Pastor Mary Haley

Daily Reading: 7-26-16

Romans 9:30-10:4 Common English Bible (CEB)

Jews and non-Jews can experience the truth of the gospel; God desires to make all people His people.   Life in the Spirit—faith in Christ—helps us to understand God’s tremendous love for us all.  For many, the gospel is just too simple and too amazing, so we trip over the Rock of Ages trying to make it difficult!   We cannot earn God’s favor or forgiveness; it’s a gift of Grace.  We must trust the righteousness of God found in Christ that has been extended to humanity.  Our hands come to God empty.   Remember, God will hold us accountable to remain obedient in Christ.  Christ is the complete revelation of God.

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Daily Reading: 7-25-16

Colossians 2:16-3:1Common English Bible (CEB)

The Apostle Paul teaches about how easily people can be led astray from the Law of Grace if Christ is not given his rightful place.   Christ is the Head of the Church; therefore, a connection to Christ is essential for proper spiritual growth.  Christ has set us free to be led by the Spirit through faith in him alone; we are not to be led by the opinions of others, self-made religions or human traditions.  If we have a relationship with Christ, we have the understanding available to us (Spirit) so we can please God.  As we grow up and reach for maturity in Christ, our lifestyles will be based on continual change. We can trust Christ to make us anew, so stay focused on Jesus.

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Daily Reading: 7-22-16

Acts 2:22-36 Living Bible (TLB)

The Holy Spirit is the One through whom all things spiritually come alive.  Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and went about with the power to perform live-giving miracles, wonders, and signs as the Father directed.  It is the Spirit who imparts the blessing to those who trust in the Lord and seek to know the ways of life eternal.  Blessings and favor await every Christ’s follower.

Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Anointed Messiah the Jews had been waiting for and he used Scripture to prove his point. God’s plan had been in motion since the beginning of time and was prophesied through David, as well as others.

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Daily Reading: 7-21-16

Psalm 138 Living Bible (TLB)

From heaven the Creator is orchestrating the story of redemption. The Lord has promised to provide salvation and he does so by calling each of us to embrace a lifestyle of worship and an attitude of service to our neighbors.   As well, the Lord provides a plan for our individual lives so we can participate in the story.  Even when we face difficulties, the Lord is working His good plan out for our lives.  We need to remember it is essential to connect our plans with God’s plans, because He is Good.  Let’s praise Him!

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Daily Reading: 7-20-16

John 6:41-51 Amplified Bible

It is Father God who deposits the desire in human hearts to know and follow Christ.  We do not generate that desire. We have no ability to believe in Christ apart from the work of God to call us.  The Father plants the Seed in human hearts and we choose to activate our faith in the work of Christ (the Bread of Life) and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  It’s called Grace and salvation is entirely provided by God; that’s what makes it the greatest of all miracles.

In our passage today, the Jews are having trouble seeing the divinity of Jesus; after all, in the natural he is the carpenter’s son.  Yet, no one could deny the power of his teaching or how his Word was changing lives.  Jesus calls for their obedience to the Word, but for the most part he only receives criticism.  Since they did not like the message, they condemned the messenger.  

We connect to Christ by believing in his death and resurrection, as well as by devoting ourselves to living as he requires.  The Spirit teaches us and provides the power to fulfill our choice.

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Daily Reading: 7-19-16

1 John 2:1-6 The Voice (VOICE)

I am going to set a word out for you today that most people are afraid to use because it sounds judgmental.  The word is “sin” or that which is evil, immoral, and transgresses against God’s Word.  Jesus is the Living Word, so when we follow the Word we are following Christ.  For the Christ follower who is seeking to know the Father and gain understanding, the word “sin” is familiar.  It is not a judgmental word; rather, it is an honest assessment of our human behavior and sincere recognition of our need for a Savior.  Jesus died for the sins of the whole world; in other words everyone sins.  

We are to avoid judging the sins of others and focus on our own journey; remember Jesus saying, “Why is it that you see the dust in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but you can’t see the wooden plank in your own eye? (Matt. 7:3-4).  Christ’s followers realize sin is our natural condition and, without the supernatural work of the Living Word, sin separates us from our perfect God.  Knowing God means learning to follow His holy ways; we grow closer to God (intimacy) when we confess our sins to Him and choose to allow the Spirit to bring the necessary change into our lives that causes us to align our ongoing choices with God’s Word.

In our passage this morning, the Apostle John is writing a letter and urging Christ’s followers to avoid the inevitable pain and guilt that comes when we practice sin.  There are always consequences to practicing sin.

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Daily Reading: 7-18-16

Colossians 1:27-2:7 Living Bible (TLB)

This is a Word for today; keep it in your heart and never let it go:  Christ in your hearts is your only hope of tasting the glory and culture of heaven.  You need to connect to Christ.  God desires to give us glimpses of the glory; it pleases Him to share with His children.  We must press in and open ourselves up for the revelation and understanding; to live in vital union with Christ.  

