Thursday, May 5, 2016

A Little Girl, Hiding

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.” 1 Peter 2:9 

I see a little girl skipping home from school in the late afternoon sun. Her dress is a hand‐me‐down intended for someone two sizes larger. Her shoes are unpolished, and her socks no longer have elastic around the top. She crosses a barren yard to reach her destination—a small house badly in need of paint and repair.

The walls inside the home are patched with brown butcher paper and paint to conceal where the little girl’s father punched holes with his fist. The father frequently stumbles home in the middle of the night, smelling of alcohol, then wakes the little girl with shouts and threats against her mother. Sometimes the little girl hides from her father.

One day the little girl is driven home from a friend’s birthday party. She asks to be let out in front of a clean house with a well‐manicured lawn. She marches up the driveway and waves good‐bye to her friends— but as soon as the car rounds the corner, she turns and walks several blocks to her real home. She’s learned to hide her disgrace from others; on the inside, however, she feels ashamed, depressed, and worthless.

God, however, blesses the little girl. Her mother’s wisdom and love sustain her. The mother insists that she attend church, where the little girl learns about Jesus and invites Him into her heart and life. When the little girl grows up and goes to college, she falls in love with a man who promises to do his best to make her happy and build her up under God’s direction. And he does.

This story is deeply familiar to me because I was that little girl. Children who grow up in homes where they are loved and appreciated, where discipline and accountability are properly balanced with democracy and openness, develop a healthy sense of self‐worth that usually carries into adulthood. But those of us who didn’t experience this kind of childhood may need an extra dose of understanding from our marital partner. No matter what your spouse’s background is, I pray you’ll provide that support for the little boy or girl you’re married to.

- Shirley M Dobson

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

His Princess Every Day - Thursday, May 5, 2016

Devotionals for Women - Inspirational author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepherd imagines what a letter written from God to you would look like.

Rebuild What is Broken


My Princess Warrior,

Don’t be overwhelmed by the brokenness you see all around you. I will give you a heart to look to the future with hope, and the tools to restore and rebuild what is broken. I am the same God who gave Nehemiah the strength and favor to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem, and I will give you the power and strength to do the same. All I am asking of you today is to begin a good work by laying one stone at a time. Rebuild broken hearts with words of hope. Rebuild broken relationships with forgiveness, grace, and love. Rebuild broken cities by serving the community. I will go before you and prepare the people for your good works.

Love,
Your King, the Master Builder 

But now I said to them, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” - Nehemiah 2:17 (NLT) 

A Prayer for Rebuilding 

May you be filled with the power of the Spirit to reshape and rebuild the broken things around you. I pray that you will not be overwhelmed by the task at hand, but that you will be strengthened and encouraged by what your Father has already done. May you feel privileged to be chosen by Him to be His hands and feet. I pray that you will step up and rebuild ruined lives around you, and spread your Savior’s love. In Jesus' name, amen.

The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” - Nehemiah 2:4–5 (NLT)

This devotional is written by Sheri Rose Shepherd. All content copyright Sheri Rose Shepherd 2015. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Visit HisPrincess.com for devotionals, books, videos, and more from Sheri Rose Shepherd.

Girlfriends in God - May 05, 2016

You’re Sitting on a Great Inheritance
Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3 NIV). 

Friend to Friend

Unless you are a baseball fan, married to one, or mom to one, you probably haven’t heard of Matthew Joseph White. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1998, the Boston Red Sox in 2002, and the Colorado Rockies in 2003. But it is not his baseball career that captured my attention.

In 2003, Matt had an aunt who needed to go into a nursing home. She didn’t have the funds to make the move, but she did have a piece of land in his home state of Massachusetts. So Matt agreed to pay her $50,000 for the 45 acres of mountain real estate, which gave her enough to enter the nursing home and get the care she needed. (I love him already!)

Matt’s original intent was to build a home on the property, but found the ground too hard. When he called a surveyor to inspect the acreage, he discovered treasure lying beneath the rocky soil. The land was solid Goshen stone, a type of valuable mica. Approximately 24 million tons of mica schist rock, worth about $100 per ton, had been resting on the mountain for thousands of years. The estimated worth of Matt’s land? Two point five billion dollars.

When my husband read me Matt’s story in a sports magazine, my mind immediately went to the truth of what we have in Christ. Most of us are sitting on a mountain of precious promises and don’t even know it. Goshen stone may be valuable, and I am tickled pink that Matt made the discovery. But followers of Christ are sitting on a treasure worth even more. Jesus is the Rock, and God has already paid the excavation costs. The title deed has your name on it, and you simply need to take hold to access your glorious inheritance.

Being in Christ comes with many benefits. You are a dearly loved, completely accepted, totally forgiven, uniquely chosen child of God. And because you have been adopted into God’s family, you are now heir to a plethora of precious promises.

