Maximilian Sunflowers
(One of the many clusters of Maximilian sunflowers from my route.)
It was a beautiful day, Father, on so many fronts! It began with good times of worship at our churches and progressed into an enjoyable time with family. Please bless our time together. May I clearly hear Your words. Amen.
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I love finding things on my bus route! Over the last few days, I have seen these flowers blooming along the side of the road toward the end of my elementary route. They are brilliant yellow against a dark green background of foliage. I love their vibrancy but one other thing that drew my attention is that they seem to be reaching out, as I drive by – stretching themselves to grab my attention.
I’m pretty sure that they are Maximilian sunflowers. They looked like a few other flowers when I tried to look them up online – one being the Jerusalem artichoke! (Maximilian sunflowers are actually related to Jerusalem artichokes.) I understand that they are a prairie sunflower that is native to the American West. (Don’t ask me how they ended up in Ohio!) Another interesting fact is that where most sunflowers are annuals, which means that they live for only one year, these sunflowers are perennials, which means that they come back for many years from their roots (which are edible, by the way.)
Seeing these beautiful flowers made me think of how we as God’s children must be constantly reaching out to Him! He loves us and encourages us to stretch ourselves to get to Him. The thing is He is easy to get to, but I think the problem lies in the fact that we are much too comfortable staying back in the “foliage”, if you will. If we are to be the followers of Christ we cannot be content with staying where we are. We must always be yearning – doing everything we can – to reach out to Him in everything we do.
The other connection that needs to be stressed is that our relationship is not a one-time thing – we are not annuals. Where Maximilian sunflowers are by no means eternal, we are. God, in His grace and mercy, extends to us eternal life in Him – an eternal relationship with our Heavenly Father that we can only dream about! We know only a snippet of what eternity will be like and I believe the wonders and beauty of this world in all of their majesty, will pale in comparison to what God has in store for us! Amen!
“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.” ~ Jesus (John 3:16 AMP)
Sept 10th, 2023, Sun, 8:05 pm
Ordinary to Extraordinary
There are lots of things happening simultaneously, Father. Help me to focus on the right areas to do what needs to be done. Amen.
Romans 16:1-16 (<<click here to read the passage)
God can bring so many things together to focus on something very important. This is my leaping point…
Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. vs3-5a NLT
My study Bible* has this to say about that…
Priscilla and Aquila ministered effectively behind the scenes. Their tools were hospitality, friendship, and person-to-person teaching. They were not public speakers, but private evangelists. For some of the Romans, their home was used for church meetings (16:5). Priscilla and Aquila challenge us with what [we] can do together to serve Christ.
And then, I recalled that a couple of Sundays ago I shared the following illustration under the point, “God’s will is always better than our best-made plans.”
Author Gary Thomas, founder of the Center for Evangelical Spirituality, writes in Discipleship Journal: When my wife and I prayed extensively about buying a house we gave God many opportunities to close the door. God appeared to bless the move. Five years later, our house is worth considerably less than what we paid for it. “Why didn’t God stop us?” my wife and I kept wondering. After all, we had given Him plenty of opportunities. But one day as my wife was praying, she sensed God asking her, “Have you ever considered the possibility that I wanted you in that neighborhood to minister there rather than to bolster your financial equity?”
The point is that Priscilla and Aquila were just ordinary people who chose to actively live out their faith in Christ. They weren’t apostles or preachers, they simply decided to live as Christ lived. They loved people. Nothing stopped them.
A little background… We first meet them in Acts 18:1-3,
Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was.
A little in verses 24-26 it says,
Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately. NLT
They loved people and served Christ to the utmost!
The last portion of notes from my study Bible* asks some very pointed questions to be contemplated by our hearts and minds.
Do we regard our families and homes as gifts through which God can accomplish his work? How might God want to use your home and family to serve him?
We need more Priscillas and Aquillas in our world!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Sept 7th, 2023, Thurs, 6:46 pm
Prayer as a Weapon!
A full day already, Father, and it’s only about half done. As we come together, may my thoughts be on You and what You want the world to know. Amen.
Romans 15:23-33 (<<click here to read the passage)
We are all familiar with prayer. Even those who don’t believe in God or adhere to any spirituality, as such, know what prayer is, though they may think it foolish…having no impact whatsoever.
But believers know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that there is most assuredly power in prayer! My study Bible* states, regarding verse 30,
Too often we see prayer as a time for comfort, reflection or making requests to God. But here Paul urges believers to join in his struggle by means of prayer. Prayer is a weapon that all believers should use in interceding for others.
Prayer accomplishes so many things – most importantly it is a link of communication between us and our loving Heavenly Father – but honestly, I don’t often think of prayer as a weapon!
How many times have we heard someone (maybe even ourselves) say, “Well, the least I can do is pray…” and we tend to say it in a dejected, last resort tone of voice. Goodness gracious, prayer should be our first line of defense in each and every attack, no matter from whence the attack comes!
For sure, material resources (money, time, and talents) are needed to spread the Gospel – God’s Good News – to the world but many times our resources are limited…but prayer – oh, my! – prayer is limited only by our willingness to use it! And we don’t even have to speak it! We can think it!
