Great is My Faithfulness?

Micah 6:8
Amplified Bible (AMP)
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?


Hebrews 11:6
New King James Version (NKJV)
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

James 2:21-23

New King James Version (NKJV)
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[a] And he was called the friend of God.




Because of God's great love, faithfulness, kindness and mercy toward me I desire to please Him. Exactly how do I do that? How do you give God a gift that will please Him? He has everything and if there were ever anything He needed or wanted it He could certainly create it! Isaiah tells me that all of my righteousness is like filthy rags so how can I please God?

Micah 6:8 tells us God has already shown us how to please Him. He requires that we act justly, be honest in our dealings with friends, family, neighbors and others; to love kindness and mercy, to extend grace and forgiveness to those who offend or injure us and to treat everyone with the same love, forgiveness, patience, understanding, and mercy that God treats us with and we are to do theses things in order to bring glory to God, not ourselves.

The writer of Hebrews says that it is impossible to please God without faith. What is faith? According to Webster faith is allegiance to duty or a person, belief and trust in and loyalty to God. Seems simple enough until the next crisis hits and I scramble, worry and fret about how "I can fix" the situation. Oops, that doesn't show trust in God! Trusting in God would give me peace that no matter what happens He is in control and is caring for me. Okay so maybe my faithfulness isn't perfect, but it can be great with God's help! In those times that my faith falters He is just and good to remind me of Who He is and what He is capable of! When I repent and turn back to Him, He is quick to forgive. Through every failure, God draws me closer to Him and my faith is strengthened! He will continue to work in me and give me opportunities to work with Him so that my faith may be made perfect!

Father You are the Author and Finisher of my faith! I desire to please You above all things! So great is Your faithfulness to me! Forgive me when my faith falters! Help me to do all that pleases You! Strengthen my faith! In Jesus Name, amen!

Devotional

Today's Devotional brought to you by prayer warrior Michelle Simpson
2 Corinthians 5:17 New King James Version (NKJV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

What an exciting time of year this is! We have just celebrated the birth of a New Baby, Jesus, who brought the promise of new life in Him. We have new toys, new tools, new appliances, and new clothes. We are looking at putting behind us an old year with all of its triumphs and tragedies and looking forward to a new year full of promise. Because of the hope we feel we are once again ready to make new resolutions on being healthier, kinder, losing weight and a number of other things. Instead of making a new resolution and depending on ourselves why not renew your covenenat with God and ask Him to help you keept. Seek Him first, He is faithful! He keeps His covenant with you and will help you to keep yours with Him!

Prayer Father, thank You for Your faithfulness! Today I give all of myself to You! I ask for your help as I come to You just as I am, broken, dirty in need of You and Your cleansing! Make me a new creation today! in Jesus name, amen.

Today's Daily Devotional

Today's Inspiration by Dream Team Member Shelley Brandon
John 14 - Jesus Comforts His Disciples

1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

I chose this song today to go with the scripture and at first glance it may seem like an odd combination. I would like to rename this song “Thomas’s Song”.

Thomas had so many questions. I don’t believe for a moment that it was because he doubted Jesus. Rather that his human mind wanted so badly to understand the enormity of Christ’s redemption. This was (and is still) too much for a mere mortal to grasp. The other disciples had questions too, like Philip, but only Thomas gets to take the wrap for this quandary. I’m quite convinced that if we were to study the ancient Hebrew we would find somewhere in the fine print that what Thomas was really saying was, “Whoa, slow down just a bit here Jesus. I need this in plain Aramaic please. I know that this is really big and somehow I’m part of it, but it’s too much! I don’t get it. Can’t I just sit here at your feet and let you spoon feed it to me, cause that’s what I need. Just saying. I mean how can I ask the Father for anything? And I’m a bit challenged when it comes to maps but without one I can’t find the back of my hand! So how am I supposed to know where you’re going?”

Ok, so maybe not, but you know he had to be thinking it. And then Jesus died. The One with the answers to his many questions is gone. The One who grounded his spirit, who gave meaning to his life was just gone.

I can feel Thomas’s world being shaken to its core.

