Reflections of the Spirit

Have you ever felt that you needed to find a way to learn more about God and how His Word applies to your life? We all do because God has instilled that desire within us. The spirit of knowing God is a gift that He has provided because He wants us to know Him. Establishing a daily time of reflection and study is God’s way of reaching and talking to us. He provides amazing words of wisdom and insight that are intimately appropriate and useful, once we take the time, each day, to look for them.

Reflections of the Spirit, written by Gary Sims, a member of First Church, is a site dedicated to that purpose. Utilizing the Common Lectionary as a source for biblical study, each day we will look at scripture and reflect on how these verses apply to our lives and the world around us.

Each week, Pastors from around the world and from all denominations, use the Common Lectionary as a basis for sermon preparation. It provides a group of scriptures from the Old Testament, Psalms, the Gospels, and from the Epistles (letters) from which weekly worship services are based. Linked by a common theme, these scriptures provide you with an opportunity for a deeper understanding of God’s Word and how it relates to your life.

Beginning each Monday morning, Reflections of the Spirit will provide a study opportunity for one of the Bible verses being suggested from the Common Lectionary for the following Sunday. The study guide will provide you with Highlights of Key Verses, Points to Contemplate, and Promises of the Gospel for each reading.

As the week progresses, emphasis will be placed on additional scriptures, providing you an opportunity to study that week’s entire Lectionary selection. Fridays will be set aside as a day to reflect and analyze how the four scriptures relate to each other. This will be an opportunity for deeper, personal reflection especially focused on how we can bring the Spirit of God’s message into our lives, becoming stronger disciples for His Kingdom.

We pray that this web page meets your needs and provides God an opportunity to transform your life.

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Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - Farewell

Dear Readers of Reflections of the Spirit

After six years of studying, writing, and posting these Reflections, it has come time to set down the pen and move on to other ministry opportunities God has planned for my life. The miracles God has revealed to me through this ministry of the people throughout the world working daily in the building of His kingdom have been amazing. I have heard from pastors throughout the U.S. and Canada sharing the details of their churches. I have heard from Army Chaplains in Afghanistan and itinerant pastors in Africa. I have heard stories that simply bring tears to my eyes because of the amazing power of God. He is everywhere and He works through each of you for His purpose.

Yes, ending this ministry comes with a heavy heart but it also brings with it the promise of new horizons for growth with Christ. I am excitedly looking forward to the new things God has in store.

If you have come to this page in search of Lectionary-based sermon support or a glimpse of inspiration, then there is good news. Every one of the Reflections of the Spirit devotionals I've written and posted for the last six years is available to read and use at www.InJesus.com. Once you access the main InJesus page, search under groups for Reflections of the Spirit. The articles are organized by date with the Bible Verse and title of the Reflection in the description. Hopefully this resource will help to support your on-going classes and sermon writings.

Thank you all for your undying devotion to Christ. May He continue to bless you in everything you do.

Forever in His Love, Gary Sims

Please send comments or questions about this devotional to SimsGa21@comcast.net.

Thursday, April 24, 2008 - The Gospels
John 14:15-21 - By Our Love

Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 15: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." - Being like Christ and doing as He would have us do is an act of love.
  
  
• 16-17: "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, because He abides with you, and He will be in you." - We do not need to search for the Holy Spirit in our lives; we don't even have to be pray for God to fill us with His Spirit. He is already there, abiding, living within, guiding, and walking beside us.
  
  
• 20: "On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." - Calming their Upper Room fears, Jesus tells His disciples to have no fear. He is not leaving them "orphaned."
  
  
• 21: "They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them." - Keeping Christ's commandments is not a rite of passage or trial of worthiness. If we love Christ, then we will love as He commanded. Our actions are a byproduct of our belief in Christ and His love reveals the wonders of God living within us.
  

• Do you love Christ? Are you keeping His commandments? Which commandments should you keep? Are you supposed to adhere to Mosaic Law in its entirety? Perhaps you should simplify things and focus only on the Ten Commandments. Or has this list of law proven to be unattainable as well? Remember Jesus' words on this topic? He said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40 NRSV) Do you love Christ?
  
  
• Can you find the Holy Spirit? Can you hear His voice? Have you experienced His guidance? Or felt His presence? Do you know when He is speaking? Leading? Teaching? Walking beside you? Or are you struggling to find evidence of Him in your life? Think about these words of Jesus: "This is the Spirit of truth." and "You know Him because He abides with you and He will be in you." Do you see that you do not need any special skills or gifts of discernment to find the Holy Spirit? If you think about it, haven't you heard the Spirit of truth speaking to you? Hasn't He been guiding you all along? Isn't it time to grasp His hand, call Him by name, and begin a journey filled with the knowledge He is always with you?
  
  
• Where is Jesus? Where is God? Do you look to the Cross and still see Jesus hanging there - paying for your sins over and over? Do you need to look to the heavens or out towards a beautiful sunset in order to find God? Do you only find evidence of God when you go to church or when you attend a Bible study? Are you are seeking God and having difficulty finding Him? Perhaps it is time to look inward. St Augustine suggested that to know your self is to know God. Is this what Jesus meant when He said: "I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you?"
  

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Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - The Songs
Psalm 66:8-20 - What God has Done

Key Verses: (NCV)

• 9: "He protects our lives and does not let us be defeated." - We may experience pain and suffering but never defeat.
  
  
• 10: "God, you have tested us; you have purified us like silver." - Silver is purified by fire. God's objective is to make us holy; even Christ-like. He will do everything in His power to make that happen even if it means that we will face the purifying fires of pain and suffering.
  
  
• 12: "You let our enemies walk on our heads. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place with good things." - We may never understand the ways of life but we can be assured that God "knows the plans (He) has for (us)…, plans for (our) welfare and not for harm, to give (us) a future with hope." (Jeremiah 29,11 - NRSV)
  
  
• 16: "All of you who fear God, come and listen, and I will tell you what He has done for me." - The psalmist cannot contain his joy. God has done amazing things in his life and he wants to share this good news with everyone he can.
  
  
• 19-20: "But God has listened; He has heard my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or hold back His love from me." - God listens to our prayers.
  

• Have you experienced God's protection? Even though you have experienced difficult and challenging times, have you felt God's comfort and assurance? When your life is filled with worry and anxiety has He stilled your troubled heart and filled you with a sense of peacefulness? When you have faced uncertainty and doubt has He led you to the right paths and to the areas of ministry He wants you to follow? When you were surrounded by adversaries and foes, did He erase the fear growing in your heart? When you have feared for scarcity, loneliness, or hope has His blessing caused your cup to overflow? Do you recognize that "goodness and mercy will follow (you) all the days of (your) life?" (Psalm 23:6 NRSV)
  
  
• Have you ever been tested by God? Has your faith been refined through the fires of persecution, pain, and suffering? Has God let your "enemies walk on (your) head?" Have you passed "through fire and flood" in order to be "brought to a place with good things?" Perhaps you have difficulty with the concept of God sending pain and suffering into our lives. Do you accept that God will use every situation you face in life as a teaching moment? Do you realize that God is constantly providing you opportunities to learn, grow, adjust, understand, expand, and shine? Are there impurities in your life so deeply imbedded that they may require the fires of God's purifying love to reach in and separate them in order to make you the holy person He has created you to be?
  
  
• Has God heard to your prayers? Has He ever let you down in times of need? As you look back at your times of struggle can you see that God was always with you? That even if your struggle and pain seemed to last forever, you see evidence God answered your prayers and He used this time to grow you stronger in your faith? In the midst of pain, loss, or hopelessness, can you see the blessings that God continues to pour into your life? In what ways is God using your painful experiences to expand His kingdom on earth? Will your experiences help others? The psalmist cries out, look "what He has done for me." Are you willing to take your pain and turn it into a blessing for others?
  

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - The Letters
1 Peter 3:13-22 - Being Ready

Key Verses: (CEV)

• 13-14: "Can anyone really harm you for being eager to do good deeds? Even if you have to suffer for doing good things, God will bless you. So stop being afraid and don't worry about what people might do." - God raises us up over the storms of life in order to do good things without fear or worry of the consequences.
  
  
• 15: "Honor Christ and let Him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope." - "Being Ready" is the key aspect for our life in Christ. We must "be ready" to share our life in Christ at any time. God will bring people into our lives who need to hear a message of hope.
  
