gotandem "Repayment Plans" for Saturday, 31 December 2016
See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.[1 Thessalonians 5:15]
Do you live by this?
View this message in goTandem
-------
Saturday, December 31, 2016
gotandem "Repayment Plans" for Saturday, 31 December 2016
gotandem "Repayment Plans" for Saturday, 31 December 2016
See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.[1 Thessalonians 5:15]
Do you live by this?
View this message in goTandem
-------
Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "The Last Days" by Charles Tillman Sr. for Sunday, 1 January 2017 with Scripture: Joel 2:28-32
Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living from Wordaction of The Global Church of the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "The Last Days" by Charles Tillman Sr. for Sunday, 1 January 2017 with Scripture: Joel 2:28-32
-------
"The Last Days" by Charles Tillman Sr.
Joel 3:1 (2:28) “After this, I will pour out
my Spirit on all humanity.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions;
2 (2:29) and also on male and female slaves
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
3 (2:30) I will show wonders in the sky and on earth —
blood, fire and columns of smoke.
4 (2:31) The sun will be turned into darkness
and the moon into blood
before the coming of the great
and terrible Day of Adonai.”
5 (2:32) At that time, whoever calls
on the name of Adonai will be saved.
For in Mount Tziyon and Yerushalayim
there will be those who escape,
as Adonai has promised;
among the survivors will be those
whom Adonai has called.
-------
Centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophet Joel foretold of the great day of the Lord. Five times in three chapters, he warned his readers of that coming day. That day would be preceded by ominous signs and wonders of impending judgement. In Joel's day, he saw it in the devastation of a great locust plague, pointing to an even more dreadful day to come.
The apostle Peter recalled Joel's words on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21). It's wonderful to know that "afterward" the Spirit of God will be poured on all people. Men and women alike will proclaim the word of the Lord. There will be no sexism involved in God's utilization of willing vessels. God stands ready to use "whosoever will" to proclaim the message of salvation. The Lord needs folks like you and me, who stand ready to share the wonderful message of salvation in Jesus Christ. His Spirit gives us a holy boldness, allowing us to speak without hesitation or reservation.
Men and women of God, would you accept a challenge to share your faith at least once a week with the lost and/or hurting in 2017? Isaiah responded to God's call by saying, :Here I am/ Sed me!" (Isaiah 6:8).
-------
Hymn for Today: "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" by James M. Black
1. When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
and the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
2. On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
and the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
3. Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun;
let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
-------
Thought for Today: Colossians 1:28 We, for our part, proclaim him; we warn, confront and teach everyone in all wisdom; so that we may present everyone as having reached the goal, united with the Messiah.
-------
Please Pray: That many people in Israel will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and be filled with the fullness of the Ruach HakOdesh.
-------
-------
"The Last Days" by Charles Tillman Sr.
Joel 3:1 (2:28) “After this, I will pour out
my Spirit on all humanity.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions;
2 (2:29) and also on male and female slaves
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
3 (2:30) I will show wonders in the sky and on earth —
blood, fire and columns of smoke.
4 (2:31) The sun will be turned into darkness
and the moon into blood
before the coming of the great
and terrible Day of Adonai.”
5 (2:32) At that time, whoever calls
on the name of Adonai will be saved.
For in Mount Tziyon and Yerushalayim
there will be those who escape,
as Adonai has promised;
among the survivors will be those
whom Adonai has called.
-------
Centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophet Joel foretold of the great day of the Lord. Five times in three chapters, he warned his readers of that coming day. That day would be preceded by ominous signs and wonders of impending judgement. In Joel's day, he saw it in the devastation of a great locust plague, pointing to an even more dreadful day to come.
The apostle Peter recalled Joel's words on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21). It's wonderful to know that "afterward" the Spirit of God will be poured on all people. Men and women alike will proclaim the word of the Lord. There will be no sexism involved in God's utilization of willing vessels. God stands ready to use "whosoever will" to proclaim the message of salvation. The Lord needs folks like you and me, who stand ready to share the wonderful message of salvation in Jesus Christ. His Spirit gives us a holy boldness, allowing us to speak without hesitation or reservation.
Men and women of God, would you accept a challenge to share your faith at least once a week with the lost and/or hurting in 2017? Isaiah responded to God's call by saying, :Here I am/ Sed me!" (Isaiah 6:8).
-------
Hymn for Today: "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" by James M. Black
1. When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
and the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
2. On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
and the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
3. Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun;
let us talk of all His wondrous love and care;
then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
and the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
Refrain:
When the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder,
when the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.
-------
Thought for Today: Colossians 1:28 We, for our part, proclaim him; we warn, confront and teach everyone in all wisdom; so that we may present everyone as having reached the goal, united with the Messiah.
-------
Please Pray: That many people in Israel will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and be filled with the fullness of the Ruach HakOdesh.
-------
The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "What Time Is It?" for Sunday, 1 January 2017 with Scripture: Matthew 24:32-44
The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "What Time Is It?" for Sunday, 1 January 2017 with Scripture: Matthew 24:32 “Now let the fig tree teach you its lesson: when its branches begin to sprout and leaves appear, you know that summer is approaching. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door. 34 Yes! I tell you that this people will certainly not pass away before all these things happen. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36 “But when that day and hour will come, no one knows — not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father. 37 For the Son of Man’s coming will be just as it was in the days of Noach. 38 Back then, before the Flood, people went on eating and drinking, taking wives and becoming wives, right up till the day Noach entered the ark; 39 and they didn’t know what was happening until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be just like that when the Son of Man comes. 40 Then there will be two men in a field — one will be taken and the other left behind. 41 There will be two women grinding flour at the mill — one will be taken and the other left behind. 42 So stay alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you too must always be ready, for the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him.
