Bible Reading: Genesis 50Focus Verse: Genesis 50:20 "As
for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring
it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."
This was intended harm that brought life instead: Joseph's
brothers put him in a well and then sold him into slavery. God meant it for good so that Joseph could save his family during the famine.
Do you ever feel like you are in a pit? Some pits are just part of life, some pits we fall into for lack of awareness, some pits are from decisions others make, and other pits are from our own decisions.
There's a story: One day a farmer's donkey
fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the
farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal
was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't
worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to
come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel
dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and
cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.
A
few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was
astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back,
the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a
step up.
As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on
top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty
soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the
well and happily trotted off!
Understand this :
Life is going to shovel
dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The people intended it for burial, but
God used it for GOOD. We can get out of the deepest wells just by
trusting God to show us the way out. Shake it off and take a step up.
~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Friday, November 30, 2018
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Community of Care
Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-46
Focus Verse: "“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" Matthew 25: 37-40
Jesus was clear in his teaching to care for our neighbors who are struggling with sickness and physical needs. We may find that the needs are great around us and feel like we can't do much. Jesus didn't say that we should solve all of their problems, but that there is something, even something small, that we can do. Anyone can give a drink to someone or visit someone who is sick to pray with them. How difficult is it to give a shirt or dress to someone whose clothes are torn and tattered. If you don't have something, maybe you can ask some friends to help you to get some clothes for someone in need.
When you help someone, the Holy Spirit confirms in your heart that you are doing something good. You know that is a good feeling. When you join together as a community to help others, then it strengthens the community.
My prayer is that God will show me where to help someone today. May God be glorified in any effort of care that I show to someone today.
Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Also read Acts 2:40-47
Focus Verse: "“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" Matthew 25: 37-40
Jesus was clear in his teaching to care for our neighbors who are struggling with sickness and physical needs. We may find that the needs are great around us and feel like we can't do much. Jesus didn't say that we should solve all of their problems, but that there is something, even something small, that we can do. Anyone can give a drink to someone or visit someone who is sick to pray with them. How difficult is it to give a shirt or dress to someone whose clothes are torn and tattered. If you don't have something, maybe you can ask some friends to help you to get some clothes for someone in need.
When you help someone, the Holy Spirit confirms in your heart that you are doing something good. You know that is a good feeling. When you join together as a community to help others, then it strengthens the community.
My prayer is that God will show me where to help someone today. May God be glorified in any effort of care that I show to someone today.
Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Also read Acts 2:40-47
Saturday, November 10, 2018
God Administers the Pay Back
Scripture Reading: Romans 12
Focus Verses: Hebrews 10:30-31 “For we know Him who said, It is mine to avenge, I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge His people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Do you dream of revenge on someone? Have you ever had someone who owed you a debt that would not repay? Maybe you have been treated unfairly. Or maybe you have been accused of something you did not do. There are a lot of unjust things that happen to us in our lives. In the scriptures, God is asking us to let go of our heart of revenge and let Him handle making things right. Our revenge can make things worse, but trusting God’s repayment of a situation is always perfect even if you can't see it.
Our life gets more messy and complicated when we take on the responsibility of making sure the other person gets what we think they deserve. How can we know what others deserve for their injustices? Our role is not to BE God, but to SERVE God. When God makes a person pay for their injustices, it is done perfectly. Something we cannot do. God may have different plans for paying back injustices. He may choose to show mercy and forgive their sin with minimal consequences. God may choose to bring them to the end of themselves through trials and tribulations. Or it may mean an eternity separated from God because of their deeds done on earth and rejection of Christ. Our job is to forgive the other person, no matter how hard it may be. God’s job is to give the proper judgment and consequences.
We are to give the situation over to God to do what is best. It could be that your forgiveness may be the very thing God uses to bring that person to Christ. Regardless, you do the right thing, and trust God to do the right thing. Romans 12:19 says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, It is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord.” Who do you feel has wronged you that you feel the need to get even with? How can Christ give you the strength to forgive them in love in spite of what they have done?
