All for Jesus

Chenaniah, leader of the Levites, was instructor in charge of the music, because he was skillful. (1 Chronicles 15:22)

• From the Old Testament, we learn that God appointed people with skill to be involved in temple worship.
   
• From construction workers to worship leaders, people were chosen based on their skill.
   
• The Lord gave each of us different talents and spiritual gifts to be used for His glory.
   
• When we serve with the purpose of glorifying God, and not to lift up ourselves, we don’t need to be concerned with what others think.
   
• God gave His very best to us, His Son Jesus, and we honor Him by giving our best to Him.
   
• Our Master needs what we have to offer.
   
• His work on earth is done through His children.
   
• So let us give Him our best, our all.
   
• We are at our best when we serve God from our hearts.
  
  
  

Our Daily Worship

So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)

• It is one thing to worship and praise God at church.
   
• It is quite another to move out into the real world and worship Him through daily obedience.
   
• Do we confine our worship to church?
   
• Or do we continue to worship Him by obeying Him in our daily life, looking for opportunities to serve?
   
• Saul was asked by the Lord to do a task.
   
• But he used worship (sacrifice) as an excuse for his failure to obey God.
   
• God’s response was, “To obey is better than sacrifice”.
   
• It is good to be involved in worship at church.
   
• But let us also ask God to show us ways to continue to give Him the praise He deserves through our obedience.
   
• May our worship of God extend beyond the walls of our church.
   
• May we listen to God’s prompting and serve others wherever we can, no matter what day it is.
   
• Our worship should not be confined to times and places.
   
• It should be the spirit of our lives.
  
  
  

Shepherd My Sheep

The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. (Ecclesiastes 12:11)

• Some of us have wise spiritual leaders who make positive impacts on our lives.
   
• They have made the Word of God come alive.
   
• They have trained us in our study of the Bible.
   
• They have shepherded us in building vital ministries to help others grow spiritually.
   
• Each of these teachers has encouraged us in different ways.
   
• King Solomon wisely observed some ways that spiritual leaders can help us grow: “The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd”.
   
• Some teachers prod us.
   
• Others build solid spiritual structures into our lives.
   
• Still others, as caring shepherds, are there to listen to us when we are hurt.
   
• The Good Shepherd has given our spiritual leaders a variety of gifts: exhorting, developing, and shepherding.
   
• The Good Shepherd desires that we maintain humble hearts and a love for others.
   
• What a privilege to be led and used by our Shepherd to encourage others in their walk with Him.
   
• May our Lord God give us the wisdom we need to encourage others in their spiritual walk.
   
• May He give us His Spirit’s power to do that.
   
• May He use the gifts He have given us to help others along on their journey.
   
• May our words always reflect the heart of God and His wisdom.
  
  
  

Full-Time Christians

"Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt." (John 12:15)

• Public opinion changes very quickly.
   
• When Jesus entered Jerusalem for the Passover feast, He was welcomed by crowds cheering to have Him made king.
   
• But by the end of the week, the crowds were demanding that He be crucified.
   
• Some of us are like those fickle crowds.
   
• We love to cheer for a team that is winning.
   
• But our interest wanes when they start losing.
   
• We love to be part of a movement that is new and exciting,
   
• But when the energy moves to other things, we are ready to move on.
   
• We love to follow Jesus when He is doing the impossible.
   
• But we slink away when He expects us to do something difficult.
   
• It is exciting to follow Jesus when we can do it as part of the crowd.
   
• It is easy to trust Him when He outsmarts the smart people and outmaneuvers the people in power.
   
• But when He begins to talk about suffering and sacrifice and death, we hesitate.
   
• We like to think that we can follow Jesus all the way to the cross.
   
• But we have our doubts.
   
• If we cannot speak up for Him in places where it is safe, what makes us think that we can do so in a crowd of His opponents?
   
• How thankful we are to know that Jesus died for fickle followers like us.
   
• Now we can become His devoted followers.
   
• May our devotion to Jesus continue to grow every day.
   
• Our Lord Jesus Christ deserves full-time followers.
  
  

Trusting God through the Storm

For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. (Psalm 107:25) Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, And He brings them out of their distresses. (Psalm 107:28)

• The ancient people discovered that the stormy winds of the monsoon season could be harnessed by sail for speedy navigation.
   
• Rather than dreading the high winds and rains, they learned how to navigate their way through the storm.
   
• Psalm 107 provides a wonderful word picture of how God allows storms to come our way, and then provides help for us to navigate through them.
   
• Trusting God for guidance in troubled times is a biblical theme.
   
• Hebrews 11 lists many who used their problems as an opportunity to exercise faith and to experience God’s grace, provision, and deliverance: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
   
• Stormy circumstances are inevitable.
   
• Although our first reaction may be to run from the problem, we can instead ask God to teach us how to trust Him to navigate us through the storm.
   
• When life feels like a storm-tossed sea, With crashing waves of pain and grief, Turn to the Lord and trust in Him, He will give you peace and bring relief.
   
• Better to go through the storm with Christ than to have smooth sailing without Him.