-------
Teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.[Psalm 90:12 (NRSV)]
A new year makes me acutely conscious of the passage of time: how we allow calendars and clocks to dominate us, how there is never enough time for what we need or want to do. It reminds me how time changes some things but not others. Time helps heal grief and softens memories of old conflicts and wounds, but the mere passage of time does not strengthen marriage, friendship, or character.
A new year reminds us that God’s time is different from ours. Galatians 4:4 says, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,” but we do not know God’s future timetable. Some people try to predict the world’s end or say we are living in “end times,” but in today’s reading Jesus reminds us that only God knows what the future holds.
The best New Year’s resolution I can make is to appreciate each day God gives me, to become a better steward of my time, and to grow to be more Christlike — the better to serve God.
The Author: Gus Browning (Texas, USA)
Thought for the Day: How will I resolve to serve God this year?
Prayer: Eternal God, teach us to use our days to “gain a wise heart.” Amen.
Prayer focus: To be a better steward of my time
A new year makes me acutely conscious of the passage of time: how we allow calendars and clocks to dominate us, how there is never enough time for what we need or want to do. It reminds me how time changes some things but not others. Time helps heal grief and softens memories of old conflicts and wounds, but the mere passage of time does not strengthen marriage, friendship, or character.
A new year reminds us that God’s time is different from ours. Galatians 4:4 says, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,” but we do not know God’s future timetable. Some people try to predict the world’s end or say we are living in “end times,” but in today’s reading Jesus reminds us that only God knows what the future holds.
The best New Year’s resolution I can make is to appreciate each day God gives me, to become a better steward of my time, and to grow to be more Christlike — the better to serve God.
The Author: Gus Browning (Texas, USA)
Thought for the Day: How will I resolve to serve God this year?
Prayer: Eternal God, teach us to use our days to “gain a wise heart.” Amen.
Prayer focus: To be a better steward of my time
-------
My Utmost for His Highest in Crewe, England [Great Britain], United Kingdom "Let Us Keep to the Point" by Oswald Chambers for Sunday, 1 January 2017
My Utmost for His Highest in Crewe, England [Great Britain], United Kingdom "Let Us Keep to the Point" by Oswald Chambers for Sunday, 1 January 2017
"…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death."[Philippians 1:20]My Utmost for His Highest. “…my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed….” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness. “Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;…[The Highest Good—The Pilgrim’s Song Book, 537 L]Bible in One Year: Genesis 1–3; Matthew 1
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.
6 God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water.” 7 God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was, 8 and God called the dome Sky. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear,” and that is how it was. 10 God called the dry land Earth, the gathering together of the water he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.
11 God said, “Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth”; and that is how it was. 12 The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and God saw that it was good. 13 So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.
(A: ii) 14 God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth”; and that is how it was. 16 God made the two great lights — the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars. 17 God put them in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 So there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open dome of the sky.” 21 God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that creeps, so that the water swarmed with all kinds of them, and there was every kind of winged bird; and God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.
(A: iii) 24 God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast”; and that is how it was. 25 God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.”
27 So God created humankind in his own image;
in the image of God he created him:
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. 30 And to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every kind of green plant.” And that is how it was. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.
(A: iv, S: ii) 4 Here is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created. On the day when Adonai, God, made earth and heaven, 5 there was as yet no wild bush on the earth, and no wild plant had as yet sprung up; for Adonai, God, had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no one to cultivate the ground. 6 Rather, a mist went up from the earth which watered the entire surface of the ground.
7 Then Adonai, God, formed a person [Genesis 2:7 Hebrew: adam] from the dust of the ground [Genesis 2:7 Hebrew: adamah] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being. 8 Adonai, God, planted a garden toward the east, in ‘Eden, and there he put the person whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground Adonai, God, caused to grow every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river went out of ‘Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided into four streams. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it winds throughout the land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The name of the second river is Gichon; it winds throughout the land of Kush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that flows toward the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 Adonai, God, took the person and put him in the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate and care for it. 16 Adonai, God, gave the person this order: “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die.”
18 Adonai, God, said, “It isn’t good that the person should be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.” 19 So from the ground Adonai, God, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name. (S: iii) 20 So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.
21 Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh. 22 The rib which Adonai, God, had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he brought her to the man-person. 23 The man-person said, “At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman [Genesis 2:23 Hebrew: ishah], because she was taken out of Man [Genesis 2:23 Hebrew: ish].” 24 This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh.
25 They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.
3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “It is not true that you will surely die; 5 because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.
8 They heard the voice of Adonai, God, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Adonai, God, among the trees in the garden. 9 Adonai, God, called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I ordered you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Adonai, God, said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me, so I ate.”
14 Adonai, God, said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and wild animals. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live. 15 I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,’ the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground — for you were taken out of it: you are dust, and you will return to dust.”
20 The man called his wife Havah [life], because she was the mother of all living.
21 Adonai, God, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
(A: v, S: iv) 22 Adonai, God, said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever — ” 23 therefore Adonai, God, sent him out of the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So he drove the man out, and he placed at the east of the garden of ‘Eden the k’ruvim and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Matthew 1
:1 This is the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, son of David, son of Avraham:
2 Avraham was the father of Yitz’chak,
Yitz’chak was the father of Ya‘akov,
Ya‘akov was the father of Y’hudah and his brothers,
3 Y’hudah was the father of Peretz and Zerach (their mother was Tamar),
Peretz was the father of Hetzron,
Hetzron was the father of Ram,
4 Ram was the father of ‘Amminadav,
‘Amminadav was the father of Nachshon,
Nachshon was the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon was the father of Bo‘az (his mother was Rachav),
Bo‘az was the father of ‘Oved (his mother was Rut),
‘Oved was the father of Yishai,
6 Yishai was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Shlomo (his mother was the wife of Uriyah),
7 Shlomo was the father of Rechav‘am,
Rechav‘am was the father of Aviyah,
Aviyah was the father of Asa,
8 Asa was the father of Y’hoshafat,
Y’hoshafat was the father of Yoram,
Yoram was the father of ‘Uziyahu,
9 ‘Uziyahu was the father of Yotam,
Yotam was the father of Achaz,
Achaz was the father of Hizkiyahu,
10 Hizkiyahu was the father of M’nasheh,
M’nasheh was the father of Amon,
Amon was the father of Yoshiyahu,
11 Yoshiyahu was the father of Y’khanyahu and his brothers
at the time of the Exile to Bavel.
