Close Please enter your Username and Password

The Word For Life.

If we meet and you forget me, you have lost nothing:
but if you meet JESUS CHRIST and forget Him,
you have lost everything.

HIS LOVING PRESENCE
Posted:Jun 24, 2016 3:09 am
Last Updated:Jun 27, 2016 2:42 am
14995 Views

Read: Hebrews 13:1–6

Bible in a Year: Job 1–2; Acts 7:22–43



Never will I leave you. Hebrews 13:5

Our hearts sank when we learned that our good friend Cindy had been diagnosed with cancer. Cindy was a vibrant person whose life blessed all who crossed her path. My wife and I rejoiced when she went into remission, but a few months later her cancer returned with a vengeance. In our minds she was too young to die. Her husband told me about her last hours. When she was weak and hardly able to talk, Cindy whispered to him, “Just be with me.” What she wanted more than anything in those dark moments was his loving presence.

The writer to the Hebrews comforted his readers by quoting Deuteronomy 31:6, where God told His people: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). In the darkest moments of life, the assurance of His loving presence gives us confidence that we are not alone. He gives us the grace to endure, the wisdom to know He is working, and the assurance that Christ can “empathize with our weaknesses” (4:15).

There is peace in the presence of God.

Together let’s embrace the blessing of His loving presence so we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid” (13:6).
Lord, thank You for the promise that You will never leave me. May the reality of Your constant supporting presence fill my heart with comfort, confidence, and courage.

There is peace in the presence of God.
1 comment
HIS LOVING PRESENCE
Posted:Jun 24, 2016 3:09 am
Last Updated:Jun 24, 2016 3:09 am
14742 Views
Read: Hebrews 13:1–6

Bible in a Year: Job 1–2; Acts 7:22–43



Never will I leave you. Hebrews 13:5

Our hearts sank when we learned that our good friend Cindy had been diagnosed with cancer. Cindy was a vibrant person whose life blessed all who crossed her path. My wife and I rejoiced when she went into remission, but a few months later her cancer returned with a vengeance. In our minds she was too young to die. Her husband told me about her last hours. When she was weak and hardly able to talk, Cindy whispered to him, “Just be with me.” What she wanted more than anything in those dark moments was his loving presence.

The writer to the Hebrews comforted his readers by quoting Deuteronomy 31:6, where God told His people: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). In the darkest moments of life, the assurance of His loving presence gives us confidence that we are not alone. He gives us the grace to endure, the wisdom to know He is working, and the assurance that Christ can “empathize with our weaknesses” (4:15).

There is peace in the presence of God.

Together let’s embrace the blessing of His loving presence so we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid” (13:6).
Lord, thank You for the promise that You will never leave me. May the reality of Your constant supporting presence fill my heart with comfort, confidence, and courage.

There is peace in the presence of God.

0 Comments
SERVING CHRIST
Posted:Jun 23, 2016 6:33 am
Last Updated:Jun 24, 2016 3:09 am
14962 Views
Read: Ephesians 6:5–9

Bible in a Year: Esther 9–10; Acts 7:1–21

Obey [your earthly masters] . . . as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Ephesians 6:6

“I’m a secretary,” a friend told me. “When I tell people this, they sometimes look at me with a certain pity. But when they find out who I am secretary for, they open their eyes with admiration!” In other words, society often defines some jobs as less important than others, unless those jobs happen to relate in some way to rich or famous people.

For the of God, however, any occupation, regardless of the earthly boss, can be held proudly because we serve the Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, I want to serve you in everything I do.

In Ephesians 6, Paul talks to servants and masters. He reminds both groups that we serve one Master who is in heaven. So we need to do everything with sincerity of heart, integrity, and respect because we are serving and working for Christ Himself. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people” (Eph. 6.7).

What a privilege to serve God in everything we do, whether answering a phone or driving a car or doing housework or running a business. Let us work with a smile today, remembering that no matter what we are doing, we are serving God.
Lord Jesus, I want to serve You in everything I do. Help me, as I begin each day, to remember this.

Serving shows our love for God.

0 Comments
A REMOTE LOCATION
Posted:Jun 22, 2016 3:38 am
Last Updated:Jun 23, 2016 6:33 am
14793 Views

Read: Mark 8:1–13

Bible in a Year: Esther 6–8; Acts 6

My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Tristan da Cunha Island is famous for its isolation. It is the most remote inhabited island in the world, thanks to the 288 people who call it home. The island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean, 1,750 miles from South Africa—the nearest mainland. Anyone who might want to drop by for a visit has to travel by boat for seven days because the island has no airstrip.

