Sunday Scripture

O Lord, listen to my cry; give me the discerning mind you promised.

Psalm 119:169

Dear God,

I praise You for loving me and wanting the best for my life.  There are so many times that I try to figure things out and I want to make my own plans.  Please give me the discerning mind to know what You want in every area of my life.  I want my day to be the day you have planned for me and I want my life to head in the direction that You have laid out for me.  Give me wisdom to hear Your voice and to understand what You ask of me.  Give me strength and boldness to stick to Your plan and not fall back on my own.  I love you Lord with my whole being and I can't wait to hear what you have for me today.  In Jesus' Name. Amen

Cleansing Tears

She cried as she thought of her situation. The tears were the kind that simply spill from one's eyes as they rapidly pool and overflow. Her hurt was deep and her memories pained. It was there though, in that moment that He touched her heart. As she wept, her eyes refocused from the ground to meet the compassion of Jesus' eyes as he gently lifted her chin. She felt his love reach deep within her and touch her heart in a way no other had ever touched her; The tears transformed to soft running tears that released pain and cleansed her heart!

This is how I envision the story of the woman at Jesus' feet (Luke 7:36-50). Her past haunted her; her sins were many and great; Her current situation felt hopeless. She had been used and hurt by those in her life, yet Jesus saw beyond the visible. He saw deep within her heart, and as he looked within her, eternity overshadowed the current state of her life.

I sat down to blog this morning with something else completely on my mind. But as I opened the site, God reminded me of this story. It's one of my favorite, and I am usually reminded of it when I am hurting. But today it's not for me.  I know that a reader needs to be reminded of His love and compassion. This is for you! Jesus loves you so much; He longs to transform your tears of pain to tears of cleaning and peace. I urge you today to just take a moment and cry it out! Sit at His feet, let your tears flow and find His healing. Whatever you are dealing with He longs to take it from you and use it for his glory.

 “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NASB).

Lord, this life causes pain. Our own sins and the sins of others inflicted upon us bring us to our knees today. We confess that we have strayed from your laws. We offer you our hurts which others have inflicted upon us and ask for your healing touch. Lord, we thank you for meeting us today at our deepest need. Take our eyes off our situation and help us focus on the beauty of eternity found in you.

God's Hand

Esther was a jewish girl who lost her parents when she was young.  Her cousin, Mordecai, adopted her and raised her as his own.  Knowing this we can assume that she had a rough childhood.  Losing parents at any age is difficult but as a child I am sure it is even harder.  It probably took some of her joy away and possibly caused her to be a quiet, shy girl.  Now, as a result of the kings decree, Esther and the other virgin women in the empire, were called into the royal harem at Susa.  There they would  all undergo beauty treatments that lasted a year before being introduced to the king for a night.  After which they would be sent back to the second harem with all of the kings wives, where she would live forever, never going to the king again unless he called on her.  This situation, today, would not go over well at all.  It is only natural for us to be afraid for Esther and to be a lot angry at the power the king possessed and the way in which they used women back.

My point in sharing this story is even thought Ester had a less than ideal childhood and as a young teen was taken into the kings custody to be primped and beautified for the kings enjoyment, God had his hand in her life.  He had a very special plan for her from before she was born, and even though things happened that were hard for her, and things happened that didn't seem fair, God never left her side.  He was always working to bring her to the place she needed to be to save the Jews from destruction and death.

We all are Ester's.  We have less than ideal situations we have overcome, or that we are living through right now, but we have to trust in God's plan for our lives.  We have all been on a roller coaster journey that at times we felt as if God had left our side.  Esther could have become a rebel teen and she could have been angry for being drug to the king's castle.  She could have been rude to Hegai, the man in charge, but instead she was kind and beautiful.  He could see that she was special and treated her with special care making sure that she was the most beautiful for the king.  Esther trusted her God and fasted and prayed to Him.  Even though she may have felt let down, as a child, for losing her parents, Esther still trusted in God to save her and her people.  She was obedient to the king but more importantly she was obedient to her God.            

The Book of Esther

Please click and read all of Esther.  Keep notes and find all of the other ways you can see God's hand in her life.  Please share them with us!  Or if you have an Esther story we would love to hear it!  Please email us or comment below.

JESUS IS FOR EVERYONE

"This is good and pleases God our Savior, for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4

Frustrating. Annoying. Evil. Unkind. Mean-spirited. The list goes on and on of negative characteristics that people can possess, but let us not ever forget the fact that they are loved by God. They are his children and when he looks at them, he simply sees a lost child, a child who has wandered from his loving Father. God longs for them to come back to him; He aches to hold them in his arms. And dear friend, it is our responsibility to lead them back to their daddy. Today, you will be face to face with a lost child. What will be your response? Will you reach out and extend his love, or will you see their sin and be offended? A smile. An invitation to lunch. A genuine asking of, "How are you doing?" What will you extend to this child of the King? Will you tell them about your friend, Jesus?

Dear God,

Help us to see the value in each of your children. Humble us to reflect on our own sin long enough to remember the times when we wandered and were lost as well. Give us your courage and boldness to step out and reach to them with your love. Help us to rest in knowing Jesus is right with us, and He wants to do the work through us. Lord, we long to do your will and your will is that every child would come home. Let us this day, serve you! Amen and amen!

God's Word......

