FEEBLE or ABUNDANT LIVING

 

   

FEEBLE or ABUNDANT LIVING  

   The positives of trials come through submission, however painful, seeking and believing God's ultimate good purpose in anything He allows. When Jesus said we'd face troubles in this world, He also said, "Take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33) Sin separates all people from God (Romans 3:23), but Christ paid for our sins by dying on the cross and giving us the gift of eternal life (6:23). "This is eternal life; that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

A Poem by Theodore Monod

    Oh, the bitter pain and sorrow

      That a time could ever be

    When I proudly said to Jesus--

     "All of self and none of Thee."

    Yet He found me; I beheld Him

    bleeding on the accursed tree;

And my wistful heart said faintly,

 "Some of self and some of Thee."

    Day by day His tender mercy,

    Healing, helping, full and free,

Brought me lower, while I whispered-

   "Less of self, and more of Thee!"

Higher than the highest heavens,

    Deeper than the deepest sea,

"Lord, Thy love at last has conquered:

    None of self and ALL of Thee!"

[Italics are mine for emphasis]

Today's Encouragement:  

   We must not be satisfied with a feeble life, but for abundant living

In Christ Jesus. God will work out the heavenly life in us through 

His Spirit. We're to live in the Word and in the love and infinite faithfulness of 

the Lord. The holy work of delivering souls demands constant renewal

through fellowship with God and with other believers.

   One cause of the low vitality and utter ineffectiveness that is so often

found in us, is because we've not been allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us.

   One great power of sin is that it blinds us to not recognize its true nature. 

Nothing except hidden, humble, constant fellowship with God can teach you

as a child of His, to hate sin as He wants you to hate it.

   No one can expect to make progress in holiness who is not often and long

alone with God. Obedience is the great factor in our whole relationship to God.

Our Prayer:

   Father, help us be determined to not accept a feeble life, but to seek for the

abundant living in Christ Jesus that You've promised us. The positives of trials

come through submission, however painful, seeking and believing in Your

ultimate good purpose in everything You've allowed.

   Help us make purposeful alone time with You and to allow You to guide us in

everything we do. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Church Notes:  OUR DEVOTION TO CHRIST

1. Our lives should be characterized by passionate loyalty and devotion to Jesus.
2. When we give our will to what Jesus wants, we'll look different from the world.
3. The distractions of the world should not affect our devotion to Jesus.
4. Our goal should be in doing right things; what God directs.
5. Intertainment and fun are not ungodly, but we're to choose what glorifies Him.

 

#153 Hymn-   Breathe on Me, Breath of God

 

 

Author: Edwin Hatch

Hatch, Edwin, D.D., was born at Derby, Sep. 4, 1835, and educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, B.A., in honours, in 1857. After holding important appointments in Canada, he returned to England and became Vice-Principal of St. Mary Hall, Oxford, 1867; and Rector of Purleigh, 1883. (See also Crockford). He died Nov. 10, 1889. His hymn-writing was limited. One, and that a very spirited lyric, is in Allon's Congregational Psalmist Hymnal, 1886 "Breathe on me, Breath of God."

LOST

 

 

The shadows cast by the trees in our front yard stretched out toward the east. In the dying light of the setting sun, they grew longer by the minute. I stood on our front porch and anxiously called for Fritz, our eight-year-old orange tabby cat. He was very late returning to the house. It was just a few days before Thanksgiving, and the season's first hard freeze was forecast for this very night.

Fritz has roamed the five acres of our Middle Tennessee ridge since he was a kitten. Every morning he would request that the front door be opened so his highness might exit. Assuming the weather was to his liking, out the door he would go to make his rounds and explore his territory. But he had always returned in time for his midafternoon dinner. Until today.

I called his name again and waited a few minutes. No Fritz. I began to get a distinct feeling of unease. I slipped my feet into my hiking boots, grabbed my trusty hickory walking stick, clipped my knife to my belt, jammed a flashlight in my pocket, and set off out the door.

