The Messages Parents Send..... Dr. Charles Stanley

 The Messages Parents Send

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Samuel 20:30-34

When someone asks, "What do you do?" the reply frequently includes a job title. But anyone who is raising or interacting with children has a role far more important than ordinary career duties.

Parents are communicators. Yet unlike conference speakers, moms and dads don't get to preplan their entire message. Everything we do and say—especially that which happens "off the cuff"—teaches our kids. Think about your childhood days. What did your parents do that illustrated their priorities, beliefs, and passions?

Even without speaking, we send messages by our body language, interests, kindnesses, absence or presence, silence . . .  Add words to the mix, and we have a recipe for remarkable impact, whether positive or negative.

Inevitably, our children will be greatly affected by what we communicate and how they interpret it. Be conscious of the way each young one processes information—sometimes our intended message becomes skewed by their understanding. What an incredible responsibility we've been given. No wonder wise parents rely on God's help.

Only troubled parents—like the angry, jealous King Saul in today's passage—would ever set out to hurt their children. But in our busyness, or from past woundedness, we might just be sending damaging messages.

What are you communicating to your kids? Ask yourself: What do my actions point to as priorities in my life? Do my children sense a hunger in my heart for God's direction, counsel, and sustenance? Above all, would they know how to have a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ by watching my life?

Life in Hope..... Craig Denison

 Life in Hope

Craig Denison

Weekly Overview:

As children of God, we have been given a new home and a new hope. May your heart be set aflame by the joy and purpose of living out God’s command to live for heaven this week: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” >Colossians 3:1-4

Scripture:“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Romans 15:13

Devotional:

The world is a fearful and unsatisfying place without the hope of eternal life with Jesus. Apart from the expectation that comes from the hope of heaven, our world is without cause for peace, celebration, or joy. There is life in hope. There is joy in hope. There is purpose in hope. Hope is to be at the foundation of all our decisions, emotions, and pursuits. Hope fills us with joy in the midst of trial and perseverance in the midst of failure. Hope guides us to abundant life.

Romans 8:24-25 says, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” We have the promise of eternal life in perfect, unveiled relationship with our Creator and Sustainer. The King of kings and Lord of lords waits patiently for the final redemption and restoration of all things (Revelation 21:1). He longs for the day when all pain, tears, disappointment, separation, and sin will end for good (Revelation 21:4). And he longs to fill us with the same hope and expectation he has within himself.

Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Our heavenly Father longs to make us a people of hope. He longs for his followers to live a lifestyle that declares to the world, “This life is not all there is.” He longs to fill us with a heavenly perspective that we might throw off pursuits of worldly pleasure and live for eternity with him.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The hope of eternal life with our Father is to be the guiding light set ever before us. Where have you set your hope? Where do the treasures of your heart lie? Placing our hope in heaven secures the treasures of our hearts with our heavenly Father for all of eternity. In contrast, when we treasure the things of the world, that which we accumulate will pass away as quickly as it came.

Take time in guided prayer to allow the Lord to fill you with a fresh hope for the age that is to come. Allow your perspectives to shift in light of the glory of an eternity spent in total communion with the Creator. May the hope of heaven guide you to a lifestyle of storing up your treasures, and therefore your heart, with your heavenly Father.

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on importance of hope. Allow Scripture to shift your perspectives and pursuits to living for heaven.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11

“The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” - Proverbs 10:28

2. Where have you placed your hope in the things of the world? What have you been looking to in order to satisfy your longings that is fleeting and temporary?

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” >Matthew 6:19-21

3. Ask the Lord to help you place your hope in heaven alone. Choose to live your life for your heavenly Father instead of seeking worldly success and satisfaction. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you ways in which you can rid yourself of the world and receive the hope of heaven.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” >John 10:10

May Romans 5:2-5 be your anthem of hope today:

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Extended Reading: Matthew 6

God Is the Potter, We Are the Clay..... By Bible Pathways

 God Is the Potter, We Are the Clay

By Bible Pathways

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY: But now, O LORD, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our Potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand - Isaiah 64:8.

This verse and others like it are used often by preachers and teachers. Many love to use the thought of God being the Potter and we, His creation, being the clay. They love to speak on how God can give us a fresh start in life as He remolds us into a new vessel. The old vessel with its flaws and imperfections is cast into something new and better.

There is nothing wrong with this line of thought. It is a fine message that often draws people into a closer walk with Jesus Christ. The old becoming new is a very popular theme in the Word of God. No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved (Matt. 9:16-17).

At this time though, let us look at another part of this verse. There are times when part of something becomes so popular that other parts are sometimes overlooked or even forgotten. The part of the verse that we wish to examine is Thou art our Father.

No one knows our fundamental human needs better than God; He knows our needs for things like hope, love and peace. How can we better trust in God to meet those needs? The first step is to acknowledge the fact that God is our heavenly Father.

Notice, God identifies Himself as a Father to us. That should say a lot to us as to how He feels. This is how He chose to characterize His relationship to us. It’s not just a descriptive term used by preachers or theologians. God chose Fatherhood from all possible human relationships. There was something significant that God wanted to communicate by His choice of this title.

The thing that God was trying to communicate was that He wanted our dependence to be on Him. He desired to show that there is no one who loves us more, or in whom we should place more trust, than Him. God is the perfect example of what a father should be.

