story telling // Monday E-Devotion
Several years ago my family moved to a new part of the country and met some wonderful people. One of those was a pastor named Joe Brooks. We have kept in contact (and he is probably reading this devotion.
Joe showed me and his church family how the art of story telling can impact lives. He could keep my attention for long periods of time and accomplish so much.
Ever noticed how most stories are passed down through families and even how history is passed on through various cultures? It is through story telling.
Jesus did the same thing. He told parables. He talked with people on their level, got their attention and made sense of life. Sounds like something we need to be doing as preachers and Christians.
The art of story telling will impact lives far beyond other methods. I pray that I will learn and you will learn how to tell great stories about our great God that will touch great numbers of people.
Luke 19:28 (nlt) --- After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples.
re-newed passion // Tuesday E-Devotion
From time to time we are offered opportunities that renew our passion for what we are doing or what we are committed to. For me this is often a conference or worship service or all kinds of different happenings.
One such time was about a week ago when I was asked to articulate what God has said to me about The Community Fellowship (the church I have been honored to plant and pastor). After a couple of different questions and significant conversation, I found myself getting more and more passionate about my calling and God’s church.
In fact, I have come to realize even more that I have to guard my vision and let God fill my passion. Friends, we need this big time. We need to clarify and share what God has said and press on with power.
Passion is a big deal and the church dies for lacking it.
Zechariah 8:2 (nlt) --- This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!
dealing with out moods // Wednesday E-Devotion
Today’s e-devotion comes from author/pastor Brian Jones. Enjoy as I have:
TEACHING OUR MOODS WHERE TO GET OFF
by Brian Jones
One day in college I went to speak with a professor with whom I had a close relationship. “I’m struggling with my faith right now,” I said in frustration. I explained that in the last few days everything seemed gray. Questions were plaguing my mind. Life seemed more difficult than usual. My professor smiled and said, “You and Lisa are having problems, aren’t you?” I was furious and shot back, “Absolutely not. I can’t believe that you would assume such a . . . er . . . , um, well, maybe. We had a little argument. We’ve been talking about marriage, and she thinks we should wait until after graduation to get married. But I love her and I don’t want to wait.” It was clear he knew that what I was really wrestling with was my emotions and not God. When we are going through tough times, one of the hardest things to discern is whether our doubts stem from a genuine struggle with God or our current emotional state. I amaze myself at how quickly I can go from being on top of the spiritual world into “oh-my-gosh-my-life-is-horrible-and-there-is-no-God” mode. Speaking of this problem C. S. Lewis wrote:
Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian, I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist, I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods “where they get off,” you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith. The Joyful Christian (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 130.
Just like you, there are times I have genuine doubts, but if I’m being honest, there are just as many times I doubt because I’ve had too much pizza the night before or simply because I’m exhausted. I’ve learned, for instance, not to make any major decisions as a pastor on Mondays. After speaking and being with people all day Sunday, I’m emotionally spent come Monday. For years I felt like something was wrong with me every Monday—the world looked bleaker, my passion for spiritual matters bottomed out, and I was more irritable than usual. Some Mondays I would even allow myself to wallow in the depths of despair. It took me quite some time to discipline myself to realize that I couldn’t trust what I was feeling on a Monday. If I was feeling the same thing come Tuesday, I would address it then. If not, I knew I could attribute my “Monday morning blues” to emotional exhaustion and leave it at that.
refreshing // Thursday E-Devotion
By now you know that this week’s devotions are coming to you second-hand (through out I.T. guru at church) ‘cause my family is enjoying some time together at the beach. Don’t hold that against me. But we are having a blast.
So, I am asking each of you to pray for times of refreshing. I really want to hear from God and renew the stuff God is doing in my life. The sermon series we are headed towards the end of this month is going to take lots out of me. That means I need a little extra nudge and excitement.
Acts 3:19 (nasb) --- Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Romans 15:32 (nasb) --- so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.
The presence of God … passion for my calling … persistence in being who God made me to be … all of those lead to being refreshed by God. Lets give it a try!
what a place to live // Friday E-Devotion
Psalm 140:13 (nlt) --- Surely righteous people are praising your name; the godly will live in your presence.
Our new home is an awesome place to live. We have taken on some things we have never known as a family. A mortgage is something we aren’t real excited about, but this place is ours.
While we sit on the beach, soak up the rays and listen to the glorious wind and waves, there are some friends back home getting our kitchen and bathroom in order. We do hope that they will be done when we return home tomorrow afternoon.
What a place to live? We’re tired of moving and tired of trusting others to care for where we live. In the last couple of weeks we have come to know some things you have known for years. What a place to live … making it ours is lots of fun.
The next decision we make is how to give glory to God in our new home.
What a place to live! It is all about Him.
