Weekly Devotion - "BELIEVING PRAYER" - Oct. 11, 2010

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him (her)

from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.
Psalm 20:6

In his book, The Christian Atheist – Believing in God but living as if He doesn’t exist, Craig Groeschel writes about a pastor who asked his church to pray that God would shut down a local bar. The church held a special prayer meeting, and a few weeks later, lightening struck the bar and it burned to the ground.

The bar owner heard about the prayer meeting and sued the church. In court, the owner of the bar pleaded his case – God struck his bar with lightening because of the prayers of this church. Then the pastor stood before the judge and admitted they prayed, but they really didn’t expect anything to happen.

Groeschel writes, when the judge finally spoke he said, “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Right in front of me is a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and a pastor who doesn’t.”

That scenario is as old as the early church. When Peter was arrested and in prison, the church was earnestly praying to God for him (Acts 12:5). Yet, when an angel of the Lord miraculously helped Peter escape and he was standing at the front door of the house where the prayer meeting was taking place, Rhoda was initially too surprised to open the door, and the rest of the group was astonished (Acts 12:12-16). Did they not believe in the power of prayer? Do we?

What best describes our prayers – babbling or belief? Don’t babble! “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Instead, believe! But when he (she), asks he (she) must believe and not doubt, because he (she) who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man (woman) should not think he (she) will receive anything from the Lord; he (she) is a double-minded man (woman), unstable in all he (she) does (James 1:6-8).

In light of that truth, however great our faith, if we pray something that is contrary to God’s will, He mercifully won’t give it to us. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him (1 John 5:14-15).

Maybe your prayer life is marked by rote or routine, instead of passion and power. Most of us don’t need another devotional about prayer. What’s needed most is the passion to do it – moving from a lukewarm prayer life to a passionate one, and belief in its power ¬– the prayer of the righteous man (woman) is powerful and effective (James 5:16b).

PASSION Step: Pray with passion and belief that the LORD of heaven hears and answers your prayers (Psalm 20:6).

Effective prayer is prayer that attains what it seeks. It is prayer that moves God, affecting its end.

Charles Finney

Weekly Devotion - "PRAY CONSTANTLY" - Oct. 4, 2010

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

Pray continually.
1 Thessalonians 5:17

Fall is filled with GEMS firsts – the first club meeting, the first ACTS Workshop, for some, the first year as Club Coordinator, counselor, or CIT, for others the first year in existence as a club. And in all that newness is a keen awareness that we can’t do it alone. We must humbly and prayerfully depend on God.

Joshua knew all about firsts. God commissioned him to be the first successor to Moses (Number 27:12-23). After 40 years of wandering in the desert, a new generation of Israelites would follow their new leader into a new land – the Promised Land. And Joshua did so in humble, prayerful dependence on God.

Camped along the east bank of the Jordan River on the edge of Canaan, God assured Joshua of His promises and reminded him that he wouldn’t go alone. Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).

Before they stepped into the new land they consecrated themselves, the ark of the covenant of the Lord went ahead of them, and the Jordan waters that were at flood stage stopped flowing upstream when the priests’ feet touched the water’s edge (Joshua 3). The Israelites humbly walked on dry ground.

The first place of battle in the Promised Land was the city of Jericho. As Joshua stood before the city, his next big first, the commander of the army of the LORD met him. Joshua fell facedown in reverence, for the place where he was standing was holy. The Israelites humbly and repeatedly walked around the walls of Jericho and the Lord gave them the city (Joshua 6).

The second place of battle was in Ai. It looked like an easy win, but Ai’s few foot soldiers chased Israel’s 3,000 men out of the city and down the slopes, killing thirty-six of them. Why? Israel’s walk had become complacent. Achan stole some of the devoted things and lied to God. The Israelites humbled themselves once more (Joshua 7) and then God gave victory over Ai (Joshua 8).

Israel forfeited the next battle. The deceptive Gibeonites greeted the Israelites in worn and patched sandals, with a dry and moldy food supply, and said they were from a distant country and wanted to make a treaty. The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord (Joshua 9:14). Israel became complacent in prayer. They failed to pray and made a treaty with one of Canaan’s inhabitants – people God had forbid them to make peace with!

It’s October already and maybe some of the humble prayerful dependence you had on God during your first club meeting is being replaced with complacency. Be women of prayer. Talk to God frequently (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Begin and end your club nights in prayer. Seek His leading and guidance when the walls look impossible to crumble (Jericho) and when it looks like an easy club night (Ai). Young hearts are at stake! Don’t make peace treaties with the enemy (Gibeon), but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord (Romans 12:11).

