Weekly Devotional - "BE SWIFT FOOTED" - February 28, 2011

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

Romans 10:15b

In 7^th grade I nearly jumped out of my size 10 shoes when I read Isaiah 52:7, How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Middle school boys tend to prey on girls’ greatest insecurities and one of the boys in my class tormented me about the size of my feet. So when I heard the news that those who proclaim good news have beautiful feet that sealed the deal. When I graduated I would be a missionary in India and my feet would be beautiful! Fast forward to today. I’m not in India, I still wear size 10 shoes, and thankfully, have a much deeper and more accurate understanding of this verse!

No matter the size or agility of your feet, God deems them beautiful when we open up and talk about Him. It is a beautiful privilege to share the Good News of His redemption, salvation, and peace and it is evidence of our salvation! If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:9-10).

Be swift-footed in sharing the message. Paul urges his readers in Romans 10:14-15, How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? Do you faithfully pray and support pastors, missionaries, and ministries that tell children and adults, locally and globally, about Jesus Christ? Do you have a Top Ten list of people you know that need Jesus? If not, start one!  Daily pray for them and regularly share the Good News with them.

Be swift-footed in correctly explaining the Word of truth.  When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and the bewildered crowd was trying to make sense of how each one heard the wonders of God in their own tongues, they were amazed and perplexed. They asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:12) When people ask us, “What does this mean?” Are we ready to give a clear, truth-filled response? Oswald Chambers writes, “If you cannot express yourself well on each of your beliefs, work and study until you can. If you don’t, other people may miss out on the blessings that come from knowing the truth.” Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

PASSION Step: Take a look at your feet. Are you dragging your feet when it comes to telling people about Jesus or are you swift-footed? Be beautiful: Open up and talk about God.

Witnessing is not a spare-time occupation or once-a-week activity. It must be a quality of life. You don’t go witnessing; you are a witness.     

Dan Greene

Weekly Devotional - "OPEN YOUR EYES" - February 21, 2011

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

Jesus said, “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

John 4:35

While devout and pious Jews did everything they could to avoid traveling through Samaria, Jesus walked to it, sat, and opened up to a sinful Samaritan woman about who He was: a Jew (John 4:9), greater than Jacob (John 4:12), a prophet (John 4:19), the Messiah called Christ (John 4:25, 29). 

Jesus’ example of opening up and talking about God shatters excuses I’ve used for not being bolder in my witness for Christ.

1. I’m not sure how to start up a conversation with a stranger who is so different than me. Jesus was blameless and without sin speaking to a Samaritan whom Jews did not associate with, who had five husbands and was living with a man that was not her husband (John 4:9, 17).
2. I’m too tired. Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well and talked to her (John 4:6, 7).
3. I’m thirsty and hungry. So was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food) (John 4:7-8).

When the disciples returned with lunch they were surprised to see Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman. The woman left her water jar, went to town, shared the good news of the living water that had been given to her, and returned to the well with a number of townspeople who needed Jesus, too (John 4:27-30).

Can you picture it? Hungry and thirsty souls made their way to Jesus. People streamed out of the village to receive living water and the Bread of Life. They accepted the invitation: Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, your soul will delight in the richest of fare (Isaiah 55:1-2).

As the people came for spiritual nourishment, the disciples had their eyes fixed on physical bread. They urged him, “Rabbi, eat something” (John 4:31b). Jesus told them that He is feasting on food! “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). He shifted their gaze from their stomachs to the harvest, to see the people that were walking to the well, and to the people beyond them, in this generation, and the generations beyond them. “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35).

PASSION Step: Open your eyes! Open your mouth and talk about God! There are hungry and thirsty souls that need Jesus today.

Do you know how hungry people are for something bigger than them themselves? People all around you feel empty. Pay attention. Open your eyes.

Mark Buchanan

Weekly Devotional - "FOR THE SAKE OF HIS NAME" February 14, 2011

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

FOR THE SAKE OF HIS NAME

It was for the sake of the Name that they went out.

3 John 7a

In their 2010 year-end report, one of the six major patterns that Barna Group identified among Christians in America is that they “are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented.” They discovered that less than one-third of God’s people planned to invite anyone to join them at a church event during the Easter season and teenagers were less apt to discuss Christianity with their friends. Barna Group reported, “Despite technological advances that make communications instant and far-reaching, Christians are becoming more spiritually isolated from non-Christians than was true a decade ago.”

