Pastor Mary Haley

August 20, 2018

John 4:7-26 New Living Translation (NLT)

In our Scripture lesson from Sunday, I shared about how the words of Jesus had the ability to cause people to stumble.  He said, “Blessed is the person who finds no occasion for stumbling in me” (Matt. 11:6).  The word scandal comes from the Greek word, “skandalon.” It does not bring along the thought of causing one to be embarrassed or endure emotional pain.  Rather, skandalon encompasses such things as “a trap, a snare, or a stone that causes someone to stumble.  It’s an image that refers to something that makes you fall down as you are moving forward. 

The skandalon never existed in Jesus’ teaching itself—he told the hard Truth.  The skandalon existed then and still exists in the heart of people who are unwilling to make a journey of faith in order to seek the wisdom of God.  In our passage today, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman.  At first she stumbles with Christ’s words to her.  They don’t make sense.  He doesn’t have the right equipment.  Does he really think he is more spiritual than Jacob?  Ok, now he has gone to messing in my personal life!  But, the woman presses in and continues to listen and she finds salvation as she confesses to her need.  This woman is looking for some answers and Christ gives them to her.  She grows as she worships in spirit and truth. 

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August 17, 2018

Psalm 34:9-14 Living Bible (TLB)

Yesterday, I shared a bit about what comes together for a strong corporate worship opportunity.  Today, I want to share about the heart of worship.  How do you view the heart of worship?  In our passage from the Living Bible, the psalmist uses the descriptive word “reverence” in approaching God. In other translations the word “fear” is used instead.  In the Message Bible, the word “worship” is used in connection with God.  Whichever word we use, the meaning is the same.  Because we belong to Christ, we are learning how to become worshipers; so, I prefer that descriptive word.   

A worshiper comes to God—with a heart of worship—in spirit and in truth.  That means true worship takes place on the inside—in the heart or the spirit of a person.  But worship is more; it involves truth.  The spirit of a person must connect with the truth of God found in Jesus Christ—the Living Word.  To sum it up, authentic worship is a matter of the heart and spirit being rooted in the knowledge of and obedience to the revealed Word of God. As we worship in spirit and truth, we are acknowledging that apart from God’s Word operating in our lives we would be living a lie.  How we live our lives is worship; saying “yes” to whatever God places on our hearts to do or reveals to our understanding.  When we disobey and refuse to do what he places on our hearts, we live a lie and our worship lacks truth.  Yet, when we live in harmony with Truth—God’s love and plan—he provides everything we need.  Therefore, we live in a continual state of gratitude for his goodness which leads us into new depths of love and peace as worshipers of the Most High.

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August 16, 2018

Acts 6:8-15 The Message (MSG)

It is my prayer that everyone who reads this devotion makes a point to attend a weekly worship opportunity where the Spirit of God is actively moving through anointed spiritual gifts and the faith of the people growing.  God calls everyone to experience the power of his presence during corporate worship; this power comes when the Word is spoken–the Son is exalted–and God’s Spirit rests on surrendered, hungry hearts to bring healing and a greater measure of wholeness.

When the powerful presence of God is not experienced in worship there are reasons for it.  Maybe it is because the people attending the worship service grieve the Holy Spirit by their hard hearts; those who reject God’s Word as a Voice of authority or hinder the work of spiritual gifts.  Maybe people are there to put in time and not really there hungry for an encounter with Truth that brings healing and growth. Maybe people gather but come expecting nothing, so they leave with nothing.  Maybe the spiritual leaders themselves have grieved the Spirit and hindered the power and focus of Truth. I’m sure the list can go on and on, but the common thread for not experiencing the presence of God in worship is due to human disobedience or dishonor of Christ’s place as Head of the church.  God is not to blame; we are.

An example of religious leaders who grieve the Spirit by dishonoring Christ’s place as Head of the church can be found in our passage, today.  Stephen, a man chosen by God–anointed–full of grace and power in the Holy Spirit is falsely accused of blasphemy (disrespect of the holy).  Signs, wonders, and changed lives follow the work of the Spirit through Stephen.  He is so filled with the Spirit his face glows with the glory of God.  And yet, a group of leaders feel justified to oppose him, encourage others to falsely accuse him, and in time silence the voice of the Spirit through Stephen.  I imagine these folks went on with worship as usual once Stephen was gone; but I wonder how much of it God occupied with such resistance to his grace and power.  

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August 15, 2018

John 6:35-40 Good News Translation (GNT)

In a world which seeks to diminish the reality of the Christ—the Resurrected Messiah and Savior of the World—we who have accepted Him and know his living presence have a big mission ahead of us.  We need to reveal the Truth of His love resident within us and operating through our lives. The Spirit of Christ is alive in believers!  For Christians, Jesus is the Bread upon which we feed—the Living Word.  As we eat, we begin to understand his heart and love for his Creation; the depth of his sacrifice to save us.  He sustains us and nourishes our souls with good things.  We can know the Lord, experience grace, and receive healing.  We see through the eyes of the Savior, because we sip from the cup of his eternal salvation and are satisfied.  

In practice, Christ came to connect humanity with God; he is the way the truth and the life with Abba Father.  We do not need to face our emptiness, pain, or problems by ourselves; God longs to live life with us. He knows we are powerless apart from him to bring any lasting change; he alone is the Savior.  Christ in us seeks to lift the hearts of the brokenhearted in our path.  Christ prays through us, gathers, and heals the emotionally wounded and oppressed who have lost hope.  Christ is the Influencer who turns the thoughts of the downtrodden toward the unmerited favor and grace of God.  Let’s face it, the whole world needs Jesus!

