Devotion

SCRIPTURE READING: Numbers 11:24-30
Baseball is one of my favorite sports. Imagine for a moment that you are the manager of a Major League Baseball team, and you decide that your players aren’t ready for their game. So you bench them, grab your glove, and attempt to play all the positions yourself. It sounds ludicrous, but as leaders we can find ourselves doing this in our ministries.
Likewise, Moses was overwhelmed by leading the Israelites, so God provided him with 70 Spirit-filled elders to assist him. This filling was evidenced by their prophesying as they stood around the Tent of Meeting. But their prophesying was only temporary; they did not prophesy again after they returned to the camp. However, two elders who had not gone out to the Tent of Meeting also received the Spirit and began prophesying among the people.

How would Moses respond to these two elders who were getting all the attention from the people? Would he feel that his leadership was threatened?

The answer was no. Moses exhibited no envy toward the two men. Rather, he wished that all the Israelites would receive this gift from God. This is the sign of a great man! Moses had his days of discouragement, as we all do, but this illustrates that he was a true man of God.

As leaders, we can choose how we handle those who minister around us. Will we control them, or will we empower them to serve? Our insecurity, fear, and jealously can limit others from serving to their capacity. Conversely, our trust in God’s wisdom and purposes can free us to let others use their spiritual gifts in our ministry.

Reflect on how you are treating those who minister with you. First, deal with any insecurities that are preventing you from empowering your partners in ministry. Then brainstorm what would encourage your ministry partners to use their spiritual gifts, and put your ideas into action.

When the Holy Spirit enables others to serve our youth, we must empower them to minister.

Devotion

SCRIPTURE READING: John 7:37-39
Do you feel drained, lacking, and wasted? If you were a plant, what would you look like? Green, lush, and strong or withered, limp, and almost dead? Most in ministry find themselves drained after a long week of meeting with youth or dealing with frustrated parents. Where do you find your refreshment?
In our text, Jesus gives an invitation to those who are in need of refreshment. To those who come to Him and believe, Jesus promises satisfaction in the person of the Holy Spirit. For Jesus’ listeners this was a future promise, but for us today it is a present reality. The beautiful imagery of “living water” describes the Holy Spirit as the source of real refreshment, cleansing, fruitfulness, and life.

Living in Canada, I have become accustomed to the Canadian ritual of morning coffee at Tim Hortons. (For many in the U.S., perhaps it’s a daily stop at Starbucks.) Tasting a good “double-double” in the morning is invigorating and seems to get people going for the day. People also look for refreshment from relationships, entertainment, and accomplishments. However, for followers of Christ, the true source of our refreshment is found only in the Holy Spirit, who is already present in our lives. We just need to allow Him to quench our thirst.

Take the opportunity today to invite the Holy Spirit, the “living water,” to bring you real refreshment.

Plant Sale Follow-Up

A huge thank you to all youth and adul;ts who helped with the plant sale this past weekend. Once we get the matching funds from Thrivent we will have raised close to $5100. This will make a big impact on our ministry.

Devotion

SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 24:44-53
I’m sure Jesus grew weary of repeatedly proving himself to His most trusted companions. How many times do you need to show off your battle scars before your family believes you were in the fight of your life?! Patiently, however, Christ rolled up His sleeves once more to show the disciples the wounds on His hands and feet. He let them touch Him once again so they would know He was real, He was alive, and not just a figment of their imagination, or worse, a ghost.
As they still stared in disbelief, Jesus once again ate with His friends. I cannot imagine the ups and downs they experienced in those moments. Their thoughts probably asked, Is it real? Is He real? Is He really alive? Am I going crazy? Wow! It is Him? He is alive! And at some point, the risen Lord became real to them. They let their hearts and minds embrace the fulfilled promises in the Lord standing before them. And, believing in His promise to rise again, they could believe in His next promise: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised…” (v. 49, NIV). Undoubtedly, this is the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the might and power of the Lord Jesus Christ inhabiting the body of every believer.

