Love Shall Persevere

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:6-7

Another one of the vanishing principles is perseverance. To me the opposite of perseverance is simply giving up. I'm either, by the grace of God, going to make it or I'm not. At this point in my faith development, I wholeheartedly believe that He will carry me through to the very end and beyond. Isn't it interesting that we even consider an option of not making it? For even if I don't or can't or won't, He will. As long as I put my faith in Him, I can persevere.

Faithful in Every Way

"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:5

I think we should be focusing more on faithfulness and the most common uses of this Christ-like character trait. We will look at work (the Faithful servant)–relationships (the faithful husband/wife or children)–and spiritual walk (the faithful follower). The opposite of these correct behaviors are difficult to consider but need to be addressed, the unfaithful worker; the unfaithful family member; the unfaithful believer.

Honorable Mentions

"Whoever serves me must follow me, for where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me." John 12:26

I thank God today for several of the time-tested institutions of America- marriage, the Armed Services, and even the Boy Scouts of America. All of these have two things in common that come to mind. One, they are all seemingly under attack, and two, they all have the word “honor” as part of their creed.

Learn the Beauty of Waiting On The Lord

Our Monday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Lahoma:

"Truly my soul waits upon God" Psalm 62:1 KJV

I read a story once about a little boy who had asked his father to pick him up after school because it was going to rain that day. The Father agreed, and asked the boy to wait inside the school building until he arrived. When school was over, the little boy came to the door and watched out the window for his father’s car. The rain was pouring down, and as the minutes ticked by, the little boy became anxious and very impatient and decided to take matters into his own hands. He bolted out the door and walked half way home in the storm before he heard his father’s voice calling him from the street. The little boy was soaked from head to toe, and the father simply said, “I was on my way, son. If you had only waited a few more minutes, you would have been able to ride home in the warm and dry car.”

Essential Truths and Promises

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, John:

THE ESSENTIAL TRUTHS AND PROMISES FROM GOD'S WORD WE NEED TO ABSOLUTELY KNOW, BELIEVE AND TRUST IN WITH ALL OF OUR MINDS, HEARTS AND SOULS IN TIMES WHERE WE FEEL OVERWHELMED, CRUSHED AND HOPELESS

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is real. He is all-powerful and absolutely faithful to His Word.

Our Lord is, in the most absolute sense, all loving, all knowing, all powerful, eternal, always present, and His love, mercy and grace endure forever.

Are you Past Due?

"The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." Proverbs 13:4

When we hear the word diligence, it affects us oddly like so many of the Christian character words that make up the content of the teachings of The Word of God. Diligence and other like words are almost unfamiliar to us and sound awkward or archaic. Yet, diligence is essential to spiritual development, and understanding the daily walk of a believer. If diligence is to be part of our character we must let go of three of our favorite practices in order to be diligent. I am sure that someone you know very well is prone to at least one of the following tendencies:

What I Never Will Do

Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." Matthew 26:33

Peter says this in all zealous honesty. He is passionately dedicated to the Lord and He wanted to convey the depths of His commitment to Jesus. I don't do this nearly as often as I used to, but even at this juncture of my faith, I am still capable of overstating my claim to be faithful beyond fault. Granted we should be convincingly sure of our heartfelt desire and willingness to be totally and completely sold out to the Lord. Frankly' more often than not we are more inclined to understate our commitments than to overstate them. So then, how do we balance being crippled by cautiousness and being embarrassed by failure?

Find Comfort in the Lord

"God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matt. 5:4 NLT

A dear friend who recently experienced the death of someone very close to her posted this scripture online. It seemed through this scripture that she was expressing her deep sorrow, but also her hope in the promise of comfort and peace through her faith in Jesus Christ.

People Get Ready

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea." Psalm 46:1-2

Major catastrophic incidents have a way of grabbing our attention, whether we are in the midst of the disaster or watching from a safe distance via our televisions or internet. I must confess that it is becoming increasingly harder to watch and comprehend the evening news as we see the aftermath pictures of massive devastation in Japan, nuclear power plants on the verge of collapse….

Have Authority Issues?

Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

When I was a grandparent and the father of teenagers at the same time all living under the same roof, I learned some timeless lessons about authority and rebellion.

Who Was St. Patrick?

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Have you noticed? Suddenly, the color GREEN is everywhere today. TODAY is recognized as St. Patrick’s Day, but did you know that the founder of this holiday, Patrick, was in reality the first Christian missionary to Ireland.

Learning and Practicing Patience

I Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

We have all heard the famous saying or warning, “Don’t pray for patience.” This is the source of the encouragement to be careful what you pray for because you may get it. The distance between unrealistic expectations and real life almost necessitates learning the hard lessons of patience. In our fast moving world with lightening fast access to everything in the world, we have our patience tried many times every day.

Compassion Anyone?

Colossians 3:12 "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

No matter what age you are and no matter what your circumstance or situation, as a Christian, you have within you the capability for compassion.

When we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation, one of the by-products of becoming a Christian is the objective opportunity to see things as Jesus sees them. When we are able to see things like Jesus sees them, then we will experience compassion.

