Jennifer A

Our passage today is a message through the prophet Ezekiel. We will pick up at the end of chapter 2 and continue into chapter 3. If you recall, Ezekiel was a priest who had been living in Jerusalem and he was amongst the first to be exiled during the Babylonian attack when the Israelite prisoners were captured.

Chapter 1 opens on Ezekiel’s 30th birthday. By tradition, it’s the year he would have been installed as a priest in Jerusalem. As Ezekiel finds himself in captivity, God opens his spiritual eyes, provides him with a supernatural vision, and God calls and commissions Ezekiel. This call far surpasses the “traditions” of priesthood. God wants Ezekiel to preach His Word and to prophesy to His people, the Jews. This was going to be challenging, as they were rebellious people against God. God knew that, and He still called Ezekiel to share His Word.

Friends, God calls us to do the same as He called Ezekiel, we are to spread His Good News to the world. Much of the world remains blinded by the darkness of Satan and they either don’t realize it or they have turned a blind eye to their rebellion against Jesus. Regardless, God still calls us to spread His Word, and to proclaim the Gospel message of Jesus and His saving love. Remember, you and I were once blind, but now we are the “Living Stones for God’s House” because we stand on the Cornerstone, Jesus. As we stand on Him and profess His Word, by the work of the Holy Spirit, each one of us are royal priests, we are God’s chosen people, a holy nation, who are called to show others the goodness of God (1 Peter 2:4-12).

Just as God handed the scroll of His Truth to Ezekiel to eat, you and I are called to feast on God’s Word, every single day, as we are called to His Table, and we too must eat (ingest) His Word. Don’t get caught up in the worldly or “literal” meaning of eat. Within the spirit realm, God supernaturally called Ezekiel, and He is calling you, me, and all believers to allow His Word to sink deep into our hearts first (ingest it into our spirit), so then we carefully spread His Word to all and pray for hearts to open and listen.

Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:11 (NLT)

2:8 Son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not join them in their rebellion. Open your mouth, and eat what I give you.”

9 Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me. It held a scroll, 10 which he unrolled. And I saw that both sides were covered with funeral songs, words of sorrow, and pronouncements of doom.

3:1 The voice said to me, “Son of man, eat what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. 3 “Fill your stomach with this,” he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. 5 I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. 6 No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! 7 But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. 8 But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. 9 I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.”

10 Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. 11 Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.”

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Ezekiel’s testimony. Forgive us when we do not share Your Word. Help us to grab a hold of our priesthood, and to feast more and more on Your Word, so that the Holy Spirit can keep guiding us to spread Your Good News. We love You, Jesus, and ask all of this in Your Holy Name. Amen.

King David’s “Song of Praise” is a song to the Lord about the day the Lord rescued him from all of his enemies (who are controlled by the sin and darkness of this world) and from Saul, his father-in-law who sought to kill him (more sin and darkness of this world). This “Song of Praise” can be found in 2 Samuel 22 and in Psalm 18. Today, we are focusing on the first six verses of Psalm 18.

Like many of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray with and for people every single day. Last week a dear friend said, “I am praying for strength because Lord I am on the verge of crumbling and falling apart right now”. I am not going to lie; this friend’s circumstances are extremely difficult. Each one of us can think of extremely difficult circumstances that we have had to walk through, or we are walking through right now, and if we are being completely honest, we know that we will walk through more in the future.

But, friends, we must not allow our circumstances to determine our faith or the goodness of God, rather, our faith must rest in the goodness of God, and we must trust our circumstances to Him. David helps us to understand why we do this.

Remember, David walked through many difficult circumstances, adultery, leadership of the most powerful nation in the region of the most rebellious people, death, his own son tried to kill him for power, and the list goes on and on; but, regardless of each difficult circumstance, David still said:

Lord You are my strength – friends, when you and I feel weary and weak, we must press into our faith and remember that God never gets tired, and He is our strength at all times.

Lord You are my rock – we must stand firmly on the One Who is the Rock of our salvation, Jesus, and cry out to Him when we feel like everything is falling apart around us, because He is our only firm and unchanging place of Truth, and He wants to help us. God hears our prayers! Remember, He is omnipresent, everywhere at all times. He wants to help us.

Lord You are my safe place – Jesus is our safe place, His Word lives within each of us, and it never changes. We are the ones who either physically, emotionally, mentally, and/or spiritually change or wonder into unsafe places, but Jesus was, is, and will always be our safe place of rest and restoration. Cry out to Him for help. He is our safe covering and our strong tower!

