Please open your Bible and read:
(Colossians 1:28 – 29)

What activities embarrass you? Maybe you feel uncomfortable singing in public or your face turns red when you are caught mumbling to yourself. Does talking about Jesus embarrass you? Staying quiet may seem safer than risking ridicule or being seen as a fanatic.

Unfortunately, silent believers waste their lives. We receive so many good things from God – forgiveness, healing, answers to prayer, and the Holy Spirit’s presence. The list could go on and on. Our favorite subject should be Jesus Christ and His transforming salvation.

The apostle Paul spoke freely of his great sin before redemption. (Acts 26:12 – 18) He was a church persecutor transformed into Christ?s missionary by God’?s grace. Nothing within Paul was worth saving, and he knew it. Consequently, the man never stopped publicly praising and proclaiming the Lord’s love.

Even with the magnitude of Paul’s sins, he received no greater measure of grace than any of us. We may have lived a moral life before receiving salvation, but sin still separated us from God. Believers sometimes neglect that truth and forget Jesus? transforming power. Then we find ourselves too embarrassed or uncomfortable to share about the great change He made in our lives.

Question: Do you have a passion to proclaim Him? If not, what does inspire passion in you?

About the Author: Charles Stanley

“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19)

The Bible says we should be quick to listen. There are three things that generally hinder our ability to hear what others are saying:

1) Presumption – This is when we think we already know what the other person is going to say; yet, the Bible says, “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and hisshame.” (Proverbs 18:13 NIV)

2) Impatience-This is when you interrupt and jump to conclusions: “There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.” (Proverbs 29:20 NLT)

3) Pride – This is when we become defensive and unteachable: “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15 NIV)

What does this mean?

Let me suggest three HEARING AIDS:
· Listen with your eyes – Research suggests that about 80 percent of communication is non-verbal.Our facial expressions and body language tend to tell the real story.
· Listen with your heart – Be sympathetic.Tune in to the emotions behind the words.
· Make time to listen to the people around you – You show people how much you value them when you take time to listen. Imagine how your home or where you work might be transformed if you make an effort to be “quick to listen.”

Question: Do you sometimes find it difficult to listen? Do others sometimes find it tough to listen to you?

About the Author: Rick Warren

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” Psalm 27:13

Across from the mail boxes in my townhouse complex is a house adorned with flowers. As I fetch my mail I stop to admire the floral work of art my friend Yvonne has created. But it wasn’t always so, she told me.

Seven years ago, the doctor predicted that Yvonne had only months to live. Hearing the doctor’s prognosis, Yvonne lost all interest in gardening.

“What’s the point,” she thought. I won’t be here to see it anyway. But sitting around moping didn’t suit her either.

One day she had a serious talk with herself. “I was terminal when I was born so what’s new?” she said. “Only God knows the exact time of my death but until then I’m going to live each day with enthusiasm. After all I serve a God of hope, not despair.”

Yvonne went outside and planted some tulip bulbs. Soon it was time to plant flowers into hanging baskets and clay pots and flower beds. Amazingly, Yvonne began to feel much better.

“Planting is a faith-filled action,” she told me. “You have to have faith that the little seed or fragile plant will grow and flourish under your care. That kind of active faith spilled over into my health concerns as well. I knew that God was in control of my life and all would be well. Sure, I might not see my flowers bloom come spring but it was okay. Someone else would be sure to enjoy them.”

And for seven more years, we neighbors have enjoyed the fruit of Yvonne’s labors. Hanging baskets overflowing with petunias and impatiens of every hue and window boxes brimming with bright red geraniums and purple heliotrope adorn her house. Her flower beds are a radiant display of carpet roses, lilies, lobelia, alyssum, phlox and many other flowers. Birds scratch for seeds in two feeders. A slight breeze plays on the chimes.

Although Yvonne’s health is in decline once more, she keeps going. “Nothing will ward off that helpless, ‘I’m-a-victim’ feeling as some positive faith-filled action,” she says.

Lord, help me to rise to my challenges with hopeful actions fueled by your eternal hope. Amen.

Question: Are you dealing with a difficult challenge in your own life? How does God continue to encourage you despite challenging circumstances?

About this Author: Helen Grace Lescheid

Please open your Bible and read Ephesians 1:3-14.

How many times have you thought: “I wish God would bless me”? Maybe those words came to you when you were asking God to answer a specific prayer or when you sensed some type of adversity approaching. There are many different ways to receive God’s blessings, but most often we think of it from a material sense. The people that followed Jesus did the same thing.

After feeding the 5,000, Jesus exposed this materialistic attitude: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26). Many followed the Lord in order to receive “something.” Their eyes were set on seeing miracles and material provisions. But Jesus wanted them to see Him as the Bread of Life in whom all their needs would be met.

The greatest of all God’s blessings has nothing to do with material wealth and social position, and everything to do with the closeness of His presence. This is why He instructed His disciples by saying, “Seek me first . . . and all these things will be added to you.”

Are your eyes set on the Savior because of what He provides or because you love Him? The test of true love is this – abiding with the One you love regardless of anything else. Learn to love Him and Him alone; then all your cares will be satisfied.