12 After the Babylonian Exile, Y’khanyahu was the father of Sh’altiel,
Sh’altiel was the father of Z’rubavel,
13 Z’rubavel was the father of Avihud,
Avihud was the father of Elyakim,
Elyakim was the father of ‘Azur,
14 ‘Azur was the father of Tzadok,
Tzadok was the father of Yakhin,
Yakhin was the father of El’ichud,
15 El’ichud was the father of El‘azar,
El‘azar was the father of Mattan,
Mattan was the father of Ya‘akov,
16 Ya‘akov was the father of Yosef the husband of Miryam,
from whom was born the Yeshua who was called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations from Avraham to David,
fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian Exile,
and fourteen generations from the Babylonian Exile to the Messiah.
18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. 20 But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet,
23 “The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and they will call him ‘Immanu El.”[Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14]
(The name means, “God is with us.”)
24 When Yosef awoke he did what the angel of Adonai had told him to do — he took Miryam home to be his wife, 25 but he did not have sexual relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Yeshua.
-------
Oswald Chambers 2017 Wall CalendarPortrait of a Man of God 1874–1917
This calendar honors the life and legacy of the author of My Utmost for His Highest,commemorating the 100th anniversary of his death, and offers a window of insight into Chambers’ servant-hearted life through photos, biographical information, and meaningful quotes.
BUY NOW
-------
My Utmost for His Highest © 1927 in the U.K. by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. © 1935 by Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All rights reserved. United States publication rights are held by Discovery House, which is affiliated with Our Daily Bread Ministries.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Special offers are valid only for orders placed online and may not be combined with any other offers or coupons.
-------
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Special offers are valid only for orders placed online and may not be combined with any other offers or coupons.
-------
IMPORTANT: NEW YEAR'S DAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE from The Senior Pastor Adam Hamilton of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 31 December 2016
IMPORTANT: NEW YEAR'S DAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE from The Senior Pastor Adam Hamilton of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Saturday, 31 December 2016
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Dear Resurrection Family,
Don't forget that our worship schedule for New Year's Day is slightly different.
Leawood: Sanctuary and Vibe at 10:45 am; Sanctuary at 5 pm
West: 9:30 and 11 am
Downtown: 9 and 10:45 am
Blue Springs: 9 and 10:45 am
You can also join us at rezonline.org at 10:45 am and 5 pm.
Join us for worship and you'll have perfect attendance in 2017!
Happy New Year Resurrection!
Adam
-------
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Saturday, December 31, 2016Dear Resurrection Family,
Don't forget that our worship schedule for New Year's Day is slightly different.
Leawood: Sanctuary and Vibe at 10:45 am; Sanctuary at 5 pm
West: 9:30 and 11 am
Downtown: 9 and 10:45 am
Blue Springs: 9 and 10:45 am
You can also join us at rezonline.org at 10:45 am and 5 pm.
Join us for worship and you'll have perfect attendance in 2017!
Happy New Year Resurrection!
Adam
-------
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
913.897.0120
--------
Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Everything Is New" for Sunday, January 1, 2017
Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries of Saint Louis, Missouri, United States "Everything Is New" for Sunday, January 1, 2017
-------
And at the end of eight days ... He was circumcised ...(Luke 2:21).
New Year's Day was always an exciting new beginning. If the old year had brought us pain and misery, we could rejoice that it was over, gone, behind us. And in the dawning of a new day, there was the hope the New Year would be so much better.
This day was also a new beginning for the Baby Jesus. Jesus is eight days old, and it is now time to circumcise Him, according to the Law of the Lord. This ceremony made Jesus a member of God's people Israel. It also bound Him under the Law, obligating Him to keep that Law perfectly. As our Substitute, Jesus perfectly obeyed God's Law, so His perfection, holiness and righteousness might be ours, covering our failings, our flaws, and our sins.
But His circumcision carries with it the reminder that Jesus will not simply cover our sin, He will remove it from us -- forever. On this eighth day of His young life, Jesus first sheds His blood for us, but it will certainly not be the last time He does this. On a dark day some 30 years into the future, Jesus will shed His blood and die on the cross to satisfy God's wrath against our sins.
The symbolism of His circumcision and our Baptism both remind us of God's work, cutting off our sinful nature or drowning it. In Baptism God makes us new creatures, so we can stand before Him spotless and pure through Jesus Christ.
What a way to start a New Year!
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, in Your circumcision Your blood was first shed as our Substitute. Cut the sin from our hearts, that we may enter this New Year in Your holiness and purity. Amen.
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Genesis 1-3; Matthew 1
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.
And at the end of eight days ... He was circumcised ...(Luke 2:21).
New Year's Day was always an exciting new beginning. If the old year had brought us pain and misery, we could rejoice that it was over, gone, behind us. And in the dawning of a new day, there was the hope the New Year would be so much better.
This day was also a new beginning for the Baby Jesus. Jesus is eight days old, and it is now time to circumcise Him, according to the Law of the Lord. This ceremony made Jesus a member of God's people Israel. It also bound Him under the Law, obligating Him to keep that Law perfectly. As our Substitute, Jesus perfectly obeyed God's Law, so His perfection, holiness and righteousness might be ours, covering our failings, our flaws, and our sins.
But His circumcision carries with it the reminder that Jesus will not simply cover our sin, He will remove it from us -- forever. On this eighth day of His young life, Jesus first sheds His blood for us, but it will certainly not be the last time He does this. On a dark day some 30 years into the future, Jesus will shed His blood and die on the cross to satisfy God's wrath against our sins.
