Posted on Oct 18, 2012 in Devotions |
Hi Friends of FBC!
In today’s Bible reading, we were in Daniel 4. What an amazing story! It’s hard to fathom such a ruthless, proud, pagan king like Nebuchadnezzar coming to the place where he would praise and honor the Name of the Most High God! But that’s exactly what happens following the terrible humiliation King Neb endured as a result of his extreme pride about his own greatness. This powerful king was driven from his palace, all the way to the point where he was living outside, eating the grass like an ox! Even unbelieving world leaders are held accountable by our Mighty God, who is the Supreme Ruler of all the earth! Notice how this earthly king sums up his thoughts:
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Dan 4:37 ESV)
What an important lesson for us all, and not just for kings!
Posted on Oct 11, 2012 in Devotions |
Hello FBC!
As I read God’s Word this morning, two key words continually popped up (almost slapping me with the force of the repetition!). Righteousness and Faithfulness. I saw righteousness 5 times, and faithfulness 5 times. And I may have missed some others. I want to encourage you to get out your Bible and look at the following verses, paying special attention for those two words:
Psalm 89:1, 2, 5, 8, 14
Proverbs 11:5, 6
Philippians 3:7-11
Did you look them up? Why not? Go do it! …. OK, now, what did you think?
Read more…
Posted on Oct 5, 2012 in Devotions |
Hello Friends!
I was reminded again this morning during my devotional time of the importance of guarding our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” It is easy for us to get wrapped up in our outward performance and outward appearance. But where it all starts is within. Jesus said something about this as well in Mark 7:21-23 & Luke 6:45. Those would be a couple of great verses to look at today! The Lord wants our hearts to be fully devoted to Him. He wants us to drink of His “Living Water”, so then we will overflow with “springs of life.” Like the chorus says, “I’ve got a river of life flowing out of me…!”
Posted on Sep 27, 2012 in Devotions |
Hi FBC Friends,
I hope today finds you experiencing the blessings of the Lord!
I am excited about the 2nd week of AWANA tonight! It’s not too late if you would like to join our class for parents. We’ll be meeting in my office, and starting Lesson 1 of our books on How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph. Today we read a great passage in Psalms about our responsibility to tell the coming generation of the wonders of the Lord!
We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. Read more…
Posted on Sep 21, 2012 in Devotions |
Hi FBC Friends,
Thank you to everyone who donated and helped with the furniture giveaway for the international students at OSU. In this week’s bulletin you will see a brief report from Beth Arends about the impact of that event. One of the great things that came out of it was the desire of a Chinese student to talk with Beth about Christianity, and it seems specifically because she has seen the love in Christians. If you are reading this right away, you can be praying for their meeting, which is at 2pm today. If you are reading this after 2pm, please pray anyway! God is not bound by time as we are, and this student will certainly need continued prayer after her discussion with Beth!
Today in our Bible reading, we started the book of Acts. But since I’ve said A LOT about Acts recently, I will focus on our Old Testament reading here today! One passage that I have loved for a long time is Jeremiah 9:23-24 —
Posted on Sep 14, 2012 in Devotions |
Hi Friends!
I am so looking forward to seeing you tonight, Saturday (men), and Sunday!
Today in our Bible reading we came to one of my favorite verses: Micah 6:8. Check that out if you didn’t already today! God has told us what He requires! This verse is the motivation behind the naming of our third child, and part of our prayer for him and for all of our children!
Posted on Sep 11, 2012 in Devotions |
Hi FBC Friends!
What a tremendous blessing it is to be a part of the family of God. We have so much to be grateful for. I’ve been encouraging you to be following our daily Bible reading, and once again today’s readings were incredible! Psalm 62, Proverbs 6, John 5… like the commercial for a convenience store once said, “Too much good stuff!” But I wanted to discuss a passage from Isaiah 56 today:
“And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant– 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.“ (Isa. 56:6-7 ESV)
Posted on Sep 11, 2012 in Devotions |
In our daily Bible reading today… all I can say is, “Wow!” So much powerful truth. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to read David’s beautiful prayer in 2 Samuel 7:18-29. The prayers in the Bible are tremendous examples for us, and David’s prayer here is certainly no different.
Then we began reading Psalm 119. I’m glad the reading calendar didn’t make me read the entire thing today (176 verses)! But perhaps the most famous verses come from the beginning of the chapter, which we read today: