Video Bible Lesson - Keeper Lessons by Meghan Kleppinger

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

6/1/2020

Keeper Lessons

by Meghan Kleppinger

I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" - Psalm 91:2Everyone loves those "dog movies." You know the ones – like Homeward Bound and My Dog Skip, and Benji, and Lassie. Actually, I can’t watch those movies because I crumble to pieces whenever I see an animal in harm's way, or treated with cruelty. Yes, I know they’re fictional and special effects are used, but it started with Old Yeller when I was five… and please don't ask me to explain the rest of that story!Well, these days, I feel as though I’m living out one of those dog story movies.I adopted a 5-year-old collie mix last November that had been rescued by an animal society on the day she was to be euthanized. I was told she was friendly but hand-shy and that she had been abandoned and probably abused. I quickly found this to be true and it nearly drove me to tears each time I would go to pet her and she would flinch.About two weeks after the adoption, my dog started having seizures. I can’t begin to explain the fear that consumed me. It was nothing compared to the terrified and confused look in my pup’s eyes. The vet told me that she will have to be on epilepsy meds for life and that whoever gave her up probably did so because they didn’t think she was worth the effort and cost.I love this dog and I’m committed to keeping her healthy and safe, but I’ve had the most difficult time communicating this with her. I even named her Keeper as a reminder that she has found her forever home and that she is, indeed, a keeper.The other day while I was walking her, a huge black dog jumped out of nowhere and attempted to attack her. I don’t know how to explain my reaction when this happened. In mamma bear fashion, I didn’t think, I reacted. I started screaming at this dog, “Get off of her!” and threw myself between the two of them. Eventually, I managed to pull out and then walk away, a little shaken, but unscathed. I saw two wet saliva spots on her skin - attempted bite marks - and realized how fortunate we were.God started to impress some things upon me as we walked home. Here I had this dog that was abused, abandoned, unwanted, and considered worthless by someone. She has trust issues but at the same time wants so badly to please me.It made me think of us humans. We have trust issues. We have hurts and pains that we don’t understand and don’t want to revisit. Sometimes it’s hard for those of us who have been hurt to obey God’s call to trust Him.What God reminded me of was that He doesn’t just tell us we can trust Him, or command us to do so, but through scripture and through circumstances in our lives He shows us over and over again that we can trust Him.
Anyway, rather than showing her teeth or barking, like she normally does, she hid behind me.
I had spent months petting, hugging, grooming and feeding her, and telling her that she was “my girl,” but it never seemed to be enough to gain her full trust. On the day of the attack, something happened. Something clicked. She saw by my actions that I cared for her and that in turn, she could trust me.
Why then, do we so often try by ourselves to fight those battles that threaten us each day? Why do we go into alpha-dog mode when He has told us that He will go before us and fight for us?
Keeper ran behind me when we saw those two huskies because she knew I would protect her. Most of all, what God taught me through my dog that day is that I need to do the same… I need to seek His protective covering and let Him take care of me.
Intersecting Faith & Life: As Proverbs 3 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Further Reading
Psalms 20:7
2 Chronicles 20:17

I took my dog out for a walk again the same day as the earlier attack and I nearly had a nervous breakdown as I saw two huskies approaching us. I knew them to be friendly dogs, but the last thing I wanted was for Keeper to go into her Alpha-dog “I’ll protect you and myself” mode. She doesn’t initiate attacks, but she doesn’t shy away from them either.

God reminded me that Jesus stepped in and, knowing the cost, paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. Though others may think us worthless, He thought we were worth being saved to the point of death. He has proven that He cares for us and can be trusted.

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. (Exod 14:15)

In the past he said to them, “This is where security can be found. Provide security for the one who is exhausted! This is where rest can be found.” But they refused to listen. (Isa 28:12)

Why dost thou worry thyself? What use can thy fretting serve? Thou art on board a vessel which thou couldst not steer even if the great Captain put thee at the helm, of which thou couldst not so much as reef a sail, yet thou worriest as if thou wert captain and helmsman. Oh, be quiet; God is Master!

Dost thou think that all this din and hurly-burly that is abroad betokens that God has left His throne?

