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O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1

There are some of us who considers ourselves “morning people.” We are most refreshed in the morning. Some of you are not. You feel more vibrant in the evenings. And if we were to be honest, those two kinds of people can really bother each other…to some extent.

But no matter if you are a morning person or a “night owl,” it is comforting to know and we can be thankful that we can “Seek God earnestly” no matter what time of day it is! He isn’t limited to our refreshing or vibrancy.

This world and the daily cares of it at times can seem like a dry and weary land. It can even seem barren at times when there are troubles and difficulties that mount on us relentlessly.

When we “thirst for Him in this dry and weary land, where there is no water,” He will always supply the refreshment and fill for our souls!

So if you are a morning person, enjoy the sunrise of the day!

If you are a night owl, enjoy the stars and moon of the night! God is the Creator of each of those!

Prayer:

Father I am so thankful that no matter what time of day that I call on your name, I have confidence that you hear me and stand ready to deliver the refreshing that my soul desperately seeks. Help me to be the avenue you use to bring a refreshing word to someone today.

Bro. Mike

Today’s Verse:
I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. – John 15:15 

Think of your best friend and what makes them so special to you. They care about you, and like you whether you are happy or sad. They talk and listen to you, they keep your deepest secrets safe; they help you, and they make time to be together and create shared memories.

This is what Jesus wants to do for us too. He wants you to be His friend. He is actively seeking you out, and He promises to reciprocate completely. Jesus is always there for us.

He knows what it is like to have good friends. He had 11 of them who traveled with Him for years, plus many more in cities who waited for Him to arrive and stay with them as long as possible like Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. He knows how important friendships are, and He wants us to experience the joy of His friendship.

For our part, we need to communicate often with Him in prayer, allowing quiet time to listen, give of ourselves to Him by giving to other people He loves. We also should be making time to be immersing ourselves in His Word. It takes time and effort but it is so worth it. – Commentary by Colleen Mallette

Today’s Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank You for offering me Your hand in friendship. Help me to accept it and be a good friend to You and those around me. Amen.

Tuesday, March 30 Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalm 55:22 Being a Christian is so much more than just knowing your eternity is secure in Jesus Christ. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to know that your name has been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but to only think about heaven as an end result might not allow you to remember that God’s presence is with us here and now. To have Him as our Lord means that we have given our life to Him, knowing that He is able to help us with anything we might face in this life. Today, you may feel like the current situation is too hard to handle, like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Just know this, God’s shoulders are wide enough to carry your burdens. He’s sovereign over the universe, so He certainly capable of handling all of this we are facing today. Bro. Mike

In Exodus 12, the Lord tells Israel that the present month was now to become the first of Months for them, the beginning of their year. The month was called Nisan. It literally means, “The Beginning”. But it wasn’t just “The Beginning.” It was the New Beginning that ended the old year and begins the new. It was Nisan also that ended the winter and began the spring.

And so it was Nisan that Messiah chose as the month and season in which He would die for the sins of the world and rise from death for its redemption. The Hebrew word for winter is Sethav. It means the season of darkness and hiding. Nisan brought that to an end.

What is the Resurrection? It’s your Nisan, the Nisan appointed to end your winter, your season of hiding, your season of darkness. It’s your new beginning, your season of springtime. And what’s God saying to you in all this? He’s saying: “Arise my love and come away, for behold the winter is past… the rains are over and gone…. the flowers have appeared in our land … and the time for singing has come.

TODAY’S MISSION – Today ask the Lord to bring you to a new Nissan in you walk with Him – new experiences and growth in His presence.

Today’s Verse:
All these [gifts] are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. – 1 Corinthians 12:11

1 Corinthians 12 is all about spiritual gifts.

Spiritual gifts are specifically grace-aligned, individualistic gifts that are appointed by God. These gifts enable believers to build up the Kingdom, glorify God, build up and serve one another. This fits perfectly with what is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:14, “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.” The hand, ear, eye, nose, etc all play an extremely important role in the body that the other cannot play. They have individually appointed functions.

We receive our spiritual gifts once the Holy Spirit has descended upon us (baptism). Romans 12:6, “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us…”

Not only does God specialize our gifts in the body of Christ, but He gifts us with the gifts that bring out the best parts of us. The parts that He knows will glorify the Kingdom in miraculous ways.

Keep in mind, the deceiver knows your spiritual gifts. He’ll try to do everything in his power to stop you from using them so stay diligent, share your gifts, and always give God the glory. – Commentary by Kristina Taylor

Today’s Prayer:
Lord, we pray that You prepare our hearts to accept the gifts and the role You want for us no matter what it is. Help us to use what You have gifted us with to build each other up and to always glorify You. Amen.

