Streams in the Desert.....

 Streams in the Desert

And there came a lion (1 Samuel 17:34).

It is a source of inspiration and strength to come in touch with the youthful David, trusting God. Through faith in God he conquered a lion and a bear, and afterwards overthrew the mighty Goliath. When that lion came to despoil that flock, it came as a wondrous opportunity to David. If he had failed or faltered he would have missed God's opportunity for him and probably would never have come to be God's chosen king of Israel.

"And there came a lion." One would not think that a lion was a special blessing from God; one would think that only an occasion of alarm. The lion was God's opportunity in disguise. Every difficulty that presents itself to us, if we receive it in the right way, is God's opportunity. Every temptation that comes is God's opportunity.

When the "lion" comes, recognize it as God's opportunity no matter how rough the exterior. The very tabernacle of God was covered with badgers' skins and goats' hair; one would not think there would be any glory there. The Shekinah of God was manifest under that kind of covering. May God open our eyes to see Him, whether in temptations, trials, dangers, or misfortunes.
--C. H. P.

The Missionary Question..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Missionary Question

Dr. Charles Stanley

Romans 10:11-15

At every missions conference hosted by my church, I give God the same message I've been repeating since my early 20s: "I'm available, Lord. I'll go to foreign fields if you say so." Until He tells me to pack my bags, I'm going to keep on sending others to work among unbelievers in distant and even remote lands.

Paul asked a series of rhetorical questions in Romans 10 that can be summed up like this: How will the world hear about Jesus if you do nothing? God uses Christians to spread the word that His salvation plan is available to all. He put us in families and communities and nations so we will mingle and share what we know. But some believers are called to carry the gospel farther than others. Those who stay behind are to offer prayer and resources for those who travel. 

If you're shaking your head and thinking, Mission work isn't where my heart is, I have news for you: Every believer is called to missions as either a goer or a sender. That call comes in dramatic ways for some, but for most of us, it is simply a biblical principle to be followed (Matt. 28:19). What's missing for those who don't have a "heart" for such work is passion. Christians who share and go and send are often excited about God's message for unbelievers—and it's possible for you to become more enthusiastic too.

I challenge you to ask the Lord, "Am I open to going anywhere You send me?" Our roots in a community should be sunk only as deep as God wills. If you aren't called to go, then choose to be a sender. Offer your prayers, your money, and anything else that will help to put others on the mission field.

How You Can Make Your Small Gifts Multiply into Big ..... LYNN COWELL

 How You Can Make Your Small Gifts Multiply into Big

LYNN COWELL

“For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:5 (NIV)

Each week, she’d stand at the door, welcoming us in to take our seats. Her name was Anna Mae, and I loved her.

After hearing an album sung by children, an idea sparked in her giving heart: What if I used the empty choir room during Sunday School to gather children and create a choir? She made her idea a reality.

As one of the children in her newly formed choir, every Sunday morning, with excitement to join new friends, and with enthusiasm to learn my part, I couldn't wait to be loved on by Anna Mae.

Today, I can still sing those songs. The sound may be different, but the joy is the same! I am a promise! I am a possibility! I am a great, big bundle of potentiality!

Some in the church didn’t approve of children missing Sunday school to simply learn songs. But they were missing what was truly happening in that upstairs room. Anna Mae was pouring the love of Jesus into our hearts, week after week, through music. My mind soaked in those powerful words created from God’s powerful Word. I began to believe my 10-year-old self had potential and a purpose!

Other songs taught me to follow God’s ways to find His best for my life. I learned to begin each day with praise to Him. Psalm 100, set to music, planted in my heart, taught me how God loves me and He would love me for my entire lifetime: “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).

As a young girl, I believed God’s Word and began to listen for and obey His voice. Just as His Word says, God continues to show me He is good, His love endures and His faithfulness reaches all generations.

Today, I’m an Anna Mae of sorts to many little girls, as I pass on the truth of God’s love for them through my writings.

Anna Mae had no training whatsoever in music. She was simply a woman who loved God and shared that love with kids. Without a doubt, I am the woman I am today partly because of her simple gift of love.

What gift do you have to offer to God, even a small gift you could invest in children? Despite what we may think, it doesn’t take a platform or even a position to give a difference-making gift to another. You just never know how God might multiply your own small gift and turn it into big.

Jesus, spark in me today Your thoughts on how a small gift could multiply into big, and then empower me to act on Your idea. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Matthew 17:20, “He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.’” (ESV)

How to Hang onto God (John 15:5)..... By: Anne Peterson

 How to Hang onto God (John 15:5)

By: Anne Peterson

Today's Bible Verse: I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. - John 15:5

So often in life when things get tough, we hear the words, “Just hang in there.” Words meant to reassure you, but they fall short. I believe we need to hold onto the truth of God’s Word. And when things get difficult, we are to meditate on what we know to be true, no matter how things feel. We cannot trust our feelings. They are fickle. Feelings change and if we trusted how we felt, well, we’d be all over the place. Believe me, I used to do that. I was a double-minded person (James 1:8).

The moment we accept Jesus as our Savior we are born into God’s family. Sometimes we forget this truth and we think we need to keep doing things to be one of God’s children. Yet, we are told that just as we received Jesus, we are to walk in him (Colossians 2:6).

When we made the decision to accept Jesus, we were kept by God’s power. My Bible teacher illustrated this vividly. “If I were to put a fork into a power outlet,” she said, “I would have made the contact, but it would be the power source that kept me there.” When we accepted Jesus, we were in Christ, kept by God.