Question: How are you hoping for blessing today? What if you don’t receive it, at least not immediately?

About the Author: Charles Stanley

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for April 26th, AM.
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2010.

“This do in remembrance of Me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24)

Christians will sometimes forget Christ! There would be no need for Paul’s loving caution if there were not a fearful supposition that our memories might prove treacherous. This is not merely conjecture, because it is sadly too well confirmed in our experience. Forgetting Christ is not just a possibility, but a lamentable fact.

It would seem almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, could forget our gracious Savior. But, if startling to the ear, it is,  too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime.

Forget Him who never forgot us?

Forget Him who poured His blood forth for our sins?

Forget Him who loved us even to the death?

Can it be possible? Yes, it is not only possible, but conscience confesses that it is too sadly a fault with all of us, that we suffer Him to be as a traveling man, stopping over only for a night. The one we should make the abiding tenant of our memories is instead merely a visitor. The cross, where our memories should linger, is desecrated by the feet of forgetfulness.

Doesn’t your conscience say that this is true? Do you not find yourself forgetful of Jesus? Temptations steal away your heart, and you are unmindful of Him upon whom your affection ought to be set. Earthly business engrosses your attention when you should fix your eye steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things which distracts us from Christ.

Let us firmly resolve to not forget Jesus our Beloved in our hearts, and, whatever else we let slip, let us hold fast to Him.

Question: What are some of life’s distractions that cause us to “forget” Jesus, if only briefly?

About the Author: Charles Spurgeon

“But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.’” (Luke 1:13, NIV)

I love the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth.  It is a story of hope; a powerful story revealing that our God is One who listens to our hearts cries and hears our prayers.
Recently, I had been reading through the story of John the Baptist’s conception and Christ’s birth in the gospel of Luke.

When the angel of the Lord came to Zacharias he said, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard”.  Zacharias and Elizabeth were old in age and remained barren.  As we know, in those days it was a shame to be barren.  When I read this story however, I began to wonder what it was truly like for Zacharias and Elizabeth.  What was it like to live knowing within themselves that they probably would never conceive, (unless it was a miracle) only for this moment to occur?

I began to imagine the years that Elizabeth and Zacharias spend in tumultuous  prayer, weeping before God, and grieving within their hearts over their barrenness.  I could almost hear their cry and see their faces turn numb over the years. Their hearts must have broken from grief and sorrow.  I’m sure they questioned and doubted where their God was in this seemingly “unanswered prayer”.  I thought about how they might have questioned God, but still remained faithful to Him and His Commandments.

And all the while, I could almost hear the voice of God calling from Heaven saying, “Just wait your time is coming!  You have no idea what I have in store for you. You don’t even have a clue of what I am about to bless you with.  Please wait and hold on a little longer!  Keep hoping, and even if you lose hope, I have still heard because I am God.  I am the One who hears the needs and the desires of my people.  And I have a purpose in all of this.  If you just wait, it will come to pass, and you will have what you desire.”

In truth, Zacharias and Elizabeth had no idea the plan that God had for them.  For years they had to trust God and stand on His faithfulness.  Eventually, out of Elizabeth’s womb would come the greatest Prophet of Old, paving the way for the Messiah, Jesus Christ Himself!

Here’s the thing:  God is in the business of resurrecting our dreams!  He longs for those things that He has placed inside of you to be accomplished.  And even when we lose hope, our prayers are never ever lost, rather they are heard by God, and God remembers them.

I want to encourage those of you who have prayed, and have longed for things to come to pass.   God hears your prayers and your cries!  He knows your hearts’ desires.  And, maybe, just maybe, He is holding out for something you couldn’t have even imagined!  And if you just hold on,  He will bring back to life and resurrect those desires that seem to have died long ago, in His perfect time.

Our God is a God of resurrected dreams!  Know that with God, nothing is impossible.

Heavenly Father, I pray for all those reading who have dreams that have died.  I pray God, that the Word over their lives would be accomplished and that you would fulfill the desires of their hearts.  I thank You for hearing their thoughts and knowing what You have placed within them even before the foundations of the earth were laid.  I thank You that You are faithful to perform Your Word.  I pray for a measure of hope to be reinstalled within them, and a faith to believe that with You, nothing is impossible.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Question: How do you see your own life paralleled in the lives of Zacharias and/or Elizabeth? What lessons does God have to teach you through their stories?

About the Author: Brigitte Straub

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin” (Zech. 4:10 NLT).

Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane.

On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded.

Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive charge. They were clean and harmless and with one exception, empty. The exception contained a carefully rolled piece of paper. On it a message had been scrawled in the Czech language. Translated, the note read: “This is all we can do for you now.”

A courageous assembly-line worker was disarming bombs and scribbled the note. He couldn’t end the war, but he could save one plane. He couldn’t do everything, but he could do something. So he did it.

God does big things with small deeds.

Against a towering giant, a brook pebble seems futile. But God used it to topple Goliath. Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, a widow’s coins seem puny. But Jesus used them to inspire us. And in contrast with sophisticated priests and powerful Roman rulers, a cross-suspended carpenter seemed nothing but a waste of life. Few Jewish leaders mourned his death. Only a handful of friends buried his body. The people turned their attention back to the temple. Why not?

