Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House{ in Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Friday, 25 August 2017 - "Everything in Love" by Stuart Williams - 1 Corinthians 16:5-18

Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House{ in Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Friday, 25 August 2017 - "Everything in Love" by  Stuart Williams - 1 Corinthians 16:5-18

1 Corinthians 16:5 I will visit you after I have gone through Macedonia, for I am intending to pass through Macedonia, 6 and I may stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me continue my travels wherever I may go. 7 For I don’t want to see you now, when I am only passing through; because I am hoping to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows it. 8 But I will remain in Ephesus until Shavu‘ot, 9 because a great and important door has opened for my work, and there are many people opposing me.

10 If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to be afraid of while he is with you; for he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 So let no one treat him with disrespect. Help him on his way in peace, so that he will return to me, for the brothers and I are expecting him.

12 As for brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to go and visit you along with the other brothers; and although it was not at all his desire to come at this time, he will come when he has the opportunity.

13 Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, behave like a mentsh, grow strong. 14 Let everything you do be done in love.

15 Now, brothers, you know that the household of Stephanas were the first people in Achaia to put their trust in the Messiah, and they have devoted themselves to serving God’s people. 16 I urge you to submit yourselves to people like these and to everyone who works and toils with them. 17 I am glad that Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus are here, because they have helped make up for your not being here. 18 They have refreshed my spirit, just as they have yours. I want you to show appreciation for people like these.

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Love is the defining quality of those belonging to Jesus: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Without the love of Christ we lose who we are and how we ought to live. When love is absent in the church, conflict can lead to crisis with disastrous consequence. This happened to the Christians gathered in Corinth, love was absent in their interactions with one another and it showed.

In Paul’s closing remarks in 1 Corinthians 16 he challenges the church to “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). A challenge that was significant given their situation. Without the love of Christ governing those actions, even good intentions could lose its desired intent.

In order for the church to be strong in the faith, they were to “do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). This did not imply avoidance of difficult situations or people people, but to keep Christ's Love central in everything they said and did. When we allow the love of Christ to govern our speech and actions, we will be able to stand firm in our faith without compromising our witness. Love is the key!

Hymn for Today:

"Jesus, The Boundless Love To Me" by Paul Gerhardt; translated by John Wesley

1. Jesus, thy boundless love to me

no thought can reach, no tongue declare;

O knit my thankful heart to thee,

and reign without a rival there!

Thine wholly, thine alone, I’d live;

myself to thee entirely give.

2. O grant that nothing in my soul

may dwell, but thy pure love alone;

O may thy love possess me whole,

my joy, my treasure, and my crown!

All coldness from my heart remove;

may every act, word, thought be love.

3. O Love, how gracious is thy way!

All fear before thy presence flies;

care, anguish, sorrow melt away

where’er thy healing beams arise.

O Jesus, nothing may I see,

nothing desire, or seek, but thee.

Thought for Today:

So imitate God, as his dear children; 2 and live a life of love, just as also the Messiah loved us, indeed, on our behalf gave himself up as an offering, as a slaughtered sacrifice to God with a pleasing fragrance.(Ephesians 5:1-2).

Please pray:

For the training of Christian leaders through extension education in Africa.
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Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House) in Kansas city, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Thursday, 24 August 2017  - Pleasing God by Stuart Williams - Romans 12:1-9

Romans 12:1I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you. 2 In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the ‘olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed. 3 For I am telling every single one of you, through the grace that has been given to me, not to have exaggerated ideas about your own importance. Instead, develop a sober estimate of yourself based on the standard which God has given to each of you, namely, trust. 4 For just as there are many parts that compose one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function; 5 so there are many of us, and in union with the Messiah we comprise one body, with each of us belonging to the others. 6 But we have gifts that differ and which are meant to be used according to the grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, use it to the extent of your trust; 7 if it is serving, use it to serve; if you are a teacher, use your gift in teaching; 8 if you are a counselor, use your gift to comfort and exhort; if you are someone who gives, do it simply and generously; if you are in a position of leadership, lead with diligence and zeal; if you are one who does acts of mercy, do them cheerfully.