The symbolism of His circumcision and our Baptism both remind us of God's work, cutting off our sinful nature or drowning it. In Baptism God makes us new creatures, so we can stand before Him spotless and pure through Jesus Christ.
What a way to start a New Year!
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, in Your circumcision Your blood was first shed as our Substitute. Cut the sin from our hearts, that we may enter this New Year in Your holiness and purity. Amen.
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Genesis 1-3; Matthew 1
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.
6 God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water.” 7 God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was, 8 and God called the dome Sky. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear,” and that is how it was. 10 God called the dry land Earth, the gathering together of the water he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.
11 God said, “Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth”; and that is how it was. 12 The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and God saw that it was good. 13 So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.
(A: ii) 14 God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth”; and that is how it was. 16 God made the two great lights — the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars. 17 God put them in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19 So there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open dome of the sky.” 21 God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that creeps, so that the water swarmed with all kinds of them, and there was every kind of winged bird; and God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 So there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.
(A: iii) 24 God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast”; and that is how it was. 25 God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in the likeness of ourselves; and let them rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the animals, and over all the earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the earth.”
27 So God created humankind in his own image;
in the image of God he created him:
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them: God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and every living creature that crawls on the earth.” 29 Then God said, “Here! Throughout the whole earth I am giving you as food every seed-bearing plant and every tree with seed-bearing fruit. 30 And to every wild animal, bird in the air and creature crawling on the earth, in which there is a living soul, I am giving as food every kind of green plant.” And that is how it was. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good. So there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.
(A: iv, S: ii) 4 Here is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created. On the day when Adonai, God, made earth and heaven, 5 there was as yet no wild bush on the earth, and no wild plant had as yet sprung up; for Adonai, God, had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no one to cultivate the ground. 6 Rather, a mist went up from the earth which watered the entire surface of the ground.
7 Then Adonai, God, formed a person [Genesis 2:7 Hebrew: adam] from the dust of the ground [Genesis 2:7 Hebrew: adamah] and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became a living being. 8 Adonai, God, planted a garden toward the east, in ‘Eden, and there he put the person whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground Adonai, God, caused to grow every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river went out of ‘Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided into four streams. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it winds throughout the land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The name of the second river is Gichon; it winds throughout the land of Kush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it is the one that flows toward the east of Ashur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 Adonai, God, took the person and put him in the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate and care for it. 16 Adonai, God, gave the person this order: “You may freely eat from every tree in the garden 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You are not to eat from it, because on the day that you eat from it, it will become certain that you will die.”
18 Adonai, God, said, “It isn’t good that the person should be alone. I will make for him a companion suitable for helping him.” 19 So from the ground Adonai, God, formed every wild animal and every bird that flies in the air, and he brought them to the person to see what he would call them. Whatever the person would call each living creature, that was to be its name. (S: iii) 20 So the person gave names to all the livestock, to the birds in the air and to every wild animal. But for Adam there was not found a companion suitable for helping him.
21 Then God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the person; and while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and closed up the place from which he took it with flesh. 22 The rib which Adonai, God, had taken from the person, he made a woman-person; and he brought her to the man-person. 23 The man-person said, “At last! This is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She is to be called Woman [Genesis 2:23 Hebrew: ishah], because she was taken out of Man [Genesis 2:23 Hebrew: ish].” 24 This is why a man is to leave his father and mother and stick with his wife, and they are to be one flesh.
25 They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.
3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any wild animal which Adonai, God, had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat from the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, ‘You are neither to eat from it nor touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “It is not true that you will surely die; 5 because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her; and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to make themselves loincloths.
8 They heard the voice of Adonai, God, walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, so the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Adonai, God, among the trees in the garden. 9 Adonai, God, called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I ordered you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Adonai, God, said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me, so I ate.”
14 Adonai, God, said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all livestock and wild animals. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live. 15 I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,’ the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat field plants. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your forehead till you return to the ground — for you were taken out of it: you are dust, and you will return to dust.”
20 The man called his wife Havah [life], because she was the mother of all living.
21 Adonai, God, made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
(A: v, S: iv) 22 Adonai, God, said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever — ” 23 therefore Adonai, God, sent him out of the garden of ‘Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So he drove the man out, and he placed at the east of the garden of ‘Eden the k’ruvim and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Matthew 1:1 This is the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, son of David, son of Avraham:
2 Avraham was the father of Yitz’chak,
Yitz’chak was the father of Ya‘akov,
Ya‘akov was the father of Y’hudah and his brothers,
3 Y’hudah was the father of Peretz and Zerach (their mother was Tamar),
Peretz was the father of Hetzron,
Hetzron was the father of Ram,
4 Ram was the father of ‘Amminadav,
‘Amminadav was the father of Nachshon,
Nachshon was the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon was the father of Bo‘az (his mother was Rachav),
Bo‘az was the father of ‘Oved (his mother was Rut),
‘Oved was the father of Yishai,
6 Yishai was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Shlomo (his mother was the wife of Uriyah),
7 Shlomo was the father of Rechav‘am,
Rechav‘am was the father of Aviyah,
Aviyah was the father of Asa,
8 Asa was the father of Y’hoshafat,
Y’hoshafat was the father of Yoram,
Yoram was the father of ‘Uziyahu,
9 ‘Uziyahu was the father of Yotam,
Yotam was the father of Achaz,
Achaz was the father of Hizkiyahu,
10 Hizkiyahu was the father of M’nasheh,
M’nasheh was the father of Amon,
Amon was the father of Yoshiyahu,
11 Yoshiyahu was the father of Y’khanyahu and his brothers
at the time of the Exile to Bavel.