Place your faith and trust in God for every circumstance. Because one thing is certain, while our circumstances will continue to change, our God is our only stable and unchanging place of pure love. Believe that God will use all things for Your good (even the hardest circumstances) because He loves you for all eternity, and He wants to use our hardest circumstances to help others.

Psalm 18:1-6 (NLV)

Song of Thanks for Being Kept Safe

1 I love You, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, and my safe place, and the One Who takes me out of trouble. My God is my rock, in Whom I am safe. He is my safe covering, my saving strength, and my strong tower. 3 I call to the Lord, Who has the right to be praised. And I am saved from those who hate me.

4 The ropes of death were all around me. The floods of death make me afraid. 5 The ropes of the grave were all around me. The traps of death were set for me. 6 I called to the Lord in my trouble. I cried to God for help. He heard my voice from His holy house. My cry for help came into His ears.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for being our strength, for giving us Jesus, Who is our Rock, and for allowing us to call on the Holy Spirit to lovingly guide us. Thank You for hearing our prayers and for being with us at all times, especially during difficult times. We love You, Jesus. Amen.

Some of you may know this, but as a reminder, Psalm 119 contains 176 verses, and the chapter is divided into 22 stanzas. Each stanza is titled with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet. Today we are digging into the Truth of the fifteenth stanza which is titled with the fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Samekh, meaning to lean upon, to uphold, or to support.

In today’s passage, we can clearly see that the psalmist understands his great need for God’s support. He is so focused on lovingly obeying and honoring God by upholding His Truth (God’s Word), that he hates when individuals are divided in their loyalty between God and this world.

At first, it might seem ungodly or unloving for the psalmist to use the word “hate”, however, the psalmist is not saying that he does not love individuals who are different from him or who do not know God, he is stating that he hates those who choose to be double-minded because he loves God’s Word and understands that by choosing God, he must deny this world. The psalmist will not allow anyone to stand in the way of his devout love for God, he knows he needs the support of the indwelling Spirit of Christ (the Holy Spirit) as he endures this world and upholds his faith. The Apostle James gives us clear instructions on faithful endurance. He tells us that we need God’s wisdom, and you and I get that when we ask the Holy Spirit for divide guidance and support. “But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (v. 6 – 8)

Friends, we cannot be double-minded, we must place our loyalty in Christ Jesus, alone! We cannot choose God and this world; it doesn’t work that way. By choosing both, we are standing against God. Dig deep into His Word, share it with others, and reject Satan.

Psalm 119:113-128 (NLT)

Samekh

113 I hate those with divided loyalties,
but I love your instructions.
114 You are my refuge and my shield;
your word is my source of hope.
115 Get out of my life, you evil-minded people,
for I intend to obey the commands of my God.
116 Lord, sustain me as you promised, that I may live!
Do not let my hope be crushed.
117 Sustain me, and I will be rescued;
then I will meditate continually on your decrees.
118 But you have rejected all who stray from your decrees.
They are only fooling themselves.
119 You skim off the wicked of the earth like scum;
no wonder I love to obey your laws!
120 I tremble in fear of you;
I stand in awe of your regulations.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for imparting Your Spirit within us. We need Your wisdom to guide us. Help us to press deeper into Your Word, every single day, to grow closer and closer to you and further and further away from this world. Forgive us when we’ve waivered, we do not want to be divided in our loyalty, we want to be firmly planted on You and our roots to grow deeper and deeper into Your Truth. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

In our passage today, Paul is concluding his letter to the Galatian churches, and this message remains Truth to the universal Church of believers today. In verse 11, which is the first line of “Paul’s Final Advice”, he points out that he is writing the letter himself and he does it in all capital letters. The usual practice of writing, at that time, would have been to dictate to a trained secretary who would have neatly printed the letter for public reading in the churches. By Paul writing himself and, in a caps, he is letting believers know the seriousness of this message.

Today’s eight verses summarize what Paul has been saying throughout the letter, that false teachers will try to persuade believers to submit to their flesh rather than to the Holy Spirit, and the sad part is that some of them do not even realize they are working against God’s Word and for Satan. That is why it is critical that you, me, and all believers remain in the Word of God all of the time. Paul uses the example of circumcision again to help believers understand the motives of false teacher’s hearts. The false teachers at that time would want to “look good to others” (not much has changed today, it might even be worse), but those teachers had an outward express of the Jewish system practices (the Law). Paul’s message is the exact opposite of living outwardly by our flesh nature, as he points you, me, and all believers to live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we seek to grow closer and closer in our relationship with Christ Jesus.

Friends, all that you and I do is for the glory of Jesus. Paul makes sure that we know he has no interest in this world, that all of his worldly interests have been crucified and died. That he has been transformed into a new creation because of Jesus. You and I have been transformed into a new creation because of our choice to lay down our earthly lives and to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

Galatians 6:11-18 NLT

Paul’s Final Advice

11 NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING.

12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.

