Archives for July 2020

July 6, 2020 by hldude

The Great Need For Humility

“The Great Need For Humility”

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

I am reminded so often each day how much not only that God wants me to learn humility, but also how much He wants me to share that with others. I am not a naturally patient person and that often ends me up becoming less and less humble many days. I think about how my lack of humility not only affects my growth in my relationship with God, but also in my relationship as I interact with friends, family and co-workers.

The world desperately not only needs to see us acting in humility in our lives each day as we go about our routines, but the world really needs to see humility lived out as we interact with one another in the church. In all my years of paid and voluntary ministry experience, I have seen so much hurt in the church as proclaimed believers treat one another without humility. Believe me, I have had my fair share of falling to this problem as well and still do. We all suffer from blowing our opportunities to show humility to one another.

Friends, I want to encourage all of us to practice humility with one another. We need this in our homes, our places of work and in the church. God calls all of us to focus on reaching out to others and putting them first as we live our lives. This does not mean our needs and interests are not important as Paul shares in Philippians 2, but that we consider our needs less and other’s needs more. God will always provide for us and we need to learn and practice more humility in order to show His love with others.

Paul knew how challenging it was for believers to practice humility and share His love. So often Paul mentions to different churches the need for love, not only between believers, but also to non-believers. Each week as I think about my interactions with people at work, with my family at home and then at church, I am reminded that He has called me to love others and practice humility. I am hoping and praying that we, His church, will make a huge effort to start practicing this more and more.

The world needs to see believers living out humility with one another instead of seeing so much disunity. I know this is a tough pill to swallow, but it is so true. Loving one another is key and will build God’s church and the Kingdom more and more.

We have a great need and calling for humility!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

Ephesians 4:1-3 (LEB)

Christians Should Live in UnityTherefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called:Christians Should Live in UnityTherefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called:2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love,2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love,3being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace;3being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace;

Philippians 2 (LEB)

Humility and UnityTherefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,Humility and UnityTherefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

July 2, 2020 by Susannah

Transformation by Grace

“Do not conform 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 12:2

Transformation is a gift—grace. Change occurs when we learn certain lessons about life and put these lessons to good use—when we make decisions about how to think and act that alter our course for the better. This makes us better Christians.

Once we have been transformed and changed, it is time to teach others—to help them learn the lessons we have learned. I only wish the woman I am today could reach back in time and teach the young woman I was. I would try to help her see what is so clear to me now. That human love is important, but not that important. That the love of God is more fulfilling than I could ever have imagined. That loving myself is not a sin. That we are not alone. That there are what Joseph Campbell calls “invisible hands,” which come to our aid when we are ready to change.

My mission for that last 38 years has been to write about change and offer my readers what I could not give the young woman I once was—lessons. These lessons can easily be applied to anyone who is experiencing his or her own metamorphosis.

Transformation and change is a process which can be summed up as follows.

(1) First and foremost, we must have a complete change of attitude—a submission to the natural transformation process. This new attitude is a gift of the Holy Spirit and it is ours for the asking.

(2) We must develop a personal relationship with God and an invite the Holy Spirit into our lives.

(3) We must inventory the behaviors we want to change and painstakingly change them. This also involves grace, for only the Holy Spirit has power over sin.

(4) We must make amends to anyone we have hurt and pray for their forgiveness.

(5) If our transformation gets stalled it is okay to ask for counseling but only if what we learn is put to good use.

(6) We must find a community. This community is both a metaphorical and physical place. Metaphorically, it is that place in our hearts where our souls resided before the trauma of our childhood and where today we are free and unblemished spirits unencumbered by our fears and illusions. Literally, it is the church where we can incorporate the disciplines of prayer, meditation, confession, study, submission, and worship into our lives—all the things that support our new life in Christ.

(7) Finally, when we are ready, it is important to pass on the gifts we have received and the lessons we have learned. To reach out those who have not yet found Christ. To talk to them and be an example. To treat them with compassion as Christ treats us. To give to them what we did not get a children but finally found from God. This will keep our own transformation from eroding.

Romans 12:2 (LEB)

And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may approve what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.2And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may approve what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.

July 1, 2020 by hldude

You + God = Victory

“You + God = Victory”

1 Samuel 17:45 NIV

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

This morning as I was reading about David defeating Goliath, it got me thinking about all the giants I find myself dealing with each and every day. I thought about not only the giants I deal with, but the giants so many others deal with as well. We all have our “giants” that intimidate us and cause us to retreat back into defeat so often. We see something that looks way too big and challenging to conquer and we fall back to the comfortable life we’re used to.

I cannot help but think it totally breaks God’s heart when He sees His children deal with the many giants in life like David dealt with. There have been so many different challenged and obstacles in my life and I continue to daily deal with fears of different giants that I think I cannot overcome. But then I get to thinking about how so often I think only about how I can overcome, when it’s not really about me at all. It’s totally about what God wants to do in me and through me.

As I thought more about this story and passage today, I considered how so often I become overwhelmed by the giants I face instead of becoming overwhelmed by God’s awesome presence in my life. I so often forget that even though giants come against me with intimidating tactics, I can come against them with the very awesome power of God Almighty. It’s so inspiring to read this story of faith and courage of David.

We are all facing giants of many kinds in life these days. Whether they are giants from the past or ones that have just risen into our lives, they often seem overwhelming and unstoppable. What we must remember is that nothing is too powerful for God to help us overcome through Him. We need to always remember that when God is behind us, nothing is impossible and He will often do things we never dreamed of.

Can you imagine the look on the faces of the crowd of people after David defeated Goliath? I’m sure everyone was totally amazed and it was all because God did something absolutely amazing through David who was faithful and devoted.

I want to encourage all of us today, that no matter what giants we are dealing with in our lives, to remember that You + God = Victory! We need to stop focusing on what our giants come against us with and focus more on the power that God gives us against our giants!

We have victory over giants with Almighty God!

Weekly Devotional Blog Site www.zwdevotions.com

1 Samuel 17:45 (LEB)

Then David said to the Philistine, “You are coming to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I am coming to you in the name of Adonai of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have defied!45Then David said to the Philistine, “You are coming to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I am coming to you in the name of Adonai of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have defied!