Calling his name periodically, my wife Charlotte and I set off on a grand circle of the property. We stopped occasionally to check some of his known hunting stops. Nothing. By now, the sun had slipped below the horizon, and the twilight deepened by the minute.

As we reached three-quarters of the way around the property, I called Fritz's name again. At the very edge of my hearing, I heard ... something. It might have been a cat or it might have been a bird. Moving about a hundred feet, I called again. And again. A reply came. This time, I was sure it was a cat. After moving and calling again, I was sure it was Fritz.

Slowly, we homed in on his cry. Suddenly, a few feet away in the dark undergrowth of the woods, something four-legged bounded off into the night. Fritz cried out again, this time very close. It was Charlotte who spotted him, nearly seventy-five feet in the air, clinging to the very top of a tree. His hackles were in full extension from head to tail. Whatever had run him up the tree had probably just run off as we approached.

Fritz turned himself around and started backing down the tree. When he got within range, he jumped into my arms with a look that said, What took you so long? Cats. Gotta love them.

Jesus will never stop looking for those of His flock who are lost. The Word provides numerous examples of the Lord reaching out to save those who beseech Him. It doesn't matter if you're clinging to the top of a tree with your hindquarters hanging out in the breeze or curled up on the floor of a cold, concrete jail cell. If you call to Jesus, He will answer. 

Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”
Luke 15.6 NIV

Call to Him today. 

    

Today's prayer:

   Father, we're grateful for what You have done in giving Christ Jesus to be our Savior! As we were very LOST, we know that You loved us so much that You enabled Your Son to go to the Cross to provide forgiveness and to become our way back to You, the Holy God! May we be faithful in our living, to allow Your Spirit to recreate us to become like Jesus.

Today's encouragement:

Jean Nicolas Grou- "God only is holy; He alone knows how to lead His children in the paths of holiness. He knows every aspect of your soul, every thought of your heart, every secret of your character, its difficulties and hindrances. He know how to mold you to His will and lead you onwards to perfect sanctification."

  God is For you: turn to the sidelines; that's God cheering your run. Look past the finish line; that's God applauding your steps. Listen for Him in the bleachers, shouting our name. Too tired to continue? He'll carry you. Too discouraged to fight? He's picking you up. God is for you. 

   God is for you. Had He a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If He drove a car, your name would be on His bumper. If there's a tree in heaven, He's carved your name in the bark. We know He has a tattoo, and we know what it says, "I have written your name on My hand," He declares- (Isaiah 49:16).

9/5- FEEBLE or ABUNDANT LIVING                                                   

12th- LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES

Precious Lord, Take My Hand Hymn #152

CREATED TO WORSHIP

 

 CREATED TO WORSHIP

                                                                                                          

Jordan Zuniga- “Sometimes, we feel the need to enter God’s presence.

I remember when I wasn’t singing and worshiping the Lord for a certain time. I felt a kind of spiritual heaviness building until I started to worship. When I did, the heaviness fell off. I recalled the words of Psalm 100:4: ‘Enter into His presence with thanksgiving.’ From the beginning of creation’s story, there has been a constant theme of entering or leaving God’s presence. Both have certain outcomes. God created us to worship and glorify Him. Despite our temporary dwelling on earth, we should continue to turn our focus and worship to the Lord.

Christ met a Samaritan woman at a well and told her the time would come when it wouldn’t matter whether her people worshiped on the mountain of Samaria or in Zion. God wants those who worship Him to do so in spirit and truth. To do so, we must enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise.

God wants us to walk by the Spirit so we won’t be tempted to satisfy the desires of the flesh. We are also taught not to be drunk with wine but to be filled with the spirit—singing songs and hymns and making spiritual music from our hearts to the Lord. A true mark of a believer is when we continue to worship the Lord regardless of life’s circumstances.

Regardless of where we go or what we go through, we can continue to honor and worship the Lord by seeking out His Word and delighting in Him.

How can you set aside more time to worship and honor the Lord?”