PASSION Step: During October girls will focus on the PASSION discipline “Pray constantly.” Intercede for girls and clubs. Pray that we never become complacent in prayer.

May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelming satisfied with us as intercessors.

Oswald Chambers

Weekly Devotion - "TITUS 2 PERSEVERANCE" - Sept. 27, 1010

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Titus 2:3-5

One of the sectional leaders at the 2010 GEMS Annual Counselors’ Leadership Conference was Marianne, an eighty-year old sister in Jesus. Here were some of the reviews that she received from her sectional: * Was wonderful to be mentored by a sweet, sweet lady. * Very funny, good info. * What a wonderful Christian example! * Phenomenal! * Marianne was great – full of zeal, full of life, a great example to keep the faith. * Appreciate her honesty – she’s still growing and learning. * Loved having an older, mature woman to learn from – Titus 2!

In the last six months I’ve heard more than one woman question if she’s getting too old to continue to lead in GEMS. Should I retire? When is old too old? Is it time for me to step down? The answer to when we should step out of GEMS must be based on the prompting from the Spirit, not from the dates on our birth certificates!

Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh (Exodus 7:7) and they did a lot of living after that! Moses and Aaron served the Lord until the day they died. Moses was 120 years old; Aaron was 123 (Deuteronomy 34:7, Numbers 33:39).

The number of our days and years were ordained and written in God’s book before the day of our birth (Psalm 139:16). Life passes quickly like an evening shadow, withered grass, or mist (Psalm 102:11, James 4:14). Let’s pray with Moses, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Teach us to number our days so we can teach as many young girls and women as possible to be self-controlled, pure, kind, and reverent in the way they live (Titus 2:3-5).

As mentors within and outside of the GEMS ministry, we must zealously persevere in the face of inconvenience, challenges, weariness, disappointments, or anything else that would drain our zeal to live as He requires. This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus (Revelation 14:12). Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the LORD, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

PASSION Step: Read Chapter 2 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Ask the Lord to help you zealously persevere in Titus 2 ministry no matter what your age.

A long, hard, steady, hold-the-course obedience is a rare and wonderful thing.

John Piper

Weekly Devotion - "NO COMPROMISE" - September 20, 2010

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Daniel 3:17-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t just feed the fire they walked in it. Their lives were marked by no compromise. Even though their Hebrew names were changed to Babylonian ones to assimilate them to the culture, they remained true to God alone. They rejected defiling food and wine from the king’s table for vegetables and water, and even when given a second chance to bow to the image of gold, they chose to be bound and thrown into a blazing furnace.

The church in Pergamum, one of the seven churches in the book of Revelation, knew the pressure to compromise. Their sophisticated city was center to four idolatrous cults: Zeus, Dionysius, Asclepius, and Athene. John called the city where they lived “where Satan has his throne” (Revelation 2:13).
Although Antipas, one of the faithful from their church who was martyred, did not compromise, there were those in the church who were and Jesus held it against them. You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolatians. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth (Revelation 2:14-16).
When Anne Graham Lotz visited the ruins of the old city she said the ancient church was attached to a pagan temple! She wrote, “Instead of making an impact on the world, the world made an impact on the church. [The church of Pergamum] became irrelevant, powerless, and, in the end, nonexistent.”
The Encarta World English Dictionary defines compromise as “a settlement of a dispute in which two or more sides agree to accept less than they originally wanted.” When living as aliens and strangers in this world (1 Peter 2:11), disputes will arise. God’s Word tells us if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).
But peace must not trump godly living! Being tolerant and opened minded must not trump radical, wholehearted love and obedience to God alone.
The church of Pergamum chose compromise and their church’s building addition was a pagan temple. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chose no compromise and when they were thrown in the fire, the Most High God walked with them” (Daniel 3:25).
PASSION Step: Identify places in your life that you’ve chosen to compromise. Repent and return to God.

If all church members were like you, would the church be more like the world?

Or, would the church be more powerful in its witness – making an impact on

our generation for the kingdom of God?

Anne Graham Lotz

Weekly Devotion - "FIRE IN MY BONES" - September 13, 2010

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

Jeremiah 20:9

Have you ever been knee deep in ministry that you were certain God called you to when frustration set in? Everything that can go wrong does. You come against unforeseen obstacles. People gripe about things you thought they’d be grateful for. Maybe you even said to God, “Did I hear You correctly? Am I really supposed to do this?”

If that describes you, you have a kindred spirit in Jeremiah. His calling to be a prophet was certain. The word of the LORD came to him and said, “Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5b).
Even with a sure call, Jeremiah questioned if he was the person for the job. The LORD countered his apprehension with assurance. “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 1:7-8).