9 Don’t let love be a mere outward show. Recoil from what is evil, and cling to what is good.

-------A Christian fully devoted to God brings Him joy! Often overlooked in Romans 12:1-2 is the pleasure God receives when His children commit themselves entirely to Him. Paul defines this wholehearted commitment as the only reasonable and appropriate way to worship God and to please Him.
Worship is not what we do to earn God’s love, but how we respond daily to the mercy God has shown us through His Son Jesus Christ. We can never repay God for what he has done on our behalf, but our lives can reflect a response of worship that pleases Him. What an incredible thought! Our worship delights the heart of God.
God has already taken the first step toward us by sending His Son to die for us. He has given himself entirely through Jesus, an act of mercy and sacrificial love. Our only reasonable response is to give ourselves entirely to Him. Such worship demands all we are, our bodies and our mind.
May we continue to respond to the great mercy and love of God by giving ourselves entirely to Him; our only reasonable act of worship.
Hymn for Today:

"I am Thine, O Lord" by Fanny Jane Crosby

1. I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

And be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain:

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the pow’r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

And my will be lost in Thine.

Refrain:

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

3. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God

I commune as friend with friend!

Refrain:

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

4. There are depths of love that I cannot know

Till I cross the narrow sea;

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Refrain:

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Thought for Today:

But the time is coming — indeed, it’s here now — when the true worshippers will worship the Father spiritually and truly, for these are the kind of people the Father wants worshipping him.(Jesus in John 4:23).

Please pray:That Christians in the areas of Africa resistant to the Gospel will be strengthened in their faith and filled with the fullness of the Ruach HaDodesh.
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Reflecting God  – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House) in Kansas City, Missouri, United States -The Global Church of the Nazarene for Wednesday, 23 August 2017 - "The Extraordinary Invitation" by Stuart Williams - John 15:1-10
John 15:1 “I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch which is part of me but fails to bear fruit, he cuts off; and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit. 3 Right now, because of the word which I have spoken to you, you are pruned. 4 Stay united with me, as I will with you — for just as the branch can’t put forth fruit by itself apart from the vine, so you can’t bear fruit apart from me.

5 “I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up.

7 “If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8 This is how my Father is glorified — in your bearing much fruit; this is how you will prove to be my talmidim.

9 “Just as my Father has loved me, I too have loved you; so stay in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will stay in my love — just as I have kept my Father’s commands and stay in his love.

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The extraordinary invitation of John 15:4 invites us into a dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. To be a disciple is not to simply behave like Jesus, but to enter into a transforming relationship with Him. When we in faith accept His offer for relationship we will be transformed. His Spirit will flow through us. Like a branch attached to a vine has life and produces fruit, so the disciple who remains connected to Jesus will produce an abundance of spiritual fruit.
Our growth and formation as Christians cannot take place apart from Him: “Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:4b). If we desire to bear witness to Christ, we must make our relationship with Him our top priority. He is the source of eternal life, and He is the One who enables us to live lives that daily reveal the fruit of His Spirit. Our response to His invitation must be to remain in this relationship through prayer and meditation upon His Word. The Word of God was given to help us maintain and remain in this relationship with Jesus.
May we accept this extraordinary invitation and spend time with Him daily.
Hymn for Today:

"I Know That My Redeemer Lives" by Charles Wesley

1. I know that my Redeemer lives,

and ever prays for me;

a token of his love he gives,

a pledge of liberty.

2. I find him lifting up my head;

he brings salvation near;

his presence makes me free indeed

and he will soon appear.

3. He wills that I should holy be:

who can withstand his will?

The counsel of his grace in me

he surely shall fulfil.

4. Jesus, I hang upon your Word:

I steadfastly believe

you will return and claim me, Lord,

and to yourself receive.

Thought for Today:

To them God wanted to make known how great among the Gentiles is the glorious richness of this secret. And the secret is this: the Messiah is united with you people! In that rests your hope of glory!(Colossians 1:27)

Please pray:

That people in the areas of Africa that are resistant to the Gospel will have the opportunity to hear about God's grace and forgiveness'

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