Clear the Land

by Susan Sampson

It is a great blessing and joy to know that we are not alone. We are one body in Christ and the amazing truth is that the Holy Spirit dwells in each and every believer.  “For I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)  Lord help us believe this truth!!  What comfort and peace it brings to know this Christian walk is a journey and we have begun this journey of faith together!  I love the visual image of planting a seed;  I can picture a farmer standing over the dirt waiting and watching for the seed to grow.  That, of course, is ridiculous.  Growth is a process and I pray that truth encourages us.  “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:6-7) 

But before we plant any seeds we must clear the land.  We must labor diligently to establish our time with the Lord.  There is truly nothing we can do that is more important each day.  Our to-do lists appear so urgent, but they are temporal.  This is the only way to know Jesus.  It is the only way to have a relationship with Jesus.  It is the only way to follow Jesus.  We can’t follow Him if we don’t know what He is saying.  As we look out and survey our fields and consider the seeds we will sow this semester, let us each take time this week to remove every obstacle, every distraction and everything that sets itself up against our time spent with the Lord.  “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Lord, help us love you because you first loved us.  Help us believe the gospel and live because Jesus died.  Help us die to self so others might live.  Help us turn in repentance from our sin and turn in faith to you.  Help us receive your mercy and forgiveness and walk forward in grace and truth.  Help us know and love and obey your word as an expression of our love and devotion.  Help us fix our eyes on Christ alone and not anyone else.

Lord we need you to enable us to truly take your gospel to heart and bring it to life!  May our thoughts, words, actions, and lives bring you glory.

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He Knows Our Hearts

eMoment by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 11:14-23

Now he was casting out a demon that was mute.

When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, 

and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, 

“He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”  

16 while others, to test him, kept seeking from him 

a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, 

said to them,”Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, 

and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against 

himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out 

demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, 

by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your 

judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, 

then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, 

fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 but 

when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, 

he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. 

23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does 

not gather with me scatters.

Some marveled

Some accused

Others tested

Jesus knew their thoughts and their motives.

He knows everything.

He knows who we all are at the core.

John 2:24-25

But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself 

to them, because he knew all people and 
needed no one to bear witness about man, 
for he himself knew what was in man. 

Proverbs 27:19

As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.

Luke 6:43-44

For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

Matthew 12:35-37

The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good,

 and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account

 for every careless word they speak, for by your words you 

will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Jesus knows our thoughts and He knows our hearts.

Jesus knows each of us inside out.

He knows what prevents us from being full of thanks and praise.

He knows why we are “mute.”

Will you go to Him in faith asking Him to heal your soul

and fill you with praise and thanksgiving?

 

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Come to Me Soon

by Susan Sampson

Demas deserted Paul.  Why?  Scripture tells us he was in love with this present world.  His focus was the world.  His heart treasured the temporal.  His mind was consumed with what he could see.  He was all about SELF.  He chose to please himself instead of the Lord.  He chose to serve self.  He gave into his flesh.  Lord have mercy.  There but by the grace of God go I.  I don’t want to be Demas.  Do you?  I think we would all say “no.”  We would say we want to be like Paul.  But how is that possible?  Is it even possible?  “But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'” (Mat. 19:26)

So what do we do?  We fix our eyes on Christ.  How?  Let us look carefully at God’s truth.  Lord give us ears to hear you speaking to us.  Soften our hard hearts to receive your word and believe it by faith and submit our wills to it in order to obey it that you would bring forth the fruit of righteousness!!

Philippains 4:4-9

  • “Rejoice in the Lord always”
  • “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”
  • “think about these things”
  • “practice these things”

God is so good!  He is telling us what we are to do!  Will we “turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths?” (2 Timothy 4:4)  Or will we believe God’s word by FAITH?  Faith is the KEY!!

When we feel all those horrible feelings we listed on the white board, the Lord is telling us to rejoice and “offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 50:14).  This means we must die to self.  We must come out from under our circumstances and come up under God and His word.  But this goes against our nature.  Our flesh doesn’t feel like doing this.  Which is exactly why we must be in God’s word every day!!  To be filled with truth.  To counteract lies.  To be sanctified by truth.  To be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  To be reminded daily that His banner over us is love!!!!

I confess this seems almost too simple to me.  My flesh thinks there has to be something more.  Something to do.  Something better.  Naaman thought that.  He was a commander of the army of the king of Syria and he was a leper.  A servant girl told him there was a prophet in Samaria who could cure him.  So Naaman went with all his entourage.  Elisha, the man of God, sent a messenger to him and told him to “wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean” (2 Kings 5:10).  But this wasn’t good enough for Naaman.  Our pride is so blinding.  We think we know better.  “But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thoughtthat he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?  Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:11-12)

I confess I just want God to “wave his hand over the place and cure” me.  Many times I don’t want to do what the Lord is clearly telling me in His word to do.  “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Phil. 4:4).  “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.” (Psalm 50:14).  This is clear.

The Lord had mercy on Naaman.  He gave Naaman ears to hear His word and a heart to obey.  “But his servants came near and said to him, ‘My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it?  Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?'” (2 Kings 5:13)

What happened?  Naaman humbled himself and came up under the word of the Lord.  “So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (2 Kings 5:14).  This is so amazing.  Naaman was an adult, but the Lord didn’t just restore his flesh to regular adult flesh.  He did more than Naaman could have asked or imagined.  He restored his flesh to that of a “little child!!”  Soft and sweet:)  Our God is so GOOD!!

So will we not do it?  The key is FAITH!!!  Lord grant us the faith to believe your word.  Grant us the faith to humble ourselves and come up under your word.  Grant us faith to obey your word.  And grant us faith to rejoice in you and your word and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving!

Grant us the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen so that we can by this gift of FAITH lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross for us!

 

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