Several years ago my family moved to a new part of the country and met some wonderful people. One of those was a pastor named Joe Brooks. We have kept in contact (and he is probably reading this devotion.
Joe showed me and his church family how the art of story telling can impact lives. He could keep my attention for long periods of time and accomplish so much.
Ever noticed how most stories are passed down through families and even how history is passed on through various cultures? It is through story telling.
Jesus did the same thing. He told parables. He talked with people on their level, got their attention and made sense of life. Sounds like something we need to be doing as preachers and Christians.
The art of story telling will impact lives far beyond other methods. I pray that I will learn and you will learn how to tell great stories about our great God that will touch great numbers of people.
Luke 19:28 (nlt) --- After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples.
re-newed passion // Tuesday E-Devotion
From time to time we are offered opportunities that renew our passion for what we are doing or what we are committed to. For me this is often a conference or worship service or all kinds of different happenings.
One such time was about a week ago when I was asked to articulate what God has said to me about The Community Fellowship (the church I have been honored to plant and pastor). After a couple of different questions and significant conversation, I found myself getting more and more passionate about my calling and God’s church.
In fact, I have come to realize even more that I have to guard my vision and let God fill my passion. Friends, we need this big time. We need to clarify and share what God has said and press on with power.
Passion is a big deal and the church dies for lacking it.
Zechariah 8:2 (nlt) --- This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!
dealing with out moods // Wednesday E-Devotion
Today’s e-devotion comes from author/pastor Brian Jones. Enjoy as I have:
TEACHING OUR MOODS WHERE TO GET OFF
by Brian Jones
One day in college I went to speak with a professor with whom I had a close relationship. “I’m struggling with my faith right now,” I said in frustration. I explained that in the last few days everything seemed gray. Questions were plaguing my mind. Life seemed more difficult than usual. My professor smiled and said, “You and Lisa are having problems, aren’t you?” I was furious and shot back, “Absolutely not. I can’t believe that you would assume such a . . . er . . . , um, well, maybe. We had a little argument. We’ve been talking about marriage, and she thinks we should wait until after graduation to get married. But I love her and I don’t want to wait.” It was clear he knew that what I was really wrestling with was my emotions and not God. When we are going through tough times, one of the hardest things to discern is whether our doubts stem from a genuine struggle with God or our current emotional state. I amaze myself at how quickly I can go from being on top of the spiritual world into “oh-my-gosh-my-life-is-horrible-and-there-is-no-God” mode. Speaking of this problem C. S. Lewis wrote:
Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever your reason takes. I know that by experience. Now that I am a Christian, I do have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist, I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable. This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods “where they get off,” you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. Consequently one must train the habit of Faith. The Joyful Christian (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996), 130.
Just like you, there are times I have genuine doubts, but if I’m being honest, there are just as many times I doubt because I’ve had too much pizza the night before or simply because I’m exhausted. I’ve learned, for instance, not to make any major decisions as a pastor on Mondays. After speaking and being with people all day Sunday, I’m emotionally spent come Monday. For years I felt like something was wrong with me every Monday—the world looked bleaker, my passion for spiritual matters bottomed out, and I was more irritable than usual. Some Mondays I would even allow myself to wallow in the depths of despair. It took me quite some time to discipline myself to realize that I couldn’t trust what I was feeling on a Monday. If I was feeling the same thing come Tuesday, I would address it then. If not, I knew I could attribute my “Monday morning blues” to emotional exhaustion and leave it at that.
refreshing // Thursday E-Devotion
By now you know that this week’s devotions are coming to you second-hand (through out I.T. guru at church) ‘cause my family is enjoying some time together at the beach. Don’t hold that against me. But we are having a blast.
So, I am asking each of you to pray for times of refreshing. I really want to hear from God and renew the stuff God is doing in my life. The sermon series we are headed towards the end of this month is going to take lots out of me. That means I need a little extra nudge and excitement.
Acts 3:19 (nasb) --- Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Romans 15:32 (nasb) --- so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.
The presence of God … passion for my calling … persistence in being who God made me to be … all of those lead to being refreshed by God. Lets give it a try!
what a place to live // Friday E-Devotion
Psalm 140:13 (nlt) --- Surely righteous people are praising your name; the godly will live in your presence.
Our new home is an awesome place to live. We have taken on some things we have never known as a family. A mortgage is something we aren’t real excited about, but this place is ours.
While we sit on the beach, soak up the rays and listen to the glorious wind and waves, there are some friends back home getting our kitchen and bathroom in order. We do hope that they will be done when we return home tomorrow afternoon.
What a place to live? We’re tired of moving and tired of trusting others to care for where we live. In the last couple of weeks we have come to know some things you have known for years. What a place to live … making it ours is lots of fun.
The next decision we make is how to give glory to God in our new home.
What a place to live! It is all about Him.
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