Video Bible Lesson - A Prayer to Celebrate God's Good Gifts in Us By Suzie Eller

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

7/19/2020

A Prayer to Celebrate God's Good Gifts in Us

By Suzie Eller

“‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’” John 1:48 (NIV)When my brothers were small, they’d often tiptoe into my room and climb in bed with me at night. Home was hard at that time for all of us. We found sanctuary as we huddled close, and I told stories.“Say a word,” I’d prompt.“Dragon!” one little brother whispered.“Forest,” said my other little brother.Off we went on an adventure, as I wove a story about a fierce dragon caught in a forest, with two sweet boys hanging on every word.I didn’t know it back then, but storytelling was a gift God placed in my heart. It wasn’t just a knack for telling stories, but something He would use for His purpose. On the nights when my little brothers and I snuggled in for a good story, He used my gift to calm their anxious hearts.Little did I know God would continue to use this throughout my life.Likewise, Jesus knew a thing or two about gifting and purpose.In John 1, we find Jesus in Galilee. Nathanael is walking toward Him, and Jesus calls out, telling all within hearing distance that Nathanael is a good man.“‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.“Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’"Long before they met in person, Jesus knew all about Nathanael. He knew of his character. He knew his giftings. He knew this man had a purpose.Jesus knows us. Isn’t that incredible?Years ago, when I was telling stories to my brothers in the midst of a chaotic home life, I didn’t know it was a talent God had given me. I didn’t understand — until much later — that Jesus not only recognized those gifts but desired to help me mature them.Maybe you can point out others’ gifts, but not your own? You don’t always recognize them, or they seem ordinary. Take heart, friend! Jesus recognizes them because His Father put them inside of you.Nathanael (also known as Bartholomew) went on to become a disciple and friend of Jesus. He traveled across India, Armenia, Ethiopia and Southern Arabia, sharing the gospel and drawing many to Christ. When he encountered Jesus, he stood under a tree minding his own business. As he trusted that Jesus knew him inside and out, it changed the direction of his life.What gifts are inside of you?They may seem ordinary, but not to your Creator. He sees your gift of hospitality. He sees your deep compassion. He listens as you create music or string together words with care. He delights that you are good with kids, a dreamer and planner, or that you have a natural ability to lead others.Jesus sees those gifts, but we also play a part. I was a storyteller, and I could hide that gift away or hold it up to the One who loves me best.I want to challenge you today …Acknowledge your gifts, even if they are in the beginning stages.Hone your gifts, even if there’s a learning curve.Then, use your gifts to draw others to a Savior who sees and knows them, and loves you as His own.Jesus sees you, right where you are. He knows you and delights in the gifts unique to you. Hold your gifts up to Him today and trust He’ll use them in ways you may not even comprehend.Dear Jesus, although my gifting seems small or rough-hewn, I will no longer hide this gift. But instead, I’ll hold it up to You, asking You to use it in ways that delight Your heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (John 18:11)

This was a greater thing to say and do than to calm the seas or raise the dead. Prophets and apostles could work wondrous miracles, but they could not always do and suffer the will of God. To do and suffer God's will is still the highest form of faith, the most sublime Christian achievement.

To have the bright aspirations of a young life forever blasted; to bear a daily burden never congenial and to see no relief; to be pinched by poverty when you only desire a competency for the good and comfort of loved ones; to be fettered by some incurable physical disability; to be stripped bare of loved ones until you stand alone to meet the shocks of life--to be able to say in such a school of discipline, "The cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?'--this is faith at its highest and spiritual success at the crowning point.

Great faith is exhibited not so much in ability to do as to suffer.
--Dr. Charles Parkhurst

To have a sympathizing God we must have a suffering Saviour, and there is no true fellow-feeling with another save in the heart of him who has been afflicted like him. We cannot do good to others save at a cost to ourselves, and our afflictions are the price we pay for our ability to sympathize. He who would be a helper, must first be a sufferer. He who would be a saviour must somewhere and somehow have been upon a cross; and we cannot have the highest happiness of life in succoring others without tasting the cup which Jesus drank, and submitting to the baptism wherewith He was baptized.

The most comforting of David's psalms were pressed out by suffering; and if Paul had not had his thorn in the flesh we had missed much of that tenderness which quivers in so many of his letters.

The present circumstance, which presses so hard against you (if surrendered to Christ), is the best shaped tool in the Father's hand to chisel you for eternity. Trust Him, then. Do not push away the instrument lest you lose its work.

Strange and difficult indeed
We may find it,
But the blessing that we need
Is behind it.

The school of suffering graduates rare scholars.

