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Nov. 16 SparkysHeart — Acts 27-28
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Philippians 1:3-11 — Participants
PAUL'S PRAYER: Dear Father God: Thank You for the great joy we feel about our fellow believers. Thank You for the partnership we have in Your Son Jesus. Thank You Lord that we are common partakers of Your grace. Give us all the grace to yearn for each other with the affection of Christ. Help our love to abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that we will approve what is excellent, and will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness that come through Jesus Christ, to Your glory and praise! In Jesus' wonderful and mighty saving name and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we humbly pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/praying_paul/pwp.pl?320
VERSE: Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. ~ Hebrews 11:16 (NIV)
THOUGHT: Hebrews 11 is full of reminders of the great heroes of faith from long ago. They were looking for a better place, a heavenly place. God has made preparations for them and He is proud to be called their God. Jesus also promised us in John 14 that preparations for our arrival at our heavenly home are being made. If God is longing for us to join Him, then surely we can have a deep longing to be with Him. Let us desire that heavenly country!
PRAYER: Thank You, dear Father God, for all that You have done to save us. Thank You for not being ashamed of us. Thank You for preparing for our arrival at home with You. With so much to look forward to, help us to live a victorious life because we are confident in Your grace, forgiven because of Jesus' sacrifice, and empowered to be holy by Your Holy Spirit. In the wonderful mighty saving name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/
WHAT JESUS DID! — Always Be Ready
Matthew 25:1-13 (NLT) "The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all lay down and slept. At midnight they were roused by the shout, `Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and welcome him!' All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, `Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.' But the others replied, `We do not have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.' But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, `Sir, open the door for us!' But He called back, `I don't know you!' So stay awake and be prepared, because you do not know the day or hour of My return."
WJD THOUGHT: Vigilance is not something we talk about very much. But freedom does require constant vigilance, no matter how clichéd the phrase may become. Faithfulness to Jesus also demands constant vigilance. Impatience, lack of passion, loss of faith, diminished focus on righteousness all eat away at our viability and preparedness. We can grow cold and disinterested because we are caught up in the pursuits of this world. We can become calloused and indifferent because of trials and difficulties in this life. We can simply give up and quit because our burdens seem unbearable and our Helper so distant. But He is coming. The wedding invitations have already been sent and the wedding supper for the Lamb and His Bride, the Church, is set. We are simply waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom, Jesus, and the great celebration will begin. Let us be ready. Let us be vigilant. Let us have our lamps full and our oil ready so that if He comes now, we are ready. But if He tarries on, we will be ready, too! In the stories on either side of this passage, Jesus is reminding His disciples and Matthew His readers, that we must always be ready for the Lord's return. While we do not know when it will be, we know it will be and it could be the next moment. We need to keep our house in order because at any moment, Jesus could accept our invitation to come, and we need to be ready to welcome Him!
WJD PRAYER: O God and Father, Almighty King beyond and above time, give us a heart of expectation as we wait for the glorious return of Your Son and our Savior. Forgive us for our sins, our lack of vigilance, and especially for our times of passionless discipleship. Give us a sense of adventure, of living on the edge of time waiting for our Savior to return and the character that He desires in us so that we are ready and joyous when He does return. In Jesus' mighty saving name and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we humbly pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/matthew/1116-wjd.html
WHAT JESUS DID! — No Reply
Mark 14:60-61 (NLT) Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, "Well, are You not going to answer these charges? What do You have to say for Yourself?" Jesus made no reply. Then the high priest asked Him, "Are You the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?"
WJD THOUGHT: In fulfillment of the description of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, Jesus does not open His mouth. If the totality of His ministry was not enough to silence His critics, then a verbal defense would not help. Jesus has the power to stop these events, but His silence in defending Himself is just one more way He shows He is going to follow through with the will of God no matter the personal cost to Himself. A priestly system that had grown corrupt and sold out to the Roman political machine could and would not judge Him fairly. Their only desire was to stay in power. Jesus will not dignify them with a self-defense. He needs none to prove His innocence and He has already chosen to suffer the humiliation of what He will face to honor God and to save us.
WJD PRAYER: Father God, please help us to know how to use those moments of power that You give us in our lives. We want to use those opportunities redemptively and not selfishly. We cannot help but be humbled at Jesus' restraint in the face of such a sham religious leader. Help us to have such wisdom and restraint when it is Your will and might we be passionate and bold, just as Jesus was in cleansing the Temple, when that response is necessary. Please help us to know the best way to honor You. In Jesus' mighty saving name, we pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/mark/1116-wjd.html
WHAT JESUS DID! — God Forbid!
Luke 20:14-16 (NLT) "But when the farmers saw his son, they said to each other, `Here comes the heir to this estate. Let us kill him and get the estate for ourselves!' So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to those farmers?" Jesus asked. "I will tell you — he will come and kill them all and lease the vineyard to others." "But God forbid that such a thing should ever happen," His listeners protested.
WJD THOUGHT: "God forbid!" the people cried out when they heard Jesus' story. But God did not stop the horrible events of the trial, rejection and crucifixion from happening. In fact, these events show His love for us and demonstrate Jesus' obedience to God. Jesus' crucifixion is horrible ... unconscionable ... and despicable. In normal human circumstances they would have been deplorable. Jesus, however, is much more than son of the farm owner; He is the Son of God and heir to all that belongs to God. Yet He will be treated with utmost contempt. It is so sad ... yet it is also our salvation!