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August 14, 2018

2 Peter 3:8-15 New Life Version

God’s purpose for this world is salvation and recreation; he longs for God-serving people to dwell in the beauty which he originally created and human will actually destroyed.  He patiently waits for people to want the same beauty he alone can create.  Scripture teaches one day this world will pass away and all things will be made new; God will bring beauty for ashes in the world. Life on earth as it was once known—in darkness and sin—will be no more.  Likewise, when Christ comes into our lives and brings salvation, all things in our spirits become alive and new; again he brings beauty for ashes.  Life as we once lived it—in darkness and sin—is to be no more.  He wants to renew our minds, wills, and emotions so we will be replicas of what he created us to be in the first place.  The world and humanity were originally created to occupy the glory of the Lord.

He is the Creator of Beauty and will one day recreate.  So, let’s make sure our lives are ready and invite the Spirit to make us burdened for those who are not ready.  In that way, we will reach out and tell everyone we know that Jesus is alive and brings salvation to anyone who will believe. People need to get ready for the New.  Christ alone can make humanity holy and ready for new life and a new dwelling.  Tell someone today.

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August 13, 2018

Ephesians 5:1-14 New Living Translation (NLT)

As Christians, our actions should truly reflect our faith; the light of God’s love should shine from our lives.  Jesus taught this same truth in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16).  You ARE the Light of the World and people are watching to see if what you say with your mouth aligns with your actions.  It is a big responsibility to live in the Light of Christ; it is a big responsibility to make sure our lives are imitating God. If we are aware we are walking in disobedience in an area of our lives, we need to turn and realign our lives with Truth.  Christ shines the light and way for us.

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August 10, 2018

Galatians 6:1-6 The Message

Every believer will make mistakes in life; we are imperfect people who are loved by a perfect God. We carry flesh-dwelling imperfections, but we learn how to put them on the cross and receive a spiritual blessing.  Believers desiring the Lordship of Christ do not knowingly practice sin against God, but we still sin because like children we want our own way.  Our flesh is strong and our ability to bring it under the authority of Christ requires divine power; otherwise, we are too weak to walk in righteousness or share good deeds with others.  God knows all about our strengths, as well as our weaknesses and imperfections.  He knows our personality quirts and he knows our emotional bents or inclinations toward sin (living for self or flesh rather than living for God).  

His knowledge of our true selves is why he allows us to face different situations; they become LIFE lessons.  He wants us to lean on his strength at those times by taking responsibility for identifying our weaknesses.  He watches if we will be merciful with others, because we are all in the same spiritual state of needing a Savior.  God is not wanting us to fail; far from it.  He is wanting us to listen and learn how to be led by the Spirit into a spiritually healthy place of unity.  He desires to gain our attention and guide us to a right place long before we make mistakes.  We will all say or do wrong things at times, we will all need forgiveness, and we will all need to take responsibility for our lives and grow.  This process is called spiritual formation.  To press on and not quit we must realize, with every lesson we learn, a seed of righteousness is planted in our hearts and we will harvest good things in our lives as a result.  Galatians 6:9 reminds us “And let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”  Truly, our witness becomes even greater because we see more clearly God’s love at work in our lives.

I have really needed our Scripture reading this morning and I delight in sharing it with you.  I am in awe of the goodness of God and the timeliness of His Word to my heart.  Wow, God is so good.  I pray you are blessed, as well.  Have a wonderful weekend.

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August 9, 2018

Romans 15:1-6 The Message (MSG)

To embrace the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives means to connect to what he values and the direction he wants us to go in life.  The Lord has a plan for our lives; he has positioned the people we will meet and the influence we will be in bringing them to the knowledge of the Savior.  Christians are people of influence set up by God.  True influence is much more than what we say to people.  It is how we make them feel when we are around.  Crowds followed Jesus because he made them feel valued when he spoke Truth into their lives.   Do people sense Jesus in you?

I imagine many of you reading this devotion can testify to an experience of being with someone who professed Christ, but actually made you feel inadequate by criticizing or condemning your personhood, faith practice, or lifestyle.  These are the finger pointers in life; they hold themselves as the standard of true Christianity and judge everyone else around.  It’s a pride issue in their lives, because Jesus never did that to people.  In fact, when the religious leaders brought to Jesus the woman who was caught in adultery and asked him to judge her, he first turned to these leaders and asked which one of them was without sin.  They did not care how they made this woman feel; they extended her zero worth. They were bent on framing Jesus as an unholy man. Jesus did not condone her adulterous lifestyle, but he loved her into a change by helping her see a bigger picture of her life than she was able to see before meeting him.  He revealed to her the weakness of others (all humanity has a sin nature) so she did not feel alone and inadequate before a holy God.  Jesus covered her shame, extended her personal worth, and influenced her to turn in a new direction; he challenged her to live for God in the strength of God.

The Apostle Paul was not telling the Roman church (or us) to ignore the sin that robs people; we are not to be people pleasers. We are God pleasers.  Paul simply was challenging the Christ followers to be “faith influencers for the weak.”  We are to be ready in a moment’s notice by being loving influences in the world guiding people to a loving God who alone can bring change.  Who will God bring into your realm of influence today?  Be ready to love not judge; guide them to Jesus.

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August 8,2018

Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-9 New Life Version (NLV)

When I was younger, I had an image in my mind of what would constitute a full life.  Although, I have enjoy many wonderful experiences, some things I once thought were vitally important proved not to be fulfilling.  Now that I am older, I can tell you my perspective on what makes a full life has changed “greatly.”  I value joy and fellowship with Jesus brings great joy.   In his Word, God has promised to provide a spiritually rich and satisfying life—a great full life—for all of his children.  Money can’t by it; only feeding on God’s love, listening, and living God’s way can provide it.  

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