Friday, March 26, 2021

Believers have a strange idea that if you will something, then it can’t be the Spirit. And yet God’s word is filled with the opposite.

You can’t read the Bible without reading the word ‘Choose!’

You can’t get saved without the word ‘choose.’

It says ‘Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ That takes your will. And that’s the Spirit.

Some believers think that following God means just going along with the flow. Yes and no.

There are different flows – the flow of the Spirit and the flow of the world.

In order to serve God you have to choose the flow of the Spirit and you have to choose against the flow of the world.

And that requires choice, determination, and decision.

So many believers spend their whole lives trying to find the will of God.

Do you want the will of God in your life? Stop asking everyone about it. Choose it. Obey it. Agree on it. Decide it. Will it. And the will of God will be done in your life, on earth, as it is in heaven.

TODAY’S MISSION – After reading your Bible today, choose one verse to obey and do what you know the will of the Lord is.

1 Samuel 16:18 One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him.”

This servant, who is nameless can be considered and unseen hero. Sadly, his name is never given in scripture. What he did, however, would impact the history of the nation of Israel profoundly because it had an impact on the life of Israel’s greatest king, David.

David, as we well know, remains a legendary personality in the history of Israel, whose life and story has inspired millions. He was known as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) and was the benchmark around whom worship styles were built in the Old Testament. Even today, David remains the benchmark for the ministry of worship. 

However, prior to his unprecedented success as king, warrior, and worship maestro, David’s dreams of greatness would have been a distant dream. He would only have had the promise of future kingship – a promise received when he was anointed by the Prophet Samuel, to hold on to (1 Samuel 16:13). He was by all accounts just another unknown young man in Israel at that time.

So, the question is, how did David enter King Saul’s palace and get used to royal life? How did he train as a warrior and become an armor bearer for Saul (1 Samuel 16:21)? How did he end up being a back-up musician in Saul’s royal band (1 Samuel 16:23)?  Who spoke up for him and gave him the break he needed?

The answer to those questions is very significant. David found his way into the royal court because an unnamed servant spoke up and recommended David’s brilliant playing of the harp to Saul. He also spoke about David’s valor, oratory skills, and faith (1 Samuel 16:18). 

Yes, that is how David’s palace journey began. It was through an unknown person who is a little-known hero in the Bible. What this unknown person did, however, would impact Israel’s future beyond what he ever thought possible.

We should honor and encourage all the unknown men and women who serve God faithfully, whose names may never be widely known. That includes pastors, Sunday school and other teachers, youth leaders, counselors, choir singers, writers, mothers, fathers, mentors… and the list goes on!!

It’s people like you reading this blog post today! 

Be assured that even though your name may never be known publicly, God and His Kingdom are greatly blessed by what you faithfully and lovingly do. So, keep on doing what you do so well, because your ministry may well impact another Paul, Jeremiah, or David.

Today’s Verse:
I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. – Genesis 12:3 

God was speaking to Abram in the verse above giving him encouragement and a blessing before he left his homeland. He left all that was familiar to follow God’s calling to an unknown promised land. God was encouraging Abram to trust Him so that the generations of people who would come after him would be blessed because of his faith.

This applies to us as well. We are to trust God’s will for us, be a blessing to all those we interact with, and live our faith.

It might seem overwhelming that we are to be holy all of the time, and it’s actually impossible except for Jesus, but we are supposed to try our best.

What a nice goal to be able to look back on our day and see that we blessed one person today because of a little kindness. We all know what receiving an unexpected compliment or smile can do to our harried days.

May everyone you talk to today be blessed because of you! – Commentary by Colleen Mallette

Today’s Prayer:
Christ Jesus, You gave us the example of loving and speaking kindly to everyone You met. Help me to be a blessing to those I meet today and every day. Amen.

“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

Most of us would agree that we are living in some crazy times. Supposedly there is a “cancel culture” out there that wants to do away with anything that might be “offensive” to anyone. As a result, changes are being made in the books we have read, the cartoons we have watched, and the toys that we have played with. But no matter if you agree with the decisions that are being made or not, each of us needs to decide who we are truly following. In Joshua’s final speech to the nation of Israel, he challenges them to make a decision. He even says, “If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day who you will serve.” In this unprecedented time we are living in, you and I can’t make decisions for others, but we need to let others know, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Our homes and families are where real worship and praise take place. Just know this, no matter what decisions are made, our God will always be there. He will never leave us or forsake us. You can never “cancel” Him! Hallelujah!