Earthly fathers have the perfect model to follow. They have the Word of God revealing God's character to mankind. This should serve as a manual on how to interact with their children. Everything a person needs to know about fatherhood is right there in the Bible. You need to learn how to teach the difference between right and wrong. The Word of God can help. If you need help regarding discipline, the Bible has lots to say on the subject. Many fathers do not use God as a role model, and their children suffer because of it. God is the only Father they know.

God is our heavenly Father. He should receive the greatest of praise for taking on this role in our lives.

It’s Good for Your Character..... by Laura MacCorkle

 It’s Good for Your Character

by Laura MacCorkle

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. - Romans 5:3-5, NIV

I grew up in a very special church back in the '70s and '80s. It was nondenominational, had tremendous traditional worship and congregational singing and was attended and led by many seminary professors and students. 

Seeds that were sown in my life in those early years of my spiritual growth are now sprouting, and I’m drawing upon what I have learned as I make my way through adulthood. 

From time to time, I flip through a bound collection of meditations on sayings that my pastor put together. He would regularly refer to these life principles from the pulpit, and today, whenever I hear them being said (or similar concepts) by others, I remember what he preached on them many years ago.

“It’s good for your character,” he would often say. And here’s how he explained that further:

“God uses the routine, the difficult, even the painful to develop in us qualities of Christlike character that can be learned in no other way.”

When we begin to see our lives from this perspective, that’s when we’ve turned a corner. But in order to keep thinking in this way, we have to make daily readjustments, as we don’t always want to see the routine, the difficult and even the painful in this way.

But it is the right way to look at any uncomfortable situation in our lives. The classic passage regarding trials in James 1:2-4 is wonderfully helpful and instructive to us pilgrims traveling life’s road on our spiritual journeys:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Now, let’s break down this outlook:

1. Consider it pure joy. How do you do this when you’re going through a divorce? Or in the aftermath of a departed loved one or the loss of a job? What will it take to see the joy despite the circumstances? Only God can give us this joy and change our perspective (Psalm 16:8-11).

2. Testing develops perseverance. In order to learn how to persevere, we have to go through some trying times. Think back on the trials in your life. What were the results? Did you make changes in your life? Did God help you get through them? Remember that as you continue to serve him (Psalm 25:4-10).

3. Perseverance must finish its work. We can’t go from diapers to dungarees in the snap of our fingers. Living takes time. And there are “pains” that go with it. Sure, it hurts sometimes, but know that the uncomfortable seasons mean that you’re growing (1 Peter 4:12-19).

4. Be mature and complete. When you were a child, you didn’t have a bulging file folder of life experiences to draw from. Now that you’re older, hopefully you can see how you have grown closer to the Lord and how he has changed you. Draw from past lessons as you choose to live and think differently today (1 Cor. 13:10-12).

Intersecting Faith & Life: Can you look back on “the routine, the difficult, even the painful” times of your life and see how God has developed your character? List some specific trials and the resulting changes that have been made in your character and then praise your merciful Savior.

Further Reading:
2 Cor. 4:7-12, MSG, Phil. 1:21, NIV, Heb. 10:32-39, MSG

“When We All Get to Heaven”, Words by Eliza E. Hewitt (1898), Music by Emily D. Wilson

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

A Prayer to Refill Your Empty Spirit..... By: Kristine Brown

 A Prayer to Refill Your Empty Spirit

By: Kristine Brown

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17b-19 NIV

This morning I grabbed a cup of coffee and settled into my favorite chair to start my morning prayer time. I thumbed through the pages of my prayer journal, where I record needs to bring before the Lord in prayer. Keeping a journal helps me stay focused as I pray. Only today, something remarkable happened while pausing to reflect on each page.

I noticed prayer after prayer I’d recorded in past months and realized that God had answered many of those prayers. I suddenly felt an indescribable fullness of God’s love. My heart swelled and gratitude overcame me. Tears poured out, and I couldn’t contain them.

I knew then that this must have been how David felt when he spoke the words of Psalm 23:5, “...my cup overflows.” Because in that moment, I felt God refilling my spirit.

We can go through our daily routine feeling spiritually depleted. Sometimes our cup is empty, and we don’t even know it because we’ve been going through the motions for so long. Thankfully, throughout God’s Word we see evidence of His outpouring of love for our empty spirits.

Today’s verse from Ephesians is part of a prayer by the apostle Paul for the church at Ephesus. He prayed for the people to have strength from the Holy Spirit, Jesus living in their hearts, and the fullness of God’s love. Paul also wrote about God’s fulfilling love in Romans 5:15, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

When we feel empty, nothing fills us like God’s love.

By taking time in my morning routine to reflect on God’s goodness in my life, I sensed His presence overcome my emptiness. God filled me to overflowing, and He will do the same for you. Are you feeling spiritually empty today? Let’s pray this prayer together and allow God to fill us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your promise to fill my cup when I feel empty. With this hectic life and the challenges I face, I forget that you are the source of my strength, joy, and peace. Forgive me for relying on my own ability, leaving me depleted. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for refilling my empty spirit.

As I come to you in prayer, help me to break free from simply going through the motions. Forgive me for not seeing how you’ve been working in my life and answering prayers. Help me remember those answered prayers as I trust in you to do it again. Fill me with your presence, Lord, so I may overflow with your unending love.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.