14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

18 Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our example. You laid down Your life for each one of us. Holy Spirit, help us to disconnect from our worldly desires, and to grow deeper in our relationship with You. Impart Your wisdom and discernment to our spirit to know when we encounter false teachers and those who seek to spread false doctrine. Thank You for Pastor Mary, who seeks to spread Your Truth, Your Word, and share Your message of eternal love. Cover her with Your protection and protect our spiritual Family so that we can continue to build Your Kingdom. In Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Friends, as many of you know, when I write a devotion from the book of Revelation, I like to offer a reminder that the book of Revelation is the prophetic messaging through the Apostle John that Jesus gives to His entire Church so our hearts and lives can be spiritually ready for His return.

Today we are looking at “The Thousand Years” in Revelation 20. First, let’s remember that in Revelation 18 John reveals that there will be “The Fall of Babylon” and after that happens there will be “Songs of Victory in Heaven” as the beast (Satan) and his false prophets will be thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur by “The Rider on the White Horse,” Jesus in chapter 19. Then, as we enter into today’s verses, we see that God sends an angel from heaven with a key to the bottomless pit to lock up Satan (who is named, the dragon, the old serpent, and the devil) for a thousand years. Let’s notice how God or Jesus do not go to lock up Satan, rather an unnamed angel is sent to lock him up. This action reveals that Satan is not the opposite in terms of being equal to God, so locking him up does not warrant that the most powerful King of Kings, the Almighty, the Holy Trinity do it; no, God sends one heavenly angel to do the deed. Friends, this is proof that our most powerful weapon against Satan is the Word of God, and since we are container of the Holy Spirit, we need to keep feeding on the Word of God all of the time because it’s always the weapon the Spirit will guide us to use against Satan. He is not more powerful than the Holy Spirit that lives within you and me, so we must be in oneness with the Holy Spirit and keep growing so He can use that growth of the Truth within us to guide us.

There are many views on the thousand-year Millennium reign. No matter the viewpoint, we cannot be afraid of the Good News in Revelation 20:1-6. Please do not get fearfully distracted by the word “beheaded”, rather focus on the glory and honor that each life is given for their devout and unwavering heart for Christ and His Word.

Friends, as you prepare to read today’s passage, let’s remember what Paul tells us about our new life in Christ Jesus, “since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, Who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

Revelation 20:1-6 NLT

The Thousand Years

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. 3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5 This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for this Word. Holy Spirit, we call on Your wisdom to guide each one of us to a greater understanding of how this Word is to minister to our lives right now. Father, we look forward to Jesus’s return and the day when Satan is lock up. In the meantime, Holy Trinity, help each one of us to remain devoted to You, to keep growing in Your Word, and to keep speaking Your Truth into a hurting and needing world. Keep us close to You, Jesus. In Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

Paul’s letter to the church in Rome was intended as a gesture of love and encouragement. The Apostle Paul most likely wrote to the community of believers in Rome while he was still in Corinth. So, Paul had not “physically” met this community, but he knew that he was connected to each brother and sister in Christ Jesus. You and I share that same connection with Paul and this living Word that he wrote, because as believers we are the Church and connected as One Body (or Family) through Christ Jesus.

In chapter 9 of Romans, Paul expresses his sorrow and grief for “his people”, the Jewish people who would not accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Paul explains that God fulfills His promises because He is fair and true, and that includes the covenant that He made with His people, Israel. However, Paul wrote earlier in his letter that “we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” (8:28) This means that God is fair and true when we choose to love Him as a result of choosing to follow His Son, Jesus. We must remember that “God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:17)

Over the last five weeks, Pastor Mary has been teaching about the “Power for Balancing Grace and Faith” during Bible Study. We’ve spent a great deal with Paul and his letters to the Church and much discussion around our free-will and our choices. I’m bringing this up because the last five weeks are included in Paul’s letter today. Friends, please do not read these 10 verses and think that we do not have free-will or that our choices do not matter, because that could not be further from the Truth. God is God, He is the Creator, and He is the Potter Who made ALL of humanity, so each one of His Creation is a uniquely designed jar. But each “jar” has the choice to contain the Light of Christ within them or to contain the darkness of this world (that is controlled by Satan) in them. It was said best on Wednesday night: “God has always wanted all of His Creation to be saved”, and that is the Truth, but because of sin He graciously gave His Creation the choice, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His One and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) It is clear, we have a choice, and the only One that leads to eternal life is Jesus, so we must choose HIM!