What power does a buried rabbi have? We know the answer. Mustard-seed and leaven-lump power. Power to tear away death rags and push away death rocks. Power to change history. In the hands of God, small seeds grow into sheltering trees. Tiny leaven expands into nourishing loaves.

Small deeds can change the world. Sow the mustard seed. Bury the leaven lump. Make the call. Write the check. Organize the committee.

Moses had a staff.
David had a sling.
Samson had a jawbone.
Rahab had a string.
Mary had some ointment.
Aaron had a rod.
Dorcas had a needle.
All were used by God.
What do you have?

God inhabits the tiny seed, empowers the tiny deed. He cures the common life by giving no common life, by offering no common gifts. Don’t discount the smallness of your deeds.

From Cure for the Common Life
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2006) Max Lucado
Used by permission

Question: How has God gifted you? How can you seek to use these gifts for His glory?

About the Author: Max Lucado

“People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)

How often do you play the “if only” game?

• If only I had it to do over.
• If only I had listened sooner.
• If only I could erase the past.
• If only I could forgive myself.

Because no one is perfect, we all have regrets. We’ve all made bad choices, said foolish things, wasted time, and hurt ourselves and others.

How do you release those regrets?

Here are some strategies that don’t work:

1. We bury them. Burying the past doesn’t work. Like creatures from a horror movie, unresolved regrets come back to haunt us over and over. Minimizing (“It wasn’t a big deal”), rationalizing (“Everyone does it”), and compromising (lowering your standards) are ways we try to bury our regrets.

2. We blame others. This tactic is as old as Adam and Eve. When Adam sinned, he took it like a man – he blamed his wife! We use blame to balance out our guilt.

3. We beat ourselves. We try to pay for our guilt unconsciously through illness, depression, setting ourselves up for failure, and other forms of self-punishment. The problem with beating up on yourself is this: your conscience never knows when to stop! Many spend their entire lives in self-condemnation.

What does God want me to do with my regrets?

• Admit my guilt. Own up to it. Don’t make excuses. The Bible says, “People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy” (Proverbs 28:13 NLT).
• Accept Christ’s forgiveness. He’s waiting to clean your slate. Ask him to clear your conscience, and then remember “there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NLT).
• Forgive yourself and focus on the future. “Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19 HCSB).

Question: Are there things from your past that you need to let go of? That you need to hand over to God? Try the steps given above.

About the Author: Rick Warren

“And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil. I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk… You were exceedingly beautiful and succeeded to royalty.” (Ezekiel 16:6, 9, 10, 13, NKJV)

Do you remember it? Do you remember the day that your heavenly Father passed by your way, saw you in your blood, took you in, washed you off, and clothed you in beautiful royal clothing? Did you even realize the awesome thing that was happening to you? Do you understand that you went from being yesterday’s abandoned child, to today’s royal prince or princess, child of the King of Kings, and destined to rule the world?

Has life changed for you since that day? Have you embraced and walked in your new identity? Do you count yourself to be worthy because of what Christ did for you, and rise to the occasion to fulfill your destiny?

We are not orphans living in a King’s house.  We are His adopted children with full status as royal heirs. It is upon us to fully embrace all that we can and are meant to be. In that, we glorify God, bring honor and meaning to Christ’s sacrifice, and bring great joy to our Father in heaven.

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears wittiness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then Heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”  (Romans 8:15-17, NKJV)

Father, Help me to show mercy to others as You have shown great mercy to me.  Amen.

Question: What does it mean to be “children of the King”?

About the Author: Emmie Stanley

Where do you run when you need help?  Do you call your wife and pour your heart out to her? Do you ask your Mom or Dad to listen? Or maybe you prefer to be alone in your room, where you can log onto Facebook, post your problems on your wall — and see if your friends may have the answers you need?

A few years ago, I was faced with a situation where I needed help. I did all of the above. I asked everyone except God. Usually, I go to God first. But this time my problem seemed so overwhelming that I instinctively ran to the physical things that I could touch or see with my natural senses.

What’s the problem with that approach? It’s not grounded in faith. Yes, it’s fine to go to the people around us who love us, but first we must run by faith to God. People come and go.  People are not always there. Even our family as much as they may love us are not always around.

“When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path” (Psalm 27:10-11, KJV).

“A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24).

We need a constant Source of help, a place we can run where our Comforter never turns away and our Guide never departs. We need a Helper who can always be found, one whose love is steady and whose forgiveness is strong. We need God.

We need God for life itself. We need Him on the days when we are popular and we need Him on the days when all of our friends are gone. We need God during nights that are filled with frustration and tears, and we need Him on nights that are filled with laughter.

James 4:8 encourages, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (NKJV)

I like the way The Message puts it:
So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud “No” to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet “Yes” to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. (James 4:7-10)

What keeps you from running to God? Will you try running to Him with a heart full of faith the next time you need help?

Question: Where do you run when you need help?

About the Author: Jacqueline Overpeck