God Comforts in Sorrow

Bible Reading: Psalm 91

Focus verse: “But You, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; You consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.” Psalm 10:14

I am writing this devotion in honor of my friends in Kenya experiencing the loss of a sister.  Life is difficult when a loved one dies.

There is shock and disbelief.  There is loss and sorrow.  How do you move from that sorrow and mourning into a place of accepting life without the one who died?  When you face sorrow, seek the face of God because he sees your trouble and affliction.  Psalm 91:15 says, "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;"

Psalm 91:2 says, "I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”  God is your refuge.  God cares and will hold you in His hand and care for you.  It takes time, but God will heal the sorrow as we trust Him.  He will turn our hearts and we begin to see a glimpse of hope among moments of sadness.  He will nurture the hope in your heart and through faith, it will grow into joy, once again. 

Friends can comfort, but God heals the heart.

~Page Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

In loving memory of Happiness "Asupi", the sister of Harriet Otieno

Inspect Your Life

Inspect Your Life

Scripture Reading:  2 Corinthians 13:1-10

Focus Verse: 2 Corinthians 13:5  “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.  Test yourselves.  Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you, if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

My son Caleb started a new job a few years ago.  He does inspections on new home construction.  A new home may have many different inspections, but Caleb’s inspection deals with how air tight the building is.  So the inspection is checking to see if there is air leaking around the doors and windows.  The builder of the house does all the work to build, and then these different inspections are done to ensure that the work was done right.  Then when the house passes all the different inspections the new owner of the home has peace of mind that the house is in good shape to live in.  

What if someone did an inspection of your Christian life?  Would you pass the test?  You see the house could have a nice fresh coat of paint on the outside, but what if an inspection of the foundation was made and it failed the test.  The problem may not be visible because the problem might be below the ground level and the house could fall one day.  If an inspection was done on the foundation of your Christian life would you pass the test of faith.  Although I have determined that my faith is in the one true God, some days the fruit of my faith isn't producing the way it could.  Maybe you have a nice fresh coat of paint on the outside of your Christian life, but you know the foundation has some cracks that are causing problems.  Maybe your faith has been weakened with doubt.  In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus talks about a wise man who built his house on the rock, and a foolish man who built on the sand. You know the story, the foolish man suffered loss.  God can help you when the storms of life come.  God can help you strengthen your faith through scriptures and prayer when your eyes are on Him.  Let’s all inspect our lives and see if we need to make some repairs and improvements in our relationship with God. 

 

Sometimes Caleb needs to go back and do a retest after a house has failed an inspection.  I’m thankful we serve a God that gives second chances and that he gives us the opportunity to know Him, our firm foundation.

Bobby Johnson

Spreading The Gospel

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:16-20

Focus Verse: Matthew 28:19  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Ten years ago Interlocking Ministries (based in the US) along with Bethesda Faith Ministries (based in Kenya) began holding Christian camps for the students in Western Kenya near Lake Victoria.  We never could have imagined how God would use these camps to touch so many lives.  Over these past ten years we have seen God reach over 20,000 Kenyan students who attended the camps.  Thousands of these students have trusted Christ for salvation and made commitments to True Love Says Wait, a sexual purity program.

Many years ago God told me to take the Gospel to Kenya.  So I got on an airplane and I went because I remembered the verse in the Bible that says “go and make disciples of all the nations.”  Maybe you are not able to get on an airplane and go half way around the world to tell someone about Jesus, but we have neighbors who need to hear.  We all work with other people that need to hear.  We all buy products from other people that need to hear.  As I write this devotion God has expanded the camps in Kenya to a new area on the island of Rusinga in Lake Victoria.  There are 500 students in Christian camps there this week.  This is all part of what Jesus told us to do 2,000 years ago.  Take the Gospel to every nation and make disciples.  We will do this until God calls us home to heaven.  It is not because we are smart or clever, but it is God who is powerful and doing the work in the hearts of people.  

 

Will you join us in spreading the Gospel?

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

How Are You Listening?

Scripture Reading: Mark 4:1-20

Focus Verse: Mark 4:20  “And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who listened and accepted God’s Word and produced a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.”

If you have a friend that seems to talk all the time and doesn’t say much that is important you may not listen very carefully when they are speaking.  However, if your doctor is speaking to you and giving you instructions on how to get well when you are very sick, you would be listening very carefully to what he is saying.  Because your life depends on what he is saying.

How are you listening to God’s Word?  Are you listening as if it’s a friend speaking that has nothing important to say, or are you listening as if it’s your doctor telling you what you should do to get over your sickness?  If you want to be a disciple of Jesus you need to read and listen very carefully to the Word of God.  In our passage of scripture there were people who listened to God’s Word in different ways.  As the different kinds of soil are mentioned, those people listened differently.  Only one listened intently and it made a difference in their life and it produced a harvest.