That Boy Dating Your Daughter Is More Than a Nuisance

That Boy Dating Your Daughter Is More Than a Nuisance
by Shawn McEvoy

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts… - Psalms 95:7-8

My little girl will turn eight in a week, and believe it or not… I'm looking forward to the day she starts bringing boys home.

Oh, believe me, there's no rush. I'm happy to remain Numero Uno in little Lauren's eyes as long as possible. All I'm really saying here is that I believe in her, in how she's being raised, in how she's taking after her mother. Whoever she brings home - I'm confident saying - is not going to be a person without redeeming qualities.

So what has me so primed for this experience that I don't sound like the typical dad at the door with a sneer and a shotgun? What else? The experience of having been valued and trusted myself.

Twenty-three years ago I didn't know it, but I became part of a family. The McGriffs were a very unique family. When I met their eldest daughter, Dick and Susan had just remarried each other after having divorced each other. I never knew all the details, only that this was their first example to me of it never being too late, of recognizing wrongs and repenting.

They took to me right away, but don't get the impression that they didn't lay down the law or have rules. It was the way they imposed them - agreeably, fairly, seriously - that made so much of a difference. It's not even that they didn't try to "change" me - to be perfectly honest they did try: suggesting Christian alternatives to my secular music, suggesting viewed-at-their-home Cary Grant movies to the ones I would have preferred taking their daughter to the theater to see, giving us five minutes after a date to say goodnight before the front lights would be flicked on and off signaling that, okay, that's enough now.

I dated Malia for four-and-a-half years, off and on. During that time I built memories, house-sat for their family, came to cherish younger sisters Michelle and Amy like they were my own. Oh, like most young couples our relationship wasn't perfect; we would fight and make things more difficult than they had to be, just as I continue to do. But from her folks there was always instruction, encouragement, solidity. Laughs and firm handshakes. Always trust regardless.

Thanks to Facebook, I've regained contact with these three sisters, observed how their family has grown, and chuckled at the way they continue to interact despite living all over the country (Malia in particular had the most amazing talent for taking tense situations and making them laughable, one I'm told she still has, one that is a story for another time). I sent them the following email:

Just wanna say… You three are still some of my favorite people I've ever met, especially for a trio of sisters. I love how life has worked out for all of you, and how large that family has grown, and how involved your folks are in visiting. You have fantastic men who seem to get you and treat you well.

You're all three beautiful examples of Christian motherhood and of being distinctly individual yet connected. It was transformative to grow up as a semi-adopted part of your clan, and it's a blessing to see your joy - and how you've dealt with the pains - today.

You gals rock!

And from each I received back a distinctive, meaningful, heartfelt response. And I traced it all to the commitments, re-commitments, and never-give-up attitudes their parents made so obvious without being annoying. And shoot, even if they were ever annoying, I love them the more for it now.

There are opportunities everywhere. And yes, there are dangers. And times are different, and believe me - I know guys and what is on their minds. But I was politely welcomed and discipled as more than the sum of my convertible sportscar + raging hormones, and in so many ways, that made as much difference as several lessons my own parents modeled for me.

Thanks again, McGriff family.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Are you nervous about your daughter starting to date? Why or why not? Have you taken an active role in helping her decide in advance what choices are better than others? Will you be able to understand or tolerate failings? Are you able to be firm while smiling and maintaining a sense of humor or gentility? Willing to be labeled as old-fashioned but resolute in knowing your ways are good ways? You never know who or what that boy is going to become, but you have a chance to help ensure it's something good.

Further Reading

Proverbs 22:6
1 Corinthians 2:5

John 3:16 Must Be More than a Slogan for Christians

John 3:16 Must Be More than a Slogan for Christians
By Denise Larson Cooper

Many Christians can recite this verse from memory, "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." In some ways this verse has become so familiar that people rarely give thought to its meaning anymore. As we do with so many Bible verses that we like, we deposit this one into our emotional bank of good feelings and withdraw it when we need it. We relish the warm fuzzy feeling we get from knowing that God loves the world. For many people John 3:16 reads like a Hallmark card sent from God. In fact, when some Christians speak of the Gospel they use a play on the words of the Hallmark corporate slogan: "God cared enough to send His very best."

But John 3:16 is not a message of sentiment. When God sent His Son into the world, He was not having an emotional response to the tragedy of sin. God, "in the beginning," (Genesis 1:1) had already made up His mind that sin would be dealt with in the work of His son, Jesus Christ. Basically God gave us a piece of His mind in the sending of Christ. And Christ made up His mind to complete God’s work of salvation in the world on the cross. He explained to His disciples that “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things” (Matthew 16:21). John 3:16 reveals the mind, will and divine purpose of God. His love for us does not stem from a warm feeling He had for the world. God chose to love us. He decided to love us. His love is an act of His will, and the way He chose to love us was through His Son.