  
• 18: "Christ died once for our sins. An innocent person died for those who are guilty. Christ did this to bring you to God, when His body was put to death and His spirit was made alive." - His Spirit is alive and living in our hearts so that we can be empowered to bring others to God.
  
  
• 21b: "But baptism is more than just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear conscience, because Jesus Christ was raised from death." - We are not only cleansed through the forgiveness of our sins but we are destined to perform the duties of Christ in the building of the kingdom of heaven.
  

• Can you stop being afraid? Can you set your worries aside? Is Peter saying that when you respond to God's calling in your life you will be safe from persecution or harm? Or is He stating that in spite of the suffering you will face, you will still be blessed? How does this message provide hope in your life? Does it enable you to move out into ministry without fear? Are you willing to spread the news of Christ in spite of what others might think or say? Can you teach, preach, and sing of the Good News of Christ without worry or fear? Have you experienced God's blessings in your life when you have eagerly done His good deeds?
  
  
• Are you ready? When God sends someone to you in search of hope, do you set everything aside and respond to their needs? Do you willingly share how Christ has changed your life in order that they too, may experience the love and grace of God? Do you see how you honor God when you do this? Do you see how pleased He will be when you choose to step out in ministry to help others? Do you pray for opportunities to serve God in this way? Are you seeking ways to share the love of Christ to the world? Are you ready?
  
  
• Is Christ alive in you? Let's say you get it…you recognize that Christ died for your sins and you are forgiven. You know what grace means and how you have been saved by His love. If you choose to do nothing with this blessing, if you hold back and keep this good news to your self, then is Christ alive in you or are you keeping His spirit in a stagnant state? Do you see that your baptism means more than a simple cleansing? Are you turning to God and willingly following Him into the ministry He has in store for you?
  

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Monday, April 21, 2008 - The Scriptures
Acts 17:22-31 - Finding God, Today

Key Verses: (NCV)

• 23: "As I was going through your city, I saw the objects you worship, I found an altar that had these words written on it: TO A GOD WHO IS NOT KNOWN. You worship a god that you don't know, and this is the God I am telling you about!" - Paul was in Athens, upset by the amount of idol worship he witnessed. And then, in the midst of it all, he sees evidence of God's presence.
  
  
• 26: "God began by making one person, and from him came all the different people who live everywhere in the world. God decided exactly when and where they must live." - Paul witnesses by beginning at a point of reference in which they are familiar. Teaching from strictly a traditional Jewish perspective would have had little meaning to the Greeks in his audience.
  
  
• 27-28: "God wanted them to look for Him and perhaps search all around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any of us: 'We live in Him. We walk in Him. We are in Him.' Some of your own poets have said: 'For we are His children.'" - God wants us to search for Him and when we do we will find evidence of Him actively involved in our lives everywhere we look.
  
  
• 30: "In the past, people did not understand God, and He ignored this. But now, God tells all people in the world to change their hearts and lives." - Repent. Turn from sin and towards God. Be transformed into the image of Christ.
  
  
• 31: "God has set a day that He will judge all the world with fairness, by the man He chose long ago. And God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from the dead!" - Not everyone who heard Paul's message chose to believe, but those who did were changed for all time.
  

li>Have you worshipped "a God who is not known?" Do you feel that there is 'Supreme Being', 'Greater Power,' or 'Center of the Universe' that, in some way, plays a role in your life? Do you find yourself praying to this unknown Being in times of need? Do you pay tribute to Him, just in case? As Paul walked the city streets of Athens he found idols and monuments for every god the people could think of. In addition and just in case, they created a monument to an Unknown God because they sensed they were missing something. Do you worship the idols of our modern society but feel something is missing? Is God still unknown to you?


• Are you searching for God? Have you spent your life seeking? Do you have an emptiness that cannot be filled? Has every other god you have found - the god of beauty and acceptance, the god of wealth and success, the god of indulgence, or the god of denial - left you empty and unfulfilled? Do you recognize that God created within you a desire and craving to find Him? Do you now realize you are a child of God? That you live in Him, walk in Him? Do you feel His fulfilling love living you? Do you see that you are in Him?
  