Do you remember what happens when we as believers are at a loss for words? Romans 8:26-27 tells us,
In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will. AMP
We have the mightiest weapon ever known to humankind at our disposal. We have access to it anytime, anywhere!
And don’t make excuses! Like anything in our lives, when we start, we’re not always very good. It takes practice. Practicing prayer gives a whole other meaning to “practice makes perfect”! We have the ultimate connection in prayer in that God will help us, if we will but ask!
My challenge? Pick up your weapon and unload the powers of Heaven against the powers of this earth. They don’t stand a chance!
With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people. Ephesians 6:18 AMP
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Sept 6th, 2023, Wed, 12:51 pm
Should We Be Ambitious?
Well, we have begun the new school year. Lord, watch over me. May I be a child who reflects his Father. I pray that You will shine through my words and actions. Amen.
Romans 15:14-22 (<<click here to read the passage)
If I were to ask what a pastor’s job entails, I imagine it would be easy to assemble an exhaustive list. I’m not even going to try and list them. I know there are areas where I don’t measure up to people’s expectations. I strive to do better but when all is said and done, ultimately it is not my job to please people, but to please and honor God.
The Apostle Paul hits the nail on the head when he states regarding his ministry to the Gentiles, which is in essence what all ministers – past and present – are doing, in verse 16,
I minister as a priest the gospel of God, in order that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable [to Him], sanctified [made holy and set apart for His purpose] by the Holy Spirit. AMP
Pastors must endeavor to bring their “flock” to the point where they embrace holiness – where they are driven to draw closer and closer to God, becoming sanctified [made holy and set apart for His purpose] by the Holy Spirit.
That alone is what I will be held responsible for…that and making sure that I am drawing closer to God, and being set apart, as well.
In verse 20 Paul speaks of his “ambition”. My Life Application Study Bible states, “Ambition can be a difficult topic for Christians because we see so many bad examples of ambitious people who claw their way to the top.”
But reading through the writings of Paul it is clear that he puts no stock in climbing the ladder by means of tromping on those he considers beneath him. He is a follower of Christ who leads by example. Instead of looking out for himself and working hard for personal advancement, he was ambitious to serve God. His goal was to advance God’s Kingdom. He diligently labored – with literal blood, sweat, and tears – to bring others into an active – living – life in Christ. It was a striving, as he said to make them an offering wholly acceptable to God, sanctified [made holy and set apart for His purpose] by the Holy Spirit.
Paul didn’t just preach it, he lived it. His life radiated Christ…as should ours.
Are you ambitious for God? Do you want, more than anything else, to please Him and to do his will? Then do as Paul and all true followers of Christ have done and continue to do – ask God for “holy ambition.”
Sept 5th, 2023, Tues, 12:56 pm
We’ve Always Been Part of the Plan
It is hard to believe that our summer break is over! Father, thank You for the blessing of doing the jobs I do so as to enjoy the opportunities of extended time with family!
Romans 15:1-13 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the challenges in growing up in the environment I did was that I had to make new friends every few years. I’m not alone in this, for many ministers, as well as military families this is the norm. It seemed like I was regularly inserting myself into well-established social demographics. I stepped into groups comprised of children my age who had known each other most of their lives, and here I came, out of the blue, trying to fit in.
It was a challenge but, for me at least, it was not too stressful of an ordeal – I guess I am blessed with my dad’s gift of gab! Finding common ground always helped break the ice and move me along in relationships.
Another thing that grabbed my attention in today’s passage was the multiple passages of Scripture that the Apostle Paul quotes, showing that Gentiles (non-Jews) being a part of God’s plan wasn’t a last-minute addition to God’s plan. It wasn’t a “man, my people have really messed up my perfect plan and now it’s time for plan B” response on God’s part.
One of my oft-quoted passages of Scripture –a core passage of mine – is found in Ephesians 1:4,
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Not one thing had been created, and our omniscient (all-knowing) God knew that instead of doing what He wanted us to do, we would do what we wanted to do, bringing sin into this world – placing a chasm between a holy God and ourselves. Despite that knowledge, He still created the world and placed us in it…but not without a plan of redemption for us. This passage in Ephesians 1 continues,
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. v5
It might be easy to believe these things if you were a part of God’s chosen people, the Jews. But if you were a Gentile, they made it very clear that you were not included. (Unfortunately, some Christians communicate the same idea to those outside the flock…) But know this, that was never God’s intent.
Four different times in today’s passage alone, God’s intent is made clear. Note too that these passages were not from Paul’s era – they were from the Old Testament! Paul quotes from the books of Psalms, Isaiah, and even Deuteronomy – the last one was exclaimed shortly after the new nation of Israel had been freed from their Egyptian captors!
We all have always been a part of God’s awesome plan of salvation. He has left nothing and no one out! We are a part of God’s wonderful family and as Paul says in verse 13,
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. NLT
Amen!
Sept 4th, 2023, Mon, 6:30 pm