For starters, when you exhale your last breath on earth, you will inhale heaven for all eternity. There is no other promise that comes close in comparison. But there’s more, so much more. That’s what we’re excavating in the pages of this book.

Paul wrote, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us” (1 Cor. 2:12). So stop and pray with me for just a moment. “Dear Lord, I pray that You will open my mind to comprehend all that you have given me. Help me to let go of preconceived notions and small-minded thinking to take hold of all that You have for me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

Did you pray? Did you mean it? Let’s keep going! As you read the following words, take note of the verb tense in each sentence.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Eph. 1:3–14 emphases added).

Did you see it? Paul is describing blessings and promises you already have. Every single one of those verbs are in past tense. You don’t need to earn them. You don’t need to wait for them. You simply need to take hold of what is already yours. You’ve already got what it takes to live bold.

God made the deposit in your safe-deposit box before the creation of the world, fashioned the key in the shape of a cross, and gave you access the moment you believed. 

Let’s Pray

Father, forgive me for living like a spiritual pauper rather than a child of the King. Help me to let go of my scarcity mentality and take hold of the riches of my inheritance. Help me to take hold of the precious promises. And Lord, I know this isn’t about money or the treasures of this world. Oh, your precious promises go so much deeper than anything this temporary world has for us. Open my eyes to see what is important...the blessings You have given me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen. 

Now It’s Your Turn

Print out today’s devotion. Get out a pen, and mark every verb in Ephesians 1:3-14. (I’ve made it easy and put some in italics.)

Another option: If you’re a gal like me who takes notes in her Bible, consider marking these verbs in your Bible.

Your challenge for today is to take hold of the fact that they are in past tense. You’ve already got it! 

More from the Girlfriends 

Today’s devotion was taken from my new book, Take Hold of the Faith you Long For: Let Go, Move Forward, Live Bold. A mediocre, mundane faith is not what you were made for! In Take Hold of the Faith You Long For, I reveal the most common reasons we get stuck in our Christian faith, living less than what we had hoped. I show you how to break free of all that holds you back, move forward with all that God promises, and live the adventurous faith of bold believing. It’s time to leave behind feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy that hold you hostage and take hold of the mountain-moving faith God intends. Let’s uncover untapped sources of confidence and courage, and see how to move from simply knowing the truth to actually living it out boldly. It’s time to TAKE HOLD of all that Jesus has already taken hold of for you and placed in you! Click on the book cover to download a sample chapter and view a quick video. And if you’re looking for a new study for your women’s group or individual study, Take Hold includes a Bible Study guide in the back. Also, you’ll find out about some free gifts with each purchase.

Seeking God?
Click here to find out more about
how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Girlfriends in God
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FAMILY PERSECUTION

“…I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.” Matthew 10:35-36 

Anyone who has become a Christian in a family of unbelievers can testify to the hundreds of ways persecution can be experienced. Jesus warned us up front about this in chilling language. It was Jesus who experienced this from his own family, being chided and misunderstood (Luke 2:48), and his “own people did not accept him” (John 1:11).

Most families in the world are not nuclear in nature, but extended, so an entire web of kinship relations are fouled up by the action of becoming a Christian. It can be very difficult to make one’s way in the world accordingly. We could even say it is one’s family culture that rejects the Christian witness. One reason for this is over-familiarity. Jesus generalizes from his experience of rejection in Nazareth saying, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown” (Matthew 13:57).

This goes right back to the dawn of human history. The first recorded act of violence was due to family persecution—Cain murdering his brother Abel out of religious jealousy. King David bemoans the betrayal of a close friend in Psalm 41:9, “Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Jeremiah is dismayed to find members of his own family involved in an assassination plot against him; “…even your kinsfolk and your own family, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you” (Jeremiah 12:6).

In China today, if a student converts to Christianity it is the parents that insist he or she give up her faith, for fear of an inferior work placement bringing dishonor to the family. In many Buddhist societies, like Burma, to become a Christian is tantamount to saying “I am no longer Burmese.”

It is family misunderstanding that is often hardest to bear. After all, we long for the love of those who have nurtured us. To have that love relationship ruptured ranks as one of the greatest traumas a human being can face.

In Pakistan, a father was asked why he murdered his daughter. He answered simply, “I didn’t murder my daughter. When she became a Christian, she was no longer my daughter.” He will never be charged for his crime. 

RESPONSE: Today I will treasure my family and watch for Satan’s subtle attacks against it.

PRAYER: Pray for those experiencing Satan’s deadly tactic of persecution from family members.

Verse of the Day - May 05, 2016

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Read all of Philippians 4

Feast of the Ascension

The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, also known as Ascension Thursday, Holy Thursday, or Ascension Day, commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical feasts (i.e., universally celebrated) of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter, and Pentecost. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter (following the count given in Acts 1:3), although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday.