No, man, His coursers rush furiously on, and His chariot is the storm; but there is a bit between their jaws, and He holds the reins, and guides them as He wills! Jehovah is Master yet; believe it; peace be unto thee! be not afraid.
--C. H. Spurgeon

“Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
The storms are raging on God’s deep—
God’s deep, not thine; be still and sleep.

“Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
God’s hands shall still the tempter’s sweep—
God’s hands, not thine; be still and sleep.

“Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
God’s love is strong while night hours creep—
God’s love, not thine; be still and sleep.

“Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
God’s heaven will comfort those who weep—
God’s heaven, not thine; be still and sleep."

I entreat you, give no place to despondency. This is a dangerous temptation—a refined, not a gross temptation of the adversary. Melancholy contracts and withers the heart, and renders it unfit to receive the impressions of grace. It magnifies and gives a false coloring to objects, and thus renders your burdens too heavy to bear. God’s designs regarding you, and His methods of bringing about these designs, are infinitely wise.
--Madame Guyon

God’s Compass for the Heart and Mind.....Dr. Charles Stanley

God’s Compass for the Heart and Mind

Dr. Charles Stanley

Proverbs 3:7-12

Yesterday we discussed the importance of depending on the Word of God as our compass throughout life. Following the Lord’s directions will change behavior and challenge our thinking, attitudes, and desires. He leads us to think differently about ourselves, our values, and and even the difficulties facing us.

We naturally want to determine our own course in life. It seems like the only logical way to get where we want to go. But being wise in our own eyes is pride. To combat this tendency, the Lord instructs us to fear Him and turn away from evil (v. 7). This “fear” is not a horrified dread of the Father, but an attitude of respect that motivates us to obey Him for both our good and His glory.

We naturally want to keep our money for ourselves. A desire for a better lifestyle or fear of not having enough leads us to hang onto everything we get. But our compass directs us to honor God by giving Him the first part of all we have, trusting Him to provide for our needs (vv. 9-10).

We naturally hate God’s discipline. His painful reproofs seem to prove that He doesn’t care about us. But our heavenly Father says His discipline is the evidence that confirms His love and delight in us as His children (vv. 11-12).

Sometimes in our desire to follow the Lord, we focus on obedient actions—doing what He says—but miss His directions concerning our attitudes and thought patterns. To stay on God’s path for our lives, we must make course corrections not only in our behavior but also in our hearts and minds.

When Failure Wants to Define Me

When Failure Wants to Define Me
WENDY POPE

“The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has spoken — who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?” Isaiah 14:27 (NLT)

Failure is a word almost no one wants to be associated with.

Let’s be honest — many of us still cringe at the letter F because we have flashbacks of how it looked on the top right-hand corner of a school assignment we did years ago. The red ink just made it worse, as if that F were shouting: “You’re stupid! You’re a failure!”

Whether it comes with the memory of an algebra II midterm (Why oh why did they have to put letters with numbers?), a job interview, bankruptcy, a pregnancy test or a divorce, the weight of failure can be heavy.

Because no matter whether the failure was a sin or not, and no matter whether we had much control over our success or not, the pain of failure is hard to overcome. The aftermath might take years to clean up. Oh, listen, friend: Failure does not disqualify us from our potential. We all fail, but we are not failures, even when the enemy convinces us to define ourselves by that word.

What or who defines you?

Take a minute, or longer if you need to, to answer that. The quick Sunday School answer is God defines us. And here are some bits of biblical descriptions that are true about ourselves:

• Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).
• A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
• Accepted (Romans 8:1).
• Forgiven (1 John 1:9).
• Holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12).

There’s more we can add to the list, but these verses may or may not make you feel better. If you’re dealing with the fallout from failure, those words are probably not making their way through your dark mood yet.

Women following Christ are supposed to allow God’s truth to define who they are. But do we? On good days, yes. When the sky is blue and the clouds are shaped like carousel ponies, when our boss sings our praises at the weekly staff meeting, when we clean our house from top to bottom in one day, when the laundry basket is finally empty, and when dinner — all four courses — is ready for our people at 6 p.m. on the dot. Yes, that’s when we believe God’s definition of who we are. (I’m kidding, of course!)

But what about all the other days — the days when none of that happens? Who “defines” us then?