  
• Is it time to change your heart? Are you willing, today, to set aside the resistance you have fostered and your lack of understanding in order to let God into your heart? Will you set down the idols of life to which you cling without gain of sustenance or purpose? Are you ready to repent (turn) from godlessness to holiness? Do you see that in your acceptance of Christ's love for you that the world grows one step closer to becoming the kingdom of heaven God has imagined for us all? Today, right now, ask Christ into your heart and begin to feel the difference the One can make in your life.
  

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Friday, April 18, 2008 - Week's End Meditation
Loving the Unlovable

Reflections:

• In Acts we experience the stoning death of Stephen. But this is not a story about death. Instead, it is a story of life - lives were changed because Stephen had learned to trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit. The more we choose to follow the Holy Spirit in our lives the more the glory of God is revealed to us and to the world around us. The question is not: Will the Holy Spirit lead us? Nor is it an issue of where He will lead. The question before us all, each and every day, is: How far are we willing to go?
  
  
• Peter writes that we "are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work." A priesthood of believers with Christ as the foundation called together to do the work of God in the lives we touch. God has nurtured us for this role. We are equipped by the Holy Spirit "to do His work and speak out for Him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made" in our lives. It is through this personal testimony and witness that God is glorified and His kingdom revealed.
  
  
• In Psalm 31 David is experiencing a time of stress; a time where he seeks refuge in God. As we face the challenges of life and the pitfalls of failure and as we learn to fully commit our lives to God we will experience the redeeming faithfulness that God has available. When we place "our times in (His) hands" He will deliver us from issues of fear, doubt, and failure that are beating at the doors of our lives.
  
  
• In chapter 14 of John, Jesus is in the Upper Room with His disciples giving them His last words of advice. Thomas and Philip ask an important question in our behalf: How can we find the Way? The response is mind boggling and has provided food for thought for thousands of years. Jesus is the Christ, the Creator, and the Father. When we see one, we see them all. When we talk of one, we talk of them all. The way to the Father is through the Father. But then the most mind-boggling truth of them all. The Christ is one with us and through our belief we become empowered to do everything that God, Himself, would do.
  

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Illustration:

Pete: "So how are things, Tim? I haven't seen you around much lately."

Tim: "Hi, Pete. I guess "things" are okay. I don't know. I just don't feel right. You know what I mean? Sometimes it just seems that everything I do is wrong."

Pete: "I think I understand. There are times for me when even the easiest of tasks seem to be a struggle."

Tim: "Struggle? I'm not sure that's what I'm talking about. I mean, yes, things are difficult... challenging. It is a struggle; I guess... a struggle to do what is right - to do what God would want me to do."

Pete: "Yea, God can lead us into some challenging areas of ministry."

Tim: "No, its not ministry I'm talking about. It is simply living life as He would want. It seems that I can't help it. I just always find myself doing the wrong things."

Pete: "Wrong things?"

Tim: "You won't tell anyone will you? This is not something I'm very proud of."

Pete: "Certainly not. This conversation is strictly between the three of us... you, me, and God."

Tim: "Okay. Well, you know that new show club on 4th Street? T&Bs?"

Pete: "No, I'm not familiar with it."

Tim: "Well, it's a new "gentleman's club." I drive by it every night on the way home from work and I can't seem to get it out of my head. I am obsessed with it. Half the time I drive past and then do a u-turn. The rest of time, I either drive right to it without so much as a hint of guilt feelings or wish I had stopped and think about it the rest of the night at home."

Pete: "What's Shirley say about your new fascination?"

Tim: "I wouldn't call it new. It has been one of my "struggles," as you would say, most of my life. She is very aware of my weakness and it is ruining our marriage."

Pete: "I can see how it might."

Tim: "The worse thing is I know I shouldn't go there. I know that Christ wants me to live a better life. I just can't help myself. I am damaged goods. I am worthless. I even considered killing myself a couple of weeks ago when Shirley and I fought about it. I stormed out of the house and drove right to the place. I didn't get home until four in the morning. I drove around the city for three hours trying to figure it out. I know if I would have had a gun I wouldn't be here today talking to you. I am simply bogged down with feelings of guilt. I'm at the end of my rope."

Pete: "Tim, one thing you have to get out of your head is this feeling of worthlessness. No matter what you do, God loves you. In fact He created you just as you are. As David would say, "You are wonderfully and fearfully made."

Tim: "Well, I can understand the fearfully part. I just don't know. I want to do the right things but I can't control my feelings and then I just get out there, far from God."

