Solo Day 54
Pigheaded Pigheaded Pigheaded. How do you feel when someone calls you pigheaded for saying that to you . You get your anger button on high speed and just don’t like that person for telling it like it is and how they preceive you. Just think about how you would feel if God called you pigheaded or stiff necked because you did not submit unto the Lord. I don’t want His anger lashing out at me. I’d rather have His arms wrapped around me with His unconditional love. There’s is a neighbor that has to think before she speaks because she knows that your words may offend me. Well, for now on in my submitting to God’s will for my life, I am going to think twice before I accuse someone of being pigheaded. Through this lesson today, God is trying to tell me to be more summissive to His Word, not trying to tear someone apart by my pigheadiness.
Peggy
Solo Day 51
a prayer.
God, You gave me my family. Even as i call it mine i know that it’s yours. Everyone here has been fashioned by You for your purposes. Help me to trust in that and hold on loosely. May my love and affection for You, God, loosen my grip on everything else here that i treasure. In the redeeming name of Jesus, Amen.
Keith
Solo Day 50
Again, go back to the end of ch. 15, What is David celebrating ? He and his men are bringing back The Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-Edom, what a joyous occasion ! As a matter of fact, this is the time when David’s so called wife, Michal, whose marriage to David was annulled by her father Saul and given to a man named Palti, despised David for his open display of joy and enthusiasm for his love for God .
Here is the bottom line. David was “sold out” in his faith for God and didn’t care what anyone thought of his actions. Verse 24, 25, & 26 Say it all and David had it pegged !
The last part of the devotion asked if we could shout this Psalm from anywhere in the world where would it be ? For me, it would be in the House of the Senate and on the floor of Congress… How about you ?
Mike
Solo Day 47
As I kept reading today’s passage, I thought about how many times God has become angry with me and kept yelling and saying, Peggy, you just won’t listen.You keep doing those same things that make me lose my temper time and time again. It humbles me to the point, that I am asking Him to forgive me, and to give me another chance. Then I feel the hand of God on my shoulder and his unconditional love for me and I just melt in His arms of safety. The forgiving part is a whole lot easier on my spiritial renewal than getting that lecture and anger from Him that I deserved. Yes, God Is So Good. Peggy
Solo Day 45
Hopes and dreams are powerful forces. Our hearts get so easily attached to things that we long for. Sometimes out of God’s grace He gives us the things we desire. Other times, out of His wisdom, He withholds from us our dreams. The one things that we see in all of this is just how fragile our dreams can be.
That’s the difference between earthly dreams and eternal hopes. One is fleeting and fragile. The other is taking a long time to obtain but is as secure as eternity itself. Where are your hopes and dreams rooted? In the shifting sands of earth or the bedrock of heaven?
Want eternal dreams? Attach your heart to God. Long for the things He longs for. Hope in His promises. Stir your passions for the things in His glory. Then you will know what it is like to live with a hope that cannot die and joy that will never fade.
Brett
Solo Day 43
“The rest of the story”… Wait a minute, reading scripture out of the Bible is great but I like to read the before and after. This whole passage is about consequences for disobedience and rewards for obedience. In the previous chapter, 16, of 1 Kings, Ahab became king of Israel and he was evil. Elijah was the messenger of God who was chosen to “bring the hammer” down on Israel and he did exactly as he was told by God. He even had to go into Palestinian territory to do it.
The widow of Zarephath was prompted by God to help Elijah even though she didn’t believe in Him,( verse 12 where she mentions “your God”), but, she recognizes Elijah as a holy man and obeys his requests. Her obedience seems to pay off with the jar of flower and the jug of oil never ending. Now, I’m sure she is amazed and overwhelmed, but God is not finished yet ! Read the rest of the chapter. Later, her son dies anyway and she is ticked-off, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” ( not Elijah, he’s just the messenger). Here’s the rest of the story. In verse 24, after God uses Elijah to resurrect her son, she doesn’t say “your God” she says “The Lord”. Hallelujah !
What jars or jugs do we have that’s keeping us from being obedient to God and being who He put us here to be ? -Mike
Solo Day 40
As I read the passage for today, it reminds me in my daily prayer walk with God , that I still cannot fully understand that He indeed is a Mighty God, more powerful and glorius than our human hearts can ever comprehend..In our traditional service this past Sunday, we sang that great hymn, What A Friend We Have In Jesus, but do we take our every care to Him rather large or small knowing that he listens as He speaks to us, and do we always stop and praise him for what he is teaching us. God pays attention to our prayers, but do we give him the attention He deserves. Another beautiful hymn, In The Garden , the second verse says, He speaks and the sound of His voice is so sweet the birds hush their singing. I know that I fall short in the hushing part. I want to do all the talking.
Peggy
Solo Day 39
When I was in High School it was my dream to own a Sports Grille/Bar and make lots of money. When I was in College my dreams turned toward financial matters and I dreamed of making a six figure income helping people with their investments.
As I did today’s devotion I couldn’t help but to reflect on how so often my plans and dreams do not turn out to be God’s plans for my life. Looking at the dreams I have had I can say that I am quite thankful for that. So often my dreams are self centered, short sighted, and worldly. But, God’s plans for my life are so much more eternal and significant. I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11-14 where the LORD declares that he has a plan for us and that it is a good one. These verses don’t mean that my earthly life will be all peaches and cream but, they reassure me that God has a bigger plan for my life. A plan that is far more glorious than any plan that I would of come up with for my life and all I have to do is put my trust and obedience in Him. What a reassuring thought.
Paul
Solo Day 38
There are so many different thoughts that come out of this passage of scripture. The one that catches my attention so quickly is the realization that God will allow the multitudes to die for the sin of one person. That doesn’t jive with my sense of justice. It just doesn’t seem fair.
If that doesn’t seem fair then what about this – God allowed one man to die for the sins of the multitudes.
In both of the these cases we underestimate the magnitude of sin.
The greater problem may be underestimating the magnitude of the man. Jesus, because He is the God-man, came “to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28 ESV)
Brett
Solo Day 37
Loving those in the here and now. Great title, but the message here is hard to swallow for me. I feel for David and his sorrow for Absalom and the regrets of how it all turned out. David was betrayed by a son. The only way to keep his life was to kill his son. They saw victory that day, but I can understand for sure why, to David, it was bittersweet. I must admit that at first reading I was more judgemental of the army and Joab. I was thinking, ” Come on Joab, cut the King a break. He just had to kill his son because he didn’t turn out right. There was probably guilt there. Questions like…If I would have been home more, gone to more school functions, had family dinner around the table… It had to be heartbreaking.
Then I read in Mark 3 Jesus dealing with something very similar. Jesus has just gave a verbal slapping to the teachers of the law and then is made aware that His mother and brothers are outside. (v.31-34) What is Jesus’ response? Who are my mother and brothers? Then he looks around the circle at those there and said, ” Here are my mother and brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my mother and brothers.”
God, may we build community in You to the point that blood does not determine family. May those of us who share a love and obedience to You find ourselves as brothers and sisters.
Keith