s promise will go beyond or dreams or anything we could have imagined.

Let’s live in that space!!


Enter your day with these thoughts:

That God REJOICES over us with singing because HE DELIGHTS IN US!!

That God is our PROVIDER!!

That GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES!!

 

For no matter 

how many promises 

God has made,
they are “Yes” in Christ.

 2 Corinthians 1:20

A SUPPLY CHAIN YOU CAN TRUST

 JUNE 7, 2022

ACTS 2:1-4


When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”




Pentecost is the Greek name (meaning “50th day” after Easter) given for the ancient Jewish festival called, Shavuoth.

Shavuoth is the God-ordained celebration of “First Fruits” during the Festival of Weeks, commanded to Moses in Exodus 34:22-43. The time of the year and event is roughly equivalent to an early wheat harvest that still occurs today in Israel.

So, what is so important about an early wheat harvest?

An early wheat harvest would have been planted is planted in the fall. It needs a good root system and the beginnings of shoots before cold weather sets in. Now am sure you have noticed what the fields in the Essex County look like in winter. You likely think “What good can come out of that frozen earth? How could this be considered a rich agricultural area? It’s desolated and bare as far as the eye can see. If you have taken notice of that scene then you likely can imagine why there is a reason to celebrate when the spring crops of wheat appears. The seeds that have been unseen, that seemed “dead” but were alive, hidden yet bound to burst through the frozen, snow covered fields with a ripe crop again blowing gently in breezes. When I see this I am thrilled and thankful, because I know a summer of fresh produce will soon be on my supper table.

God established these Festivals with important practices connected to them so that the people of Israel would remember that everything that they have comes from his gracious and loving hand.

Acts 2 tells us that Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, the Spirit of the living God fell upon the disciples just as had been promised, and they were energized, inspired, and transformed for a bold mission. That breath of the Holy Spirit which transformed them, which demonstrated Pentecost’s intent by signs and wonders on that day, continues to blow, in lives and communities advancing the bold mission of Jesus Christ through generation after generation until all things are fulfilled.

I really believe that one of the key messages of Pentecost is to remind us that what God starts, God completes. God always finishes his sentences!!

And this is a Good News promise of Pentecost which we must not miss: Pentecost is about the provision of God in our lives. Not just the provision of produce on our tables, but the provision of all things necessary to live life fully, like love, grace, salvation, healing and hope.



Take Away Promises this Week 



1. That God REJOICES over us with singing because HE DELIGHTS IN US!!

2. That God is our PROVIDER!!



So, head into your day with these two truths.