12 After the Babylonian Exile, Y’khanyahu was the father of Sh’altiel,
Sh’altiel was the father of Z’rubavel,
13 Z’rubavel was the father of Avihud,
Avihud was the father of Elyakim,
Elyakim was the father of ‘Azur,
14 ‘Azur was the father of Tzadok,
Tzadok was the father of Yakhin,
Yakhin was the father of El’ichud,
15 El’ichud was the father of El‘azar,
El‘azar was the father of Mattan,
Mattan was the father of Ya‘akov,
16 Ya‘akov was the father of Yosef the husband of Miryam,
from whom was born the Yeshua who was called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations from Avraham to David,
fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian Exile,
and fourteen generations from the Babylonian Exile to the Messiah.
18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. 20 But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this happened in order to fulfill what Adonai had said through the prophet,
23 “The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and they will call him ‘Immanu El.”[Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14]
(The name means, “God is with us.”)
24 When Yosef awoke he did what the angel of Adonai had told him to do — he took Miryam home to be his wife, 25 but he did not have sexual relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Yeshua.
-------
CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
BE AN AMBASSADOR OR DONATE
The Lutheran Hour Ministries
660 Mason Ridge Center
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141, United States
-------
BE AN AMBASSADOR OR DONATE
The Lutheran Hour Ministries
660 Mason Ridge Center
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141, United States
-------
In Memoriam: Donna Davison from First United Methodist Church in Redondo Beach, California, United States for Saturday, 31 December 2016 "We give thanks to God for the life of Donna Davison."
In Memoriam: Donna Davison from First United Methodist Church in Redondo Beach, California, United States for Saturday, 31 December 2016 "We give thanks to God for the life of Donna Davison."
July 24, 1933 - December 28, 2016
"O Lord, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Look down upon our sorrowing hearts today, we humbly pray, and be gracious. Help all who mourn to cast every care upon you, and find comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
With deep sympathy and prayers, we share news of the passing of Donna Davison of our congregation.
Donna passed from this life on Wednesday, December 28 at her home in Torrance, surrounded by family members.
Donna joined Redondo Beach First in 1963, and was active in the church in many ways, including as a faithful volunteer for Shared Bread and a member of the Naomi Circle of our United Methodist Women. Donna was a life-long Methodist; in 2002, she was recognized as a "Dynamic Disciple" in our congregation.
Donna is survived by her husband of more than 65 years, Marvin, as well as her sons Mike (Kathy) Davison and Rob Davison, as well as four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her son, Stephen Lee Davison.
We will hold a funeral for Donna on Saturday, January 7, at 11am in the sanctuary, with a light reception to follow. The family will hold a private burial later that day.
May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.(from the United Methodist Book of Worship)
-------
First United Methodist Church
July 24, 1933 - December 28, 2016 "O Lord, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Look down upon our sorrowing hearts today, we humbly pray, and be gracious. Help all who mourn to cast every care upon you, and find comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
With deep sympathy and prayers, we share news of the passing of Donna Davison of our congregation.
Donna passed from this life on Wednesday, December 28 at her home in Torrance, surrounded by family members.
Donna joined Redondo Beach First in 1963, and was active in the church in many ways, including as a faithful volunteer for Shared Bread and a member of the Naomi Circle of our United Methodist Women. Donna was a life-long Methodist; in 2002, she was recognized as a "Dynamic Disciple" in our congregation.
Donna is survived by her husband of more than 65 years, Marvin, as well as her sons Mike (Kathy) Davison and Rob Davison, as well as four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her son, Stephen Lee Davison.
We will hold a funeral for Donna on Saturday, January 7, at 11am in the sanctuary, with a light reception to follow. The family will hold a private burial later that day.
May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort, in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.(from the United Methodist Book of Worship)
-------
First United Methodist Church
243 South Broadway
Redondo Beach, California 90277, United States
-------
-------
January 2017 eShmooze Letter from Word of Messiah of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States for Saturday, 31 December 2016
January 2017 eShmooze Letter from Word of Messiah of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States for Saturday, 31 December 2016
About WMM | Bookstore | Contact Us | Give
January 2017
Why Israel?
Though some may question why we choose to travel so far every year, understanding God’s plan for Israel clarifies this issue and leads us to pray and reach out to Jewish people here and around the world.
Why Israel? by Sam Nadler
As you read this, we are preparing to return to Israel for our ongoing ministry to Messianic leaders and outreach to unbelievers in the Land. Though some may question why we choose to travel so far every year, understanding God’s plan for Israel clarifies this issue and leads us to pray and do all we can to reach out to Jewish people here and around the world. To help us better understand, let’s look first at Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29), those through whom God chose to birth a nation and ultimately bring the Messiah into the world.
Why Leah?
Though Jacob loved beautiful Rachel, it was through her weak-eyed sister Leah that God chose to most impact the history of Israel and more abundantly bless the world. The priesthood through Leah’s son Levi would foreshadow the eternal priesthood and sacrifice of Messiah (Hebrews 8:5, 10: 1). The kingship through her son Judah would provide the Davidic dynasty and the eternal King, Messiah Yeshua.
We read in Genesis 29:31, “Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” Barrenness was a genetic family condition for both sisters, just like their Aunt Rebecca and Great Aunt Sarah.
Though God allowed Rachel to remain barren for a longer time, He granted Leah the ability to conceive. But why Leah? Rachel, like the nations of the world, was alluring but spiritually unproductive. Leah was the unlovely and unloved one. In keeping His promise, God chose to use Leah because, in her weakness, she best pictures the people of Israel.
Why Israel?
Like Leah, God chose Israel not because it was the greatest of the nations, but because it was the least (Deut. 7:7-8). Of all the peoples, Israel was the least likely to succeed (apart from God).
Doesn’t it seem ironic that God enabled Abraham and Sarah, an elderly, barren couple not only to conceive, but also to bless “all the nations of the earth” (Genesis 12:3, 22: 18)? For, through the unlikely seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Leah, the blessed Redeemer would come.