Pete: "That isn't quite right either, Tim. You are never far from God. He is leaning in, paying close attention, and helping you."

Tim: "Helping? How? I know in church we talk about the Holy Spirit guiding us in our lives but how can you tell when you hear the Holy Spirit? I don't think I've ever heard it."

Pete: "He is helping you right now. Don't you think He brought us both together just now so we could have this conversation? Don't you know that He loves you?"

Tim: "I'm sure He loves me when I do the right things but when I decide to head off to T&Bs I doubt if He loves me very much then."

Pete: "You understand the idea of Grace, right?"

Tim: "Yeah, sort of. It's that God loved the world thing."

Pete: "Let's put this way... God loved Tim so much that He forgave Him for all time."

Tim: "What did I do to earn that?"

Pete: "Nothing - and that is Grace. There is nothing you can do to earn it. Your actions and deeds will not win His favor. He doesn't love you anymore if you do good or any less if you stray."

Tim: "So I can go to T&Bs, be unfaithful to my wife, drink until the sun rises, and God still loves me?"

Pete: "Yes, He does. Now I am not saying He doesn't grieve for you. He desperately wants to bring you into a better, more holy life, but He has not given up on you. He is trying to reach you to show you a better way to live, a way where T&Bs is no longer a problem."

Tim: "Well, that's the point, isn't it? I can't seem to do that."

Pete: "Let me help. There are some things in all of our lives that we have no control over and we can't fix them by ourselves. We need help. We need Christ. Let me be Christ to you."

Tim: "Christ? You can be Christ? You can do healings and miracles?"

Pete: "You never know. I do know that Jesus said: "I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things..." Let me be Christ for you. Let me help you through this struggle."

Tim: "Okay. I'm willing to try. What should we do?"

Pete: "Why don't we go to that service at the church they have on Fridays together... what do they call it? Celebrate Recovery? Maybe that will be a good place to start."

Tim: "It might work; at least I won't be at T&Bs. Are you sure you want to do this for me? You must have a better way to spend your Fridays."

Pete: "Tim, I have nothing better to do then to try and help a beloved creation of God. He loves you, has forgiven you, and has amazing things in store for you. It would be an honor and a privilege to experience some of God's glory with you."

Tim: "Okay, then. Friday night. See you then. And Pete...?"

Pete: "Yes?"

Tim: "Thank you."

Pete: "No. Thank God."

Closing Prayer:

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Thursday, April 17, 2008 - The Gospels
John 14:1-14 - The Christ

Key Verses: (CEV)

• 1: "Jesus said to His disciples, 'Don't be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me.'" - Don't worry! Have no fear! For Christ is with you.
  
  
• 2: "There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you." - Christ has prepared a room for each of us; the sheets have been drawn back, the pillows fluffed, and the thermostat set. No matter who we are, a place with God has been prepared.
  
  
• 6-7: "'I am the way, the truth, and the life!' Jesus answered. 'Without me, no one can go to the Father. If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know Him, and you have seen Him." - Christ is the Word made Flesh; the Creator and the Spirit of God made available for everyone to see.
  
  
• 9: "Jesus replied: Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father?" - The Word became flesh; God became man, so that we could come to understand Him.
  
  
• 12: "I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father." - Christ remains here, within us. He empowers us to be everything God created us to be. We have the creative power of God living in our hearts.
  

• Do you worry? Are you fearful? Why? Do you lack faith? Christ says 'have no fear.' What keeps you from accepting these words of assurance? These words were spoken to the disciples in the midst of Jesus' farewell message to them. The dark shadow of death was descending upon them. And He says, have no fear; do not be troubled; relax. In the midst of your fears and descending shadows of darkness, can you hear these reassuring words of Jesus telling you that you have nothing to fear?
  
  
• Has Christ prepared a place for you? He says He has. He says there is a mansion with many rooms, rooms enough for us all. Are these rooms all the same? Are they limited to a select few? Or do you imagine them to be as different and diverse as all humanity? Will they be warm and accepting for all, regardless from where we come? Jesus is indicating that all will be welcomed in His Father's house - even you.
  