Parents. Past. Unruly children. Finances. Friends. Social media. Your boss. The crotchety coworker. An abusive partner. Education. Possessions. Property. Success … or failure.

Our failure is never more powerful than our God. Let this truth define you.

God is more than capable of taking what we messed up, turning it upside down, twisting it sideways and making it work for our good and His ultimate glory. But if we don’t believe what He says, we might completely miss out on seeing Him work in and through us. Not even my failure, no matter how great, can redirect God’s plan for me.

 “The LORD of Heaven’s Armies has spoken — who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?” (Isaiah 14:27)

When the winds of failure cause you to drift, fan the fire of your faith and stand firmly on the truth. We don’t have the power to change His plans. But for those who follow Christ, nothing you have done or will do can keep you from being in the presence of God. Nothing you have done or will do will erase the potential God sees in you.

You are a worthwhile possibility!

Lord, I’ve allowed my failures to compromise Your best for me. You love me and have only the greatest plans for me. I want to be unchained from the shackles of failure so I can live free in Your love for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT)

Psalm 86:15, “But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” (NLT)

When You Feel Like You’ve Lost Time: God is Able to Restore the Years

When You Feel Like You’ve Lost Time: God is Able to Restore the Years
By Debbie McDaniel, Crosswalk.com Writer

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. You will have plenty... and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know... that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other." - Joel 2:25-27

If we’ve lived long enough, we know this to be true… sometimes, life is hard. It doesn’t always go our way. Things don’t always work out in our timing. And often, it seems we get hit from all sides. Problems can leave us spinning, wondering why we didn’t see it coming.

Days, months, even years can go by. We look back and wonder how it all went so fast, yet seemed so slow when we trudged through the difficulties. And though we might try our best to live our lives in a way that honors God, it doesn’t erase the fact that we live in a fallen world. We’re constantly face-to-face with so many battles -  hardship, struggles, broken relationships, illness, and our own weaknesses too.

In the midst of all that, we may sometimes feel like we’ve lost time, missed opportunities, or blown chances along the way. We may struggle with feeling as if we’ve walked through too many broken years of pain. Like God could never work through that stuff, it’s just too messy, or too difficult.

But the good news is this: there’s still hope. For He alone is our Hope-giver.

Restorer.

Redeemer.

Healer.

Friend.

God is able to restore all that’s been stolen.

He knows our way, He is close, and He’s working far beyond what we can fully see.

There’s a new season up ahead, don’t give up. If we woke up this morning, then God’s not finished with us yet, there’s still good in store.

He is able.

He is faithful.

He is greater than anything we face in this life, and much bigger than our own brokenness or weakness.

Keep moving forward in His grace and power.

Intersecting Faith & Life: If you need God to redeem your time and restore the years the “locusts have eaten,” through the difficulties or hard circumstances you’ve faced, bring it before Him today. All of it. Ask Him for His power to work mightily through all you have faced, bringing good and renewed strength for this next season still in store. God alone brings hope, choose to focus on all the blessing that He can bring from the struggle. He is able to turn it around to work in your favor, and for His greater glory.

Further Reading:
Jeremiah 29:11
Isaiah 43:19
Job 23:10

What Happened When Adam Failed (Genesis 3:12-13)

What Happened When Adam Failed (Genesis 3:12-13)
By: Betsy St. Amant Haddox

The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” -  Genesis 3:12-13 (ESV)

Genesis 3 reads like one intense game of finger-pointing. God questioned Adam while he was hiding, and Adam blamed Eve. Then God questioned Eve, so Eve blamed the serpent.

Sound familiar? I don’t know about you, but I can be pretty quick to cast blame far away from myself after I sin, too. It’s like I try to toss it up in the air, hoping it sticks to anything at all when it lands and distract the attention away from myself. Guess what? That’s part of our depraved nature. I bet your kids do that too, don’t they? They don’t have to be taught to lie, exaggerate, stretch the truth, or point the finger of blame. It comes to them as a fleshly, sinful survival method. 

The ironic truth is the only true survival method is found in confession and repentance. Adam and Eve figured that out eventually, but not before it was too late for their freedom in the Garden.

