Psalm 11 - Kadin

Kadin played a little Bible roulette this morning.  It's not the way we like to do study but we let him have some fun this morning .... And Psalm 11 was the word he landed on.  

Lord is righteous-morally right or justifiable; virtuous.

Loves justice -just behavior or treatment.

Upright will see His face - honorable or honest.

Enter these definitions below.....

Enough said!!!

Proverbs 17

We read through Proverbs 17 this morning, while its all good - we plucked out a few and prayed about this wisdom in our lives ....

Ephesians 6 - Tim

We wrestle just staying in the pocket!!!.  Our flesh takes on its own thinking and without the Holy Spirit in us we are wavering to know His will.  

Sometimes it's hard to know the will of God - so it takes prayer , discernment and a "wrestling" to know God's will.  

Let us wrestle in prayer to know him and seek Gods face!!!

Hebrews 1:3 Gina

As I sort through my faith , I've come to believe that almost all that we believe in our practical lives about our faith has its roots in what we believe about the nature and character of God .

It all is part of what we have lived and experienced.  

Jesus asked John "who do you say I am?"  And certainly that's the question for us today - in your heart of hearts , in your raw place of grief and suffering , in your rich center of love and redemption , who do you say God is? 

Who is he to you?

When we speak of a "sovereign God"  during tragedy are we saying he caused the pain?   I really can't believe that about my God. We live in a fallen world with sin and our war is not against flesh and blood but rather a spiritual battle.  God fights evil he doesn't cause it.

Instead I believe that sovereignty means that all will be healed in the end.  That all will be held.  That God is at work to bring redemption and reconciliation. 

Who do you say he is? 

(Some thoughts shared above from a reading by Sarah Bessey ) 

Col 4:17 Kadin

It's very inspiring to hear these words 

written by someone in chains for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I don't have that opportunity to even know how it feels to give my life for a cause in that way.  Wow. I'm impressed.   The fact that he was encouraging others while he was in jail and telling them that they need to keep the faith, finish the task and finish strong.

Let us complete the ministry!!!!  

James 4 - Livia

So Liv goes after it this morning!  Wow ....none of were quite awake yet for this but she reads this scripture and says ..." Hum ...if a person is double minded are they really a Christ follower?"  

The room got quiet and I said..."whoa!?"

So!  Ya that is a great question worth pondering.  We talked about what double minded means.  That it means living in a state of compromise.  Being swayed from left to right and never really landing on what you truly believe.  Never driving the stake.  What a miserable place to be.

We know that Jesus said he would "spit the lukewarm out of his mouth" and that many will say "lord I did this and that" and he will say " depart from me I never knew you." That's real.  Just as real is his mercy and love for us and it is his kindness that leads us to repentance.    

Like the man next to him on the cross .  He did not get a chance to make a choice to live a life completely surrendered or in a double minded state and Jesus told Him "today you will be with me in paradise" ...

What a beautiful God we serve and if we love Him - we obey Him and live a completely surrendered life.  

Matthew 6:19-21 Devin

As teenagers we don't make a lot of money but we do have the same choice as everyone else to take it all for ourselves or to share it. 

For me, I've come to realize that it's better to give than receive.  It does feel good.  It's not why I do it, but it is a benefit of being generous!   God tells us to not "store up" our treasures and so whatever you have be ready to give it away!!!!  Live in contentment!!!

Let's be more and more like Christ in our giving and living.  Especially this Christmas season.  

John 15:5 Gina

The miraculous ministry of Jesus was dependent on His intimacy with His Father.   Likewise the disciples ministry was dependent on their intimacy with Jesus...and yes so it is with us, our ministry whatever we do - is dependent on our intimacy with Christ.  

The loss of intimacy means the loss of power for ministry.  

It's simple really , but we complicate it.  Make it more than it is.  We must abide....in HIM everyday.  We can easily put the discipline before the relationship.  Hear me?  Doing good things, reading the Word, saying a prayer can all become ....just a routine if it's not intimate and a real relationship.  

Let us wait in His presence for a divine encounter and be empowered to do life can a  ministry.   

Col. 3:16. Livia

God has blessed me beyond measure.  It's such a good reminder each day that God has a plan. No matter how we feel.  It is an insult to God to let our circumstance bring us down.   If we are fully persuaded that God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.  So.....?????  

Let us always be motivated with gratitude in our hearts.  

Matthew 28 - Gina

Man Oh geez.... Thinking about what gets my time and realizing there is a lot of wasted time in "transitions" of life events. That's changing today.  

I think we are afraid that if we don't just run non-stop and keep up that we are going to miss out on something or worse yet people are going to think we are lazy!!!

We become very self destructive by never embracing any downtime. Admit it ...every time you have a little "lul"what do you do?  Grab your phone.  Flip through.... Catch up! Constant input.  

Today our family has been challenged on the "luls" to instead of grabbing our phones and flipping to embrace rest or relationship or silence or a good book. 

Enough!!!

Let's find rest for our weary souls in our transitions  !!!