Good Morning Encouraging, Spirit-Filled Followers of the Jesus Way! Amen! May that be me and us Lord. You created us, know us, love us in spite of us, call us by name and have good plans for us. We are made new in You able to renew out thinking and ways, repent, be pruned and grow out of our brokenness to fullness in You. You have created us for such a time as this and have activated and sent us to encourage each other and grow Your Church. You are our Rock and Cornerstone and we build on You. Thank You for all You are and all You do and for making a way for me and us to be who we are in You and to do what You created and prepared us to do for such a time as this! Come! Fill us! Deliver us from evil! Refine us! And grow us to our fullest potential in You! Thanks! Love You Lord! Be my and our Lord and Shepherd . Thanks! Amen!
What is self care? Self care is a priority of our denomination, especially for pastors. Our Support team has called me to self care and opened the door for me to have a little margin to work on it before the fall and rush to . Thanks church! Self care is, well, taking care of self. For many of us that seems selfish or counter-productive when it is really just the opposite. Self care is a healthy choice and rhythm that begins with dying to self, taking up cross and abiding in Christ and His Word and then moving out to growth and new fruit production. It's working from rest not having to rest from work. It's proactive and a good choice. I can testify after I've just spent at least my fourth time in the hospital as God got my attention, slowed me down and led me to deep abiding and moving with Him from that rest to what he has for each day. That is Jesus' easy yoke He has called the weary and brokenhearted to put on. How is your self care going? I'm working on that for me. I just heard that researchers have found that spending time in God's Word and abiding in Christ is a critical first step in self care. Try it! I'm working on it. And I am looking for accountability partners and people to process with who have permission to speak truth in my life and remind me that I may need to go rest a bit in Christ. Who are your partners? How is your self care and growth and fruit growing from the abiding. Let's all focus on that this summer and develop some good habits. Amen!
In '23 we chose some words we thought God was revealing for us to work on. What word might He have for you to focus on the rest of the year as we seek to become the people we are created and gifted to be? (here are some of those words you chose in '23: faith, understanding, boldness, time management, patience, stewardship, hope, restoration, working through change, rest, pause, healthy rhythms, abiding, love, peace, relationships being useful, feeling valued and appreciated, to agape, and to be a disciple maker) Any of those words your or one you might feel God wants you to work on? Abide, seek, listen. receive and follow well. my friends! I'm praying for you! We can know His pace and rest and then be productive as we abide, reload, u on that easy yoke and follow Jesus. That's my prayer for each of you and us as His gathered and sent people. Amen! Let us live and love like Jesus, just as we are, where he has placed us and then allow Him to grow us to our fuller potential in Christ! Amen!
Man does God love us and have some great things for us! PTL! I gotta fly but check out these devos that link to all of this as you abide, renew your thinking and reload for the day ahead! God is calling you to some great things!
ODB
Habits and the Holy Spirit
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
“Did you grow up around here?” It was difficult to answer my dental hygienist’s question because her teeth-cleaning tools were still inside my mouth. She explained that in 1945, our city became the first in the world to add fluoride to public drinking water. Thought to prevent cavities, the treatment doesn’t require much: just 0.7 milligrams of fluoride to a liter of water. Its positive effects are obvious to a trained professional. But, I had no idea, I’d been drinking it all my life!
The things we consume every day can affect us over time. That applies not only to food and drink but also to entertainment, friends, and social media messages. The apostle Paul cautioned, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). While the Holy Spirit is making disciples of Jesus to be more like Him, the process takes a lifetime. Our habits can help or hinder His work. It’s not always easy to recognize what we’re consuming, but we can ask the one who’s rich in “wisdom and knowledge” to show us (11:33). Wisdom and discernment help us “test and approve what God’s will is” (12:2), while considering ourselves with “sober judgment” (v. 3).
Whatever He might be asking us to add to or remove from our daily lives is worth the price. All things are “from him and through him and for him” (11:36). He knows best.
By Karen Pimpo
REFLECT & PRAY
What’s one habit that reveals the Holy Spirit’s work in your life? What’s one that might be hindering His work?
Holy Spirit, thank You for working in and through my life.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
When interpreting Scripture, the key words are often nouns and verbs because they tend to contribute the most to the understanding of the text. In Romans 12:1-3, however, a case could be made that the key word is therefore. This word indicates that we understand what follows is based on what has preceded it. “Therefore . . . in view of God’s mercy” (v. 1) tells us that the practical exhortations that follow are rooted in God’s great grace and forgiveness, which have been thoroughly explained in chapters 1-11. When we consider the greatness of God’s love that’s been poured out over our lives through the gift of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, no command of Scripture should seem grievous. In fact, as Paul says, offering our lives as “a living sacrifice” is our “true and proper worship” (12:1). We can ask the Holy Spirit to show us how to worship God with our lives and how to exhibit Christlike habits.
Bill Crowder
UR: A Closer Look
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. - Isaiah 43:19 (NIV)
I followed signs to a sunflower field, expecting to see a multitude of flowers in full bloom. But what I found was a huge collection of dead and blackened stumps.
Though at first put off by the starkness of the place, I stood still and studied the scene. I heard many bird sounds and saw a Carolina wren darting in and out of the stalks, searching for seeds. A couple of little yellow birds — goldfinches perhaps — darted past me. Other birds I could not identify were also there along with several monarch butterflies fluttering about. And I saw several wild, blue morning glories winding up the dead stalks of the sunflowers. The site that seemed dead at first glance was teeming with life.
The words of Isaiah came to mind: “I am doing a new thing. . . . Do you not perceive it?” God is working in places that may seem dry and dead. We may look around us and not immediately see any signs of new life. Yet when we take a closer look, life surprises us. God’s creative power will never disappoint.
's Prayer
Creator and Sustainer, thank you for your ongoing creative power that brings new life to the world. Amen.
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