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalms 100:4 NIV

Today’s Prayer:

   Father, please help us be faithful in our worship, that we can remain in fellowship with You. When we neglect to spend time in worship, either in church or at home, we ask that Your Spirit nudge us to continue to be revived in our spirits so that we can honor and worship You in Spirit and in truth.

   We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.

Today’s encouragement:

   We must see Jesus as qualified to be in heaven, the One who is absolutely perfect and without sin and the One who gave His life in order to give us God’s forgiveness. Without Him we know that we have no hope or assurance of ever being able to stand in the Father’s presence.

Church Notes:  ADDING BELIEVERS

We’re to rescue people from death and destruction, which is the heart of Jesus.

We’re to go in the power of God and open our hearts and homes to them.

When we do open our hands and hearts for the lost, we’ll be like Jesus.

He had compassion on the people, as He knew they were on their way to hell!

We're to give generously and cheerfully to this ministry, snatching them out of the fire.

We will step into the joy of giving to the lost and lonely around us!

#149 Hymn- I Surrender All

PRAY FIRST

  

James Banks- "Jack was a rough-spoken plumber who worked on our church building project several years ago. After he learned I was praying for him, he sometimes asked me to pray for his friends. I prayed daily for seven years for God to draw Jack near and save him.

   One Saturday during my morning devotional time, I was convicted about a need for more people to come to Christ at our church, and I prayed a simple prayer: "Please, Lord, just give us one!"

   That afternoon my cell phone rang. It was Jack. "I've just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and I'm not ready." We agreed to meet, and he consented to have others pray for him. At our church's prayer meeting that Sunday evening we prayed for Jack's healing and salvation.

   The following week, Jack received Jesus as his Savior and was baptized the following Sunday.

   Prayer emphasizes God's ability to make things happen. When we humbly admit we can't force others to come to Him, we open the door for God to accomplish what we could never do. When we pray for His Spirit to draw others near, we invite His power.

   Because of God's kindness to us through Jesus, we can "approach God's throne of grace with confidence" (Hebrews 4:16), as we cry out with compassion for those lost in darkness and facing eternity apart from Him.

   And as we love others with our prayers, we can be assured that our Savior "is also interceding for us" (Romans 8:34).

"True happiness flows from knowing Jesus and obeying Him as a result. When we walk according to His ways, He protects us from making unwise choices and guards us from the fallout of misplaced priorities. When our relationship with Him is in order, everything else falls into place."

Let's pray:

   Father, help us be ready to share our faith with others, especially with those who appear ready to listen. May we be willing to keep praying for them even for years, if necessary. 

   As prayer emphasizes Your Ability to make things happen when we humbly admit we can't force others to come to You, we open the door for You to accomplish what we could never do.  When we pray for Your Spirit to draw others near to You, we invite Your power to move on them.

Today's verse:  "Hear my prayer, o LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness." 

Church Notes:  COMMITMENT

1. We need to cry out to know God better!
2. Those who fear God love wisdom
3. We need to study the Word 
4. Trust God and hate evil
5.  Have an abundance of the taste of heaven

     Encouragement: 

  "Through Jesus, I'm a fellow heir of God's glory (Romans 8:16-17),so I'm confident in my eternal inheritance. It won't require an officious directive from some online barrister because the Lord already has all my contact information. Moreover, He won't be needing my bank routing number for me to receive my divine inheritance--eternal life with Jesus--because that is already secured." Cassandra Tiersma

#149 Hymn-  Surrender All

CHRIST'S LOVE FOR YOU

 

   George Whitefield-  "O let the love of Jesus be in your thoughts continually! It was His dying that brought you life; it was His crucifixion that paid the satisfaction for your sins; His death, burial and resurrection that completed the work; and He is now in heaven, interceding for you at the right hand of His Father.

   And can you do too much for the Lord Jesus Christ, who has done so much for you?