Several weeks ago in our LIFE lesson series on Revelation, we read about the lukewarm church at Laodicea who turned away from Christ’s highest for them.  In our passage this morning we see the Apostle Paul had been pouring himself out to help them grow in the riches of heaven, but in Revelation we can see they were too full of themselves to be full of Christ and, therefore, faced God’s discipline instead of being filled with His glory.  It is always about humans making wise choices.   

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Daily Reading: 7-15-16

Ephesians 3:14-21 New Living Translation (NLT)

When we truly allow Christ the Living Word to make his home in our hearts and trust our lives to his design and purpose, we can experience the unmeasurable love of God for us. God’s presence causes us to grow up spiritually. When we feel empty in our souls, it is simply because we have not invited the Word to transform us, fill us up, and become what we lack; God has fullness for each of us. He did not create us to be spiritually weak nor fragile when facing difficulties in this temporal world. By the Spirit we are to be full of love and mighty in bringing down evil. He created us to be filled with the fulness of Life (mature in Christ), so as his followers we may connect to all the resources of heaven and the wisdom to know how to use them. Every battle in this temporal world originates from a spiritual battle between good and evil and the intersection of the human will to choose between them. God’s Word teaches us about the strategies of evil, as well as the spiritual weapons (resources of heaven) that cause us to stand firm against every attack. 

In our passage today, the Apostle Paul encourages the church at Ephesus to give praise to God for His love and goodness in bringing spiritual maturity to everyone who desires it: 

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Daily Reading: 7-14-16

Luke 8:4-10 The Voice (VOICE)

Our world is certainly complex and challenging for me right now.  I am not discouraged; rather, I simply recognize what seemed really secure to me has become shaken.  This challenge has to do with the release of words.   A person’s word—what is chosen to be said—is powerful.  It has far reaching effects.  I listen to reports, leaders, and public figures, but what is said on the surface sounds like garble filled with half-truths and many times absolutely void of wisdom.  Yet, I am still grateful for free speech in this country.  The challenge that I spoke about is simply the need to cut through the garble to find Truth.  Honestly, I care about this country and world very much, so I stay connected and informed.  But I put my trust in God who is Truth.  So, I spend a lot more time in the eternal Word of God than listening to the words of the world, because His Word brings me direction, hope, joy, and blessing for eternal living.  There is life beyond this temporal world and I want to be ready for it.

People say the Word of God is difficult to understand and apart from the work of Holy Spirit to bring revelation it can be.  The difficulty came with humanity’s choice to know good and evil.  So now we must sift the words for Truth.  Jesus spoke in parables—little works of art—that were intended to hide the truth and force those listening to go to a deeper level in his or her understanding and comprehension. This is a deeper level in intimacy with God.   The Word of God is a love letter penned by the Spirit that always points to the spiritual riches found in Jesus Christ—Messiah.  The natural mind cannot understand the things of the Spirit, so we must press in by reading, and rereading, and praying for revelation.  Investment, understanding, application, and harvest is the Word process partnered with the Spirit. 

In today’s passage, Jesus tells a parable about the potential power of His Word when it is released in the natural soil or soul—mind, will, emotions—of God’s human family.

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Daily Reading: 7-13-16

Matthew 25:31-46 Living Bible (TLB)

Please pause with me today, as I have many things on my heart. Some times I am entirely taken back by the attitude and responses of people in our world who profess to know God. To actually know God, we must not only profess Christ’s work on the cross for the forgiveness of sin, we must put his loving Grace and mercy into action and witness to Christ’s presence in us by the integrity of our Love. Otherwise, we are simply pretenders of the gospel and not true followers; followers of Christ bear the fruit of the Spirit so the world will be given an accurate image of the One True God. It is by our fruit that we are distinguished as Christ’s followers: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). When we operate in this fruit, we accurately represent God’s attitude toward His children.

It isn’t hatred in the heart that causes people to be separated from God who is Love, it is indifference and rejection of His Law of Grace to bring forgiveness and eternal change to the innate selfish attitudes and routines of human beings. Grace leads us to embrace the merciful heart of God as we look at others. Hatred then has no room to grow.

In the Wisdom Book of Proverbs, we find seven things that God calls abominations; things that God’s Grace was sent to change. These things should never find a welcoming home in the heart of those who profess to know God, because the Spirit will aggressively convict us: a proud look (overestimate oneself and discount others), a lying tongue, hands that kill innocent people, a mind that creates wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to do evil, a false witness who speaks lies (half truths), and one who stirs up trouble among the faithful (6:16-17). Now, think about our world, country, leaders, and people who profess to know God.

In our passage today, Jesus reminds his disciples that the Father is looking for followers who have offered his or her entire being to the work of His kingdom. Christ is returning to earth for a second time and when he does the attitudes, integrity, and faithfulness of his followers to extend mercy and bear fruit will be evaluated. Are we doing our daily work out of love for God while responsibly loving the people around us (neighbors)?

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