After the serpent tempted Eve and she fell into sin, it’s noted in verse six that Adam was right there. (Genesis 3:6 ESV) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Even as Eve took that first bite, Adam failed his husbandly role with her.

That might sound familiar too, huh? A husband not being protective. A husband causing hurt instead of compassion. A husband following instead of leading. Even as far back as the Garden of Eden, man has struggled to fulfill his God-given role. Adam failed Eve. (Eve also failed Adam, but that’s a devotional for a different day!)

You don’t have to look far to find a woman who has been disappointed by a man. When God questioned Adam, he immediately pointed to Eve and said (vs 3:12 ESV) “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.

I can only imagine Eve’s face when Adam said, “the woman you gave me.” Ouch! Instead of blaming Adam back, Eve turned and blamed the serpent. Sure, the serpent was involved in the deception, but at the end of the day, Eve’s sin was her own choice. Adam’s sin to follow her was his own choice. And in those choices, death sprung to life.

The consequences of this exchange between God, Adam and Eve we still experience today. Man was cursed with futile work. Woman was cursed with painful childbearing and with an endless power struggle against her husband. The earth was cursed. The serpent was cursed. Death entered the world.

But what’s beautiful here is that Jesus, through the Gospel, stepped in and more than fulfilled the role that Adam failed.

Romans 5:19 (ESV) For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

There’s no good news without bad news. Adam and Eve are the poster kids for the bad news, but in Geneses 3:15 (ESV) we have the first glimpse of hope. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The first glimpse of Christ.

Adam failed Eve in the Garden by standing there while she was being deceived by the serpent, by not speaking up for God’s Word, and by not taking charge of the situation and leading her away from temptation. But Jesus stepped in to fulfill all of our failures. Because of God’s love for us, and because of His holiness and justness, He made a way to atone for our sin and failures by becoming the perfect sacrificial lamb. By living a sinless life, dying, experiencing the wrath of God poured out, and rising again, Jesus fulfilled it all. He covered Adam’s sin. Eve’s sin. Yours. And mine.

Your husband will fail you. You’ll fail him too. You’ll fail your kids and your friends and your co-workers. And they’ll all fail you. But because of Christ, we can forgive ourselves and others. As believers in Jesus, we can move forward despite our failures because they’re remembered no more at the foot of the cross.

Because Jesus paid it all.

A Prayer for When You Don't Know What to Do

A Prayer for When You Don't Know What to DoBy Christina Fox

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” – Psalm 119:105

One of the first steps toward making a tough decision is to seek God in prayer.

Perhaps you are in the midst of a difficult decision right now. If so, this prayer is for you.

Father in Heaven,

I come before you today with my mind swirling with different thoughts and feelings. I have a hard decision to make and I just don't know what to do. I feel helpless and confused. I'm worried about the consequences of my decision. I worry about the impact my decision will have not only on myself but on others as well. To be honest, I fear making the wrong decision.

Your word tells me that if I seek after wisdom you will provide it. So I am seeking you, the source and fountain of wisdom. You've written everything you want me to know if the pages of your book, The Bible. I pray that as I read your word, it would shape my wants and desires and longings. I pray that it would impress on me what matters most to you. I pray that as I consider the decision before me, that I would remember what your word teaches about your sovereignty and control over all things.

You know this problem before me. You know how it turns out. That's because you are the Alpha and the Omega. You know the end from the beginning. Nothing happens apart from your will and plan. Not only are you sovereign, but you are good. All your plans are holy, righteous, and good. I can trust that you know what is best for me. When I move forward with this decision, I know that it is your will and that you will use it for my good and your glory.

Forgive me for getting caught up in wanting to know the future and how everything turns out. Forgive me for treating you like a "magic 8 ball." Forgive me for fearing the future and for waiting around in the hopes that the answer will be written on the wall. Help me to rest and trust in who you are. Help me to look to Jesus, knowing that if you gave of your own Son to save me from sin, how will you not also be with me in all the challenges and decisions of my life? There is nothing and no one that can separate me from you; I have nothing to fear.

You are my Rock, my Savior, and my Deliverer. Be with me as I move forward in this time of confusion and difficulty. Above all, may your will be done on earth, and in my life, as it is in heaven.

In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.