Additional Reading: Deuteronomy 32:35, Leviticus 19:18, Proverbs 20:22, Proverbs 24:29, Romans 12:17
Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Focus Verses: Hebrews 10:30-31 “For we know Him who said, It is mine to avenge, I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge His people. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Do you dream of revenge on someone? Have you ever had someone who owed you a debt that would not repay? Maybe you have been treated unfairly. Or maybe you have been accused of something you did not do. There are a lot of unjust things that happen to us in our lives. In the scriptures, God is asking us to let go of our heart of revenge and let Him handle making things right. Our revenge can make things worse, but trusting God’s repayment of a situation is always perfect even if you can't see it.
Our life gets more messy and complicated when we take on the responsibility of making sure the other person gets what we think they deserve. How can we know what others deserve for their injustices? Our role is not to BE God, but to SERVE God. When God makes a person pay for their injustices, it is done perfectly. Something we cannot do. God may have different plans for paying back injustices. He may choose to show mercy and forgive their sin with minimal consequences. God may choose to bring them to the end of themselves through trials and tribulations. Or it may mean an eternity separated from God because of their deeds done on earth and rejection of Christ. Our job is to forgive the other person, no matter how hard it may be. God’s job is to give the proper judgment and consequences.
We are to give the situation over to God to do what is best. It could be that your forgiveness may be the very thing God uses to bring that person to Christ. Regardless, you do the right thing, and trust God to do the right thing. Romans 12:19 says, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, It is mine to avenge, I will repay, says the Lord.” Who do you feel has wronged you that you feel the need to get even with? How can Christ give you the strength to forgive them in love in spite of what they have done?
Additional Reading: Deuteronomy 32:35, Leviticus 19:18, Proverbs 20:22, Proverbs 24:29, Romans 12:17
Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Friday, November 2, 2018
Self Righteousness
Scripture Reading: Luke 18:9-14
Focus Verse: Luke 18:9 “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told a parable.”
Self righteousness is ugly. God doesn’t like it, and others don’t like it. The interesting thing is that the people who display self righteousness don’t realize that they are doing this. Have you ever noticed that when someone smells bad they don’t notice, but everyone around them notices. This is how self righteousness is. It’s kind of sad, but if we are honest, we must admit that sometimes we have been the one that smells bad. We also have all been the self righteous one at some time. We have been the ones that made unfair judgments of others. We keep track who’s better, us or them. It could become a completion of who is the better Christian? Or who can use the right phrase of words in church so people will think we are more spiritual. I know that I have been guilty of that. It’s really sad when those that are self righteous are the ones that have influence, such as the Pharisees in our scripture reading.
Self righteousness is not acceptable to God, and we should humbly examine it's presence in our own lives. Self righteousness is driven by pride. And we know what God thinks of pride. People with this problem when they pray it is a show rather than speaking humbly with God. I wonder if the Pharisees ever prayed when they were alone, when only God could hear? It is important for God to root out pride in our lives on a regular basis. We can keep pride in check by following Christ and obeying Him. Humble people are quick to confess their sins, and yes pride and self righteousness is a sin. Let's be quick to confess.
Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Focus Verse: Luke 18:9 “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told a parable.”
Self righteousness is ugly. God doesn’t like it, and others don’t like it. The interesting thing is that the people who display self righteousness don’t realize that they are doing this. Have you ever noticed that when someone smells bad they don’t notice, but everyone around them notices. This is how self righteousness is. It’s kind of sad, but if we are honest, we must admit that sometimes we have been the one that smells bad. We also have all been the self righteous one at some time. We have been the ones that made unfair judgments of others. We keep track who’s better, us or them. It could become a completion of who is the better Christian? Or who can use the right phrase of words in church so people will think we are more spiritual. I know that I have been guilty of that. It’s really sad when those that are self righteous are the ones that have influence, such as the Pharisees in our scripture reading.
Self righteousness is not acceptable to God, and we should humbly examine it's presence in our own lives. Self righteousness is driven by pride. And we know what God thinks of pride. People with this problem when they pray it is a show rather than speaking humbly with God. I wonder if the Pharisees ever prayed when they were alone, when only God could hear? It is important for God to root out pride in our lives on a regular basis. We can keep pride in check by following Christ and obeying Him. Humble people are quick to confess their sins, and yes pride and self righteousness is a sin. Let's be quick to confess.
Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)