Weekly Devotional – 05/23/10
Posted: May 23, 2010 at 5:17 PM in Weekly Devotional
Good afternoon,
Below is a passage that many of us are familiar with, but do we understand it? do we really believe it?
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
So, if God was a man of the world, a man that looked on the outside, He would have chosen the elite of His day to accomplish His mission — however, He used simple fishermen. These men were considered uneducated, lacking social status and lacking wealth of any kind — yet these “simple” men were the ones the Lord selected to build the Kingdom of God.
When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God didn’t send an army to deliver them, He sent a single man. But a single man of God was shown to be greater than the most powerful kingdom on Earth.
Throughout the Bible, we read of the Lord choosing and using the weak things of the world to confound and shame the wise and powerful. God seems to love revealing His awesome power through humble vessels, so that no flesh can glory in His presence.
We spend so much of our time and thoughts trying to buy and obtain the “things”, status and wealth that we think we need to live an outward Godly life yet, God says I will give you all you need and use you if you spent more time and your thoughts on doing what I want.
Men, don’t think obtaining a certain financial level or status proves how Godly you are or to the level of how God will bless your family – God uses and pushes forward the humble and brings down the proud, the ones who think they have to do it themselves.
Women, don’t let the size of your ring, the price of your car or the name on your purse define who you are. Don’t look at what everyone else has, (it’s all going to burn up) for a measure of Godliness. Let your life be defined by how you are allowing God to use you for His purposes. It take all the pressure off of you and frees up your time.
All of this is a trick of the enemy for both men and women, we get side tracked. Remember that God uses the humble, ordinary, often broken (an experience with God denying the old self) people…to do extraordinary things. God is not looking at your wealth, your social status or your education — He’s looking at your heart! If your heart is willing and your life is available, then He is more than able to perform miraculous work through you for His Kingdom’s sake.
Don’t allow the enemy to stifle or steal the Lord’s vision for your life, do what you know is right (righteouss before Him)–- He has a plan to use you to confound the wise of this world, and push you forward in the Kingdom of God so you will be blessed and your family.
Have a great week!
Your Servant,
Pastor Grant
Weekly Devotional – 05/09/10
Posted: May 9, 2010 at 12:12 PM in Weekly Devotional
Good morning,
Have you ever had moments in your life where you are feeling down? I can feel that way when I’m by myself, my mind starts thinking things it shouldn’t. I start looking and at all the natural evidences around me and wonder how I’m going to make things change, how am I going to turn this situation around? That’s when doubt and worry sets in, it can rob you of your joy and all hope and cause you to stop short of where you are supposed to go.
Well, it’s not a coincidence that the quicker I pull out God’s Word the quicker I seem to stumble across a scripture verse (or so I think I did) that snaps me out of how I feel and how I’m thinking. It reminds me of the evidences in the the spirit realm as opposed to the natural evidences.
Isaiah 58:11
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
I love to watch the history channel and recently there was a show about the Great Depression, poverty swept across America causing people to get divorced, commit suicide and literally go crazy.
There was a little town in Texas that was hit hard during the depression where a man named Yates ran a sheep ranch.
He and his wife struggled to keep food on the table and did all they could do to survive. Finally, they had to accept a government subsidy or lose their home and land to the creditors.
But, one day, it all changed. Out of nowhere, a geologic crew from a large oil company came knocking at his door. With Yates’ permission, they wanted to drill a wildcat well on his property promising him a large portion of the profits if they struck oil. “What could I lose?” thought Yates, and he signed the papers.
The oil crew immediately set up the machinery and began drilling. Five hundred feet down, they came up dry. Eight hundred feet, dry. One thousand feet they sunk the shaft, and still no oil. Finally, at a little over eleven hundred feet, they tapped into one of the richest oil reserves in Texas. The hole sprayed its black wealth high into the air, and soon the well was pumping eighty thousand barrels of oil a day. Overnight, Yates and his family became millionaires. His property, once called Yate’s Field, became known as Yate’s Pool. And soon hundreds of oil wells dotted the land where once only sheep grazed.
What if they had stopped at a thousand feet?? I believe that there is a well of blessing within us that is just waiting to be found. And the victory will only come when we dig for it. We need to to press in when the circumstances look their bleakest! Get back into God’s Word and believe that the blessing is there for the taking and not stop when we get discouraged and don’t see the fruit or the evidences of our labor! We need to expect great things and rich oil in the Spirit! Because this is what the Lord has for each one of us!
Our breakthrough is just under our feet! Be encouraged today and get back into the Word! Keep digging! God has more in store than you can imagine!
Have a great day!
Your servant,
Pastor Grant
Weekly Devotional – 05/02/10
Posted: May 2, 2010 at 2:14 PM in Weekly Devotional
Good afternoon,
Have you ever felt like if you hear any more news via the radio or tv your head would explode? Even reading the newspaper… there is allot happening not just overseas but right here in the United States. Healthcare reform, tax increase, job loss, terrorism in New York, oil spill in the gulf, flooding in Nashville – the Grand Ole Opry was shut down!
I’m a little old school in that I still like to read the paper or somedays several different newspapers. I read the New York Times or Post several times a week, and since the attempted bombing was thwarted a couple of days ago…you should read those papers – WOW! All the writers words are full of uncertainty, not sure about what tomorrow will bring – everything in the city seems to be turmoil.
But, praise God, if you’re a believer you have something you can depend on: The unchanging Word of God!
Malachi 3:6
“I am the Lord, I change not.”
If you will make “The Word” the final authority in your life, it will give you stability when everything else around you is falling apart. If you’ll let what The Word says settle the issues of life, you’ll be confident when others are confused and peaceful when others are under pressure. You’ll be overcoming when others are being overcome!
What does it mean to make God’s Word the final authority? It means believing what He says instead of believing what people say. It means believing what He says instead of what Satan says. It means believing what He says instead of what the circumstances say.
Make up your mind to live by faith, not by sight. Commit yourself to the authority of God’s Word and there won’t be anything in this world that can happen to you that can rob you of your peace and security.
Your Servant,
Pastor Grant