Thank God I'm Forgiven! Thank Him for using sinners like us to reach sinners like us and lead them to His mercy, grace, forgiveness and eternal life! meditate on what the implications of all of this are for you and what God may be wanting you to repent of and/or do.
Good Morning Forgiven Much, Loved Extravagantly, Sent Ones! Amen! Pronounce that over you and us. Believe it. Be it more in '24! Jesus said follow Me and I will give you rest for your souls. That is His easy yoke we've been discussing recently. Work on being who you are created and gifted to be in Christ and follow Him to your created purposes. This sweet spot in Christ and your identity brings peace, joy, and satisfaction that's hard to explain.
Check out Harvest's blogs on following Jesus and pray the prayer at the end. Engage with the Upper Room devo and remember, Jesus took naps. Taking times of rest and refreshing can be hard for us driven work-a-holics. I know. I owned my own business for 15 years and took little vacation. growing up my dad worked two jobs and we only could afford to take day trips. In my 20 and 30's my vacations were usually two to three days to go do something. I have no idea how to get away and unplug and do nothing. It drives me crazy. Yet we are called to work from rest like Jesus. For some of us going away to an isolated place and sitting around for a week is recharging. And for some, like me, that drives us crazy and we would rather just keep working. It's hard for Karen and me who recharge differently to plan good vacations and times of rest and recharging. But we try. Today is my day off and I am going to be doing all kinds of yard work. That is recharging to me even though I beat my body. Tomorrow I do my chaplain stuff at the track, That is so recharging. What ministers to your soul and spirit that allows recharging? Make time for it. It is healthy to work from rest. The Word for You Today helps us think about making the right choices. Are you choosing well? Are you choosing God's best for you? Who helps you see the blind spots when you're not? Be still and know that He is God. Seek first the Kingdom ways. Don't lean on your own understanding. What is God's best and how are you preparing to do that? Are you able to get still enough to hear God's voice and process before forging ahead into your plans and agendas? Our Daily Bread reminds us of the brokenness many of us are traveling through. Yet God is there preparing and walking with us and wanting to use that to grow us and bless others. You are created for His purposes and he knows how to get you there. And His purposes include blessing all kinds of other people. Taking care of widows, orphans and foreigners is part of our ministry that God is blessing because it is part of His plan. How might he want to use your brokenness to refocus and bless others? Do it! Sometimes when we don't rest and recharge, we end up in the hospital, sick, depressed--broken. I know! And God uses that memory to push me to push you to work from rest. I struggle with taking vacations that bless Karen too. God uses that brokenness to lead me to better choices. I struggle with all this open border, illegals stuff. yet they are here to stay. So how might God change our thinking and want us to bless them? Pray into that. That could be part of our next ministry? Charles Stanley reminds us that God is always good and every good and perfect thing comes from Him--it's a gift, like our salvation, new life, and growth as disciples and apostles. It's a reminder to trust and obey. We are a work in process and progress. He has great plans for us that flourish and grow as we seek, trust, obey and follow His examples well. Thanks Lord! Help us grow in trust and obedience and be a blessing to you and many. help us to live and love like Jesus more in '24.Amen!
What's God saying to you? What will you do about it? He has great plans that will bless you, Him and others. Chose well today as you worship and live and love like Jesus! You can know His peace, rest and joy! Shalom!
Harvest blogs:
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Jesus recruited a known cheat, a thuggish tax collector named Matthew (Levi) as a disciple. Then, to the abhorrence of the “righteous” religious leaders, He walked to Matthew’s house and broke bread with the tax collector and his sinner friends.
When Jesus proclaims in Matthew 9:9, “Follow me,” He invites sinners to journey with Him, and the invitation isn’t cold and detached, but warm and relational. Compassion drenches every word and deed of Jesus, so instead of exacting His power to punish, He extends a hand of fellowship.
Simultaneously, while ministering to sinners, He teaches the righteous how to behave in a godly way. In Matthew 9:12-13 Jesus says, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The righteous can’t judge a sinner into being a follower: not effective. The righteous can follow Jesus’s example: Jesus as the Almighty, Righteous God loves a sinner into following Him. His love doesn’t condone sin but looks past it to love (spend time with) the person. His love and kindness bring that individual to repentance.