History

The observance of this feast is of great antiquity. Eusebius seems to hint at the celebration of it in the 4th century. At the beginning of the 5th century, St. Augustine says that it is of Apostolic origin, and he speaks of it in a way that shows it was the universal observance of the Church long before his time. Frequent mention of it is made in the writings of St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and in the Constitution of the Apostles. The Pilgrimage of Aetheria speaks of the vigil of this feast and of the feast itself, as they were kept in the church built over the grotto in Bethlehem in which Christ was born. It may be that prior to the 5th century the fact narrated in the Gospels was commemorated in conjunction with the feast of Easter or Pentecost. Some believe that the much-disputed forty-third decree of the Synod of Elvira (c. 300) condemning the practice of observing a feast on the fortieth day after Easter and neglecting to keep Pentecost on the fiftieth day, implies that the proper usage of the time was to commemorate the Ascension along with Pentecost. Representations of the mystery are found in diptychs and frescoes dating as early as the 5th century.

Customs
Certain customs or rituals were connected with the liturgy of this feast, such as the blessing of beans and grapes after the Commemoration of the Dead in the Canon of the Mass, the blessing of first fruits, afterwards done on Rogation Days, the blessing of a candle, the wearing of mitres by deacon and subdeacon, the extinguishing of the paschal candle, and triumphal processions with torches and banners outside the churches to commemorate the entry of Christ into heaven.

The antiquarian Daniel Rock records the English custom of carrying at the head of the procession the banner bearing the device of the lion and at the foot the banner of the dragon, to symbolize the triumph of Christ in his ascension over the evil one (and can also be interpreted by analogy as the triumph of England over Wales). In some churches the scene of the Ascension was vividly reproduced by elevating the figure of Christ above the altar through an opening in the roof of the church. In others, whilst the figure of Christ was made to ascend, that of the devil was made to descend.

In England it was once common for churches to "beat the bounds" on this day, and some continue the custom (e.g. the church of St Michael at the North Gate in Oxford). Members of the parish walk round the parish boundaries, marking boundary stones (e.g. by writing on them in chalk) and hitting them with sticks. According to some, it was once the young boys of the parish that were hit with sticks instead of the stones. Knowledge of the parish boundaries was once important, since churches had certain duties such as the care of children born out of wedlock in the parish. One of the purposes served by beating the bounds was that of warning the young men of the parish that any sexual misbehaviour ought to take place with women who lived outside the parish.

In some countries (at least in Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany (since the 1930s), Haiti, Iceland, Indonesia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Namibia, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Vanuatu) it is a public holiday; Germany also holds its Fathers' Day on the same date.

Coinciding with the liturgical feast is the annual commemoration by the Christian labour movement (especially syndical, in Belgium) of the encyclical Rerum novarum issued by the Roman Catholic Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891.

In Venice the ceremony of the Wedding with the Sea was traditionally celebrated on the Feast of the Ascension, while in Florence the Feast was observed by having a dove slide down a string from the high altar of the cathedral to ignite a large decorative container filled with fireworks in front of the main entrance of the cathedral.

In Portugal on "Wheatstalk Thursday", small bundles of poppies and wheatstalks are picked in the fields and placed at home until next year, for good fortune.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Ascension

The Daily Readings for May 5, 2016 - Ascension Day

Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."


Psalm 47
1   Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a cry of joy.
2   For the LORD Most High is to be feared; he is the great King over all the earth.
3   He subdues the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.
4   He chooses our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
5   God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of the ram's-horn.
6   Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7   For God is King of all the earth; sing praises with all your skill.
8   God reigns over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne.
9   The nobles of the peoples have gathered together with the people of the God of Abraham.
10   The rulers of the earth belong to God, and he is highly exalted.


Ephesians 1:15-23
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.


Luke 24:44-53
Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

The Daily Meditation for May 5, 2016 - Ascension Day

From Forward Day by Day

Acts 1:11a They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”

The scene of the Ascension makes me laugh: a group of men standing around, staring upward. Gaping. Waiting. Two angels, presumably, ask the obvious question. “Why are you standing there doing nothing? You’ve got some work to do.”

I paraphrase, but we get the point. We have walked through Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. We have reflected, prepared, prayed, mourned, and celebrated with Jesus. Jesus has ascended.

Now what?

We can stand around, waiting for Jesus to do all the work. Hungry people in the world? Jesus can feed them. Lonely souls lost and alone? Jesus can befriend them. Victims of injustice? Jesus can free them.

Well, yes. Jesus does do these things. Through us.

Christ calls us to be witnesses, disciples, and laborers in the field. We can stand around, or we can accept the call to be witnesses to love in the world. As witnesses, we do things. No sitting around, waiting for someone else. No limiting ourselves to easy things that don’t cost us.



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