There have been times in my life the circumstances consumed me. Maybe it was hearing my sister disappeared. Day in and day out, I prayed. I didn’t have the strength to hold onto anything, and God knew that. I knew God’s Word was true and that God is sovereign. He is Almighty. There’s nothing that God doesn’t know. He doesn’t guess. So, I saturated myself in God’s Word.

I read the verses over and over till I had them in my mind and tucked away in my heart. I sang hymns and prayed. And all the while, God held onto me when I had no strength.

When we discovered my sister was dead, the same God who sustained me kept sustaining me. I felt powerless but knew that wasn’t true about God. God continually gave me strength when I had none. Every time I have needed God, he has been there.

I’m so glad God is immutable. That means God doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). We can count on this truth no matter how dire our circumstances. And when we feel shaky, we can call on God who is always available (Job 27:10). God promises us that he will rescue us in the day of trouble (Psalm 50:15).

When we feel afraid, we can let God’s Spirit remind us of what God says in his Word. Believe the truth. God is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19). Hold onto God’s truth. And when you feel as if you can’t hold on any longer. Remember that God is holding onto you. And his hands are strong and mighty.

No Matter What

Lord, sometimes I will hesitate
unsure of what to do.
I try to figure out my life
although I have no clue.

I ask you for your wisdom,
I pray you help me see.
No matter what I choose to do,
You won’t let go of me.

Anne Peterson © 2020

Little Children..... by Ryan Duncan

 Little Children

by Ryan Duncan

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." – Matthew 19:14

When I was a little kid, I made an amazing discovery. I realized that if I found something I liked and asked the right person “Can I have this?” there was chance they would give it to me. This may not seem all that extraordinary to you, but trust me, to a child this was a goldmine. You see, I didn’t just ask for candy at the grocery store or stuff on TV commercials, I asked for everything. I asked other kids if I could have their toys, I asked the neighbors if I could have their dog, I think I even asked one family if I could have their house. I’m afraid I embarrassed my parents to no end, and by the time my father sat me down and explained that asking someone for all their belongings was rude, most people had stopped inviting our family over for dinner.

Kids can be a real hassle, and when you think about it, you can’t really blame the disciples for their actions in Mark 10. Take a look at the following passage,

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. - Mark 10:13-16

Here’s the thing about children. Children are messy, children are selfish, children are ignorant, and children are incredibly self-destructive. Don’t believe me? A monkey knows better than to stick a butter knife into an exposed wall socket, but let a child have its way and they will do it twice! Despite all this, however, you really can’t help but admire the oblivious, single-minded nature of a child.

If anything, Christians should try learning from their example. Too often we stop ourselves from encountering God because we are afraid we don’t fit the “Christian” criteria. Well, I’ve got news for you; we will always be children in God’s eyes: messy, crazy, self-destructive children. But as long as we make him the single focus of our hearts, He doesn’t care. So take a lesson from these little ones, pursue God recklessly and don’t pay attention to what others think, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.

Intersecting Faith and Life: Are you pursuing God with the heart of a child? Take a moment to consider.

Further Reading

Matthew 19

A Prayer for You, God’s Masterpiece..... By: Alisha Headley

 A Prayer for You, God’s Masterpiece

By: Alisha Headley

“The Lord will work out his plans for my life --- for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not abandon me, the works of your hands.” - Psalm 138:8

I love the idea that God, through the work of His own mighty hands, created me and only me once. Like paintings by a world-renown artist – there’s something unique about the first one. Anything else after the first one, are copies and replicas.

How beautiful to know that we were worth the work the first time. God threw away the mold because one of us is enough for Him. We are enough. We are a sacred painting, the original piece. And God has made us for our own unique purpose.

Today’s scripture verse reminds us that he will never abandon us, His beautiful creation, His “masterpiece – His workmanship.” (Ephesians 2:10) He won’t abandon the work He created.

Yes, He will work out His plans for our life. He didn’t just create us and then leave us. Oh no, He created us with intention, His very own masterpiece.

Whatever God has called you to, He will equip you for it. He will work His plans for your life. You might not feel ready, or feel you have the tools or the skills to do what you feel God calling you to do. But if He’s called you to it, you better believe He’s also equipped you for it.

You are his work of art, created by Him for a purpose of doing good works for His kingdom. He didn’t create you for nothing. You were beautifully created for a purpose, a one of kind, unique purpose. He will accomplish what he started by the work of His own hands.

Rest in the promise today that He will work out all that He planned to work out for you. Rest in the knowledge that He is our faithful God, and you “can be confident, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until it is finally finished on the day that Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6)

Dear Lord,

Thank you that your love is so personal, that you created me, and that there is only one of me. You set your eyes on me from the beginning. You created me with a purpose and you promise to work out all the plans you have for my life.

Thank you that you are a faithful God. That all throughout Scripture, time, and time again, you showed your faithful love to your people. Lord, remind me in moments of doubt, that you will never abandon me, for I am your unique workmanship. I am yours. I am your creation.

Lord, help me to not compare myself to others. You created me, just as I am, and you view me as your masterpiece. Help me to see myself the way that you see me, not as the world sees me. Remind me that you have given me everything I need to work out the plans you have set before me. Help me remember that if you have called me to it, you have also equipped me for it.

Thank you for your Word as my guide, the “lamp unto my feet” (Psalm 119:105), and for the Holy Spirit as my “Helper” (John 14:26). Allow us to rest in the confidence that you will finish what you began in us. We worship you, Lord, praising you for your everlasting love for us.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.