“Where are you Jesus? Are you still here? If I close my eyes I can see you, hear you. I want to be like you, but I can’t find you? Can you see me? Please Lord, just show me where you are!”

Thomas is the disciple that I most identify with.

Lord, please just show me. I can’t do this alone. I love you and I’m so lost right now. I know you are with me, but please let me feel you here. I know that you are the way Jesus… show me the way. I know that my purpose lies in you… show me my purpose. I know you are close to me… help me feel close to you. Amen.

A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving by Shelley Brandon

“It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation.” ~Roberto Benigni

Philippians 4:4-9:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Thanksgiving. By definition it is a day that should be set aside to reflect and give thanks for the extravagant love of our God.  By tradition it is a day of overeating, parades and football.  Tradition isn’t always the best way to do something, (just watch “Fiddler on the Roof”!), but there are seasons in our life when we just don’t feel like giving thanks either.  So what do we do now?

Romans 12:1 tells us that we are to give our bodies as a living sacrifice. I would like to suggest that we spend Thanksgiving offering up a sacrifice of thanks giving, counting the many blessings we often overlook. We need to be purposeful about this sacrifice, showing our gratitude whether we feel like it or not. If we only offer praise and thankfulness when we feel like it, then it isn’t much of a sacrifice, is it?
I will not spend this Nov. 24 wallowing in my own personal pity party. No good ever comes from that. Rather I will focus on what I do have and remind myself to be thankful for even the things I’m not fond of … like having dishes that will need to be washed after I overeat.

What are some of the blessings you are thankful for?

 Shelley Brandon, SCwSG Grief and Encouragement Coach Team Leader

SCwSG Prayer Team Daily Devotional 9/27/11

I Peter 1:6-9

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.


Father, Author of time and space, Keeper of all covenants, You make all things beautiful in Your time! Becuase of this we can greatly rejoice, even though now we may be suffering, it is only for a little while! We are being refined as gold in a furnace so that we may be found not lacking when Jesus Christ returns. It is the promise of His glorious return and our victory in Him, that allows us to rejoice with inexpressible joy!

Father refine us, strengthen us, transform us into the image of Your Son, Jesus! May our faces, words and actions reflect the inexpressible joy as we sojourn on this earth until You call us home or until Jesus Christ returns! In Jesus Name, Amen!

In His Time

Our Darkest Hour May Be God's Finest Moment

God is a mystery.
Wouldn't it be great if Nick Vujicic's arms and legs miraculously grew, if I was cured of this painful blood disease, if no more children had to suffer from abuse, cancer and neglect?

God is in control even though we live in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people. I do not believe this was His perfect plan but when the choice to sin and disobey His direction occurred there was a price to pay and consequences to endure. Why God allows one to be healed and another not despite faithful prayers is a mystery we may never understand but let's take a look at a few possiblities.

Suffering
As it applied to suffering, Peter understood this, "Those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good" (1 Pet. 4:19). We tend to doubt the sovereignty of God in difficult times, especially when things do not go the way we think they should.

Wouldn't it be great if Nick Vujicic's arms and legs miraculously grew, if I was cured of this painful blood disease, if no more children had to suffer from abuse, cancer and neglect? Even so, I know that Jesus changed the world more through His suffering than he did through His miracles. Jesus said, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31). Yes, but God, wouldn't your miraculous intervention show your power in such a way that souls would be saved and the world changed forever? Didn't you say that we would do even greater things in your name than you did while you were here on earth... What are we waiting for? This I wonder in the darkest hours... of emergency room visits, when a child disappears, when unfavorable test results come in...

I suffered for three long years not knowing what was wrong with my body. The need to know what I'd done wrong to lose God's love and the notion that I would be better off dead than alive consumed me until I turned my back on all that I knew and descended into the pit of despair, making one terrible choice after another. I thought that God abandoned me but couldn't blame him since I felt worthless, unlovable and broken.

