March 28, 2017

                                                  

DAY THIRTY-FIVE

March 28, 2017

A Contribution or A Sacrifice?

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

Did you hear the story of the chicken and the pig who were walking together down the road?  They came upon a beggar who was nearly starved to death.  He had not eaten in days.  The chicken and the pig decided to help him.  The chicken said,  “I have an idea.  Let’s fix him some breakfast - some ham and eggs!”  The pig thought about that a moment and then said,  “I don’t like that idea very much because it only requires you to make a contribution, but for me it is a complete sacrifice!”

As the Apostle Paul writes our Scripture passage, he is making a turning point in his letter to the believers in Rome.  He is finally giving an application to the truths that he has been telling about in previous chapters.  He is stating how we should respond to the knowledge that God has procured our salvation and saved us from the wages of sin through Jesus Christ.  He’s telling us to lay it all on the altar for God; surrender completely. Don’t simply make a contribution like the chicken, but sacrifice all like the pig.

Prayer Focus:  Pray that Fred Wes is a body of believers willing to totally surrender to God.

March 27, 2017

                                               

DAY THIRTY-FOUR

March 27, 2017

The Absurdity of Going Back

“Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”  Galatians 3:3

On Thursday, August 1, 1985, a room full of America’s top intelligence officials were gathered outside the office of the director of the CIA for a farewell reception of a retiring colleague.  However, the topic was not about the retiree.  Whispers were flying around the room that the highest ranking KGB agent, Vitally Sergeyevich Yurchenko, had defected.  He was most important because he was in charge of all KGB operations in the United States and Canada.  Now, he would be able to provide extremely important information about Soviet spies in America.

After presenting himself to the American Embassy in Rome, he was quickly flown to the United States in a military plane.  Once in the U.S., he was taken to a “safe house” in northern Virginia where he was interrogated for hours and provided very sensitive information.

The most startling and amazing part of this story took place three months later on November 2nd.  Yurchenko had been spurned by a girlfriend in Canada and was growing increasingly impatient with his situation.  During the evening he persuaded the CIA agent assigned to him to take him to Georgetown for dinner and a movie.  During dinner Yurchenko asked the agent, “What would you do if I got up and walked off?  Would you shoot me?”  The CIA agent replied, “We don’t shoot defectors.”  Yurchenko countered, “I will be back in 15 to 20 minutes, if I am not, it is not your fault.”  With that he walked out of the restaurant and presented himself to the Russian Embassy where he un-defected.

The world watched in amazement a few days later as this man boarded a Russian Aeroflot jet, stopping briefly on the boarding steps to wave good-bye to freedom.  He then returned to the confines of communism.  Why would anybody who had enjoyed freedom return to communism?  Yet that which amazes us in the political arena is met with welcome acceptance in the spiritual arena.  Why would anyone who has tasted the freedom stemming from the grace of God return to the confines of legalism regulating that relationship?  What kind of relationship do you have with the God of grace?

Prayer Focus:  Pray that we will continue to live our Christian lives in the Spirit and not by our own human effort.  Ask the God of grace to help you deepen your relationship with Him by filling you daily with His Holy Spirit.

March 26, 2017

DAY THIRTY-THREE

March 26, 2017

Watch Out For the Dream-Stealers

“….so I sent messengers to them with this reply:  ‘I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.  Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?’” Nehemiah 6:3

Dr. Haller Nutt of Natchez, Mississippi, had a dream.  He wanted to build one of the greatest plantation houses in the South.  Being a doctor and cotton farmer gave him the wealth needed to accomplish this dream home.  He made his sketches and searched the nation for the best architect to make his dream a reality.  He found Samuel Sloan in Philadelphia to design it.  It was going to be an octagon-shaped mansion with eight rooms on each of the six floors.  All of that was going to be grouped around a middle piece, a six story rotunda that would be capped with a 16-sided Byzantine onion-shaped dome.  It was going to be beautiful with nothing else like it in all the South.  Dr. Nutt went all over the world to purchase the very best furnishings for this masterpiece.

As soon as construction had begun, tragedy struck.  The Civil War erupted.  All the workers left to fight.  Dr. Haller Nutt lost everything during the course of the war.

