N.b5z.net



Theme for the Month of August:>>>Prayer<<<Devotional for August 19, 2019Not My Will. Luke 22: 39-46; The PrayerLuke 22:42; Saying Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me, nevertheless, not My will, but Thine be done. If you have been a Christian for any length of time you already know that prayer is part of the plan. But have you found out that sometimes some prayer needs, if not for you or yours, perhaps for someone else, can be one of the most wrenching of experiences you will ever face? How about a prayer need so immense, such anguish, something so intense, it just rips your heart out; you wouldn’t wish it on anyone? In our day and time tragedies abound, just watch the evening news. Our heart has to go out to such folks. I wouldn’t be surprised if many folks say; Lord where are you, don’t you know what I’m going through? At some point, unless some visible sign, Angelic appearance, takes place, you realize, this is far above me, way over my head, to that extent, you say; Thy will be done! I would venture to say more than a few know exactly what I am talking about.As we all know this prayer of Jesus was at the end of His earthly ministry. His job was just about done, except for one major event, although many events would come, but one huge event that had Jesus’ full attention. The Cross loomed large, He was very much aware of the pain and agony involved, the weight of the sin of the world and all it carried. Who wouldn’t be praying for every bit of strength to get past that? But Jesus prayed, not My will, but Thine be done. There was no doubt about the plan of salvation being wrought by Jesus’ vicarious death on the Cross of Calvary here, this was personal and passionate. What can we glean from this account? Remember reading Jesus was tempted/tested in all parts such as we are? Our High Priest in Heaven has experienced exactly what we face. If you ever find yourself in the depths of despair, take comfort, the Lord knows exactly what you are going through. Blessings to you for a great day, Pastor Tom Devotional for August 20, 2019Living The LifeJohn 14: 5-7; Answer to Thomas;John 14: 6; Jesus saith unto him; I Am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by Me. Have you ever been to a foreign place, maybe on vacation, and asked to get to a certain place; sure, it happens all the time somewhere in the world. But if you ask someone how to get to Heaven, watch out, you may end up just about anywhere but. Enter the 21st Century, the age of the Gnostics, knowledge abounds, the very folks Jesus warned us of. Here Jesus gives the most concise answer anyone could ask for; the Way, the Truth and the Life, it’s that simple, right? Wrong per many/masses, don’t tell me there isn’t multiple ways to God. I hate to admit this, but for far too long I doubted this great truth myself, BC (before Christ). In my search for the truth, I found out Jesus is the Truth. And once I found that out, it was only natural that He would be the Way and Life as well. From what I can tell Christians have the first two parts of Jesus’ words down pat pretty good, the Way and the Truth part. The one thing that I see folks struggle with is the Life part. By that I mean, living the Life of Christ; have we come to where we see, it is no longer just my life to live as I see fit, but His life, purpose and plan for my life. After all; He is our Life, our Redeemer, He is our source of joy, our sustainer, our strength. We must be careful to not live a dual life, one in the world and one in Church, don’t put a Sunday face, we are to be the same every day, all day. I heard a TV preacher recently talk about folks that say they go to Church, to which he said; No you don’t; We are the Church! Is there a resemblance of His life in me, His love, His sacrifice, and obedience to the Father’s will? The old song says; Oh to be like Him! Blessings to you for a great day, Pastor TomDevotional for August 21, 2019The Attached LifeJohn 15: 1-11; Our relationship to the Lord;John 15: 5: I Am the Vine, you are the branches; he that abideth in Me and I in him, bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me, you can do nothing. On many occasions the Lord gives a physical example of a great spiritual truth, as in the case of the grape vine. Though the physical representation may hold good insights, it is designed to provide spiritual truths. Just as the natural vine, the main life sustaining limb, supplies the needed sap to all the branches, so too does the Lord supply the needed spiritual nutrients to us. In other words, we cannot be a Christian without His life giving blood, or His life giving Grace, His life giving atonement, and all the other I can’t live without-s. However; attachment to the True Vine not only sustains us in life, but according to the Lord equates to fruitfulness.I think