In each generation, God continued to choose the least. The unloved, weak-eyed Leah, who had no outer beauty, pictures our Messiah. Just as Leah was not attractive to Jacob, Israel did not find Yeshua appealing to their sight. Isaiah wrote that Messiah would have “no beauty that we would desire Him” and He would be “rejected by men,” yet amazingly fruitful and prosperous, for “He will see His seed” (Isa 53:1-12).
God’s choice of Leah demonstrates that it is not our external beauty, but rather God’s eternal blessing that brings true and lasting fulfillment. Yeshua started His hillside sermon, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The Lord’s love is for the unloved and His grace is for the rejected. Those in this position truly understand that apart from Him they can do nothing (John I5:5).
But Why You?
When each of us see ourselves as we truly are, we will acknowledge that in reality, we are poor. Yeshua goes against the grain of all human judgment as it points out in I Cor. I :20, “God has made foolish the wisdom of the world.” His Kingdom is given to the poor, not the rich; the feeble, not the mighty; the unloved, not the desired. Yes, it is “through weakness His power is made perfect” so we may prove that “His grace is sufficient” (I Cor. 12:9). When we recognize our unloved weaknesses and choose to depend on His grace, then God will use us to be the witness of His everlasting love.
Many believers can feel unqualified to witness effectively to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel.” For instance, Paul was well trained in the Torah, the Hebrew language and rabbinic theology. Yet even with all these credentials Paul was spiritually blind. Only after he was physically blinded could he gain spiritual sight. He could see the crucified One who is the Victor, who overcame death and also saved Paul, and one day would redeem all Israel. Therefore, Paul was unashamed to preach the Good News. He knew that the power to save all who believe is not found in all the qualifications or education that this world can offer, but in Good News alone, “to the Jew first and also to the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16). Like Paul, our main ability to effectively witness to the Jewish people is not in our strength, prosperity or status in the world but by grace alone that God provides. Paul had to become like Leah to be used by God. As with Paul, God sometimes has to make the high places low, for He still chooses the weak and unloved as witnesses of His love and power to all with ears to hear.
Being Unloved
Today, Leah is unloved once again. Following the Holocaust, Israel was tolerated by the nations of the world. But now Israel and Jewish people everywhere are once more the bulls-eye of Satan’s war with God. When Yeshua saw His people, Israel, He felt compassion for them, because they were “harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Today, Israel is still without their Shepherd and Yeshua still feels compassion for them. Today the harvest is plentiful and the need for laborers remains great. Consequently, we should seize the opportunity to minister God’s grace to the Jewish people. All local churches and believers can take part in ministering His compassion and grace to “harassed and helpless sheep.”
Being His Instrument
Just as God chose Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah, He also chooses us today to point others to Messiah. How will he do this? God keeps His promise and uses each of us just as we are: poor and weak, but trusting in His all sufficient grace and power. Unrecognized by Jacob at the time, Leah was God’s instrument of blessing for Israel’s future; unrecognized by Jacob today, we modern “Leah’s” are God’s present instrument of blessing for Israel. Let us trust in His promises and together reach out to His lost sheep whether they are in Israel, in NYC, or perhaps right next door. For the God of Leah is the Savior of the World.
READ MORE
-------
2016 Blessings
As another year begins, we want to share what God has done at Word of Messiah this year and thank all who have prayed with us and supported us through 2016.
2016 Blessings
As another year begins, we want to share what God has done at Word of Messiah this year and thank all who have prayed with us and supported us through 2016. This has been a year full of blessings and provision as we have been privileged to minister to many throughout the U.S. as well as overseas.
Last February, during our time in Israel, we were blessed to reach out to Messianic leaders who are reaching Israelis for Yeshua all over the country. While we were there, we partnered with Netivah, Tents of Mercy, and Maoz Ministries in conducting training conferences for Messianic leaders, youth leaders, and congregation planters. We were also able to provide Messianic Discipleship books in Hebrew, Russian, and English to many of the conference participants. Please pray for them that they will, in the words of one of the Israeli leaders, “take what (they) received and prayerfully find wisdom for application.”
In September, we traveled to England where Sam was invited to be keynote speaker at the 150th anniversary conference of the oldest Messianic organization in the world, the British Messianic Jewish Alliance (BMJA). There, we interacted with Messianic leaders from England and Wales and were blessed to see them renew their commitment to keep proclaiming the Good News to the Jew first in their communities through the testimony of healthy Messianic congregations. After the conference, we conducted a one day training course at a local congregation in the Golders Green area of London.
From Phoenix to Richmond to New York, Messianic leaders and congregation planters were equipped and encouraged through our “Developing Healthy Messianic Congregations” conferences. At the end of the Richmond conference, one Messianic leader stated, “I knew I would learn, but I had no idea how much… I wish every Messianic leader could attend this conference so we could all be on the same page.”
We not only conduct conferences for groups of Messianic leaders, we also travel to individual congregations to help address specific areas of need, such as the area of leadership development or support through times of transition. This year we were honored to assist various congregations in Texas, Ohio, and Virginia.
Besides our annual Messianic Women’s Retreat in May, Miriam also spoke at several women’s groups encouraging them with the teaching found in her book Honoring God with My Life which covers Titus 2:3-5. At each of our conferences for Messianic leaders, Miriam met with the leaders’ wives, equipping and encouraging them in their vital ministry roles.
As you know, Word of Messiah also reaches out to believers in churches, teaching God’s Word from a Jewish frame of reference and equipping Christians to reach Jewish friends and neighbors. This year, Sam was invited to speak in over sixty churches of various denominations. Through these speaking opportunities as well as through our outreaches surrounding Passover and the other Feasts of the Bible and Jewish holidays, we have been very blessed to see many come to know Yeshua!
What’s Next?