Here’s the link to the Bible Study Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLanyGIohDYlW5hS6ap6afgAZzInWQ4gwC&si=cqkQpNqdy4fH-VKH

Romans 9:19-29 (NLT)

19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”

20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,

“Those who were not my people,
I will now call my people.
And I will love those
whom I did not love before.”

26 And,

“Then, at the place where they were told,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called
‘children of the living God.’”

27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,

“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore,
only a remnant will be saved.

28 For the LORD will carry out his sentence upon the earth
quickly and with finality.”

29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place:

“If the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
had not spared a few of our children,
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
destroyed like Gomorrah.”

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for laying down Your life so that I could choose to be saved from my sins. Holy Spirit, please help the Light of Christ that I contain within my vessel to shine brightly for others to see. Guide me to share Jesus’s love so that more hearts can choose to be saved. I ask this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

Friends, I’ve mentioned in the past when writing from the book of Revelation, that Jesus wants His Church to be spiritually ready for His return. His prophetic messaging through John is all about the preparation of our hearts for when He returns for His Church.

Our passage today includes the first eight verses of chapter four. If you recall, in chapters two and three, Jesus spoke a direct message to the seven churches. These seven “letters” are a message from Jesus to you, me, and ALL believers that as the Church of Christ we must repent and hold firm to our faith, because we do not want Jesus to spit us out for having a lukewarm heart (3:15-16). Being lukewarm is like living a life on a balancing beam, sometimes we are living for the eternal realm and other times we are living for this world. Satan loves when you and I live this way because we are welcoming him into our hearts; and while he has access to our hearts he very patiently and methodically turns them colder and colder, with one small calculating step after another. Jesus was very clear during His Sermon on the Mount that “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” (Matt 6:24) Anything of this world that enslaves us, and takes the place of us worshipping Jesus, is Satan attempt to move us further away from the only One Who is Holy, Jesus. Remember, Satan will be visible everywhere in the last days, as “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.” (Matt 24:12)

Yesterday, Pastor Mary taught that L.O.V.E is Listening and Obeying the Voice of the Eternal. Friends, as we pray and worship, we are calling on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and we are coming into agreement with all of Heaven who are praising and worshipping the Holy One, Lord God, the Almighty from His Throne. Today, John gives us a glimpse into the Throne Room of Heaven, and his vision aligns with what Ezekiel (1) and Daniel (7) spoke of when they too referenced Heaven and the Holy Eternal One. I don’t know about you, but I want my heart to be ready to witness this, I do not want to be lukewarm or anywhere near Satan. I need the Holy Spirit’s guidance today and with every breath, until my very last on this earth, to keep guiding and connecting my heart to Jesus’s heart so I can allow Him to love me to into eternal wholeness, while I am sharing His eternal love with others. 

Revelation 4:1-8 (NLT)

Worship in Heaven

1 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. 3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. 4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit[b] of God. 6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty – 

the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

Prayer: Jesus, I cannot begin to image what it will be like when You bring me Home. These words that John used to describe what You revealed to him are beyond what my mere human mind can understand, and so I am filled with excitement and awe. In the meantime, Holy Spirit, I need Your guidance. Please give me Your holy wisdom and divine guidance for every place I find myself. Help me to love like You. I want to be ready for Jesus’s return. I want my heart to be in oneness with Your heart, Jesus. I ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.

With yesterday being Pentecost, it only seems appropriate that the lectionary would point us to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians about “Spiritual Gifts”. In our passage today we pick up at verse four, but when Paul addresses the Church in the first three verses of chapter twelve, it is clear that he wants the Church to not misunderstand the special abilities made possible to every believer by the Holy Spirit. Paul makes it clear that every follower of Christ contains the Holy Spirit, and no person, or the gift(s) that the Spirit gives to them, are greater than another.

Friends, through our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit has graciously given us spiritual gifts. Paul lists those gifts for us in our passage, and the purpose is for us to come together, as Christ’s Church, and allow our gifts to work in divine unity to further grow His Family (the Church) for His Eternal Kingdom. So, no believer should ever feel that the Holy Spirit is not working within them, just as no believer should ever feel that the Holy Spirit is stronger within them, because as a Family, under the authority of Christ Jesus, we are all gifted and we all need one another’s gifts.

