Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 Are you wrestling with anything in your life? Today let’s travel back to the Israelites’ story and learn some insights from what happened when God told Moses to lead them out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Read Exodus 3:1-2. What was Moses when he saw the burning bush? Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd before he led the Israelites out of Egypt. At the burning bush, Moses hears God speaking to him. …
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What Is Tempting You
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 Have you ever compared how Jesus and the Israelites each handled their wilderness experience? They both experience God in those moments. However, the Israelites complained and wanted to go back to their former lives, while Jesus was humble to the Holy Spirit’s leading. We all face temptation. Temptation comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes. The one thing we must remember is temptation does not come from God. Do not believe the…
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Wilderness Trials and Lessons
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 How do you learn the best? Is it by making mistakes? Trials? Lessons? There are five trials and three lessons that we can learn. Jesus brings us promises and hopes no matter what we are going through. Read Job 1:1-21. Job is known as a blameless or righteous man, which means he had integrity and stayed away from evil. Do you wish you were like him? I do. He went through many, many complex trials, yet he kept…
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Trusting God’s In Hard Times
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 How well do you trust? Do you trust the people in your life – family, friends, co-workers, or God?? Do we really trust God? Do you trust God enough to let go of control in your life and let God have it? What does trust mean? It means having confidence in someone to rely on the integrity, strength, ability, and surety of that person or thing. Do you have this in God? It’s ok if you…
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Walking In The Wilderness
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 Have you ever camped in the mountains in the ruggedness of it all? No electricity, no heat, no lights at night? You have to learn how to cook over a campfire—NO comfy couches or chairs. You have to make or own entertainment because well you have to tv and not data for your phone. I don’t know if many of us would last. We would complain and grumble and go back home. How about life in general. …
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This Is My Commandment:Love Each Other
This is my command: Love each other. John 15:16-17 Have you ever realized that almost all lessons from God come full circle, back to love? I have. The bottom line to our life, the one commandment that God wants us to follow and do, is to love one another. How well are we really following this command in today’s society? Here comes the risk of grace. God went out on a limb to make us apart of His branch with the hope that we will bear fruit. When we should love others, we are showing the world that we are God’s disciples. There is…
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The Father Will Give You Whatever You Ask
“so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” John 15:16-17 Do you have a person you admire for their relationship with God, that when you grow up, you hope to be like them? How about a person who is willing to at any opportunity to share about Jesus? I have many people like that in my life. I am still striving to be like them in this area of my life. To have that confidence!!! Let’s read 1 John 5:14-15. How do these verses relate to John 15:16? What can we be confident in? How does this make you…
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Appointed To Go
“I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit,” John 15:16-17 Today will focus on the verse above. Jesus revealed the purpose behind your “chosen-ness.” We all have a “go appointment.” How it looks for each of us will be different. We will go, where we will go, and what we’ll take with us will vary. The one thing we do have in common as Christ-followers is that we are appointed to go. The fruit we will bear in this appointment. Proverbs 11:30 says this: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise…
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Jesus Chose You: Part 2
“I chose you.” John 15:16-17 Have you ever had to apply for something in your life, like a job, a contest, etc., and you got chosen out of how many people? How did you respond to the news that the organization chose you for the position? Picked? Were you excited, scared, appreciative? Let’s do a little word study on the word chosen. According to the Greek language, the word chose comes from exelezamen. It means “to pick out for myself, to select.” Now let’s put it into context. Jesus picked us out for Himself. He selected us to be His abiding…
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Jesus Chose You
“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. John 15:16-17 Today, We are going to focus on choice. Who chooses and why it matters. In the above verse, Jesus said we didn’t choose Him. In the Jewish religious culture, a student would pick a rabbi. In return, the Rabi then has to choose the student back or not to choose the student. There is a whole process to go through—interviews, tests, and applying for such training. Jesus, though turns this process upside down. He chose His disciples, and then in return; they chose Him back by abiding in Him for the long haul. Let’s look at some scripture verses on who…