This IS the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice, worship, and be glad in it! Let us enter His courts with praise, His presence with thanksgivings! Amen!
Good Morning Becoming Becomers! We will hear more about that today as we continue to work on becoming all that we were created to be and doing all we were created to do. We were one way and becoming another by God's grace and our all-in willingness! And we are becoming to God--attractive to Him as we work on becoming.
There is so much that God has put on my heart to share today. I will try to keep it brief. One thing I need from you is prayers for God to send and draw some people that told me Wed. that they would attend today. Pray that God's grace and drawing to new life would come alive today and for all hindrances from showing up be held at bay. May His irresistible grace move many to Him and lead them to join us today. Pray for Patrick, Amber, Ramone, Arianna, Mary, and two couples whose names I forget but God knows to show up and be drawn to Him and attracted by our love for God and them. Pray for me to be led by the Spirit and bring His Word alive. Thank you! I've already been praying for this day all week. Join me and God and release His salvation power and Holy Spirit!
Maybe God is working on you too? I know some of you have chosen words to work on this year and we are seeing great fruit from that. Maybe God is calling you to work on some spiritual growth in the year ahead or to pick a new word. Talk to God about that and pray for God to continue to change our lives as we commit to living and loving like Jesus and becoming all we can be in Christ. Ask God to pair you up with some to process, pray and be accountable too. Talk to me if you are being stirred to try out a small group. Check out Charles Stanley's devo below and pray about it. Think about our Vine and our Vinedresser. What may need some pruning? How can we help each other receive that pruning in faith and with joy? Have you ever asked to be pruned? I have many times and God is faithful to help us achieve His best and produce good fruit!
This Wednesday we wrap up the Chosen season 3. It's long and covers a lot of our reading through John and other things we studied. We may need to continue to discuss this episode for awhile after this week. Like our Bibles, it is so rich in teaching, pointing to Jesus and bringing Him and His ways alive. How desperate are you for a touch from Jesus? What is He teaching you? Who is He sending you to bless? How is He helping you right now through some hard thing or how has He helped you in the past? Who needs to help you or hear about that? God is with us and very active. Do you see and sense His presence, help, love? Be still and know! He has great plans for you and us! We are on our way to becoming a dynamic movement of God because He lives and loves in and through us! Rejoice! Share His Good News with much joy and thanksgiving and partner with Him to bring revival and new life--even today. Amen!
I included The Word for You Today at the bottom. It pertains to us and today's possibilities as we hear from The Kindness Project and how we can partner with them this Christmas season. Number three particularly applies to today and how God is already using us. Keep looking for someone to help! As you do, the other two will grow. We become healthier as we connect to and bless others. I am not a slave to fashion, obviously, and am not too keen on their dressing to impress others. I yams what I yams as Popeye says. BUT as we put on Love and share it we will not only look, but be our best. Others will see us dressed with Jesus and His Love, hope and help and take notice. Why waste money on fashion? Jesus didn't dress to impress. He lived to love and help. Dress in His love today and don't worry about how others see you but how God sees you. He looks at your heart, not what you wear. And that's how we should look at others too. Come as you are and be loved. Then we will be really healthy and feel good about ourselves. Don't cave to the pressures of the world or some legalistic, Pharisaical standard. Be who you were created to be and work on who you are becoming in Christ and stand firm in Love! Amen. Go love and make disciples as you were created and gifted and know Him more! That's true worship! (Rant over!)
Shalom. Shalom. True peace to you! See you soon!
Charles Stanley:
ODB:
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Dizziness struck me in the stairwell of the office building. Overwhelmed, I gripped the banister because the stairs seemed to spin. As my heart pounded and my legs buckled, I clung onto the banister, thankful for its strength. Medical tests showed I had anemia. Although its cause wasn’t serious and my condition was resolved, I’ll never forget how weak I felt that day.
That’s why I admire the woman who touched Jesus. She not only moved through the crowd in her weakened state, but she also showed faith in venturing out to approach Him (Matthew 9:20–22). She had good reason to be afraid: Jewish law defined her as unclean and by exposing others to her uncleanness, she could face serious consequences (Leviticus 15:25−27). But the thought If I only touch His cloak kept her going. The Greek word that’s translated as “touch” in Matthew 9:21 is not mere touching but has the stronger meaning of “to hold on to” or “to attach oneself.” The woman tightly held on to Jesus. She believed He could heal her.
Jesus saw, in the midst of a crowd, the desperate faith of one woman. When we too venture out in faith and cling to Christ in our need, He welcomes us and comes to our aid. We can tell Him our story without fear of rejection or punishment. Jesus tells us today, “Cling to Me.”
By Karen Huang
REFLECT & PRAY
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What’s caused you suffering and fear? To what or whom have you turned for help and healing? How can you cling to Jesus today?
Dear God, thank You for Your love. I don’t have to feel ashamed and afraid. You accept me and call me Your child.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The account of the woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years is told in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8). Matthew’s telling is the briefest of the three. Despite the differing details, one element shared by all three is the essence of Jesus’ parting words to the woman: “your faith has healed you” (Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48). It’s important to note that this faith wasn’t simply the belief that Christ could heal her (although that belief is also stated in all three gospels). Her faith caused her to act. It propelled her through the crowd to reach out and touch Jesus’ cloak. This is how James talks about faith. Faith is demonstrated by what it does, not what it claims to believe (see James 2:14–26).
J.R. Hudberg |
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