The Apostle Paul summed up his call to missions in Romans 1:5: Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. The Apostle John said this about missionaries: It was for the sake of the Name that they went out (3 John 7a) [emphasis mine].

It is for the sake of His name that we have the privilege and responsibility to open up and talk about God through our prayers and support of worldwide missions and to the world that has come to settle and dwell in the place that we call home. It is for His sake and for His glory that we should be eager to invite girls to club and their families to church. It is for His sake and for His glory that we must not be timid or ashamed to speak to our neighbors, co-workers, and the person in the waiting room or in the grocery line about Jesus. When people scoff or mock you remember that if you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you (1 Peter 4:14).

Pastor Al once shared a story about his daughter who was teaching in a foreign country that banned Christianity. In the university’s classroom she taught students English; in the girls’ bathroom she led a Bible study and people got saved. For the sake of His Name she opened her Bible and simply set before them the truth of the Gospel.

There are people in our communities that need us to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. There are people on every spot of this planet who need a message from the Word of God. For the sake of His Name will they hear about Jesus’ saving love through you and me? Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

PASSION Step: You are a chosen instrument to carry the name of Jesus. For the sake of His name whom will you open up and talk about God to today?

A divine life is hidden in every seed we sow for Jesus. It matters not how small the seed may be, nor in what secluded part of the vineyard it may be sown – a prayer, a word, a look, a pressure of the hand – God's almighty energy is enfolded in every seed which we sow in the Master's name and for His glory.

A. E. Kittredge

Annual Counselors' Leadership Conference

Hello dear Counselors!

We just wanted to remind you about this summer's GEMS Counselors' Leadership Conference to be held in Fort Collins, Colorado July 7 - 10. The early bird registration discount ends on February 15! We encourage you to register soon if you wish to take advantage of this discounted registration fee. Registration rates will increase to $480 on February 16.

Conference information, details and a registration form were sent to each registered counselor in the January Cable. You can also register online and find more information at http://www.gemsgc.org/conference/index.html

Please remember to keep the Local Conference Committee in your prayers as they plan and prepare for the upcoming Conference.

Thanks to each of you for all you do to serve the young girls in our community through GEMS!

Weekly Devotional - "Go Fishing" February 7, 2011

from Lenae

GEMS Training Manager

GO FISHING

“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. 

Matthew 4:19-20

One of my earliest Sunday School memories is singing the children’s song, “Fishers of Men.” We’d cast our imaginary poles and reel in our imaginary fish as we sang, “I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men. I will make you fishers of men, if you follow me.”

In his book, Fish! – The Call of The Master Fisher, Roger S. Greenway (aka Area 34 Leadership Trainer Wendy Deurloo’s father!), gives a convicting and compelling call to all people to go fishing – open up and talk about God!

Living in a small community where preschoolers still sing “Fishers of Men” and there are multi-layers of evangelism to children at home, church, and school, I was especially challenged by the chapter, There Aren’t Any Fish In This Pond. Greenway tells about a time that he attended a church that had very little outreach to the people in its neighborhood. He writes, “The members reasoned like this: Around here, most people already have a church, so it’s no use talking to them. The rest aren’t interested in church, so talking to them is a waste of time, too.”

When he and his wife were invited to the church’s annual picnic that took place on a farm with a large pond, he asked if there were any fish in the pond. He was told, “Just frogs and weeds.” An avid fisher of men and fish, Greenway went to his car, took out his fishing rod, and from the chuckles of the locals, knew they were probably all thinking he was a crazy missionary. After a couple of casts, the snickers stopped. Greenway landed a thirty-six-inch northern pike.

How often have you and I assumed there were no fish in the pond? How often have we assumed that friends, co-workers, and neighbors have a relationship with Jesus? How often have our clubs quit extending the invitation to come after the first few weeks of the season? Greenway said of this church family, to me, and maybe to you, “These were gracious, warmhearted Christians who meant well, but they had become so introverted that they’d lost the fisherman’s spirit of adventure and faith.”