Revives - I lie in the dust, completely discouraged; revive me by your word. Ps 119:25

Encourages - I weep with grief; encourage me by your word. Ps 119:28

Gives Life - Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word. Ps 119:37

Gives Hope - May all who fear you find in me cause for joy, for I have put my hope in your word.  Ps 119:74 

                      I faint with longing for your salvation; but I have put my hope in your word. Ps 119:81

                     You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my only source of hope.  Ps 119:114

                      I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.  Ps 119:147

Sweet To Taste - How sweet are your words to my taste; they are sweeter than honey.  Ps 119:103

Lights Our Path - Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. Ps 119:105

                              As your words are taught, they give light; even the simple can understand them.  Ps 119:130

Guides and Protects - Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil.   Ps 119:133

Brings Joy - I rejoice in your word like one who finds a great treasure.  Ps 119:162

In Psalm 119, alone, there are many examples of what God's word can do for us.  In reading it today I was reminded that His Word is the most important thing we could ever carry with us in life.  If we are alone, God's Word can take the place of a friend.  If we are afraid, His Word can calm our fears and give us hope.  When we are lost we can read God's Word and it will give us guidance and light up our path.  His Word is sweet to the taste, just hearing it can give us wisdom.  The Word revives the soul and gives us energy to get back up and face the future.  Through His Word God can encourage, give life and protect us.  It is absolutely amazing everything God's Word is to us!  No wonder so many people are lost, afraid, lonely and tired.  If we aren't reading the Bible and living by God's Word then we are poor.  God First Friends, I ask you to open your bible today and find more examples of the power of God's word in your life.  But most importantly I want to encourage you to be strong and confident in His Word.  Trust in the power of the Bible and live by God's Word daily.    

Fasting's Purpose

"Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. Bring the leaders and all the people into the Temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to him there." Joel 1:14

Many people fast, but I often wonder if we've lost the purpose of fasting as God designed it. I hear people talking about fasting and how 'they are giving something up'. It's as though they are to be honored for their sacrifice; It's as if God is expected to take note of how much is being sacrificed and respond to them because of it. But fasting isn't about us. And, it isn't about us getting God's attention. It's the total opposite. Fasting is about God getting our attention.

Throughout the Bible people fasted. Kings fasted. Queen Esther fasted. Entire groups of people fasted. Why? Because they wanted to know what God had to say about a situation. They wanted his blessing on their lives and knew that to receive his blessing they had to act according to his will. Fasting is a sacrifice of something, often food, that is replaced with quiet time and devotion to God. Fasting is a time of refocus and drawing near to the heart of God. 

Are you needing direction? Do you need God's word spoken afresh to your heart? Then maybe it's time to call for a fast. Give up TV time, skip lunch, or maybe forgo the early morning trip to Starbucks. But just sacrificing isn't enough- replace the activity with time in your Bible and in prayer. Write out your scriptures. Sit without letting your mind wander and make note of the gentle whispers that God lays on your heart. Be amazed at what you hear when you let God get your attention!

Don't Act Like Jonah

The Lord replied, "Is it right for you to be angry about this?"

Jonah 4:4

The story of Jonah is very unique.  He disobeyed God's orders not necessarily because He was afraid or that he didn't think he could handle them.  No, he dodged God because He was angry at the people of Nineveh and he knew that if he went to them, like God asked, then they would be forgiven and shown mercy.  Jonah's message for the the people of Nineveh was of the destruction to come if they did not turn from their wicked ways and he knew that God would show them mercy if they listened and repented.  Jonah wasn't ready to forgive and he certainly didn't think the people of Nineveh deserved to be treated with mercy and grace.  So he ran and ran but to His surprise God followed and pursued Him until he gave up and decided to listen.  And he was right.  When he finally decided to obey God the people of Nineveh were spared from destruction because of his final warning to them.  Instead of being happy about saving them, he was angry.  

The people of Nineveh, for years, tormented Israel.  They kidnapped, murdered and stole from them on a regular basis.  They were guilty of robbing the Israelites of their peace for many years.  From a human perspective it is only natural to be angry with them and to want them to suffer revenge from the pain that they caused.  But through God's perspective it is our duty as Christians to offer God's grace and mercy to all people, regardless of what they have ever done to us.  It is a hard pill to swallow and we can't possibly do it on our own, but with the love in us, and strength given to us by the Father, we are capable of doing the unthinkable.  As we continue reading in Jonah 4 we get a glimpse into God's perspective (click here to read)  Jonah 4:5-11 .  

God loves the person and that is all that matters.  He loves His children whether they are lost, or found to be the most loving, devoted christian.  He can't stand to see us suffer and it hurts him when His children are in spiritual darkness.  He is willing to throw all of the sins and rebellious past away to save people from an eternity in hell.  We have the capability to love like Him if we allow Him to use us and if we submit to His will and perspective on things.  With God's strength we can forgive those who did us wrong and who hurt us very deeply.  It isn't our place to judge whether a person is worthy of mercy and forgiveness.  And although the hurt that other people's sins cause us is damaging and sometimes irreversible, we have a God who has special blessings stored up for us, and instead of playing God, we should just follow His lead and love like Him.  

So the next time someone enters your life and you can't possible think of a good reason why God has   laid them in your path, but only for suffering and pain, lay your own perspective aside and put on God's.  Don't act like Jonah, instead of wishing destruction on those who hurt you, ask God to help you love them and lead them to salvation.