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Forgiveness: Do Not Hold a Grudge

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One way to hear God speak is to listen to themes that appear in your life.   I’ve heard a very loud theme this week that I believe I am to share with you as a congregation. On Tuesday, a church member asked me about the part of the New Testament prayer that reads, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”   This church member was concerned about the “as” part of this prayer and the realization that we generally are not as good at forgiveness as God is. Then yesterday, a different church member brought up this same statement from the Lord’s Prayer and shared how every Sunday when we pray the same person’s name comes to this individual’s mind. Then this morning I went into our new prayer room at Kingston Hill and opened up to today’s date in the Upper Room devotional.   It read as following: “No Records Read Matthew 6:9-13 ‘[Love] keeps no record of wrongs.’ – 1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV) When I was a child my mom preferred t...
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Coming Home to Freedom: A Bigger Perspective

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Devotional Reading: Philippians 4:10-23 Paul had a very different understanding of wealth than most people.  When the Philippians were the only ones who financially supported him, he thanked them for their gifts, but recognized that their gifts resulted in people coming to know Christ.  He wanted more of their financial gifts, not because he wanted more money, but because he wanted them to continue to experience the blessing of spiritual fruit that those gifts brought about.  That is a very different perspective on money. When you give to the church it may seem like the money has just left your account and gone into another and that is the last you'll see of it.  But, when you give to the church the money leaves your account and goes into the church's and is used to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God, for which you will receive credit.  It is like an investment that gives a spiritual return. It is kind of like when you invest in a child's life, you don'...
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Coming Home to Freedom: Be the Change!

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Devotional Reading: Philippians 4:1-9 You know the saying, "be the change you want to see in the world"?  There is some truth to those words of wisdom.  I don't know about you, but I find that regardless of how much I try not to be influenced by the negative culture around me, somehow its climate seems to be contagious.  And yet, God calls us to be something different. " In the world, but not of it".... as goes another saying. In today's Scripture we are encouraged to find a place of similar mindedness with those with whom we are having difficulty getting along.  We are instructed to find our joy in Jesus Christ.  We are encouraged to cast our anxiety with thanksgiving on Jesus, knowing that he does care for each of us. And then we are told to think and put into practice "whatever is true... noble... right... pure... lovely... admirable... excellent... praiseworthy." What if we tried each day this next week to live out the instruction ...
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Coming Home to Freedom: The Woman in Purple

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Devotional Reading: Acts 16:13-15 I have this faint memory from my childhood of my mother dressing up all in purple for church one Sunday.  She was going to church as "Lydia."  I think this was probably the first time I had heard anything of Lydia, other than when I had skimmed across her name in the Bible.  But my mom was dressed up as Lydia and she was proud of it.  Lydia was a business woman.  She sold purple cloth. This means she likely had a wealthy clientele. And it is likely that she was wealthy herself. Lydia was also a woman of faith. She worshiped God.  Then one day she encountered the apostle Paul and heard his message about Jesus.  God opened her heart to respond to this message and she became a baptized believer.  She then offered hospitality to Paul in her home and her house became the center of a new gathering of Christian believers. God can use you too! Just like how God used Lydia to help with the spread of the good news...
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Coming Home to Freedom: God's Message for the Rich

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And what is God's message for the wealthy? 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV) 17  Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Let's break it down: "Command" - give instruction "Those who are rich" - to whom the instruction is given "in this present world" - defines the type of wealth - we are talking about worldly wealth here ...
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Coming Home to Freedom: Why do you give?

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Devotional Reading: 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 Recently a child asked, "Why do they ask for money at church?"  Being a pastor I gave a very lengthy response.  "Well, everything belongs to God, so we give back to God to show our appreciation. God gives us talents and gifts and so we use some of those talents to serve God. God gives us time, so we use some of our time to worship God.  God gives us money, so we give a portion back to God." Of course, the child was not satisfied and responded back "God didn't invent money." Why do we give money at church? Do you know what your answer to that question is? I give because I was taught to give.  My parents gave me a ten dollar allowance and it was routine to take one dollar and put it in the offering plate.  I give because I believe it is what God asks me to do.  It is an act of faithful obedience.  I give because it keeps my priorities in perspective.  If I have open hands with my income than I don't p...
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Coming Home to Freedom: Pray!

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Devotional Reading:  James 5:13-16 Pray.  It is that simple.  God wants us to talk to Him.  If you are happy - sing a prayer!  If you are sad - cry out to God!  If you know someone who is sick - bring them before God in prayer! Pray. Pray. And pray some more. Daniel got sent to the lion's den because he prayed to God three times a day.  Elijah the prophet prayed for a drought and it happened.  The church prayed for the healing of the sick and people were healed.  Pray. Devotional Reading:  James 5:13-16   When my husband and I first got married we decided to do a Bible study on the book of Isaiah.  In the first few chapters of our study we quickly recognized a theme in its message - God responds differently to the prayers of the righteous. Here again in this passage we read these words, "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective."  It does seem like some people's prayers get answered more positi...
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