Lord, You’re amazing. I repent for every time I’ve judged a person or situation. Help me, Lord, to look at others through Your eyes and treat sinners as You treat them. Reorganize my impulses and inclinations so I represent You well. I declare that with Your wisdom, I will be merciful. With Your empowerment, I will love sinners into a right-standing relationship with You. With Your steadfastness, I will courageously fellowship with, yet live an uncompromised life before sinners. Thank You for making this possible. I praise You for living inside of me. I’m not my own, but Yours. I praise You for the blood making me righteous in Your sight. I praise You for the life You gave me. I praise You for seeing all I do and am purposed to do in You. You’re my all in all. Praise the Holy One, the Righteous One, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
--Adapted from Praying What Jesus Says by Natasha Miller. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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- Praise the Son of God, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- Thank God for the depth of the riches of that wisdom and knowledge (Rom. 11:33).
- Confess those areas of your work or personal life for which you have forgotten to ask his wisdom and guidance.
- Commit yourself to calling out for insight and crying aloud for understanding, to looking for it as for silver and searching for it as for hidden treasure (Prov. 2:3).
- Ask God to let his discretion protect you and his understanding guard you.
- Intercede for the parents you know who are struggling with raising their children, that God will open their hearts to his wisdom.
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here. |
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Upper Room: Work and Rest
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” - Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
I grew up on a farm, where responsibility and hard work were high priorities. These values were so highly prized that I still struggle with taking time and resources to spend on recreation and relaxation.
After studying the Bible, I came to realize that God often instructed the people to take time from their work to celebrate and enjoy life. We need times like this to rejuvenate ourselves so we can continue with our life’s occupation and our work for the Lord. We read in Mark 6:31-32 that even Jesus took his disciples away from ministering to a large crowd so they could be physically replenished.
After a revival during Nehemiah’s days, God’s people were instructed to eat, drink, and celebrate. Then Nehemiah adds, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Replenishing our bodies with rest and our souls with nourishment are spiritual disciplines that Christians need to follow so that we maintain the strength we need to follow God’s call on our lives.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Lord God, provide us with nourishment, rest, and recreation so we can have the resources to serve you and others joyfully. Amen.TWFYT:
ODB:
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His back is hunched, and he walks with a cane, but his many years of spiritual shepherding are evidence that he leans on God—the source of his strength. In 1993, the Reverend William Barber II was diagnosed with a debilitating disease that causes the vertebrae of the spine to fuse together. In a not-so-subtle way, he was told, “Barber, you probably gonna need to figure out another thing to do besides pastoring, because the church ain’t gonna want [someone disabled] to be their pastor.” But Barber overcame that hurtful comment. God has not only used him as a pastor, but he’s also been a powerful, respected voice for underserved and marginalized people.
Though the world may not fully know what to do with those with disabilities, God does. Those who value beauty and brawn and things that money can buy can miss the good that accompanies uninvited brokenness. The rhetorical question of James and the principle underneath it are worth considering: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (James 2:5). When health or strength or other things are reduced, one’s faith needn’t follow suit. By God’s strength, it can be the opposite. Our lack can be a catalyst to trust Him. Our brokenness, as was the case with Jesus, can be used of Him to bring good to our world.
By Arthur Jackson
REFLECT & PRAY
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In what ways are you weak or broken? How can your weakness be used as an asset to encourage others?
Father, please help me to bring You honor despite my weaknesses.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The oppression of the poor by the rich is a miscarriage of justice in every society. James warns of the sins of favoring the rich and discriminating against the poor. To avoid such sins, he tells us to “keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (2:8, quoting Leviticus 19:18). The royal law warns of perverting justice based on socioeconomic status: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly” (Leviticus 19:15). Our perfectly impartial God doesn’t show favoritism: “He defends . . . the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner . . . giving them food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18). James reminds us: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).
K. T. Sim |
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