Paul goes on within chapter twelve to use the example of how a physical body needs each part to work properly and to be whole, and this is true for the Body of Christ (for all believers). We all need one another, and we especially need one another when we feel like we don’t need each other, because that feeling is from Satan, and we seek as the Church of Christ to stand firmly against Satan and his divisive work. You and I stand together, as brothers and sisters of Christ, in divine harmony and we honor Jesus, and we honor the Holy Spirit within one another, and we value and treasure our own and one another’s gifts that were given by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NLT)

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the Holy Spirit. Please forgive us when we are not allowing the Spirit the proper room to move and have His way within our lives. Holy Spirit, thank You for our gifts. Help us to allow You to utilize the gift(s) that You have placed within us. Connect us, through You, to one another so our gifts can be used in divine harmony to further grow God’s Kingdom. We ask all of this in Jesus’s Name. Amen.

The Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome around the year 62, and it was from there that he wrote to the church in Philippi. As the founder of the church in Philippi, the Holy Spirit was stirring within Paul to write to his brothers and sisters of faith whom he had partnered with in sharing the Gospel message of Christ Jesus. Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to work through him in this letter as he sought to be an encourager of their faith.

Friends, as brothers and sisters of faith, you and I must call on the Holy Spirit for wisdom as we read Paul’s letter. Just as our brothers and sisters from the church in Philippi whom Paul initially wrote to, you and I are a part of the same Church (Christ’s Body) and we too can receive holy guidance from the Holy Spirit; we just simply need to ask for growing knowledge and understanding (or for God’s wisdom).

Paul’s message aligns with Pastor Mary’s message from yesterday’s sermon: we are one united Body or Church through our salvation in Christ Jesus, we are called to share the Gospel message of Jesus’s love, and we must love one another by the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) no matter what. Please don’t miss that we need to be prepared for Christ Jesus’s return. Paul mentions Jesus’s return twice within today’s passage, and we need to be ready.

Philippians 1:3-11 (NLT)

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.

9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Paul’s letter. Holy Spirit, we need Your guiding wisdom to operate in and through us. Help us to be carriers of the Gospel message and to share and spread the love of Jesus. Grow in us Your: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let us see people how You see them, Jesus. Allow our hearts to soften so that we can experience loving others as You love them. We want to be ready for Your return, and we want to bring more hearts to know You. Use us today to grow Your Kingdom, Lord Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

The Apostle Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus are believed to be the last letters that he either wrote himself or used scribes to compose prior to his death. Paul’s letters, to both of these men, are referred to as pastoral Epistles. This classification is due to the fact that these letters were from one pastor or shepherd of God’s people, being Paul, to another pastor or shepherd of God’s people, being Timothy and Titus. Prior to these letters, both men had been important missionary companions of Paul as they assisted him at different times of his ministry and while he wrote letters to many of the other churches.

In today’s passage we are looking at a portion of Paul’s closing remarks to Timothy in the last chapter of 1 Timothy. Paul is instructing Timothy to run away from sin so he can live a godly life, to fight the good fight of faith, and to hold on tightly to eternal life. This message was not only for Timothy, or for him to share with the Church at Ephesus that he was leading at the time…no, it was, is, and will be for the entire Church of Christ, which includes you, me, and ALL believers.

Paul understood, just as you and I understand, how sin messes with our souls, it seeks to ruin our relationships, circumstances, life, and ultimately, Satan, tempts us with sin, 24/7, and his intension is to pull us away from Jesus and our godly way of living in connection to Him. Paul reminded the Church in Corinth, as well as he reminds you, me, and ALL believers, that “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (1 Cor 10:13)

Paul also understood, just as you and I understand, that we must finish our earthly life connected to the One Who offers us eternal life, Jesus, no matter what hell on earth comes against us. In order to do that our faith must be rooted in Jesus, and we need to be feeding our souls (our minds, wills, and emotions) His Word daily, because it is the ONLY Truth and light in this dark world. Remember what Paul wrote, and keep in mind this is just before his life would be martyred for Jesus, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me – the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for ALL who eagerly look forward to His appearing.” (2 Tim 4:7-8)

Finally, Paul cautions ALL believers to hold on tightly to the gift of eternal life in Jesus. Friends, we need to remember what Jesus, Himself, tells us about eternal life, “I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believer in God Who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” (John 5:24) In this life, you and I will hold tightly to A LOT of people, things, positions, places, maybe our earthly lives, etc. But absolutely, NOTHING should compare or even come close to us holding tightly to JESUS, the ONLY ONE WHO OFFERS US ETERNAL LIFE!!!

1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NLT)

Paul’s Final Instructions

11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses.

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for ministering through the Apostle Paul to us. Thank You for eternal life with You! Holy Spriit, please continue to help each one of us with being quick to flee from sin. We want to live godly lives that are pleasing to the Father. Guide us with Your holy wisdom and shield us with protection from Satan as we stand on Jesus, the Word of God, and fight the good fight of faith. We look forward to eternity with You, Jesus. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.