God called Jeremiah and assured him that He would be with him, and Jeremiah obediently stepped into his assignment. It feels quite happily ever after, doesn’t it? Not even close. In chapter twenty of his book, Jeremiah lays out his complaints against God.
1. This isn’t what I signed up for! “O LORD you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed” (v 7a).

2. I’m being poked fun of and insulted! I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me (Jeremiah 20:7b). The word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long (v 8).

3. I’m ready to quit! But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot (Jeremiah 20:9).

Jeremiah was ready to quit, but he couldn’t. His passion to proclaim God’s Word was like fire burning in his bones. Although he experienced sorrow, persecution, insults, and contempt, he needed to do what God called him to do.
Has God given you a difficult assignment? Has He called you to do something that feels too difficult to complete? Follow Jeremiah’s example and go to God. Cry out your complaints to Him (Jeremiah 20:7-18). Claim His promises and strength, The LORD is with me like a mighty warrior (Jeremiah 20:11), and give Him praise, Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD (Jeremiah 20:13a)!


PASSION Step: What is the biggest challenge you face today? Thank God. He is greater than that challenge.

Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord that thou fulfill it.
Lilias Trotter

Weekly Devotion - "PLUMP GRAPES" - September 3, 2010

from Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

PLUMP GRAPES

Jesus said, “Thus by their fruit you will recognize them.”

Matthew 7:20

My morning quiet time typically flows with this rhythm . . . prayer, a devotional from Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest, Bible reading, and prayer. On Thursday morning Chambers’ reflection was on Jesus’ words in John 7:37-38, On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Chambers likened the streams of living water to grapes. He wrote, “God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us.”
Ponder the questions like I did. Am I a plump grape or a dried up prune? When I’m squeezed by conflict and troubles – whether in my relationships, health, finances, or ____________ ¬– what comes out of me? Sweetness? Or am I a sour grape?
Remember, there are no such things as coincidences, only God-incidences, and He obviously didn’t want the thought of being a grape to be fleeting. I opened my Bible that I’ve been reading in chronological order. The day’s passage was Isaiah 5. The chapter heading was The Song of the Vineyard. My mouth dropped and my ears opened. OK, God. I’m listening.

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard; My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit (Isaiah 5:1-2). God looked at His vineyard, His chosen nation that was to bear a crop of good grapes, and for all his pains he got junk grapes (Isaiah 5:2b, MSG).

God loved His vineyard; He tended it and watched over it, yet it still bore bad fruit. He asked, “What more could have been done for my vineyard then I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad” (Isaiah 5:4)?
Let’s make that personal. Can you join me in testifying how much God loves us, how faithful He’s been to us, how He has carefully tended and watched over us through His Word, His Spirit, and through His people – including the sisters at GEMS? He can rightly ask, “Can you think of anything I could have done to my vineyard (anything He could have done for you and me) that I didn’t do?” (Isaiah 5:4a, MSG).
He not only knows our deeds (Revelation 3:15-16), He’s in the vineyard checking to see if we are plump or junk grapes.

PASSION Step: Honestly ask God, what kind of grape am I? Then surrender yourself to His pruning.

Trees have seasons at certain times of the year when they bring forth fruit;

but a Christian is for all seasons.

Ralph Browning

Weekly Devotion - "COUNT THE COST" - August 30, 2010

- From Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

COUNT THE COST

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate

the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

Luke 14:28

As middle daughter Stephanie and I were unloading her groceries into the pantry of a small on campus apartment she’s sharing with five other girls this school year she told her friends, “I’ve got food! I figured I better stock up while my mom was here with the checkbook!”
They laughed and identified. With tuition, books, plus the responsibility of purchasing and preparing their own food, they were indeed counting the cost.
When Jesus taught about counting the cost of being a disciple He compared it to tower building and military strategy. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way of and will ask for terms of peace” (Luke 14:28-32).
To be Jesus’ disciples we must also count the cost. True disciples that are feeding the fire do not coast into the Kingdom or compartmentalize their love for God into a 15-minute devotional time in the morning and their service into an every other week GEMS Club night.
To be a passionate disciple of Jesus comes with conditions. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27).
“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple” (Luke 14:33, MSG).
Oswald Chambers wrote, “The only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion – those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.”

PASSION Step: List the people, plans, and possessions that are dearest to you. Do you love these things less than Christ?

Our LORD was not referring here to a cost which we have to count,

 but to a cost which He has already counted.

Oswald Chambers