In this verse we see the specifics of God’s plan for salvation. Sometimes, it’s in the little words that Christians can extract the greatest meaning. The meaning of the word “For” is such a word here. When we look closely at this little word—we find a big meaning: "in order to save" (Dictionary.com definition 20).

From all eternity, God's intention has been to save the world. And the ball of salvation and redemption was already rolling at the first dawn of the universe. Revelation 13:8 states that the book of life belongs to “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” Hebrews 4:3 asserts, “And yet His work has been finished since the creation of the world.” And the Gospel writer John reveals, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

The Son did not become the Savior in reaction to Adam’s sinning and being swallowed up by death. The Son was already Savior before the world began. Jesus willingly and joyfully took on the means of salvation. Through His Son, God created and redeemed the world on the first day of creation. The light of the new day was the dawn of redemption. When Adam sinned, redemption was already offered to the world. But the world rejected the offer.

To save the world from sin and death God chose to make His Son the Savior, and His Son gladly complied with His Father’s will. Now the world needed to know that salvation through the Son was possible. So the truth of Christ’s sacrifice had to be made visible in the world. In making visible the plan of salvation, God voluntarily placed His Son in the body of a man, Jesus Christ, and placed Him in the enemy territory of the fallen world. He was “Immanuel, God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

Out of His love for the Father, Jesus Christ, willingly placed Himself into the hands of the enemy, who is sinful humanity, to go to the cross to carry out the divine will of God. Everything for salvation that had been on the mind of God on behalf of fallen humanity was now going to be made visible for all the world to see. Humanity could witness this choice of love that the Father had made to redeem all of creation from human sin.

This intentional plan was the way God chose to love the world. To let His Son become a man and die on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for all human sin. Jesus carried in His body the sin of every human who ever had or would live, so all who believe in Him could receive forgiveness, mercy and redemption.

John 3:16 reveals the mind of God and His loving choice to save the world from sin and death through the Godman, Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us through His life, death and resurrection.

A Prayer for Taking the Next Step

A Prayer for Taking the Next Step
By: Alisha Headley

“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.” - Deuteronomy 31:8

Sometimes we allow fear from stopping us from taking the next step. Maybe you feel God calling you to step into a new career, into ministry, a new relationship, new church, new city, or a new group of friends. Maybe you feel so strongly that God has spoken to you, but the fear of the unfamiliar seems to far outweigh the action of taking the next step. You believe God is trustworthy, yet you’re content with where you’re at, so you sit back and stay where you are rather than take a bold next step.

Do you know every hero we read about in the Bible did not know what was on the other side of that next step as well?

We know the ending to their stories, but at the time, they did not.

In today’s Scripture, Joshua’s life helps us understand that he was given assurance before He led God’s children to their promised land. Before he took the next step, God told him:

“I will go before you…

I will be with you…

I will not leave you nor forsake you…

do not fear or be dismayed”

Joshua did what he knew he could not do. Like us, he was told in advance he’d be able. Joshua never faced anything so frightful or potentially disparaging that God didn’t see him through it.

Isn’t it encouraging to know that whatever that next step you feel the Lord calling you to, He has already gone before you and is faithful to not leave you?

He will be with us throughout the entire journey, one step in front of the next. God is faithful when we walk by faith with Him, just as Joshua did along with many other heroes in Scripture.

We are appointed, equipped, and empowered. We don’t have to take the next step alone. Rest in the assurance of His faithfulness. Through Christ, we can absolutely, unequivocally do anything God places in front of us. Grab onto the hem of His garment and find the faith to go where He leads.

Dear Lord,

We thank you that no journey ahead of us is too far out for you. That you know the plan, and every step in between. Father, thank you that we have nothing to fear with you leading the way. We thank you for promising us that you go before us giving us assurance before we take the next step. You are aware that we needed this confidence and assurance to rest in before we embarked on the unfamiliar. Thank you, Lord, that you have given us examples of men and women in the Bible like Joshua that have already paved the way proving their inadequacy yet your mighty power. We ask you Lord for boldness and faith to take the next step you have called us to take. Help us to trust you more, help us in our unbelief. We choose to believe you are able when we are not. We choose faith over fear as fear is not from you. We thank you in advance for your provision and for your care as we boldly take next steps. Thank you for your love of every detail of our lives down to every step we take. We love you Lord, and we trust you who has already gone before us.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.