God asked me to trust Him
I wanted proof in signs and wonders but had to learn that faith is being "certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1). God asked me to trust Him and embrace the sufficiency of His grace so He could become the God of my mountaintops as well as my valleys. I found His grace in suffering... I asked, if there was ANY other way... The drops of His saving blood started with that prayer and we've stood strong and courageous ever since, enduring for the "joy set before" (Heb. 12:2) .

Apply!
What does this mean for me? How do I apply these truths to my life, my challenges, my disappointments, my unanswered prayers, my circumstances... Are my afflictions purposeful? I may never understand but I will choose to cling to His word and follow Jesus because the joy of the Lord is my strength! Three times Paul requested to be healed of his "thorn in the flesh." But God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). It was a messenger of Satan, sent to harass him. So Paul decided to boast of his weaknesses, that Your power may rest upon him and be shown through him. I'm learning to be content no matter what. Content with weaknesses, hardships, pain, insults, and sickness; because Your word says, "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10) and sometimes wellness isn't the absence of illness but a wholeness in your heart that only He can bring.

Friend, it's not always that simple, is it? It's a daily process of laying down my life and taking up the cross of Christ. Satan is at work here but God is too. The thorn is not just the work of Satan to kill, steal and destroy. It is the work of God to save because He will turn everything around for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Why was Paul awarded with this thorn? “To keep me from being too elated;" "to keep me from exalting myself," NASB, or: "to keep me from becoming conceited," NIV by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from exalting myself.” In Luke 22:31-32 (NIV), "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. (32) But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Wow, Paul, Job, Peter and the list goes on — God permitted Satan to afflict these righteous servants, yet He turns the affliction for good purposes. I do not get it; however, I believe that nothing will happen to me that does not first go through God's screen of love.

Do we get too full of ourselves?
Seriously, don't we get too full of ourselves? Maybe my disease is just that-allowed to keep me from thinking I'm in charge, or that I do not need God that I can rely on myself and "get her done." I use to think God was too busy -- I would just go to Him with the big stuff I couldn't handle. Well He fixed me on that one. God cares about every detail of my life. Like any good parent He desires to be included in everything. No pride and self-exaltation here--because that always comes before the fall. God pulled me out of that pit and I have no plan to return. I'm seeking the healer more than the healing and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven!

Alister McGrath in Mystery of the Cross (Zondervan, 1990) wrote,

"God is active and present in his world, quite independently of whether we experience him as being so. Experience declared that God was absent from Calvary, only to have its verdict humiliatingly overturned on the third day."

Let God be God
Our darkest hour may be God's finest moment, as it was for Jesus on Calvary's Cross. YES, pray for relief. Satan delights in our suffering and he must be resisted. God will hear and do what is best. Let God be God. Hebrews 11 says, "By faith some escaped the edge of the sword (34) and by faith some were killed by the sword (37). By faith some stopped the mouths of lions, and by faith others were sown asunder. By faith some were mighty in war, and by faith others suffered chains and imprisonment... It may not always turn out as we want or hope.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
(12) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (13) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

The real miracle
God doesn't always calm the storm but the real miracle for us is to be calm in the storm. Our deepest need isn't for quick relief from our present storms. Paul said that Christ crucified was foolishness to the Greeks, a stumbling block to the Jews, but to those who are called it is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:23). It appears to me that God thinks humility is more important than comfort; salvation more important than having our way; and reliance on Him more important than freedom from pain. Salvation, peace, grace, mercy, even balance and discipline are gifts He offers but it is up to us to reach out and receive them.

It is well with my soul
So I've made the choice to trust Him so circumstances will NOT overwhelm me. I will keep my eyes on Jesus no matter the storm and be consumed with God and God alone! I will pray without ceasing, enjoy peace no matter what and trust in all His ways. It's a deep need we all have in the midst of adversity. To walk in power and strength even if we have to use a wheelchair. My faith helps me to not only endure my weaknesses but to thrive in them because of the power of His love. And I can honestly say, "It is well with my soul especially if my darkest hour could be His finest moment because when I wanted to hear yes and all I got was a no--I could still believe! And that is the miracle of faith.
Be a light in the darkness, I dare you... especially and in spite of your challenges that is the miracle of faith!