Is God’s Word making a difference in your life?  If not, maybe you aren’t listening correctly.  Just like a farmer always wants to see a harvest at the end of the growing season, we as disciples of Christ should all want to see a spiritual harvest in our lives as well.

 

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Anniversaries

Scripture Reading: Psalm 91

Focus Verse: Psalm 91:1 “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Anniversaries are markers in our lives.  We have many anniversaries as we go through life.  Some are happy anniversaries like a wedding anniversary.  But we also have sad anniversaries such as the death of a loved one, and we remember the day they died each year that passes.

This past week America remembered a sad anniversary.  20 years ago America was attacked by terrorists and thousands of people died on September 11, 2001.  That is a sad day that all Americans can remember.  Also, I am remembering a happy 20th anniversary.  On September 19, 2001 was my first trip to Kenya on a missions trip.  That was the beginning of 20 years of ministry in Kenya.  Praise God I have seen thousands of people come to Christ.

But whether we have good anniversaries or sad anniversaries God, in Psalm 91, has promised that God is with us.  We can find shelter in Him and we can find rest in His shadow.  Life here on earth is not easy.  For many of us 2020 and 2021 have been very difficult years as we have gone through this pandemic.  But God will always be faithful.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He has also promised us he will take us safely to heaven if we have put our faith and hope in Him.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Set up Some Safeguards

"You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master" Genesis 4:7

There are certain questions in life that we don’t need to think about or pray about. Why? Because we already know what God says about them.

For example, we already know that it’s not okay to steal because God tells us, “You must not steal” (Exodus 20:15 NLT). We already know that it’s not okay to have an adulterous relationship because God says, “You must not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14 NLT).

But then there are things that we’re unsure about. We don’t know for certain whether they’re right or wrong.

The good news is that we can set up some safeguards in our lives to help us determine what we should do. Before you engage in that activity you’re uncertain about, ask yourself some questions.

First, does it build you up spiritually, or does it tear you down? The apostle Paul wrote, “You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is good for you. You say, ‘I am allowed to do anything’—but not everything is beneficial” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NLT).

You should avoid, at all costs, anything that could tear you down spiritually, pull you away from the people of God, keep you from Christian fellowship, or take the edge off your desire for prayer or Bible study.

Second, does it bring you under its power? Again, Paul wrote, “I must not become a slave to anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12 NLT). I don’t want to be under the control of anyone or anything except Jesus Christ.

Third, do you have an uneasy conscience about it? Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, “If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning” (Romans 14:23 NLT).

These are things we need to consider as believers because we have an adversary, the Devil, who is waiting to strike. So be careful.

By Greg Laurie Harvest Ministries

https://harvest.org/resources/devotions/

Stop Doubting God

Scripture reading: Matthew 11: 1-19

Focus verse: Matthew 11:1-6 - "After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

The news that surrounds our lives today is mostly NO good news. There has been the emergence of bad infections like Covid-19 pandemic and the massive deaths associated with these infections. We hear of devastating floods and hurricanes and the massive loss of lives and properties associated with the same. We wake up to war amongst nations as is presently felt in Afghanistan where many lives are being slaughtered. Our governments are deep in corruption and have failed to show good leadership. Marriages are breaking each day, innocent babies are being aborted and many lives are being loosed through suicide. In all these, Christian have not been spared too, but have been victims of some worse scenarios. They have loosed friends to wars and disease, and they have been victims of bad disasters. During such times, we may be tempted to ask if really God is with us, if he is in control or if we are in the wrong faith. 

John is put to jail because of rebuking sin; He told Herod that it was not lawful to have Herodias (his brother Philips wife) as his wife. He finds himself in the unpleasant jail condition. This made him to send a word to Jesus through his disciples to ask Jesus if for sure He was the one to come or to still wait for another Man. Jesus tells the disciples to get back to John and tell him what they have seen God continue to do. The blind are receiving their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor.

Well, we read about John the Baptist as the one who prepared the way for Jesus. He as well baptized Him and identified Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of man. But when faced with life challenges, he doubted Jesus and all that which had been clearly revealed to him by God. That’s exactly how some believers have doubted God and what He can do in the midst of challenges. We question His presence and power over our physical afflictions. We ask if we really made the right choice to be His followers. None the less, we need to know that God has not been limited by our afflictions. Being that He is not answering our prayers according to how we want does not mean He is not at work. His plan and ours are different. In fact He tells John’s disciples to go and tell John that he is still at work and a lot is happening. Let our life afflictions make us doubt Him, He is God and He chooses to work where He wishes and how He wants it. If it is His will that we go through all these afflictions then we still must trust Him fully and believe that all things work together for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Director Bethesda Faith Ministries Kenya