Keep Going Until You FINISH the Work

"Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work."
John 4:34

A dear friend of mine forwards the devotions from Pastor Greg Laurie, and last week, one theme really caught my eye. Pastor Greg was talking about its not as important as how you start but that you FINISH that counts, and that is all so true in our spiritual lives as well as our physical lives. He quoted G. K. Chesterton who said, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and not tried." If someone says they have tried Christianity and it didn't work for them, it is because they never had a true encounter with the living God. I agree with Pastor Greg and believe any person who has really met Jesus Christ will continue to grow spiritually. It may not always be easy, but we are called to FINISH our work, and that is what we should all purpose to do each and every day.

"Philemon - A One Page Quick Study" on Friendship

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Charlotte:

I was asked on Tuesday by Dolly to switch weeks with her for weekend Council duties, for which I was glad to do. Since it wasn't my week, I hadn't given any thought to what I might write for the devotional. Well, as it turns out, God had already gone ahead of me (go figure) because the topic sprang up out of nowhere.

Learning and Practicing Patience

1 Thessalonians 5:14 "We urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone."

We have all heard the famous saying or warning, “Don’t pray for patience.” This is the source of the encouragement to be careful what you pray for because you may get it. The distance between unrealistic expectations and real life almost necessitates learning the hard lessons of patience. In our fast moving world with lightening fast access to everything in the world, we have our patience tried many times every day.

The Power of Gratitude

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."
1 Timothy 6:6-8

From time to time something somebody writes so accurately conveys one of my core principles that I just have to pass it along. I read Matt's weekly blog often because he is such a source authority on Biblical Stewardship and he not only educates me and convicts me, he also reaffirms me. I could write something very similar to this particular one, but since he says it so well, enjoy it and apply it and hopefully make some changes in your perspective or practice on the basis of the truth of it. With a very grateful heart, Pastor Fred

The Integrity Dilemma

I wrote a devotional for families about 12 years ago and recently I used some of these same principles in another context to help develop a healthy communication relationship with a teen and it did help. I can’t tell you how rewarding it was to have positive Biblical parenting skills reaffirmed for me. Just because it seems like something that was right didn’t really work, it is still true and still right. The principles of life don’t change, whether they succeed or not they remain the principles of life. “The proof is in the pudding” is only partially true, it is the recipe that is important because of all the extraneous factors that determine what people decide, the hugest of which is their own free will. Enjoy this revealing and convicting slice of my life and what I was writing about parenting over a decade ago.

Proverbs 20:7 NKJV "The righteous man walks in integrity, his children are blessed after him."

Selah

Psalm 32:7 "You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.”

This past weekend, the women of Grace Harbor Church, with many of our friends went to Lake Arrowhead for our annual retreat. The theme was SELAH…. To pause and consider the deeper things of God. It was a blessed time, tucked away in the beauty of snow covered mountains and trees as far as the eye can see. The main verse of our devotion was our Theme Verse, and ministered to many hearts about the truth of God being our Hiding Place, a quiet hideaway from the storms of life. We can just stop where we are, close our eyes, and still hear the songs of deliverance that the Holy Spirit whispers all around us… and it is a beautiful reminder that He sends a gentle breeze over us when we feel alone or lost or fearful. He IS our Heavenly Father, and we can run into His strong arms any moment of the day or night. SELAH~

Victory!

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Alan:

"For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." 1 John 5:4

I like the word VICTORY and the strong feelings of elation that accompany it. Originally applied to warfare, Webster defines Victory as 'the overcoming of an enemy or antagonist'. That definition seems to fit when we think about the real spiritual warfare and enemy we face everyday.

Love the Lord Your God with ALL Your Heart, Soul, and Mind

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."
Matthew 22:34-38

Sometimes, when we read scriptures like the one above, our physical MIND reads the words, our HEARTS are stirred and we feel a sense of awe and worship in our SOUL when we consider the power of the message from scriptures such as Jesus words in the gospels, or the words of Paul, or the Psalms or the prophets. When you worship, do you sense a disconnect from the physical and realize that you are standing in the presence of God’s holiness and power? Do you feel tears running down your cheeks when you sing? Perhaps we should pause and consider that God has created us in His image, with three parts to us, just like God has a Triune Nature: Father/Son/Holy Spirit, and that you and I have an eternal part of us that longs to be united in relationship to the eternalness of God. This does not mean that we are “God-like” (as some cults and new age movements may falsely teach), but instead understand that we are created with a triune nature as well:

You Really Want Justice?

Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, O Lord.

Whenever I consider justice, I cannot help but remember a very important list of definitions that I heard just a few years ago.

1. Justice is getting what you deserve.

2. Mercy is not getting what you deserve.

3. Grace is getting what you don't deserve.

Love and Forgive

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Jesus shocked His Jewish audience when He replaced the non-biblical idea of hating one's enemies with the New Testament idea of loving them (Matthew 5:43). The Jewish tradition of hating one's enemies had achieved Scripture-like status among the Jews--a status Jesus debunked.