  
• Do you know the way? Or are you lost and wandering around in the wilderness? Perhaps you are a follower of Jesus Christ and through your belief you feel you have found the Way? If this were so clear and obvious, why was Thomas still lost? Is it because the Way is not necessarily through Jesus, the man but more about the Christ, the Word; the Creator? In answering Thomas' question, is Jesus speaking of the universal truth that God created us all in His image and wants us all to be with Him throughout eternity?
  

Please send comments or questions about this devotional to SimsGa21@comcast.net.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - The Songs
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 - Found, Delivered, and Redeemed

Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 1: "In you, O LORD, I seek refuge; do not let me ever be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me." - We all, at times, seek shelter from the storms of life and as we learn to turn to God we find Him ready to envelope us with His love and eager to show us the way towards a life of righteousness.
  
  
• 2: "Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me." - The psalmist prays a prayer that God willingly answers. He has been waiting for each of us to call on His name and to receive His gift of salvation.
  
  
• 3-4: "You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me, take me out of the net that is hidden for me, for you are my refuge." - There are snares in life that threaten to lead us astray, but God will provide us with his Spirit to lead, guide, and inspire us to the glory that He has in store.
  
  
• 5: "Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God." - Giving everything over to God opens the door to a new life; a redeemed life.
  
  
• 15-16: "My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love." - Jabez prayed: 'Keep me from harm' and his prayers were answered. It is a promise available for us all.
  

• Where do you go to seek refuge? Do you hurry home after a busy day, after a day of fighting off the wolves, and race to close the doors of your sanctuary that you call home? Do you head for the mountains, lakes, or beaches to escape the rigors of daily living? Do you find refuge from a bottle or from the contents of a candy wrapper? Do you find comfort from friends or do you savor being alone? Perhaps you escape into a good book or "veg-out" in front of the boob tube? Do any of these choices provide true refuge, release any of life's pressures, or solve any problems? Have you tried seeking refuge in the Lord? Have you found hope when you do?
  
  
• What are the snares in your life? What hidden dangers lay in your path? Will your temper or lack of patience suddenly reach out and trip you up? Will temptation finally erode your defenses? Will the pressures of the day overwhelm you? Are you about to succumb to fatigue or improper diet? Would everything be fine if the traffic ahead of you would just start moving or if the screaming baby in the waiting area would just go to sleep? Are you on the edge of losing control? Do you realize that God is waiting to help?
  
  
• Have you handed your life over to God? Can you commit to Him your spirit? Will you be able to give to Him your times, your worries, your defeats, and your victories? Can you relax into His Spirit with the assurance and knowledge that He will provide you safety from harm? Do you accept that His promise of salvation comes only after you give Him control of your life? Do you see that He is earnestly listening for your prayer, beseeching of His love, glorifying in His faithfulness, and dedicating your life? Are you ready to experience His "steadfast love?"
  

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Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - The Letters
1 Peter 2:2-10 - A Priesthood of Believers

Key Verses: (MSG)

• 2: “Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God." - Our spiritual appetite to fully know God increases as we drink from His love.
  
  
• 4: "Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor." - The ways of man cannot be trusted. What men have rejected God will honor.
  
  
• 5: "Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God." - The community of faith; the Church; a priesthood of believers; we are brought together by God, built on the foundation of Christ, and destined to live holy lives.
  
  
• 6: "The Scriptures provide precedent: Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion, a cornerstone in the place of honor. Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation will never have cause to regret it." - Christ is the foundation and from that point all things are possible.
  
  
• 9-10: "But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do His work and speak out for Him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference He made for you--from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted." - Selected from the pits of hopelessness and despair, hand-picked from lives heading no where to lives filled with purpose, God has chosen each of us for priestly work - work destined to bring the world to His door.
  

• Are you growing in faith? Have you tasted the sweet milk of truth and crave more its succulent rewards? Do you crave to learn more from God with each step you take in life? Have you experienced the unlimited joy of His bounty? Have you learned that you have so much more to learn? And yet, have you seen how far you have come? Do you accept that God has created within you a spiritual appetite that will never be fully satiated?
  
  
• Are you a holy priest? As a Christian you have been brought by God into a community of faith - the Church. Do you accept your role within that community, a priesthood of believers? Do you see that we are all called to serve God in priestly ways, giving of our selves so that others might be served? Do you offer your life as a living sacrifice so that others might live?
  