   His love to you is unfathomable. O the height, the depth, the length and breadth of this love that brought the king of glory from His throne, to die for such rebels as we are, when we had acted so unkindly against Him and deserved nothing but eternal damnation.

   He came down and took our nature upon Him; He was made of flesh and dwelt among us; He was put to death on our account; He paid our ransom: surely this should make us rejoice in Him."

   Jesus is patient, shaping and forming our days. Creating new out of old, bringing forth the form and work He purposed us for. He gives repeated do-overs. He lovingly molds our hearts to mirror His. It is beautiful, hard work that He's doing.

THERE'S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE

There's purpose for your life here,

As God has work for you.

Your friends, who have become quite dear,

All need His message too!

You'll find, that when to God you plead,

Your faith becomes a must.

As Jesus knows your every need,

In Him please place your trust.

Spend time alone with Him each day

To invite His Presence.

As God's New Life comes in to stay,

Friends will see a difference.

He knows the effect you will be

On others that you know.

Do pray for them, that they may see

God's love inside you grow.

An "eye of understanding" is

What makes our spirits strong.

May you soon find this Life of His

Will bring you a new song.

As God's love has reached out to you,

This Life will become real.

Go find someone to share with too,

As you'll be used to heal.

 

Today's prayer:

   Father, we look to the Lord Jesus to give us guidance that honor's You. May Your Holy Spirit  remake us into His image, [which is Your image!] Help us allow the purpose for our lives to be made clear to us, and that we'll be obedient to do Your will to live lives that will draw others to You. We pray for this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today's verse:   Matt. 10:39 "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth it for my sake shall find it."

Church notes:

     WARNINGS ARE FOR OUR GOOD

When we stop obeying God, we'll drift away.

 We need to be content with Jesus.

  Self-talk is powerful, as it continues our sin traits.

   We're just like the Israelites: we can be stubborn and disobedient.

    We're to endure the race set before us! And to HOLD ON!

Encouraging words:

"The secret of real Christian progress and the direction in which the effort of Christian progress can most profitably and effectually be made, is simply in keeping close to our Lord and Master. ". . . I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910).

WELCOMED HOME BY GOD

 

   Mike Wittmer-  After Sherman Smith recruited Deland McCullough to play American football for Miami University, he grew to love him and became the father Deland never had. Deland had great admiration for Sherman and aimed to become the man he was.

   Decades later, when Deland tracked down his birth mom, she shocked him with the news, "Your father's name is Sherman Smith." Yes, that Sherman Smith. Coach Smith was stunned to learn he had a son, and Deland was stunned that his father figure was literally his father!

   The next time they met, Sherman hugged Deland and said, "My son.' Deland had never heard that from a father, He knew Sherman " was saying it from a place of 'I'm proud. This is my son,' and he was overwhelmed.

   We too should be overwhelmed by the perfect love of our heavenly Father. John writes, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1). We're as dumbfounded as Deland, who didn't dare think someone like Sherman could be his dad. It is really true? John insists, yes, "that is what we are!" (v.1)

   If you believe in Jesus, His Father is also your dad. You may feel orphaned, alone in the world. But the truth is, you have a Father—the only One—and He's proud to call you His child.

Let's pray-

   Father, we ask for You to help our menfolk be the fathers of their children in a way that pleases You and benefits them as they grow up. May they be willing to learn from You how to be good fathers through reading the Bible and getting Your guidance from it.

  Help the men we know to be able to be good dads by examples of what men should act like, and to honor You and be ready to love their children as You love them. May they be willing to receive advice from men who have successfully raise God-fearing children.

   We ask this in Jesus' name, that You may be honored through their obedience to how You want them to behave and influence their children. Amen


#144 Testimony- Andrew Murray

   "When we're focused on yesterday or worried about tomorrow, our today quickly goes by, and we miss it's opportunities and God's promised provision. Today is the only day we have. It's the only day in which we can fulfill God's will and bring Him glory."

 

1866-1870 One-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted- 
 

1866- Prov. 30:8b "Feed me with food con envient for me."

