Archive for September, 2009

Read Proverbs 28:9

This devotion was written by our Children’s Pastor, Drew Cook

I wonder how often my prayers are just a waste of time?

I’m so focused on me, and doing things my way, am I really listening to God’s voice?

I make sure to pray every day, but when I think back, the conversation is often just one sided on my part. It is me telling God what he should do. “God bless our church”, “God take care of my family”, “God help me to get all this work done today”, “God give me this and that”, etc.

In light of the above verse, I really don’t think God was listening.

I know it is not because he doesn’t want to give me good things, but it is painfully obvious that he wants to be part of a “conversation” and not just a “to do list”.

We’ve all had conversations with people that want to be the ones doing all the talking (I find myself being this person too much!). They interrupt you when you are talking. They often are clearly thinking about what they will say next, making it obvious they aren’t really listening. They always have an answer for why they don’t need to listen to your advice (i.e. I’ve already tried that, it doesn’t work, etc.).

I wonder how often I’ve done that with God?

Read Proverbs 4:23

This devotional was written by our Children’s Pastor, Drew Cook

“What were you thinking?”

I used to hear this phrase all the time growing up.

Actually, I still hear it today (although far less frequently). This verse really caught my attention today. I liked this version the best:

Prov 4:23 (TEV) Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

I’ve also heard it put this way, “What you plant and grow in your mind determines your destiny.”

I find this true so often in my life. What I spend my time thinking about, is what determines the direction/quality of my life. If my thoughts are consumed with what I don’t have, I tend to become very bitter. If I am constantly thinking about how much I hate my job (I love my job, but this is just an example), my work becomes difficult. If your thoughts are surrounded by what your spouse doesn’t do for you, it often leads to a bad marriage situation, etc..

On the flip side, if we are consistently thinking about serving others, thinking about ways we can better serve our God, or even better yet, thinking about how grateful we are to a God who loves and takes care of us, we often have a very joy filled life.

What are you thinking right now? Whatever has your mind’s attention, will ultimately control the direction of your life. When we obsess over things we cannot change, we often find ourselves doing CRAZY things. Be careful or you may find yourself headed somewhere you NEVER intended to be.

Read Habakkuk 3:1-6

My devotional had this prayer in it recently, and it BLEW me away.

God has been really hammering me lately, and I’ve really needed it.

I really want to do and say the right things, but I often carry wrong attitudes, fear, and an overall selfish pride that keeps me from truly doing what God wants me to do. This scripture passage and prayer was perfectly timed out for me today:

“Merciful God, shine your light of truth into me in the coming weeks and months, that I might more clearly understand what you’re like and how you see me. Let my fears and pride be exposed for what they are, and keep me from distorting my picture of who you are. Give me courage, that I might face my true self, and hope, that I might face you. Help me see in you what Habakkuk saw, that “as you bring judgment, as you surely must, remember mercy.”

Read John 5:1-9

This devotional was written by our Children’s Pastor, Drew Cook

This is the story about the crippled man who believed that, when the water was stirred, if he were the first man in the pool of water called Bethesda, he would be healed.

The problem was, he was crippled and had been trying to do this for 38 YEARS. For 38 years he watched others get in front of him, but he never gave up. He obviously wanted healing in the worst way.

What needs healing in your life?

Maybe it is something you are just not ready to give up, no matter how much it hurts. You desire freedom and wholeness but you feel stuck/imprisoned. The pain has become a part of your life and in reality you just aren’t ready to move on.

On the other hand, maybe you are ready for healing. Be ready because just like the guy in the story, Jesus may bring healing when you least expect it.

Of course maybe you feel ready and nothing seems to be happening. You feel like your are in the right place in life, but God seems to have forgotten you/nobody seems to be helping you.

Even when things seem overwhelming, remember that God has already healed us of our sin debt. We can trust Him to take care of the rest of the pains in our lives.

The question is, do we want to get well?

It is hard to hear, but sometimes we just have to let things be. We need to continue talking to Him about our situation, being alert to what He has for us.

Read Zephaniah 1

This devotional was written by our Children’s Pastor, Drew Cook.

Most see God as a God of comfort, guidance, and love.

Nothing wrong with that, it is just incomplete.

God is also a God of justice who becomes angry with our complacent and arrogant sin when we dump Him for our own things.