most folks in the Body of Christ want to be fruitful, I sure do. A big part is recognition of who we are in Christ, just as the verse says, if we are “in Him”, we will be fruitful. To do that, we are just allowing His nature, His love, His presence to be revealed, His Gifts to be manifested. This takes a lot of pressure off the believer thinking he has to be the Lord in all things ministry. It’s never been about us, but Christ in us, that’s the key truth. Our part is learning how to allow Christ to operate in and through us without us getting in the way. One of the things to beware of is; trying to be fruitful without the Lord, as He says; you can do nothing without me. It also says; I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me (Phil 3:14). So there you have it, the fruitful life is the attached life; the idea is stay attached, close walk, fellowship, life, purpose, beauty for His Glory. Blessings to you for a great day, Pastor TomDevotional for August 22, 2019The HelperJohn 16: 7-15; The Helping Hand of the Holy SpiritJohn 16: 13; Howbeit when He the Holy Spirit is come, He will guide you into all truth, He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. When we first came to Christ, if you were like me, the Bible was a mystery, for some reason I just couldn’t grasp it like I thought one should. When I found out the Holy Spirit was delighted in showing me these great eternal truths, this changed everything. I guess it should be no wonder, as the very one whom provided the inspiration of the Bible is actively at work revealing its great truths as well. Yes, there are some very deep things in the Word of God, but if we rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal these things, we will not go astray. That brings us to whom and what we really rely upon. We live in a day and time where there are so many great Bible Commentaries and even new Bible Versions have arisen, although that can be good, is it really good? Here’s what Paul said; and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of Power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the Power of God (I Cor 2:4). When Paul spoke these words there was no Bible as yet. God has placed in the Body of Christ the five-fold ministry, (Ephe 4:11). to help and perfect us. Since we have such a vital supporting cast to help us in our daily growth in the Lord, is the need for the Holy Spirit’s help no longer warranted or needed? I say He is needed now as much as ever. I’m sure you have noticed this, our walk we the Lord is a personal walk, not “through” someone else, but very personal, getting used to His voice is what it’s all about, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit helping to decipher the Word. In doing that, you will not only grow in knowledge of Him, but in intimacy with Him. The Holy Spirit has many Titles; Helper is one of them, you’ll find His help is invaluable. Blessings to you for a great day, Pastor TomDevotional for August 23, 2019The Sanctified LifeJohn 17: 1-26; Christ prays for us John 17: 9; I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine. Here the Lord prays what many call His High Priestly prayer. In the first few verses He prays for Himself. In our text verses He prays for the Disciples, the handpicked few that would take the Gospel to the masses and train up disciples that would one day take their place. In the last several verses of the Chapter prayer is offered up for all believers at large. We have been “sanctified” for just such a high calling in Christ. In the Old Testament not only people were sanctified, but Holy objects, cups, candle sticks and a host of other things that would be used in Temple worship. This is big to the Lord; nothing can be used for the God’s purpose unless it is sanctified. Just what does it mean to be sanctified? In our case It means to be set apart for Holy purposes. With that there is a threefold work. The first work sets us apart at our new birth in Christ. As far as the Lord is concerned, even though we may not look or act too Holy at that point, nonetheless we are sanctified and set apart through His Atonement. The second part is referred to as; progressive sanctification, although some believe it to be a second work of Grace, taking place instantly. As we grow in the knowledge of the Lord we progressively begin to look and act more in the image of Christ. The last work, or 3rd phase takes place as we receive our new bodies, the final sanctification, is the perfect state. Such incredible grace has been wrought to bring us a place where we are not only saved, but can be used of God. We would do well in not letting that go to waste, find out what God wants to use you for and do it with all your heart. Blessings to you for a great day, Pastor Tom ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download