God Never Breaks His Promises! - August, 4th, 2011

 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.

Jeremiah 33:19-21

History and Context:

Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet, because he constantly wept over the city of Jerusalem. He constantly had to prophesy destruction over Jerusalem because of their sin, but the people never listened to him. He was constantly beat and thrown in prison because of his messages, but he stuck to prophesying the truth of what God told Him and God continued to confirm him as the true prophet by causing what he prophesied to come to pass. Even though Jeremiah was constantly prophesying destruction, he also was prophesying hope. His message was always "turn back to God and the destruction will eventually pass."

The Text:

King David, the greatest king in the history of Israel, was promised that one of his descendants would always be on the throne. This is the covenant that the Lord, through Jeremiah, is referring to. He reminds them that he also has another covenant, with the day and night, and that that covenant will never be broken.In the same way he says that his other covenants will not be broken. If we look earlier in the chapter we see a prophecy to the Messiah, "I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth." Jesus was a descendant of David, both Matthew and Luke wrote genealogies in their Gospels to prove that. Jesus is on the throne forever. In the midst of all te destruction, God prophesies hope and shares that there will be a time when He will send His son, the Messiah, God Himself in the flesh, to take our sins on Himself an bring judgement and righteousness on the earth.

The Challenge:

Today is meant to encourage you more than to challenge you. To encourage you in two things. One is that God will never leave you hopeless. No matter how much destruction is coming, no matter how much you may have brought it on yourself, God will always leave you hope for a way out. Secondly, God always keeps His promises and covenants. You are in a new covenant with God through Jesus Christ. God will keep His end of the covenant. Just as there will always be day and night, God's covenant will always stand!

The Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness. I thank you for your hope that you always give me. Help me to see your hope and help me to trust in your faithfulness. I love you Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen!

Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power! - August 3rd, 2011

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

History and Context:

Paul seems to have written the letter to the Corinthians while he was staying in Ephesus on his second missionary journey. By reading the letter as a whole, we can see that the church in Corinth was very strong in the spiritual gifts, but not very organized and they often acted in pride (Ch 12). We can also see that there was immorality in the church which was not being dealt with (Ch 5). Paul writes the letter, with Sosthenes, addressing these issues and admonishing them to act on the issues of immorality and division.

The Text:

The text is still towards the beginning of the letter and it seems that Paul is establishing his authority to speak into their situation. He reminds them that he did not simply come and persuade them rationally, but he came and the power of God manifested through him. This was needed so that they would truly believe in God and not just have a mental understanding of who God is. He says that the only thing he knew and preached was Jesus and that he was weak and fearful when he was there. But the power of the spirit confirmed what he said to be true.

The Challenge:

Seeing the entirety of his work and life, it sometimes seems like Paul was never afraid. We think he was a power preacher who is somehow above us because he was one of the first apostles. But here, from his own words, he admits to being afraid when he preaches the Gospel but also gives us the key to getting over that fear. He let the Spirit of God work through him! Seek the power of the Holy Spirit, then step out and share the Word when you get the opportunity and watch the power of the Holy Spirit move in the lives of those you are sharing with. This is your challenge today.

The Prayer:

Lord, I do get afraid when I start sharing your Word with people sometimes. I pray Lord that your Spirit would fill me, and work your power through me for those around me. Prove to those people around me that you are real. Use me to heal the sick, cast out devils, and heal the sick. Use me to prophesy into people's lives. Use me to spread your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Soberly, Righteously, Godly - August 2nd, 2011

 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

Titus 2:11-14

History and Context:

Titus was not mentioned in Acts, but in Galatians he is mentioned as one of Paul's companions travelling to Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1,3). Later Titus stayed on the island of Crete in order to help establish the church there. Paul is writing Titus to instruct him on how to lead and establish the church in Crete. Overall thebook shares many similarities with 1 Timothy.

The Text:

There is a lot of debate about how the "end times" will play out. A lot of people seem to be attempting to use the topic to invoke fear in people, but this scripture makes two things clear. First, there will be a "glorious appearing", Jesus is going to appear before us, and second, this appearing brings us hope. We can hope in His return and understand that then is when His creation will come to perfection. Paul commends us on how we are supposed to live as we wait for this day. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly. When looking at the greek words used in this passage we can see that this is three levels of discipline in one self. Soberly means to live in control of one's own actions. It could be translated as self-mastery. It means that we must first master our own desires and actions. Righteously is directed towards our relationship with others. It is simply to live right towards others, to be fair, just, honest, and to act in integrity towards others. Godly denotes our actions towards God. It implies a reverance and a worship towards God.

The Challenge:

Again this is an opportunity to check yourself and how you are living.

First think and pray about whether you truly have full self-control. There are many addictions which have control over people. We always talk about alcohol and drugs, but there is also caffeine, food, being with people or not being with people, using foul language, etc. Anything that you do not have complete control over in your life, needs to go.

Secondly, consider your actions towards other people. Are you living rigteously with others? Are you treating them fairly, in honesty and integrity? We are called to walk in love towards others.

Thirdly, how is your relationship with God? When you pray are you just performing a ritual, or do you pray out of passion and love for God? In the worship service do you truly worship, or do you complain about the music? Do you read the Bible and get inspired by it, or do you practically fall asleep while reading? The final step is to live in passion towards God.

The Prayer:

Lord, I know that you are coming back and I find hope in that. I also feel challenged to live as Paul told us to live. So Lord help me to recognize the areas in which I do not have self-control. Also help me to see where I still need to treat others better and where I am lacking in my relationship with you. Renew the passion and desire in me that I once had for your presence and for your Word. Thank you Lord! In Jesus' name, Amen!