After promising to send the Spirit, Jesus ascended to heaven, never to appear again to those disciples. But the last promise He made, it came to be just as He said! So, now we live without the bodily presence of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and in anticipation of that final redemption of the world. His return has been promised and His track record of keeping His promises is perfect! Bank on it!

Devotion

SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 24:44-53
I’m sure Jesus grew weary of repeatedly proving himself to His most trusted companions. How many times do you need to show off your battle scars before your family believes you were in the fight of your life?! Patiently, however, Christ rolled up His sleeves once more to show the disciples the wounds on His hands and feet. He let them touch Him once again so they would know He was real, He was alive, and not just a figment of their imagination, or worse, a ghost.
As they still stared in disbelief, Jesus once again ate with His friends. I cannot imagine the ups and downs they experienced in those moments. Their thoughts probably asked, Is it real? Is He real? Is He really alive? Am I going crazy? Wow! It is Him? He is alive! And at some point, the risen Lord became real to them. They let their hearts and minds embrace the fulfilled promises in the Lord standing before them. And, believing in His promise to rise again, they could believe in His next promise: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised…” (v. 49, NIV). Undoubtedly, this is the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the might and power of the Lord Jesus Christ inhabiting the body of every believer.

After promising to send the Spirit, Jesus ascended to heaven, never to appear again to those disciples. But the last promise He made, it came to be just as He said! So, now we live without the bodily presence of Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and in anticipation of that final redemption of the world. His return has been promised and His track record of keeping His promises is perfect! Bank on it!

Devotion

SCRIPTURE READING: Ephesians 1:15-23
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe” (vv. 18-19, NASB). Paul prays these majestic words about the Ephesians and everyone who ever becomes a Christian after them. Have you ever thought about these incredible realities?
“The hope of His calling.” Heaven. Eternal life. Becoming perfect. Adopted into God’s family. Seeing and living with Jesus forever. Totally forgiven. Redeemed from your slavery to the world, the flesh, and the devil. Brothers and sisters of all the great saints of history. And this is only the beginning!

“The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” Our inheritance in Christ is the universe. Everything that exists and will exist. The tree of life. The hidden manna. The white stone. Your name in the Book of Life. Do these things resonate with you?

And one more, “the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Power for defeating sin, outwitting the devil, living righteously, standing before a crowd and telling them about Jesus, witnessing to someone one-on-one, writing books and articles, leading effectively in your ministry, winning people to Christ, and so much more.

I often tell new Christians to memorize these verses and to query God regularly about all that they mean. Paul wrote much about these promises, but there is so much more he never mentioned.

Lay these verses on your heart and meditate on them. God will open the “eyes of your heart” that you “may be enlightened.” He will tell you about the riches that are yours in Christ.

Marvel. Learn. Grow. And never stop serving the greatest being in the universe.

Devotion

SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 93
One of the ancient world’s most feared forces was water. Oceanography as a science did not exist. To the Hebrews, and others around them, water provided life, but also death. So, for the Psalmist to believe that God was more powerful than the waves is quite a statement of faith! I’m not sure we can understand the amount of trust and power conveyed in these words.
We might understand that God is more powerful than an AK47 rifle. Or, He is more powerful than a pack of hungry lions. He is more powerful than some of the tyrants and vigilante rulers in our world. He is even more powerful than nuclear bombs. Now that’s power!

Evil is all around us. Destruction surrounds us day and night. Sometimes the destruction is natural, like tsunamis or hurricanes or earthquakes. At other times, destruction and evil come from humans. So the realization that the world is full of evil and destruction might be a frightening thought for us sometimes. But the Lord reigns over that evil and seeks to protect our lives. We can cling to that reassurance no matter how scary the world may become.

May the Lord protect you and your loved ones today, and may you believe He is indeed more powerful than wind and the rains.