Wednesday Devotional: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are you afraid of the dark? Do you like the dark? There is something about the darkness that is a bit unsettling. You can’t see what is in it. Maybe you can hear it, but you don’t know what it really is or where it is. The dark is sorta depressing too. You can’t see anything, so it makes it hard to do anything, so you are just sitting…in the dark. Or you get up to get something in the dark. Watch out for that…ouch! Too late!

Isn’t it funny how the world always tries to portray itself as enlightened? A world full of bright individuals, but then the world likes to say Christians are in the dark; they are boring and don’t understand the forward-thinking mindset of the world. Christians are so ignorant, says the world.

However, the Bible tells us just the opposite. The Bible tells us that the world lives in darkness because they do not know God. It’s not the Christians who don’t understand. However, they are actually the ones with the true knowledge.

Romans 13:11-12 says, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” 

Friends, the hour of darkness is coming to an end. The light (the Lord) is coming sooner now than when we first believed. The time is getting closer and closer each day. This should motivate us to get our act together and start living in the light as the Bible calls us to do instead of following the non-believers stumbling around in the dark.

Are you sleeping or are you awake in this present time? We could die right now or Christ could come back tomorrow. Are you ready? Is you light shining brightly enough that you share the Gospel at every opportunity you get? Is you light on when temptation comes knocking at your door or are you hiding it in the darkness? Our time is coming. It is getting closer every day.

So friends, put on Jesus, your armor of light.

God, thank You for bringing me into the light. Forgive me for hiding in the darkness over and over again. Shine Your light through me. Help me be a light to others and help me to live with urgency for Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Wednesday Devotional: He Knows Me

Sorry to miss last Wednesday’s post. I had some things going on, and honestly was just too exhausted to get something up. I missed you all though!

Today’s verse is one I really need to be focusing on right now. In the middle of this crazy thing we call life, this verse is a great reminder. I hope it helps you out in some way too!

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

I love that Jesus said he knows us just as God the Father knew Him. Think about it…Jesus  the Son of God, who was there from the very beginning with God, when God created everything, Jesus was there. When God started to reveal His plan for saving His children, Jesus was there. When God flooded the Earth, Jesus was there. The relationship between Jesus and God is the closest relationship ever possible. We truly can’t even grasp how close the Trinity are together in Their knowledge of one another.

So this statement Jesus makes is such an amazing statement! He is telling you that He knows you intimately.  He is telling you that He will always be with you. He is telling you that He understands your problems, and He knows the solution! Wow! Let this fact sink in for a minute!

For me, it’s so refreshing to know that Jesus knows us. He knows when we are going through a rough patch. He knows when we are down. He knows when we are afraid. He knows each one of us intimately!

So we must take all our problems, worries and difficulties to Him in prayer. He is there for us and He has the answers to everything we are going through. Don’t put your trust, faith and hope in anything else, put it in the Great and Almighty God!

God, thank you for knowing me and still loving me. Forgive me for taking this for granted. Pour out your love on me daily. Help me to remember that you know and love me intimately. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Wednesday Devotional for Pinterest

 

Wednesday Devotional: Petitioning God

In light of all the heavy things going on in the world right now, especially the “Black Lives Matter” vs. “All Lives Matter” vs “Police Lives Matter” vs “{Insert whatever you like} Lives Matter” (which I am not weighing in on), I thought this would be a good verse to look at this week. 

1 Timothy 2:1-2 are great verses to teach us about prayer. Let’s take a look at them before we start. 

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intersessions and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” ~1 Timothy 1:1-2

I think we should start by looking at some of the keywords in this verse.

Supplication means to ask for something or a petition for something.  

Prayer is being in communication with God.

Intercession refers to making requests on behalf of others. 

Thanksgiving is a way to give gratitude and be grateful to God.

The verses say we should be in communication with asking for our needs, asking for others needs, but not forgetting to be grateful for the things God has already given us. The Bible tells us we should do this for ALL PEOPLE and on behalf of ALL PEOPLE! This is whom we should pray for-all people! It is easy to pray for ourselves, for our family and for our friends, but the Bible is telling us to pray for everyone! This way of prayer includes the people we are in conflict with, people who are different than us and those who are leading us that we wish would just outright go away! We need to be praying for that annoying coworker and that girl that just won’t let go of the situation that happened last year when you accidentally said something you shouldn’t have said, even though you have apologized for it, and she still won’t let it go. 