In the Parable of the Wedding Feast the king sent the servants out “fishing.” They were to invite people to come to the wedding feast. He said, “Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find” (Matthew 22:9). And they did ¬ finding both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests (Matthew 22:10b).

PASSION Step: The Master Fisher has called us to go fishing. Who will you open up and talk about God to today?

The Lord doesn’t call all of us to venture into unfamiliar places. He wants many of us to fish close to shore, which means in general North America where people have been familiar with Christianity for a long time. ~ Roger S. Greenway

To obtain a copy of this book that inspires readers to Open Up and Talk about God, email Wendy Deurloo: wadeurloo@sbcglobal.net or gree@calvin.edu. The cost per book is $10 plus $5 shipping and handling for orders of one to five books. All proceeds from the sale of this book will support the worldwide spread of the gospel.

Weekly Devotion - "OPEN UP AND TALK ABOUT GOD" - Jan. 31, 2011

from Leane

GEMS Training Manager

OPEN UP AND TALK ABOUT GOD

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.

Psalm 40:9-10

I have three daughters. Two of them can be quite tight-lipped – I pull information from them with great skill, care, and timing, like a fisherman strategically reeling in the “big one.” And one daughter vomits information with ease. Sometimes I hear more than I asked for or even really needed to know!

Which of these dear girls describes the way you open up and talk about God? Are you like King David? He was quick to proclaim God’s righteousness and speak of His faithfulness and salvation (Psalm 49:9-10). Or are you like Peter in the court of the high priest when he denied Jesus (John 18:15-27)?

Does fear of people lock your lips? If so, what do we fear? Being scorned, disgraced, or shamed? Being hated or tormented? Jesus said, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him” (Luke 12:4-5). Warren Wiersbe wrote, “When you fear God alone, you need fear no one else; and you can boldly witness for Christ. You are important to God and precious in His sight, so never fear what people can say or do.”

To those who are tight-lipped about His name, Jesus gives this warning, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

To those who open up and talk about God, Jesus makes this promise, “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).

Dear sisters, let us not hide God’s love and truth from anyone – whether brothers and sisters in Jesus, or those who are lost and in need of a Savior. The harvest of hearts that needs a personal relationship with Jesus is plentiful! They’re in your grocery store, on your street, in the schools and churches, downtown, uptown, in apartment buildings, trailer courts, suburbs, and in your home.

Think about what Jesus has done for you and be prepared to share it. Not next week, not when you have time, but today. Today ask Him to break the seal on your lips and open the floodgates of proclaiming His righteousness, declaring His love, and gently and boldly telling others about Jesus.

PASSION Step: Share with someone today what Jesus has done for you.

Souls are of the greatest value to God, and they should be to us as well.

Greg Laurie

Weekly Devotion - "INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY" - Jan 17, 2011

from Lenae

GEMS Training Manager

INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY

As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

Psalm 16:3

As I put on my winter coat and triple wrapped a scarf around my neck before stepping out into a bitter cold Minnesota night to go to GEMS Crazy Love Bible Study, I said to my husband, “I wish everyone had a small group like this.” Although we’re not always united in opinion, we are bound by a great love for God and one another. This once a month gathering is a precious time of interacting with God’s people.

David felt the same way about the people he did life with. He forged friendships with those who encouraged him to stay strong in his faith. His dear friend Jonathan helped him find strength in God (1 Samuel 23:16). David’s mighty men gave his kingship strong support to extend it over the whole land, as the LORD had promised (1 Chronicles 11:10). The prophet Nathan loved David enough to rebuke him, delivering God’s word on his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12).

Do your friends encourage you to stay strong in your faith in God? Are you committed, like Peter was, that until his dying breath he would remind brothers and sisters in Jesus about the things of God, and urge them to pay attention to Scripture? I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me (2 Peter 1:13-14).

Interacting with God’s people must go deeper than talking about the weather and go further than the pot of coffee that is shared after Sunday morning worship. Intentional community must be central to our relationships with God’s people. We must . . .

• Spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).
• Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13).
• Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality (Romans 12:13).
• Be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).
• Do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers (Romans 6:10).

That’s a tall order for introverts and independent souls. If we’re not intentionally living in community we need Paul’s reminder that Christ gave Himself to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people (not individuals!) that are His very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14).

PASSION Step: How can you share life and encourage another believer today?