WJD PRAYER: Father God, thank You for Your mercy and grace. We are sorry that it costs You so much to share it with us and that Jesus had to endure so much for us. Make us worthy of this great cost by the sanctifying power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' mighty saving name, we pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/luke/1116-wjd.html
WHAT JESUS DID! — Not of This World
John 18:33-36 (NLT) Then Pilate went back inside and called for Jesus to be brought to him. "Are You the King of the Jews?" he asked Him. Jesus replied, "Is this your own question, or did others tell you about Me?" "Am I a Jew?" Pilate asked. "Your own people and their leading priests brought You here. Why? What have You done?" Then Jesus answered, "I am not an earthly king. If I were, My followers would have fought when I was arrested by the Jewish leaders. But My Kingdom is not of this world."
WJD THOUGHT: The crux of the major issue for Jesus' life is found in one statement: "But My Kingdom is not of this world." Jesus lived by a sense of heavenly timing. Jesus lived to honor His Father in heaven by doing His Father's will and fulfilling His Father's work. He taught values that were upside down to the way the world worked. Why? Because His Kingdom was a heavenly Kingdom. Because His goal was to bring heaven's glory to life in earthly people. Jesus was no threat to Pilate, the Emperor, or Herod because He had no desire for their palaces or places; He wanted their hearts to be changed and their lives to reflect the heart of heaven. Jesus is not a threat to You either. He wants your heart — not so that He can conquer you, but so that He can glorify you and make you ready for a home with Him. Is Jesus your king? Is Jesus' Kingdom your passion?
WJD PRAYER: Holy and loving God, our Abba Father, thank You Lord for blessing us with citizenship in Your Kingdom. Reign over our hearts and use us for Your glory for "Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever!" In Jesus' mighty saving name and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we humbly pray. Amen.
http://www.heartlight.org/wjd/john/1116-wjd.html
Daily Guide to Miracles from Oral Roberts Ministries
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory — by Lindsay Roberts
God gives each one of us our own personalities, our own talents, and our own place in the body of Christ. Sometimes we look at other people and feel intimidated or think, I will never be able to do what they do. But you know what? It is not about what you can and cannot do — it is about what Jesus can do in you! Colossians 1:27 says that the wonderful mystery of the Gospel is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) does not say, "I can do all things." It says, I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.
My friend Madeline Manning Mims is a wonderful woman of God who has won Olympic gold medals and done all sorts of things I could never do. She was raised in the ghetto, given up for dead with meningitis, and has overcome some amazing things. She is tall and strong and beautiful-really, she is light — years ahead of me in so many areas that I could be intimidated by her. But we both realize that we each have a calling of God on our lives, and we can be friends, help each other, and let God work through us.
God does not expect you to be like someone else or measure up to some impossible standard. He simply wants you to use what He has given you and let Him work through you. Instead of thinking, I cannot do that. I can never live up to those expectations, ask yourself, "What can I do?" Have confidence in the God inside you, because He is the One Who does the work, and He wants to use you in a very special way!
My Declaration of Faith for Today: Because Christ lives in me, I can do all things through His power and presence in my life.
Remember, "Something GOOD is going to happen to you!"
prayer@orm.cc
Visit the Make Your Day Count website: http://www.makeyourdaycount.com
Gentle Shepherd
Micah 5:4-5a — He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace. (NIV)
One of the gentlest people whom I have ever met was a shepherd. His family had been shepherds for generations, so it was natural for him to follow in their footsteps. He was a clever man who probably could have been a great teacher at college or university. When he spoke in church or community meetings, everyone listened. Whatever the issue or situation, it was obvious that he had given a great deal of thought to it. He presented his ideas and opinions in a quiet, unassuming way. More often than not, whatever decisions were made, they usually included much of what the shepherd had expressed.
I guess that in working with sheep on the hillsides, one gets plenty of time to think clearly. Because things are generally quiet, one does not have to raise one's voice or get upset when making a point. This shepherd knew the value of simple words and a simple message. It was simply brilliant.
I think that is why one of our most favourite images of Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We have seen countless images and stained glass windows that depict Christ in this manner. The serenity of those pictures makes us feel secure and embraced. The Good Shepherd loves us and gently calls us to Himself.
Some of us can be going through hard times and be stressed out and weary. We can feel frightened or confused about the issues we are facing. We can be angry or distressed at being hurt or disappointed. During those times, amid the clamour of our concerns, the gentle voice of peace and assurance comes to us from Jesus. He knows the issues; He understands our worries. He's had time to think about them; and now He has gentle thoughts to express to our hearts and minds. If we quietly take time out, we will hear His voice. If we turn towards Him now, He will gently speak to us.
We come in agreement with John’s Prayer: Lord God in the name of Jesus, You are the Shepherd of our lives and souls. Sometimes, we worry deeply over our problems and think that there is no end to them. We fearfully forget that our lives are in Your hands. Talk to us today about our troubles, and gently show us the path towards peace, resolution, hope, and love. In Jesus’ holy and mighty saving name, we pray. Amen.
John Stuart — traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
http://daily.presbycan.ca/
WHAT JESUS DID! — We arrived at a place called Fair Havens
Acts 27:7-8 For a number of days we made slow progress and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus; then, as the wind did not permit us to proceed, we went under the lee (shelter) of Crete off Salmone, [8] And coasting along it with difficulty, we arrived at a place called Fair Havens, near which is located the town of Lasea.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IBGN-IBEGOODNOW-NEWSLETTER/
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