Please pray with us as we follow the Lord into all He has for us this year. In the coming weeks we’ll be preparing to return to Israel where we will once again be conducting training conferences for Israeli Messianic leaders in Tel Aviv and the Galilee. This year the subject of Discipleship will be our conference focus. During our time in Israel, we will also be meeting with Israeli youth leaders and individual congregation planters around the country.
We already have three Developing Healthy Messianic Congregations conferences planned for 2017, beginning with a Tampa, FL conference from February 19-20. In October, we will be hosting a conference in Chicago, and will also be in Ohio (more information to come). Please pray and spread the word as we desire to reach as many as possible in these strategic areas of the country.
Each month, more people are subscribing to our new Word of Messiah Podcast and this year we will be working towards expanding the reach of this important ministry even more, sharing the Good News with all who are listening in.
Once again, thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. May the Lord bless you and your family in this new year! READ MORE
-------
Jan 1, 11:00 am: Mt. Lebanon Baptist, Mint Hill, NC
The Messianic Answer Book
The Messianic Answer book is designed for believers in Yeshua (Jesus) to use in their witness to Jewish people. It addresses some of the most common questions Jewish people have regarding faith in Yeshua and also includes several exciting testimonies of Jewish people who have come to faith in their Messiah.
VISIT OUR BOOKSTORE
Word of Messiah Podcast
Check out our new podcast - Just another avenue to proclaim the faithfulness of the God of Israel!
Your prayers and support are invaluable as we share the Good News, establish healthy Messianic congregations, and equip the Body of Messiah around the world in our shared calling to bring the Good News of Yeshua "to the Jew 1st and also to the Gentile."
GIVE TODAY
Word of Messiah Ministries
About WMM | Bookstore | Contact Us | Give
January 2017Why Israel?
Though some may question why we choose to travel so far every year, understanding God’s plan for Israel clarifies this issue and leads us to pray and reach out to Jewish people here and around the world.
Why Israel? by Sam Nadler
As you read this, we are preparing to return to Israel for our ongoing ministry to Messianic leaders and outreach to unbelievers in the Land. Though some may question why we choose to travel so far every year, understanding God’s plan for Israel clarifies this issue and leads us to pray and do all we can to reach out to Jewish people here and around the world. To help us better understand, let’s look first at Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29), those through whom God chose to birth a nation and ultimately bring the Messiah into the world.Why Leah?
Though Jacob loved beautiful Rachel, it was through her weak-eyed sister Leah that God chose to most impact the history of Israel and more abundantly bless the world. The priesthood through Leah’s son Levi would foreshadow the eternal priesthood and sacrifice of Messiah (Hebrews 8:5, 10: 1). The kingship through her son Judah would provide the Davidic dynasty and the eternal King, Messiah Yeshua.
We read in Genesis 29:31, “Now the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.” Barrenness was a genetic family condition for both sisters, just like their Aunt Rebecca and Great Aunt Sarah.
Though God allowed Rachel to remain barren for a longer time, He granted Leah the ability to conceive. But why Leah? Rachel, like the nations of the world, was alluring but spiritually unproductive. Leah was the unlovely and unloved one. In keeping His promise, God chose to use Leah because, in her weakness, she best pictures the people of Israel.
Why Israel?
Like Leah, God chose Israel not because it was the greatest of the nations, but because it was the least (Deut. 7:7-8). Of all the peoples, Israel was the least likely to succeed (apart from God).
Doesn’t it seem ironic that God enabled Abraham and Sarah, an elderly, barren couple not only to conceive, but also to bless “all the nations of the earth” (Genesis 12:3, 22: 18)? For, through the unlikely seed of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Leah, the blessed Redeemer would come.
In each generation, God continued to choose the least. The unloved, weak-eyed Leah, who had no outer beauty, pictures our Messiah. Just as Leah was not attractive to Jacob, Israel did not find Yeshua appealing to their sight. Isaiah wrote that Messiah would have “no beauty that we would desire Him” and He would be “rejected by men,” yet amazingly fruitful and prosperous, for “He will see His seed” (Isa 53:1-12).
God’s choice of Leah demonstrates that it is not our external beauty, but rather God’s eternal blessing that brings true and lasting fulfillment. Yeshua started His hillside sermon, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The Lord’s love is for the unloved and His grace is for the rejected. Those in this position truly understand that apart from Him they can do nothing (John I5:5).
But Why You?
When each of us see ourselves as we truly are, we will acknowledge that in reality, we are poor. Yeshua goes against the grain of all human judgment as it points out in I Cor. I :20, “God has made foolish the wisdom of the world.” His Kingdom is given to the poor, not the rich; the feeble, not the mighty; the unloved, not the desired. Yes, it is “through weakness His power is made perfect” so we may prove that “His grace is sufficient” (I Cor. 12:9). When we recognize our unloved weaknesses and choose to depend on His grace, then God will use us to be the witness of His everlasting love.
Many believers can feel unqualified to witness effectively to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel.” For instance, Paul was well trained in the Torah, the Hebrew language and rabbinic theology. Yet even with all these credentials Paul was spiritually blind. Only after he was physically blinded could he gain spiritual sight. He could see the crucified One who is the Victor, who overcame death and also saved Paul, and one day would redeem all Israel. Therefore, Paul was unashamed to preach the Good News. He knew that the power to save all who believe is not found in all the qualifications or education that this world can offer, but in Good News alone, “to the Jew first and also to the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16). Like Paul, our main ability to effectively witness to the Jewish people is not in our strength, prosperity or status in the world but by grace alone that God provides. Paul had to become like Leah to be used by God. As with Paul, God sometimes has to make the high places low, for He still chooses the weak and unloved as witnesses of His love and power to all with ears to hear.