We are not saved individually and then choose to join the church as it if it were some club or support group. Christ died for His people, and we are saved when by faith we become part of the people for whom Christ died.

 Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

Weekly Devotion - "OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR OTHERS" - Jan 10, 2011

from Lenae

GEMS Training Manager

OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR OTHERS

For none of us lives to himself (herself) alone and none of us dies to himself (herself) alone.

Romans 14:7

Oswald Chambers doesn’t mince words. In one of his devotional thoughts within My Utmost for His Highest he delivers a full course serving about the necessity of interacting with God’s people. He asks, “Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people?”

As God’s people we are to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39), be kind and forgiving to each other (Ephesians 4:32), confess our sins and pray for one other (James 5:16), encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11), but be responsible for each other? Am I my sister’s keeper?

After Cain attacked and killed his brother Abel, the LORD asked Cain about his brother’s whereabouts. Cain callously retorted, “Am I my brother’s keeper” (Genesis 4:9)? He expressed no remorse or responsibility. He didn’t care about his brother or where his body lay. The only thing that concerned him was his punishment. How was this whole messy deal going to impact him?

When it comes to life and relationships, how often do we need Rick Warren’s reminder within his book, The Purpose Drive Life? The first sentence of the first chapter reads, “It’s not about you.”

What we do and say and think matters. First and foremost they matter because God will hold us accountable for them. Each of us will give an account of himself (herself) to God (Romans 14:12).

Secondly, they matter, not because of how they’ll impact us, but how they’ll impact others. In all that we do and say, eat and drink, you and I must make up our minds not to put any stumbling blocks or obstacles in our brother or sister’s way (Romans 14:13). It is our responsibility to never cause someone to stumble or to hinder his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

When Paul was addressing the church in Rome and Corinth, the matters of dispute were dietary ­– some in good conscience could eat meat that had been used in idol worship, others could not (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8). There are other church-severing issues that are making headlines today. God’s Word remains the same. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. When you sin against your brothers (sisters) in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ (1 Corinthians 8:9, 12).

PASSION Step: Is there anything in your life that may be hindering a brother or sister in Christ in their faith? If so, make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification (Romans 14:19) today.

If I allow any turning away from God in my private life, everyone around me suffers.

Oswald Chambers

Weekly Devotion - "INTERACT WITH GOD'S PEOPLE?" - Jan 3, 2011

from Lenae

GEMS Training Manager

INTERACT WITH GOD’S PEOPLE

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.   Hebrews 10:24-25

In his book, Spiritual Rhythm – Being with Jesus every season of your soul, Mark Buchanan compares two stories about David – one well-known, and one buried in the Old Testament – much more difficult to retrieve from the memory bank. In 1 Samuel 17, young David easily defeated Goliath the giant from Gath who was over nine feet tall and whose iron point on his spear weighed about 15 pounds. In the later years of David’s rule, once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels [NOTE: exactly half of what Goliath’s spearhead weighed!] and who was armed with a new sword said he would kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished” (2 Samuel 21:15-17).

Buchanan draws this parallel between the battles. “We’ve made an icon of David’s battle with Goliath. We’ve largely ignored his battle with Ishbi-Benob. And is it any wonder? We don’t celebrate weakness. We don’t honor dependency. We don’t value needing others.”

Would you describe yourself as dependent or independent? Is it easier for you to ask for help or to offer help? Would you rather work on a team or do it yourself? Interacting with God’s people means living in community not on an island. God’s design for His Church is not that they be independent hands, feet, eyes or ears. He designed the Church to be His body – a single unit that needs one another. No part is indispensable. No part is less honorable (1 Corinthians 12).

Interacting with God’s people is critical to the health of His body and all its parts – including you and me. We need each other. We need to corporately and regularly worship together. Come, let us, bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker (Psalm 95:6, emphasis mine). We need to meet together so we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24), rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those mourn (Romans 12:15), agree in prayer together (Matthew 18:19), teach and admonish one another with all wisdom as we sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God (Colossians 3:16). Community is not simply a good idea it’s God’s idea – His best plan for our lives.

PASSION Step: What can you do to live in deeper community in 2011? Begin today.

No candle which God lights was ever meant to burn alone.

J. C. Ryle