1867- Heb. 8:10b "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people."

1868- Jer. 29:4a "Thus Saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel."

1869- Daniel 4:13a "I saw in the vision of my head."

1870- Matt. 9:28b "Believe ye that I am able to do this?"

I'm taking a sabbatical from posting on my blog until further notice. 

I will be sending a faith message each Saturday in my emails and texts.

#144 Hymn-  Precious Lord, Take My Hand

 

   Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born in a small town in Georgia in 1899. When he was about eleven, the Dorseys moved to atlanta where Thomas was quickly enamoured with the blues and began playing piano at a vaudeville theater. Later the family moved to Chicago where he attended classes at the College of Composition and Arranging.

   Thomas was converted at the National Baptist Convention in Chicago in 1921, and began writing gospel songs and trying to get them published. In August, 1932, while leading music in St. Louis, he was handed a telegram bearing the words, "Your wife just died." A friend drove him through the night, and he arrived home to learn that his baby boy had also died.

   "I began to feel that God had done me an injustice," Thomas later said. "I didn't want to serve him anymore or write any more gospel songs." But the next Saturday, while alone in a friend's music room, he had a "strange feeling" inside--a sudden calm and a quiet stillness. "As my fingers began to manipulate over the keys, words began to fall in place on the melody like drops of water falling from the crevice of the rock:

                

                Precious Lord, take my hand

                    lead me on, let me stand

                I am tired, I am weak, I am worn . . ."

   Today Thomas A Dorsey is remembered as the "Father of Gospel Music" and the author of hundreds of gospel songs including his equally famous, "Peace in the Valley."

 Some encouraging words-

   Beloved Andrew Murray wrote,"Heaven is still as full of spiritual blessings . . . 

God still delights to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. Our life and work are still as dependent on the direct impartation of the divine power as they were in Pentecostal times. Prayer is still the appointed means for drawing down these heavenly blessings in power upon ourselves and those around us. God still seeks for men and women who will, with all their other work of ministering, especially give themselves to persevering prayer."

Church Notes: 

               WE'RE WITNESSES

We're to be clothed in power; the strength of God.

We're not to be clothed with fear, but be under the power of God we've received.

God will empower us to walk with the power of Christ with boldness, demonstrating the power of God.

We're not to shrink back, but be empowered and expecting God to move through us.

He will empower us if we're hungry for more of God.

We're to press in for more!

 

 

THE PEACE THAT JESUS OFFERS

 

    David Frees- Peace is a reality few people experience these days. But in the midst of our chaotic world, God offers a peace that goes far beyond human understanding. This hope of peace lies at the heart of the story of the Bible.

   Because of Adam and Eve's rebellion in the garden of Eden, all of us are born in need of a restored relationship with our Creator. But God lovingly provided a solution: Jesus, 'the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' (John 1:29). By faith we identify and trust in Jesus' offer of Himself for our sins so we can experience salvation and, as a result, peace with God.

   Jesus said, 'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid' (14:27).

   The apostle Paul encouraged his readers with these words: 'Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful' (Col. 3:15).

   The big story of the Bible is that Jesus has conquered death and promises us eternal life. Because of this wonderful truth, we don't need to be consumed by the world's uncertainty. Instead, we can let the peace of God rule in our hearts."

Let's pray-

   As few people experience peace these day, may we seek Your peace to confront the chaotic world we live in. This peace goes far beyond our understanding, pointing us to the hope that's found in Bible stories.

   Adam and Eve's rebellion in the garden of Eden has caused all of us to be in need of a restored relationship with You. Thankfully, You've provided the solution: Jesus has become our Savior, taking away our sins upon repentance of them, belief and our receiving Him into our hearts. We can experience the power of salvation that brings Your peace!

   The apostle Paul encourages folks to "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. and be thankful" (Co. 3:15).

   The Big story of the Bible is that Jesus has conquered death and promises us eternal life. Because of this wonderful truth, we don't need to be consumed by the world's uncertainty. Instead, we can let the peace of God rule in our hearts.

