THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 24

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 JOHN 2:15-17

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:Prioritize your eternal connection with God over temporary worldly allurements.

MY THOUGHTS: I have given a lot of thought as to how I personally prioritize my eternal connection. For me, it has always been about the prayer space and the study of the Word. It all has to flow out of the place of prayer, and by all I mean everything… my whole life… everything. everything I do needs to be influenced or decided by prayer.

Am I doing this? No! Not yet! It is a step by step process, a work in progress. BUT…I am farther along than I was a year ago and I am moving forward. I am learning not to be too worried about how exactly I am going to get where I am going. Where I am is enough for me to work on right now. Don’t get me wrong I am always looking for the next step, and God is always faithful to show me that next step in time. For now I am learning to let Him help me with what I am supposed to focus on now.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 23

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 JOHN 2:15-17

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:Doing the will of God is the only pursuit with eternal value; it abides forever.

MY THOUGHTS: As the above statement becomes more and more real to me, I am left with the realization that I MUST discover the will of God for my life. I must discover the thing God would have ME do. It is good to know what God wants for all of us, but what does that look like for me specifically? What is my life supposed to be about.

Sometimes the process of coming to know His will feels like stumbling around in the dark, but I have found that the more I study the Scripture and the more I pray, the more I come to know the next step. While that may not be everything, it is something. Elizabeth Elliot said,

and Martin Luther King Jr. echoed that sentiment when he wrote,

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 22

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 JOHN 2:15-17

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:The world’s desires (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, pride of life) are fleeting and pass away.

MY THOUGHTS: One of the keys to overcoming temptation is to remember that those desires pass away. Temptation or the desire for the things of the world come to an end. The desire for anything of the world passes with time. Meanwhile, the desire for the things of Heaven grows the longer we give it space in our lives.

Heavenly desires are stronger than earthly desires and the key to overcoming is to let our desire for Heaven and the things of Heaven supplant our desire for the things of Earth. Overcoming also requires us to shift focus from the things of the Earth to the things of Heaven. We make stronger those things that we focus on; so today focus on the things of Heaven and watch your passion for them grow.

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS, DAY 21

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

I am writing to you who are God’s children

because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.

13I am writing to you who are mature in the faith

because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.

I am writing to you who are young in the faith

because you have won your battle with the evil one.

14I have written to you who are God’s children

because you know the Father.

I have written to you who are mature in the faith

because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.

I have written to you who are young in the faith

because you are strong.

God’s word lives in your hearts,

and you have won your battle with the evil one. 1 JOHN 2:12-14

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:Be strong in your faith; you know the one who is from the beginning.

MY THOUGHTS: Most of God’s children are stronger than they know. Most of us who are people of faith settle for thinking something like “I am just a sinner saved from grace.” We think of ourselves in terms off worms, bugs and grass of the field. Here today gone tomorrow leaving barely a mark on the Earth to let anyone else know we were ever here. Meanwhile God has intended for us to leave a legacy! We have the Word of God dwelling in us and we need to begin to use it….apply it…believe it….act on it. I am convicted more and more that the time is short and we need to move forward into the world with all the love and mercy of Christ radiating from our hearts. That is how we win our battle with the evil one. Be strong in love and mercy and the Word of God!