When I take the time to think about it, there are areas of complacency and rebellion toward God in my life.

I believe, like the Scripture today says, that this rebellion angers God’s heart. He certainly is a merciful, loving God, but I believe we often don’t understand the balance between mercy and justice.

The one thing that bothers me most, right now, in my life is how easily I can see arrogance and rebellion in others lives, but so often fail to see it in my own. I want people to understand God’s judgment and have a healthy fear of it, but when I examine my life, do I have a healthy fear of God?

Read John 8:1-11

This devotional was written by Andrew Cook, our Children’s Pastor

I’ve often looked at this story as one who was outside looking in.

The story starts with the religious leaders and Pharisees bringing in a woman who was obviously involved in deep sin. I would have to say it is probably among the most painful, and destructive sins we have, adultery.

Reading this story, I feel like I’m sitting in a movie theater. I begin booing the Pharisees and religious leaders, and I cheer as Jesus puts them in their place. Jesus forgives the woman and I appreciate the happy ending.

The problem I now face with this story is that I never put myself in the her shoes. I’ve never had an improper relationship with a married woman, but when I think about my relationship with God, I have committed spiritual adultery on many occasions.

The comforting part in this story is that when I confess those acts of spiritual adultery, I can close my eyes, and hear Him say those same words to me. “I don’t condemn you. Go on your way and sin no more.”

Read Nehemiah 13:31

Sometimes a short prayer suffices.

And I think Nehemiah prays a great one when he says, “Remember me with favor, O my God”

Some might accuse him of being blatantly selfish, but I would have to disagree.

Yes, it may be selfish in the sense that his prayer focuses on himself, but how is that any different than most of the prayers we pray on a regular basis?

Most of the prayers we pray are about us and what we want to see God do in us, to us, or for us, and that’s all Nehemiah does on this occasion as well.

He has been faithful and He simply asks God to bless him for his obedience.

And I have to believe that’s exactly what God did.

Read Nehemiah 13:23-30

In case you’re just joining us in our reading of Nehemiah, you need to know that Nehemiah has just returned to Jerusalem for the second time, and although he found the wall standing as strong as ever, the people were facing moral, social, and spiritual ruin.

So he took action. Extreme action.

Two particular sentences especially stand out to me. “I rebuked them and called curses down on them.  I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair.” (v. 25)

I’d say someone was passionate about God, wouldn’t you?

It almost reminds me of Jack Bauer. Doesn’t that sound like something he would do?

Now, I’m not sure I’m recommending that anybody go out and apply this to their current context, but I do think a case can be made that the church needs more people who are passionate about God’s vision and bold enough to take action to protect it and advance it.

What do you think?

Read Nehemiah 13:10-22

Some people never learn.

After Nehemiah had spent 12 years of his life investing in the people of Jerusalem, you would think they would have listened and learned a little bit about God’s expectations for their behavior.

But as soon as their leader leaves, they quit supporting the workers in the Temple, and they start treating the Sabbath like any other day.

They completely forgot everything that Nehemiah asked them to do. And as a result, they completely ignored God’s wishes for their lives.

But before we start bad-mouthing the citizens of Jerusalem, let’s make sure we take a long, hard look in the mirror.

It’s true that some people never learn.

But unfortunately, I’m often one of them.

Read Nehemiah 13:1-9

Leadership is absolutely necessary.

In fact, when leadership is absent, it’s amazing how quickly things can fall apart.

Nehemiah, at some point, returned to his job as the king’s cupbearer. He told the king he would come back and he did.

But he didn’t stay away from Jerusalem forever.

And when he returned, Nehemiah noticed that although the walls were still stable and solid, the people were falling apart. They were drifting away from God’s truths and making some really bad decisions.

Perhaps the worst decision was made by the priest, Eliashib, who decided to let Tobiah, an outspoken opponent of Nehemiah, to use some space in the Temple for storage.

Nehemiah was having none of that and promptly kicked him out.

And I love his leadership. Nehemiah did something that should have been done long before he ever came back. He saw the need and met it with speed.

And that’s what leaders do.

“God, give our church and our country, men and women who will see the needs around them and meet them with diligence. Wake us up to what’s wrong and give us the strength to do what needs to be done.”