Being Unloved
Today, Leah is unloved once again. Following the Holocaust, Israel was tolerated by the nations of the world. But now Israel and Jewish people everywhere are once more the bulls-eye of Satan’s war with God. When Yeshua saw His people, Israel, He felt compassion for them, because they were “harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Today, Israel is still without their Shepherd and Yeshua still feels compassion for them. Today the harvest is plentiful and the need for laborers remains great. Consequently, we should seize the opportunity to minister God’s grace to the Jewish people. All local churches and believers can take part in ministering His compassion and grace to “harassed and helpless sheep.”
Being His Instrument
Just as God chose Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah, He also chooses us today to point others to Messiah. How will he do this? God keeps His promise and uses each of us just as we are: poor and weak, but trusting in His all sufficient grace and power. Unrecognized by Jacob at the time, Leah was God’s instrument of blessing for Israel’s future; unrecognized by Jacob today, we modern “Leah’s” are God’s present instrument of blessing for Israel. Let us trust in His promises and together reach out to His lost sheep whether they are in Israel, in NYC, or perhaps right next door. For the God of Leah is the Savior of the World.
READ MORE
-------
2016 BlessingsAs another year begins, we want to share what God has done at Word of Messiah this year and thank all who have prayed with us and supported us through 2016.
2016 Blessings
As another year begins, we want to share what God has done at Word of Messiah this year and thank all who have prayed with us and supported us through 2016. This has been a year full of blessings and provision as we have been privileged to minister to many throughout the U.S. as well as overseas.Last February, during our time in Israel, we were blessed to reach out to Messianic leaders who are reaching Israelis for Yeshua all over the country. While we were there, we partnered with Netivah, Tents of Mercy, and Maoz Ministries in conducting training conferences for Messianic leaders, youth leaders, and congregation planters. We were also able to provide Messianic Discipleship books in Hebrew, Russian, and English to many of the conference participants. Please pray for them that they will, in the words of one of the Israeli leaders, “take what (they) received and prayerfully find wisdom for application.”
In September, we traveled to England where Sam was invited to be keynote speaker at the 150th anniversary conference of the oldest Messianic organization in the world, the British Messianic Jewish Alliance (BMJA). There, we interacted with Messianic leaders from England and Wales and were blessed to see them renew their commitment to keep proclaiming the Good News to the Jew first in their communities through the testimony of healthy Messianic congregations. After the conference, we conducted a one day training course at a local congregation in the Golders Green area of London.
From Phoenix to Richmond to New York, Messianic leaders and congregation planters were equipped and encouraged through our “Developing Healthy Messianic Congregations” conferences. At the end of the Richmond conference, one Messianic leader stated, “I knew I would learn, but I had no idea how much… I wish every Messianic leader could attend this conference so we could all be on the same page.”
We not only conduct conferences for groups of Messianic leaders, we also travel to individual congregations to help address specific areas of need, such as the area of leadership development or support through times of transition. This year we were honored to assist various congregations in Texas, Ohio, and Virginia.
Besides our annual Messianic Women’s Retreat in May, Miriam also spoke at several women’s groups encouraging them with the teaching found in her book Honoring God with My Life which covers Titus 2:3-5. At each of our conferences for Messianic leaders, Miriam met with the leaders’ wives, equipping and encouraging them in their vital ministry roles.
As you know, Word of Messiah also reaches out to believers in churches, teaching God’s Word from a Jewish frame of reference and equipping Christians to reach Jewish friends and neighbors. This year, Sam was invited to speak in over sixty churches of various denominations. Through these speaking opportunities as well as through our outreaches surrounding Passover and the other Feasts of the Bible and Jewish holidays, we have been very blessed to see many come to know Yeshua!
What’s Next?
Please pray with us as we follow the Lord into all He has for us this year. In the coming weeks we’ll be preparing to return to Israel where we will once again be conducting training conferences for Israeli Messianic leaders in Tel Aviv and the Galilee. This year the subject of Discipleship will be our conference focus. During our time in Israel, we will also be meeting with Israeli youth leaders and individual congregation planters around the country.
We already have three Developing Healthy Messianic Congregations conferences planned for 2017, beginning with a Tampa, FL conference from February 19-20. In October, we will be hosting a conference in Chicago, and will also be in Ohio (more information to come). Please pray and spread the word as we desire to reach as many as possible in these strategic areas of the country.
Each month, more people are subscribing to our new Word of Messiah Podcast and this year we will be working towards expanding the reach of this important ministry even more, sharing the Good News with all who are listening in.
Once again, thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. May the Lord bless you and your family in this new year! READ MORE
-------
Sam Nadler
Upcoming Speaking EventsJan 1, 11:00 am: Mt. Lebanon Baptist, Mint Hill, NC
Jan 8, 9:30 am: Lakewood Baptist, Kannapolis, NC
Jan 8, 6:00 pm: Shadybrook Baptist, Kannapolis, NC
Jan 15, 8:30 am: Mt Airy Wesleyan, Mt Airy, NC
SCHEDULE A SPEAKER
Jan 8, 6:00 pm: Shadybrook Baptist, Kannapolis, NC
Jan 15, 8:30 am: Mt Airy Wesleyan, Mt Airy, NC
SCHEDULE A SPEAKER
On Sale for $8
The Messianic Answer BookThe Messianic Answer book is designed for believers in Yeshua (Jesus) to use in their witness to Jewish people. It addresses some of the most common questions Jewish people have regarding faith in Yeshua and also includes several exciting testimonies of Jewish people who have come to faith in their Messiah.
VISIT OUR BOOKSTORE
Word of Messiah Podcast
Check out our new podcast - Just another avenue to proclaim the faithfulness of the God of Israel!
Your prayers and support are invaluable as we share the Good News, establish healthy Messianic congregations, and equip the Body of Messiah around the world in our shared calling to bring the Good News of Yeshua "to the Jew 1st and also to the Gentile."
GIVE TODAY
Word of Messiah Ministries
P.O Box 79238
Charlotte, North Carolina 28271, United States
www.wordofmessiah.org
-------
www.wordofmessiah.org
-------
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)