During that time, he moved his family into the basement of this grand mansion so that they might be safe and have shelter.  Dr. Nutt died in 1865 before the war was over.  The family continued to live in the basement.  In fact, they lived there for over a century, 111 years!  Finally, some relatives donated it to the local historical society.  To this day, it stands as a monument to an unfinished dream.

In chapter 6 of Nehemiah, enemies tried to stop him from completing the dream that God had laid on his heart – that of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls.  But Nehemiah stayed focused.  He completed his God-given dream in record time to the praise of His glory.  He is a role model for us today.

Prayer Focus:  Pray that God will enable us to complete the dream that He has given us in such a way as to bring Him glory and expand His kingdom.  Pray that He will thwart any enemies who try to steal our dream and prevent it from happening.  Ask the Lord how you can take ownership of this vision using the time, talents, and treasures that He has given you.

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.

March 23, 2017

DAY THIRTY

March 23, 2017

An End Time Church

“The end of all things is near.  Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." 1 Peter 4:7

Have you heard the story about the man who woke up early in the morning, looked at the clock, and the time was 3:33?  He looked over at the calendar and noticed that it was also the third day of the third month.  As he arose from bed, he remembered that he lived on Third Street and that his house was the third house.  When he read the morning paper he became even more excited because at the horse races that day there was a horse named Trio in the third race.  So he rushed to the bank, withdrew all of his life’s savings, and then rushed to the racetrack.  He went to the third gate and sat on the third row.  He bet it all on Trio to win the third race.  Guess what happened?  Trio placed third.  Sometimes things do not work out the exact way we think that they will or want them to.

The recipients of Peter’s letter were in the same situation.  They had bet it all on Jesus and believed they had a winner.  But they were being severely persecuted for placing their faith in Him.  They must have wondered if being taunted and persecuted by unbelievers every day was worth it.  Since they knew the difference that Jesus had made in their lives, they answered yes, it was worth it.  This affirmative answer still begs another question, however:  “How can we endure until the end of the world?”

God will prepare His people before the Lord returns.  The church will return to its position of power much like she experienced in her infancy.  We are beginning to witness the power of the Holy Spirit on the church again.  The lapping of the tide is hitting the shores, but a tidal wave is coming!  God will deal with the church as a bride as He did when she was a babe.  Not everyone wants to be a part of an end-time church.  Many are content to be in a safe ministry that provides comfort for the comfortable and disturbs no one.  Many would love, in these last days, to sit at the feet of those preachers who will tickle their ears with “sweet Jesus” sermons that tell them all is well with their sin-filled lives.  End-time churches want to pray relentlessly, give tremendously, witness powerfully, and worship constantly.

Prayer Focus:  Pray that our church is an end-time church.  Ask the Lord to help us to do our utmost for Him as a church body and individually.

March 22, 2017

                                            

DAY TWENTY-NINE

March 22, 2017

Can Jesus Do A Mighty Work Here?

“He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” Mark 6:5

Here we have a sad picture.  Jesus came to church but could do no mighty work because of their lack of faith.  It was not a good first year of ministry for Jesus as far as His reputation among the hometown people of Nazareth was concerned.  He experienced a tremendous amount of rejection.  Nazareth was where the Scriptures say, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  (Luke 2:52) 

It started out well enough when He took the pulpit on a Sabbath and read from the prophet Isaiah, the 61st chapter.  This event (recorded in Luke 4:16-30), tells how they  “were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” (verse 22)  But when He told them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (verse 21), they became enraged.  In fact, they ran Him completely out of town to a cliff where they wanted to kill Him by casting Him off the edge.  “But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.” (verse 30)  Talk about rejection!  Most preachers would have dusted their feet off and pronounced judgment, never to return.  Jesus, however, is not like most preachers, thank God.  He still had a burning desire to do a mighty work among them.

Jesus still has a burning desire to do a mighty work through His church and people today.  Are you willing to live by faith and have a prayer relationship with Him?  He is ready, willing, and able to perform powerful works through us.  Our faith will either turn the switch on or off.  Jesus will either do a mighty work here, or He will go elsewhere to do His mighty work.

Prayer Focus:  Pray that He will do a mighty work through Fredericksburg Wesleyan  Church because we are of strong faith.  Ask God to show you if there is a roadblock of unbelief in your life.