Yes, it is easy to pray to God to continue to grow up your Christian friends, but what about your non-Christian friends? Are you praying for them? Are you praying fervently for your pastors to lead the church and flee from impure actions that we repeatedly shake our heads about? Are you spending all your time complaining about who the next President of the United States will be or are you praying for the state of our country and praying for whoever comes into office to lead well? Are you praying for the leaders of your country to make moral decisions that benefit the entire country instead of themselves or the elite few?

Let’s not forget to thank God for the people he has placed in our lives also! Take it a step further and thank God for those in our lives that make it difficult. God is sovereign, right? Give thanks for our leaders, even when we don’t agree with them. Thank God for specifically putting them in the position they are in. God knows what He is doing, even when we cannot grasp it. Thank God for the peaceful states our nations are in currently. 

Maybe it is time we step down off of our Christian high horses and do what God has called us to do, myself included. If we change our prayer life to a Biblical praying perspective, it could potentially save lives, churches, communities, our countries and our world. Prayer is powerful because God listens, and He answers our prayers when we believe He will. 

So, I ask you what changes do you need to make in your prayer life?

God, thank you for allowing us to have open communication with you. Forgive me for not using it in the way you have instructed me to do so. Pour out your love to those I pray for. Help me to remember to not only pray for those who are close to me, but to pray for those I often don’t want to pray for. God, I believe You will answer my prayers when I ask you. Thank you for loving me that much. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

 

Tips for Spicing Up Your Bible Study

A Bible Study reality is sometimes we get in a rut and a routine. We get in a perpetual habit and sometimes it becomes boring. No one wants a boring Bible Study, so here are some tips on how to spice up your Bible Study routine.  

Start by making a comfortable place for you to read your Bible. Make a serene place to study the Bible. Find a nice chair with a table beside it to make it more comfy. Grab a beanbag to sit on. Make a pallet in the floor or closet. Sit in a chair on the front porch with a warm cup of coffee. Wherever you feel comfortable to spend time with God, make it happen.

Maybe it could help to sing a worship song to get you focused. Correlate your worship song to what you are studying if possible. It does not have to be out loud; it can be in your head just between you and God.

Create something to correlate with what you are studying to help your Bible Study come to life. Take pictures on your phone of what you think the scripture is trying to tell you. Make a meme and share it with your friends. Paint a picture of what you believe God is trying to tell you. You don not have to be an artist to do this, because it is the intent and learning method that matters.

I think it is a great idea to choose a verse to memorize from the scriptures you are reading. Write it on a sticky note and post it where you will see it every day. Make it a screensaver on your phone. Choose a way you can memorize scripture and write it on your heart.

It is even great to listen to other sermons or watch videos related to the scriptures you are studying. This is a good way to look at scriptures from others points of view and dig deeper into the message of scriptures.

It can also be beneficial to relate your Bible Study to current events. Does what you are reading pertain to anything going on in the world? How can you see God working currently through the scriptures you are reading?

Pray. Use different postures of prayer. It is fine if you are sitting in your chair or beanbag or wherever you choose to pray, but sometimes the Spirit may lead us to pray differently to God-to take a different posture of prayer before God. Kneel before God if you need to do so. Stand with your hands outstretched to God if you feel lead to do so. Bow down before God if the Spirit leads you in that way. There are many different ways that prayer can take place, but be sure to listen to the Spirit’s guidance on how he wants you to pray.

There are so many ways to increase your Bible Study to keep it from getting stale and boring. Make sure you are giving your full attention to God when you are studying the Bible. When you need to spice up your Bible Study, try some of the tips listed above!
I hope you enjoyed these quick tips! What other ones would you add?

