Friday, March 24, 2017

March 25, 2017

                                               
DAY THIRTY-TWO

March 25, 2017

You Make the Call

“All Scripture is God–breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.“      II Timothy 3:16-17

Baseball umpire Durwood Merrill tells of his rookie year of umpiring in the major leagues.  It was the first time he had called balls and strikes with the famous pitcher, Nolan Ryan.  The second pitch of the game was so fast, Merrill never saw it.  He froze, unable to make the call.  Finally he yelled somewhat tentatively, “Strike!”  The batter backed out of the box and said, “Ump, don’t feel so bad, I didn’t see it either!”

This story is a good illustration of what is happening in the world today.  Change is occurring so fast that none of us can see it clearly.  Yet we have to make vital calls and daily decisions about very important things, all the time wondering if we are making the right ones.

There has never been a time when we have needed a standard more in our lives than we do today.  We need a fixed point, a true north an unchanging standard on which we can base our decisions and not have to worry about changing them.  God has given us such a standard.  It is the Word of God, the Holy Bible.  It contains the rock-solid, never-changing, always relevant truth.

Unbelievers might say the Bible is irrelevant and outdated.  Believers know that “…the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12)  You make the call.


Prayer Focus:  Pray that our fellowship of believers will read and study the Bible daily.  Ask God to let its wisdom sink into our hearts and minds and then reflect in our character and actions.

March 24, 2017

                                                  
DAY THIRTY-ONE

March 24, 2017

God’s Great Relocation Project

“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’” Numbers 13:30

God is in the moving business.  He is always in the process of moving His people.  Although we are often content where we are, God loves us enough not to leave us there.  Sometimes we can get a little stubborn about changes that He has in mind for us.

A good illustration is found in the children of Israel as they were moving from Egypt to the Promised Land.  God sent miracle after miracle to get them out.  But then, they did not want to go on in and possess what He intended for them.  In fact, they said in Numbers 14:3, “…Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”  It seems God could take His people out of Egypt, but His people couldn’t leave Egypt behind.

The old song says,  “I have decided to follow Jesus – No turning back, no turning back.”  Paul says in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  God has begun a spiritual project for His people of Fredericksburg Wesleyan Church.  May we take heed of the lesson we learn from the children of Israel going to the Promised Land.  May we be wise enough to realize that God began this great project, and He will continue this work until completion.

Prayer Focus:  Pray that God will continue to lead the way and that our faith will remain strong as we continue with this vision He has given our church.  Thank the Lord for loving you enough not to leave you where you are.  Also thank Him for the privilege of being a part of this church body of believers during this exciting time in our history.