Jesus and His followers were in a somewhat remote area when He produced a miraculous meal for thousands of hungry people. Before His miracle, Jesus said to His disciples, “[These people] have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way” (Mark 8:2-3). Because they were in the countryside where food was not readily available, they had to depend fully on Jesus. They had nowhere else to turn.

God can certainly meet our needs, whatever our circumstances.

Sometimes God allows us to end up in desolate places where He is our only source of help. His ability to provide for us is not necessarily linked with our circumstances. If He created the entire world out of nothing, God can certainly meet our needs—whatever our circumstances—out of the riches of His glory, in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).
Dear God, thank You for all that You have provided through Your , Jesus Christ. You know what my needs are. Please reassure me of Your care and power.

We can trust God to do what we cannot do.
0 Comments
A REMOTE LOCATION
Posted:Jun 22, 2016 3:38 am
Last Updated:Jun 22, 2016 3:39 am
14709 Views
Read: Mark 8:1–13

Bible in a Year: Esther 6–8; Acts 6

My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Tristan da Cunha Island is famous for its isolation. It is the most remote inhabited island in the world, thanks to the 288 people who call it home. The island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean, 1,750 miles from South Africa—the nearest mainland. Anyone who might want to drop by for a visit has to travel by boat for seven days because the island has no airstrip.

Jesus and His followers were in a somewhat remote area when He produced a miraculous meal for thousands of hungry people. Before His miracle, Jesus said to His disciples, “[These people] have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way” (Mark 8:2-3). Because they were in the countryside where food was not readily available, they had to depend fully on Jesus. They had nowhere else to turn.

God can certainly meet our needs, whatever our circumstances.

Sometimes God allows us to end up in desolate places where He is our only source of help. His ability to provide for us is not necessarily linked with our circumstances. If He created the entire world out of nothing, God can certainly meet our needs—whatever our circumstances—out of the riches of His glory, in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).
Dear God, thank You for all that You have provided through Your , Jesus Christ. You know what my needs are. Please reassure me of Your care and power.

We can trust God to do what we cannot do.

0 Comments
LEARNING TO LOVE
Posted:Jun 21, 2016 5:17 am
Last Updated:Jun 22, 2016 11:15 am
14651 Views
Read: 1 Corinthians 5-23

Bible in a Year: Esther 3–5; Acts 5:22–42



Follow the way of love. 1 Corinthians 14:1

Love does more than make “the world go round,” as an old song says. It also makes us immensely vulnerable. From time to time, we may say to ourselves: “Why love when others do not show appreciation?” or “Why love and open myself up to hurt?” But the apostle Paul gives a clear and simple reason to pursue love: “These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Follow the way of love”
(1 Cor. 13:13–14:1).

“Love is an activity, the essential activity of God himself,” writes Bible commentator C. K. Barrett, “and when men love either Him or their fellow-men, they are doing (however imperfectly) what God does.” And God is pleased when we act like Him.

Help me to love others the way Jesus showed us.

To begin following the way of love, think about how you might live out the characteristics listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. For example, how can I show my the same patience God shows me? How can I show kindness and respect for my parents? What does it mean to look out for the interests of others when I am at work? When something good happens to my friend, do I rejoice with her or am I envious?

As we “follow the way of love,” we’ll find ourselves often turning to God, the source of love, and to Jesus, the greatest example of love. Only then will we gain a deeper knowledge of what true love is and find the strength to love others like God loves us.
God, thank You that You are love and that You love me so much. Help me to love others the way Jesus showed us so that the whole world will know I am Your .

Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
1 John 4.7

1 comment
HOO-AH!
Posted:Jun 20, 2016 3:43 am
Last Updated:Jun 20, 2016 3:44 am
14799 Views
Read: Psalm 68.7–10,19–20

Bible in a Year: Esther 1–2; Acts 5:1–21

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah. Psalm 68:19

The US Army's expression "hoo-ah" is a guttural response barked when troops voice approval. Its original meaning is lost to history, but some say it is derived from an old acronym HUA—Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged. I first heard the word in basic training.

Many years later it found its way into my vocabulary again when I began to meet on Wednesday mornings with a group of men to study the Scriptures. One morning one of the men—a former member of the 82nd Airborne Division—was reading one of the psalms and came to the notation selah that occurs throughout the psalms. Instead of reading “selah,” however, he growled hoo-ah, and that became our word for selah ever after.

Every single morning God loads us up on His shoulders and carries us through the day.

No one knows for certain what selah actually means. Some say it is only a musical notation. It often appears after a truth that calls for a deep-seated, emotional response. In that sense hoo-ah works for me.

This morning I read Psalm 68:19: "Blessed be the Lord, who daily [day to day] loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah"

Imagine that! Every single morning God loads us up on His shoulders and carries us through the day. He is our salvation. Thus safe and secure in Him, we’ve no cause for worry or for fear. “Hoo-ah!” I say.
Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear. Lina Sandell Berg

Worship is giving God the best that He has given you.

