Tuesday, March 30, 2010

What Christ meant the church to truly be...

Yesterday's devotion in Seize the Day with Deitrich Bonhoeffer was so excellent:
"'So there is no are of the church which is not wholly and exclusively subject to Christ. It is a dreadful reduction of the New Testament concept if today the church is often seen to have its existence only in preaching and the administration of the sacrament.' ~The Way to Freedom
Church is the life together of those who belong to Christ and who meet together--not only for common worship, but also for companionship, hospitality, friendship, common concerns, and participating in the joys and struggles of life.
Meditation
The church is to be a life together. This can never be restricted to the sanctuary, but includes the home, the workplace, and the whole of life."
May God bless each of you with such a church, and may you each help your own church to become what Christ does truly mean and want it to be!

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." ~Galatians 6:2
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." ~Acts 2:42

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

He Only Asks...

"He only asks thee to yield thyself to Him, that He may work in thee to will and to do by His own mighty power. Thy part is to yield thyself, His part is to work; and never, never will He give thee any command which is not accompanied by ample power to obey it. Take no thought for the morrow in this matter; but abandon thyself with a generous trust to thy loving Lord, who has promised never to call His own sheep out into any path without Himself going before them to make the way...." ~Hannah Whitall Smith
"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths" ~Psalm 25:4

Friday, March 19, 2010

Whatever God chooses for us....

I have a flip calendar on my microwave by Nancy Leigh DeMoss at Revive Our Hearts. I loved what it said for today:

"We tend to think that what is really good is the fulfillment of our desires. But, in reality, the highest good in the universe is whatever God chooses for our lives."
What a huge nugget of truth in those 2 sentences!

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord...." ~Jeremiah 29:11

Home-keeping hearts are happiest!

"Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best."
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young -- a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you." ~Psalm 84: 3-4

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

You Alone Know

"I ask you neither for health nor for sickness, for life nor for death; but that you may dispose of my health and my sickness, my life and my death, for your glory...You alone know what is expedient for me; you are the sovereign master, do with me according to your will. Give to me, or take away from me, only conform my will to yours. I know but one thing, Lord, that it is good to follow you, and bad to offend you. Apart from that, I know not what is good or bad in anything. I know not which is most profitable to me, health or sickness, wealth or poverty, nor anything else in the world. That discernment is beyond the power of men or angels, and is hidden among the secrets of your providence, which I adore, but do not seek to fathom." ~Blaise Pascal
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD." ~Isaiah 55:8 (ESV)

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Serving Your Neighbor

I was reading today's devotional in Seize the Day with Deitrich Bonhoeffer, by Charles Ringma. It was so wonderful, speaking about how important it is to serve our neighbor. May it speak to you, and may God always show you more and more ways to serve those He places in your path, both near and far. Below is today's devotion in green, in its entirety:

In the Face of the Other (Mark 9:37)
"From God he hears the word: 'If you want my goodness to stay with you, then serve your neighbor, for in him God comes to you Himself." -- No Rusty Swords
Freely, God's goodness comes to us. But God's good gifts to place us under obligation. This obligation has nothing to do with trying to pay God back. That is simply impossible. But God's good gifts affect us and transform us in such a way that we desire to become like the Giver. In expressing this desire, we aim to treat others in the same way that God has treated us. In relating appropriately to others, and in serving them, we ourselves are blessed. For in the needy neighbor, we meet the Christ who calls us to the gentle art of compassion.
Meditation:
In Serving the least of our brothers and sisters, we find the gentle approval of the Man of Sorrows.
"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." ~Matthew 9:13

Monday, March 08, 2010

The Best Things in Life...

"The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you." ~Robert Louis Stevenson


" The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." ~Song of Solomon 2:12

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

What do you count of worth?

"That which makes the men of God so great and impressive is not, first and foremost, what they have accomplished. It is rather, how they are able by God's help, to pass through the greatest difficulties and the darkest hours; when, like Abraham, they give God the dearest they have; when, like Daniel, they brave the greatest dangers; and when like Moses, they endure that which is well nigh impossible." ~G. Steinberger
"Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return." ~Job 15:21