Weekly Devotion - "Be Ready to Be Ready!" - 2/16/15

Be ready to be ready!

written by Lenea, GEMS Training Manager 

Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so (Esther 2:10).

Head in the sink, her hairdresser shared the ugly pieces of her life and then told her not to judge. My Jesus loving friend was shampooed and speechless. She then sputtered her best response and was still hashing it out in her head when we met that night.

Our Bible study group was small, but united. We have sputtered, too. Instead of being prepared to give an answer and ready to give reason for our hope, we have made awkward situations more awkward still. Sigh.

There is something to being ready before we need to be ready. Queen Esther got that. After Mordecai persuaded Esther to save their people, she didn’t rush to the king and unveil Haman’s evil plot. She got ready so she would be ready to make her request.
 

• First Esther and the Jews fasted for three days.
• Then Esther approached the king. She invited Haman and the king to a banquet. (Note: She didn’t sputter or spew!)
• At the conclusion of the first banquet, she invited them to a second. (Notice: She didn’t blunder or blurt!)
• During the second banquet, when the heart of the king was readied, she was ready with her request.

Peter tells us to do the same. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).

Messengers God can use prepare so they are prepared. They get ready so they are ready. Now may be a good time to do just that.

Send Me: What are the faith questions that tie your tongue? What are the circumstances when things get uncomfortable? Ready yourself in prayer and His Word. Talk it out with other believers. Be ready so you’re ready!

Blurting out you are a Christian may not be the best way to win people for Jesus. Esther teaches us to be wise how we share. — Phil Moore

Weekly Devotional - "What People Hear Us Say Is . . . " 2/9/2015

written by Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

What People Hear Us Say Is . . .

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3).

Just because we can hear, doesn’t mean we really listen. And even when we do listen, it doesn’t mean we really hear what is being said. Being an active listener takes work. And one of the many tips toward engaged listening is to provide feedback.

• What I’m hearing you say is . . .
• It sounds like you are saying . . .
• What do you mean when you say?

Paul told the church in Corinth that they were living letters. They were physical, living, and breathing messages that declared Christ and were being read by everyone. Our lives bring the message!

The thing is, just because people can see our lives, doesn’t mean they really understand. And even when they do see, it doesn’t mean they get what is being said. For those actively watching and listening to the message of our lives, think about potential feedback. Are they asking aloud or to themselves:

• When I see you worry about everything, what I hear you say about God is . . .
• When I see your negative attitude or unforgiving spirit, what it sounds like you are saying about God is . . .
• When you have a problem with your church, what do you mean to say about God?

When people hear what we never meant to say, we must admit again that we can’t do this thing on our own. To be a letter from Christ, it must be written by the Spirit of the living God. Messengers God can use fully depend on the power of God for how they live the message and how people understand it.

Send Me: Ask a friend, co-worker, or neighbor, “What do you hear about God from the way I live?”

You are a letter from God to the world. People around you read the Gospel According To You every day. What does it say? — Phil Moore

Weekly Devotional - "Life Together" - 2/2

Life Together 

by: Lenae, GEMS Training Manager

Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

Because I love you so much  . . .

• I never call, text, email, or send cards.
• I always say we should get together, but never do.
• I busy myself with responsibilities instead of relationships.
• I fail to pray for you.
• I do not bring you the message.

 That list pricks, but it doesn’t bleed love.

What Paul said about love is this. Because we loved you so much . . .

• We were delighted to share the Gospel with you!
• We were delighted to share our lives as well!

Messengers God can use do life together. They speak the good news and live it within the context of community. In the ordinariness of life, they share life.

Paul continues. Just like a nursing mother cares for her children, we should be gentle and care for one another. Just like a father deals with his own children, we should encourage, comfort, and live lives worthy of God, who calls us into His kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11-12).

The best way for people to really hear the message of God’s love is to slow down and do life together in community. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive, but it is costly.

The cost? You have to give up your life.

The One who left the glories of heaven to give up His life and do life together with us, says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13).

Send Me: How can you intentionally bring the message today by sharing your life?

To be a community of light from which the light of Christ will emanate we need to be intentional in our relationships—to love the unlovely, forgive the unforgivable, embrace the repulsive, include the awkward, accept the weird. It is in contexts such as these that sinners are transformed into disciples who obey everything King Jesus has commanded. –Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

Weekly Devotional - Our Boast! - 1/26/15

Our Boast!

written by: Lenae, GEMS training manager 

This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

Over Saturday morning pancakes at a local diner with our preschool grandsons, Landon started bragging about his dad. “Papa, my dad is stronger than you.” Mike didn’t disagree, especially with his crutches propped against the wall!

“He can lift you,” boasted Landon. “He can lift a car. He can lift this whole building!” While Landon elaborated on his dad’s strength, this children’s song popped in my head: My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do—for YOU! (Ruth Harms Calkin)

Later that night Mike wondered how different our witness to the world would be if we were all as proud of our Heavenly Father as Landon is of his dad. What if we couldn’t stop sharing, “There’s nothing my God cannot do—for YOU!”

Our Heavenly Father cannot be exaggerated! He is powerful, mighty, good, and strong. He is our Provider, Healer, Redeemer, Savior, Friend, and King. He is the great I AM! This is our boast and message!

Send Me: What specific boast will you make today about our Heavenly Father?

Weekly Devotional - "Examine the Message" - 1/19/2015

Greetings Ladies -
Here is the weekly devotional from Lenae - our GEMS training manager -

Enjoy your week and be a blessing as you Bring The Message!

Examine the Message

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Acts 17:11

“God doesn’t give us more than we can handle,” she said. It’s a message I’ve heard again and again. It’s a hope the hurting hold onto and extends to others. Thing is, you can’t find that in His Word. It’s not true. I don’t know about you, but there have been seasons in my life where I was given much more than I can bear. And I’m not alone.

Super-apostle Paul would agree. He wrote, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). The road he walked in Asia felt like a death sentence. He was given stuff far beyond his ability to handle!

And there was more. Near the end of the same letter Paul said he received a tormenting thorn in the flesh. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me (2 Corinthians 12:9).

This is truth! This is the message we must cling to in our valleys and share with those who are up to their eyeballs in difficulties. You will never receive more than God can handle. His power, love, and grace are sufficient for each burden, and perfect for each weakness.

When the Berean Jews received the message from Paul, they examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11). When we hear and bring the message, let’s take great care to do the same.

Send Me: As you receive and share messages today, examine them. Is it true to Scripture or has His Word been misquoted or distorted?
 

Run to God in your weakness and bone-tiredness and despair. 

Rely wholly on Him. 

Throw aside any foolish confidence you have in yourself. 

Drink deeply of His overwhelming, overflowing grace. 

Stephen Altrogge

PS The misquotation of God giving us more than we can handle is from 1 Corinthians 10:13. What He promises is that He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.

Join us!

Save the Date!

Coming next summer......