Whose Driving?

Sunday April 29, 2012 – 2 Samuel 4-5; Psalm 139; Matthew 16

S:  Matthew 16:24-26 Msg:  Then Jesus went to work on his disciples, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.  You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.  Don’t run from suffering; embrace it.  Follow me and I’ll show you how.  Self-help is no help at all.  Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to find yourself, your true self.  What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself.  What could you ever trade your soul for?

O:  A life run on self-will will be lost.  But a life surrendered to Jesus; willing to be discipled by Him will find its true self.

A:  The world is full of the results of trying to run our own lives.  Everywhere you look you see broken, lost people.  People trying to live without direction and thinking to themselves, “there has to be more”.  Jesus is the More.    The world expends a ton of energy seeking fame, fortune and yet when they achieve it they find it was all an empty promise.  Jesus  invites us to follow him, surrender to his lead, give up our pursuit of empty promises and instead enter into a life of promises fulfilled where you will meet the you that your creator intended for you to be.

P:  Jesus my way didn’t work but yours does.  Remind me daily Lord to surrender the “driver’s seat” of my life to you so that I can truly follow you and become the person you designed me to be.  Amen.

SAY WHAT?

SAY WHAT?
Scriptures, O=Observation, A=Application, P=Prayer

S-2 Samuel 2:1a “In the course of time David inquired of the Lord “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?”  He asked.’

O-David was being anointed as the King over Judah.

A-”…David inquired of the Lord…” David was a man of God.  He loved and trusted His God.  He wouldn’t think of doing anything before inquiring of the Lord.  His relationship with God was so close and personal that he expected an answer from God. 

Sadly I must admit that when I pray I don’t always wait for God’s response… I just move on.  I wonder how different my life would have been if I had waited on God until I heard from Him?

P-Oh Lord forgive me for often turning a deaf ear to you and help me to wait upon you with hearing ears and a believing heart.

MERCY

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - 1 Samuel 30, 31; 1 Chronicles 10; Matthew 12

S - Matthew 12:7 If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

O - Jesus is admonishing those religious people who condemn others' seemingly sinful behavior (like breaking the Sabbath) and yet refuse to show love, which was God's greatest commandment.

A - God wants us to love one another.  Yes, we are to point others' sins out to them when appropriate, but we are always to make our love known to them.  This is what good discipline is - think of disciplining our children.  Those who do so with love gain their children's love and respect in return.  Let us always remember to be merciful with each other, as God has shown mercy to us.

P - Lord, infuse me with Your mercy.  May others never see condemnation coming from my eyes or hear it from my lips, but let Your love be always evident through me.

Saturday, April 21, 2012, Sam. 24; Ps. 57,58; 1 Chr. 8; Mt. 8 S=Scripture; O=Observation; A=Application; P=Prayer “I will trust Him at all times” S– I Samuel 24:5 Now it happened that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. O- David secretly went into the cave where Saul was sleeping and cut off the corner of Saul’s robe, but later was troubled by his actions. A- It is so easy to return insult for insult, hurt for hurt, revenge to avenge and hate for hate when someone has hurt you. But, if your heart is to honor and serve the Lord, and you allow Him to deal with the places in your heart that need to change you will then be in a place to trust your life circumstances to Him and trust that in the end He will take care of all that pertains to you. P-I pray my spirit will be sensitive to the teaching of Your spirit and like David, may my spirit be troubled when my actions were not pleasing to You.

PRAISE ALWAYS

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - 1 Samuel 20,21; Psalm 34; Matthew 5

S - Psalm 34:1  I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

O - David was praising God for helping him to escape his enemies.

A - David gives praise to God when he is able to escape his enemies.  He doesn't praise himself for being cunning and crafty enough; he gives God all the glory.  In reading the many psalms written by the mighty King David, we never hear him bragging about himself; he praises God continually for where he is, whether he is in dire circumstances or in victory, he praises God.

P - Lord, let praise for You continually be on my lips, for You are worthy of all praise and mighty to save.

A Giant Faith

Sunday, April 15, 2012 – 1 Samuel 17; Psalm 9; Matthew 2

S: 1 Samuel 17:37 – David said “The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.  And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you.

O:  David’s faith was in the Lord.  His confidence was  in the truth that God had delivered him from other attacks in the past  and would protect him from this one as well.

A:  David had a faith bigger than the giant, Goliath.  David’s faith was not in David but in God.  David was not going into battle alone.  He knew that alone he had no chance against this giant, skilled warrior.  But God!  Our faith in our battles needs to be in the same place – in God and not in ourselves.  God has already led each one of us through trials and battles of our own.  They may not involve a giant but let’s be honest – some of those circumstances seemed like giants at the time we faced them.  God overcame those “giants” in our lives.  He had a way out for us.  Why?  To grow our faith so like David we too can trust that Lord will deliver us out of the hands of the giants we face today.  Our trust belongs in God.  We will not taste victory if we try to fight our battles alone.