Persevere

My family and I returned to Bangkok about 10 days ago.  We had went to visit the States to see our family and friends.  Before we went to the States one of our church members, Dylan, came to me with the idea to start a College Ministry.  This is something we had been trying to do since our church started here, but with no success.  Bangkok University is across the street, but it is a private university. Therefore, it was very difficult to get permission to do anything on campus.  So Dylan and I talked about starting a college ministry.  We thought we might get 5 to 8 students because the truth is their might only be 5 Christians on the whole campus of thousands of students.  This campus is made up of Thais, Vietnamese, Korean, Nepalese and many more.  So the chances of getting many people to show up to a Bible study was slim to none.  But God calls us to be willing to share His story and His truth with people, so Dylan started it.

I am happy to tell you that Dylan has had some Sunday nights with over 40 students.  Absolutely crazy what God has done.

I think this can really teach us something about how God works and what our responsibility is in His work.  About 6 months ago we were really wanting to start something on campus to get to know more college students.  The campus had always told us no in the past because we are Christians.  But we got introduced to an Irish man who had been given clearance to have a class every week on campus.  He pitches his class to the administration that he is going to teach the students about Christianity so they can understand Westerners and Western thought better.  The university is all about helping its students understand the Western business world, so they gave him permission.  Well we came along side him to help in any way possible, and we started to make some relationships with the students.

At the same time Dylan had started a service club for students at the university.  So they would go and feed the homeless or play with the kids who live in low income housing.  We would join Dylan in this at some events and get to know more students.

With all this, the most important factor, is that God had connected Dylan to our church about 2 or 3 years ago.  He wanted to attend a church that was a Gospel centered, Bible teaching church.  So he has been regularly attending our church for a few years.  We have been able to encourage him with God’s word, and he has been faithfully serving our church.

So when Dylan had over 40 students show up for Bible study it was truly an act of God.  But God had been preparing this for the last couple of years; actually before time He planned this.

We can learn two things from this: One of them, I am sure you already know, but I hope to help you realize the second aspect.

First, God is moving for His own glory.  If God wants something to happen nothing will stop it. I MEAN NOTHING.  The fact that a university is less than half a percent Christian or the fact that over 99% of Bangkok is worshipping idols, cannot stop God’s plan.  His will be done.

But the second piece to this is encouraging to me, and I hope it will encourage you.  Anything that happens is because of God, but God does use us to bring about His will.  You see, the end result of many steps was that over 40 people came to a worship service, and that is encouraging.  But the steps before this left us to wonder if we were really making any headway.  The once a week class would usually only have 4 or 5 students there, one named Satish, which I will tell you about in a moment.  We were not seeing much fruit from this ministry.

Dylan has been a student at BU for 3 years, and even though he has tried many different things to see movement, nothing has sprung into fruit.  Also, we had joined with his service club, but we really didn’t have anyone from it come to our church.

So all these steps were showing little fruit, but we kept trying.  We trusted that this was what God wanted us to do, and we continued to pursue His plan. Dylan continued to be willing to be used by God.

All of the sudden in January, BOOM, we have a college ministry that is alive.  You see God’s plan was this all along.  He wanted us to take the necessary steps to build relationships and to work with His plan. Then, in God’s timing, He brought about glory for Himself.

So I want to encourage you all to persevere; keep plugging away at what God has called you to.  You might not see immediate results, and you might wonder if God is really doing anything.  But just keep trusting Him and following His will.  God is the one who makes everything happen, but remember that He uses us as His tools.  If we want the people around us to know the love of Jesus, then we need to get to work.  Don’t sit around and expect God to reward your inactivity.  Lay yourself at His cross and sacrifice everything for Him and see if He uses it to glorify Himself.  He will.

I want to end this by telling you that last Sunday Satish, a Nepalese guy with a Hindu and Buddhism background,  came to believe in Jesus.  This is the same Satish that started coming to the once a week class that we thought was showing very little fruit.  He was led to Christ by Dylan who has been sacrificing himself for years at that campus for God’s glory.  So when we are working hard for Jesus, and it doesn’t seem that anything is happening, remember Satish-a guy from Nepal, who now knows the love and saving grace of our Lord Jesus.  Praise you Jesus; You are amazing.