  
• How are things changed in your life? Have you experienced the "night-and-day difference He (has) made for you?" Can you remember how things once were? Were there aspects of your life over which you had no control? Were their cravings or temperaments that defined and managed your life? Were you frustrated and filled with hopelessness? Were you alone and in despair? When you awakened to the love of Christ was it as though a light switch of hope and love was suddenly turned on? Have you turned from what was and walked into what could be?
  

Please send comments or questions about this devotional to SimsGa21@comcast.net.

Monday, April 14, 2008 - The Scriptures
Acts 7:55-60 - Led to Glory

Key Verses: (NRSV)

• 55-56: "But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’" - Stephen has just accused the Sanhedrin of not adhering to the "law as ordained by angels" and being the murderers of Christ. These words of Stephen show that he had been speaking the truth as inspired by the Holy Spirit.
  
  
• 57-58: "But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul." - Self-righteousness has a way of not listening to the truth.
  
  
• 59-60: "While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died." - Blasphemy, according the law of Leviticus, was punishable by death by stoning. As Stephen dies he utters a similar prayer to Jesus' dieing words.
  

• Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? How can you tell? Has He inspired you to say and do things that you would have never been able to do by yourself? Has He given you strength and perseverance in the face of opposition? Has He revealed His truth in order to provide you with certainty and assurance? Has He revealed the presence of God in your life? Provided you with insight and inspiration? Given you peace in times of stress? Sent comfort in times of need? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?
  
  
• Are you covering your ears? Is God sending messages to you that you would rather not hear? Is He calling you into a ministry to which you do not want to go? Has He revealed a truth that you refuse to hear? Are you refusing to listen to God and choosing, instead, to go with whatever the mob around you is doing? Are you "stiff-necked or uncircumcised in (your) heart?" (Acts 7:51) Is your self righteousness keeping you from seeing the glory of God even when it is laid at your feet?
  
  
• How far are you willing to go? Stephen was a simple man. He administered a feeding program for the widows of early Christendom. It was an important task but relatively minor as compared to some of the other disciples. And then a moment came before the Sanhedrin when he stepped out in faith and willingly gave his life for Christ. When circumstances in your life suddenly pile up against you, are you still willing to take a risk and preach the good news as Christ would have you? Are you willing to go out on a limb in order to right a wrong or reveal a truth? Do you trust God enough that you are willing to do what ever He asks of you no matter the consequences?
  

Please send comments or questions about this devotional to SimsGa21@comcast.net.

Friday, April 4, 2008 - Week's End Meditation
A Dialogue of Faith

Reflections:

• In Acts, Peter stands before the Pentecost crowd and explains the basics of the Gospel. Jesus died for our sins, God raised Him from the dead in acceptance of His Holy sacrifice, and we have received the promise of eternal life. In response, Peter calls us to repent, turn from our life of sin, and towards a life in Christ. In our baptism, the symbolic gesture that we choose to follow Christ, we are filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
  
  
• In 1 Peter we are reminded that through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have been saved from a useless life. These words from Peter bring the words of the song "Amazing Grace" to mind and our focus turns to the bloody body of Jesus hanging on the Cross. However, it is the events of Easter morning and the victory over death that God created that should mean the most in our lives as Christians. We are not called to dwell on the worthlessness of the lives we used to lead. Instead, we are reborn and made anew with the sole purpose of bringing the Good News that Christ is alive to the world.
  
  
• The psalmist in Psalm 116 has faced certain death. In the midst of his worst fear he called out to God and discovered that God actively listens to our prayers. He not only listens, He responds. In that response we experience the salvation that God freely provides. There is nothing we can do in payment for God's gift of grace. Our only response is to lift of songs of praise and worship in recognition of God's love in our lives.
  
  
• In our verses in Luke two disciples are walking away from the events of Easter filled with doubt and questions. Jesus appears to them as the approach Emmaus and spends some quality time teaching them how they answers they seek can be found in Scripture. Eventually, during a time of quiet participation in communion, the eyes of the disciples are opened and they see, for the first time, the risen Christ. Filled with His Spirit they return to Jerusalem to share the good news and to be among those who believe.
  

Please send comments or questions about this devotional to SimsGa21@comcast.net.

Favorite Links

BLOGGING FOR TRUTH by Gary Sims

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