P:  Father God thank you for my past trials and battles.  I choose to trust today in you and your plan for my life.  Lord, equip me to be a giant killer like David.  Help my unbelief Lord God and give me a faith that will slay giants.  Not for my glory but for yours.  Let my victories bring glory and honor to your name.  Amen.

THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD

Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - 1 Samuel 11,12; 1 Chronicles 1; 2 Corinthians 11

S - 2 Corinthians 11:29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?  Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

O - Paul loved as Christ loves, because he loved Christ.  Jesus experienced every temptation we go through and Paul chose to do the same.

A - There is a folk song from the sixties with a chorus that says, "There but for fortune, go you or I.  When I am with the people I minister to in prison, I certainly don't feel all high and mighty and removed from all the crimes they've committed.  I am just humbled by the fact that I am not imprisoned with them because I have certainly experienced what they have experienced and felt what they have felt.  And so they listen to me because they know I know how they feel.

P - Lord, thank You for saving me and rescuing me on a daily basis.  Don't let me forget where I came from, so that I may always go back to show others the way to You.

"I am desperate for You"

Saturday, April 7,2012 – I Samuel 1,2; Ps. 66; 2 Cor. 7

S=Scripture; O=Observation; A=Application; P=Prayer

“I am Desperate For You”

S – I Samuel 1:10 “.”And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.

O- Hannah is in the house of the Lord. She is heavily grieved in her spirit because she has not been able to bear a child. The heaviness of her heart from being barren (which was considered a curse in those days) and the constant humiliation she had to bear from those who provoked her brought her to a place of “desperation for God”.

A – Like Hannah I believe many of us have found ourselves, in that place that is “desperate for God”, desperate for Him to hear and move on our behalf or that of someone we love. So desperate that like Hannah whose lips were moving her words could not be heard because they were coming from the depths of her heart. It wasn’t important that others couldn’t hear her prayer, God heard, and gave her the desire of her heart… a son. Our prayers of desperation are heard by our heavenly Father too. The prayer for a loved one, or friend, to be healed from sickness and disease. The prayer for unsaved loved ones in our family and those who we don’t know that need to know the One who died for them, and yes that prayer for the miracle of birthing a child. Being “desperate for God” takes us to that place where no one else needs to hear our prayer, only God because He is the only One we need to believe in! It also takes us to a place of surrendering all no matter what the cost, just as Hannah willing surrendered Samuel. There is something else I believe. Just as the Lord heard and answered Hannah’s “desperate for God” prayer, He also hears and answers our prayers when we are in that place of being and saying with all of our hearts…” I am desperate for You.”

P – Thank you for that place Father where we can come when are desperate for You to move on our behalf or on the behalf of others. Thank you for not only hearing us when we cry out to You, but being faithful to answer. No matter how impossible the situation, You are God and nothing is impossible for You. Thank you for Your faithfulness and Your great love towards us. Amen.

LIGHT

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 – Judges 19-21; 2 Corinthians 4

S – 2 Corinthians 4:6  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

O – His light is shining in our hearts because we know Him and it lights up the darkness of this world.

A – I am feeling very humbled that God would use me, with all my imperfections (and there are many) to be His light in the darkness.  I have a picture in my mind of trying very hard to pretty myself for display only to stand in front of people with my skirt askew and my hair out of place, but beaming anyway.  I stand as if to say, “Look! If He wants to use me with all my faults, then don’t you think it’s all the more possible that he also wants to shine His light through you?”

P – Oh, Lord, make me worthy because I can’t do it on my own.  As long as I have breath, I want to shine for You.

The Spirit's Job

by Cathy Weymouth

4/3/12 Judges 17,18; Psalm 89; 2 Corinthians 3 - The Spirit's Job

S=Scripture O=Observation A=Application P=Prayer

S - 2 Cor 3:17-18 JB Phillips, For the Lord to whom they could turn is the Spirit, and whereever the Spirit of the Lord is, men's souls are set free.  But all of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces, but reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord.  We are transformed in ever-increasing splendour into his own image, and this is the work of the Lord who is the Spirit.

O - I was reading a chapter this morning in Frangipane's book, And I Will be Found by You, where he mentioned this scripture.  I was considering it and studying it in various versions before realizing it was included in the reading for today!  I love it when the Lord leads like this (it's fun!).

A - Many times we hunger for transformation; we are tired of being stuck.  We focus on the problem a lot (at least I do).  Then the Holy Spirit gently reminds us that He is the one responsible for the transformation.  Where His Spirit is - this is where souls are set free! Since it is the work of the Spirit to transform us into the image of Jesus, maybe we should relax a bit?  Rest in the arms of the Lord and gaze upon Him, and trust the Spirit to do the rest.  So I say, relax and yield to the Spirit.  It's his job to transform.

P - Lord, I lift up my brothers and sisters who are frustrated in their stuckness.  I pray they gaze upon you today, Jesus, and rest in you, Holy Spirit, to do the changing.  I am reminded of little kids who trust their parents for everything.  May we trust you for this in a child-like way.  In Jesus' name, Amen.