2 Comments
MARATHON READING
Posted:Jun 17, 2016 3:35 am
Last Updated:May 5, 2024 2:41 pm
14721 Views

Read: Nehemiah 8:1–8

Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 7–9; Acts 3

They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. Nehemiah 8.8

When the sun came up on the first day of the seventh month in 444 bc, Ezra started reading the law of Moses (what we know as the first five books of the Bible). Standing on a platform in front of the people in Jerusalem, he read it straight through for the next six hours.

Men, women, and had gathered at the entrance to the city known as the Water Gate to observe the Festival of Trumpets—one of the feasts prescribed for them by God. As they listened, four reactions stand out.

Lord, thank You for this amazing book we call the Bible.

They stood up in reverence for the Book of the Law (Neh. 8:5). They praised God by lifting their hands and saying “Amen.” They bowed down in humble worship (v. 6). Then they listened carefully as the Scriptures were both read and explained to them (v. 8. What an amazing day as the book that “the Lord had commanded for Israel” (v. 1) was read aloud inside Jerusalem’s newly rebuilt walls!

Ezra’s marathon reading session can remind us that God’s words to us are still meant to be a source of praise, worship, and learning. When we open the Bible and learn more about Christ, let’s praise God, worship Him, and seek to discover what He is saying to us now.
Lord, thank You for this amazing book we call the Bible. Thank You for inspiring its creation by the writers You chose to pen its words. Thank You for preserving this book through the ages so we can learn Your people’s story and the good news of Your love.

The goal of Bible study is not just learning but living


2 Comments
MARATHON READING
Posted:Jun 17, 2016 3:35 am
Last Updated:Jun 17, 2016 3:35 am
14429 Views
Read: Nehemiah 8:1–8

Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 7–9; Acts 3

They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. Nehemiah 8.8

When the sun came up on the first day of the seventh month in 444 bc, Ezra started reading the law of Moses (what we know as the first five books of the Bible). Standing on a platform in front of the people in Jerusalem, he read it straight through for the next six hours.

Men, women, and had gathered at the entrance to the city known as the Water Gate to observe the Festival of Trumpets—one of the feasts prescribed for them by God. As they listened, four reactions stand out.

Lord, thank You for this amazing book we call the Bible.

They stood up in reverence for the Book of the Law (Neh. 8:5). They praised God by lifting their hands and saying “Amen.” They bowed down in humble worship (v. 6). Then they listened carefully as the Scriptures were both read and explained to them (v. 8. What an amazing day as the book that “the Lord had commanded for Israel” (v. 1) was read aloud inside Jerusalem’s newly rebuilt walls!

Ezra’s marathon reading session can remind us that God’s words to us are still meant to be a source of praise, worship, and learning. When we open the Bible and learn more about Christ, let’s praise God, worship Him, and seek to discover what He is saying to us now.
Lord, thank You for this amazing book we call the Bible. Thank You for inspiring its creation by the writers You chose to pen its words. Thank You for preserving this book through the ages so we can learn Your people’s story and the good news of Your love.

The goal of Bible study is not just learning but living



0 Comments
SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED
Posted:Jun 16, 2016 3:34 am
Last Updated:Jun 17, 2016 3:35 am
14242 Views
Read: Judges 2.7–19

Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 4–6; Acts 2:22–47

Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies. Judges 2:18

Around our home, the words “some assembly required” have been the cause of great frustration (mine) and great humor (my family). When my wife and I first married, I attempted to make simple home repairs—with disastrous results. A repaired shower handle worked perfectly—if the plan was for the water to run between the walls. My fiascoes continued after we had , when I assured my wife, Cheryl, I “don’t need instructions” to put these “simple” toys together. Wrong!

Gradually, I learned my lesson and began to pay strict attention to the instructions and things went together as they should. Unfortunately, the longer things went well, the more confident I became, and soon I was again ignoring instructions with predictably disastrous results.

God has reasons for all of the instructions He’s given us.

The ancient Israelites struggled with a similar tendency: they would forget God, ignoring His instructions to avoid following after Baal and the other gods of the region (Judg. 2:12). This produced disastrous results, until God, in His mercy, raised up judges to rescue them and bring them back to Himself (v. 18.

God has reasons for all of the instructions He’s given us to keep our affections on Him. Only by a daily awareness of His loving presence can we resist the temptation to “construct” our lives our own way. What great gifts He has given us in His Word and His presence!
Lord, keep me close to You this day. Remind me of Your presence through Your Word and prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Our greatest privilege is to enjoy God’s presence.


1 comment

To link to this blog (marbella3) use [blog marbella3] in your messages.