   We're praying this for our good and the glory of Christ Jesus. Amen.

My weekly advice from the book,  Praise the Lord and Pass the Chemo by Elaine W. Miller: (pg. 47) 

"Seeking God keeps us from being tossed to and fro with fears and fretfulness. When we seek him, our rapid heart-rates calm as He holds us close."

#105 Testimony- Theodore Monod

  Oh, the bitter pain and sorrow

    That a time could ever be

  When I proudly said to Jesus—

   "All of self and none of Thee."

 Yet He found me; I beheld Him

   Bleeding on the accursed tree;

 And my wistful heart said faintly,

 "Some of self and some of Thee."

 Day by day His tender mercy,

   Healing, helping, full and free,

 Brought me lower, while I whispered

 "Less of self, and more of Thee!"

 Higher than the highest heavens,

   Deeper than the deepest sea,

"Lord, Thy love at last has conquered:

   None of self and ALL of Thee!"

 

1861-1865 One-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted- 
 

1861- Matt. 21:22 "And all things whatsoever he shall ask in prayer believing, ye 

          shall receive."

1862- Neh. 13:31b "Remember me, O God, for good."

1863- Ps. 65:1a "Praise waiteth from thee, O Lord."

1864- Hosea 14:2a "Take with you words, and turn to the LORD."   

1865- John 6:29b "This is the work of God, that ye believe in him whom he hath

           sent."

 #143 Hymn-  What A Friend We Have in Jesus

 

   Joseph Scriven watched in shock as the body of his fiancee was pulled from the lake. Their wedding had been planned for the next day. Reeling from the tragedy, he made up his mind to immigrate to America. Packing up his belongings in Dublin, Ireland, he sailed for Canada, leaving his mother behind. He was about 25 years old.

 

   Ten years later, in 1855, he received a word that his mother was facing a crisis. Joseph wrote this poem and sent it to her. Mrs. Scriven evidently gave a copy to a friend who had it published anonymously, and it quickly became a popular hymn, though no one knew who  had written it. 

   Until a short time before his death it was not known that he had a poetic gift. A neighbor, sitting up with him in his illness, happened upon a manuscript copy of "What a friend We Have in Jesus." Reading it with delight and questioning Mr. Scriven about it, he said that he had composed it for his mother, to comfort her in a time of special sorrow, not intending that anyone else should see it. Some time later, when another Port Hope neighbor asked him if it was true he composed the hymn, his reply was, "The Lord and I did it between us."

 Some encouraging words-  Merlin Carothers

   "Many people live in fear of God rather than accepting His love for us. But when we understand all He has done for us we will want to follow Him. Once we become fully convinced of His grace, we then become dedicated to loving and serving Him"

Church Notes: 

     LEGACY

Something is left for someone when our death comes.

A Christian legacy is what we leave of the faith we have.

How clearly is Jesus seen in our lives?

Our lives need to resolve around Jesus.

Our relationship with Jesus should proceed everything!

We're to trust in His faithfulness.

Repentance and running to Jesus is what we need to do daily!

We're to pass our faith along to others.

People will remember us by our love.

We're to be faithful when no one is watching!

Be bold ambassadors for Christ, enduring the storms.

Be faithful in our assignment from God.

God sees us and how we treat one another.

People are watching too! 

Everything is to honor the Church and Christ!

Upcoming posts:

7/4th- WELCOMED HOME BY GOD- Mike Wittmer

11th-  CHRIST'S LOVE FOR YOU- George Whitefield

18th-  PRAY FIRST- James Banks

Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)

Pages  

Prayer for salvation

For God Seekers- Healing Thoughts and Prayers 

Samples of Jean's crafts

 

The North Country Christian Fellowship Center Churches,

located in the St. Lawrence county of NY,

broadcast their Sunday services at 10 or 10:15

You can view past services too.

Sermon listing:https://www.cfconline.org/sermon-library