Tag Archives: Tea Pot Testimony

Christian Growth, Devotionals

Discerning Suffering

 

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Persecution of believers spans the globe; they are in desperate need of prayers. Many erroneously think persecution of the saints ceased thousands of years ago. What we don’t know does hurt us and thwarts the spread of the gospel. Yet, through persecution, doors do open. Paul shared a testimony of persecution and peril. (2 Corinthians 11:22-32)

Speaking of a specific thorn in the flesh, he found his LORD sufficient. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10 NKJ).” Do I perceive my weakness as strength, discerning suffering for Christ’s sake?

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Christian Growth, Devotionals, Family, Friends

Support Systems Check

 

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When was the last time you ran a support systems check? Each time a private plane operator prepares to board their plane, they first do a full round of examination, followed by a verbal “Check!”  Any counselor worth his or her salt will recommend a strong support system to patients. I need people I can trust in times of crisis.

“Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:7-8 CEV)!” I know my family and friends form an invisible support system creating a barrier against discouragement. Through thick and thin, sunshine and rain, rejoicing or sorrow…I face each tomorrow, supported by loved ones.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

East-to-West

 

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My husband Norm worked as an over the road truck driver. That may sound like an obvious statement but a true trucker gets my drift. It means that he drove coast-to-coast not having the benefit of driving local and sleeping in his own bed every night. He covered a lot of territory, from east-to-west in our great nation, earning a good living as a profession truck driver.

“If I rise with the sun in the east, and settle in the west beyond the sea, even there you would guide me. With your right hand you would hold me (Psalm 139:9-10 NCV).” He was never alone. God was there. He led the way and held my husband in his protective care. In my life, he makes his presence known, his direction available and extends to me his hands of love.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals, Prayer

Heart-to-Heart

 

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Prayer: Heart-to-heart talk with Father. Open your Bible to the Book of Psalms. The search is easy; Psalms is half way through the Bible. King David penned the majority of Psalms. His poetic passages are emotional and riveting. They speak to my heart, but first they were heart-to-heart communication with his creator. As a man after God’s own heart, (Acts 13:22) he opened his heart and cried out to his loving Father.

“Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Psalm 51:9-10 NIV).” In the deepest recesses of his heart, David recognized his sins and transgressions. Yet, he also firmly believed his Father could cleanse him and remove all traces of sin. Communing, heart-to-heart, he also asked for renewal of his spirit deep within. I hunger for heart-to-heart talks with Father.

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Bible Studies, Christian Growth

Suffering Saints

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I have very little trouble comprehending cause and effect situations. Parents tell their children not to throw balls inside the house but they ignore the commands. In rebellion, they play a game of toss; the ball hits a vase and it shatters on the floor. The story does not end with the breakage; the children broke the rules and they will face the consequences. Mother and dad had made their will clear and will implement swift disciplinary measures. As a Pharisee, Saul was the cause of suffering by many saints.

 “But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison (Acts 8:3 NAS).” He persecuted believers, worshipers of the risen Christ. He was going around causing havoc; “what goes around, comes around.” God instructed a disciple named Ananias to go to Saul. “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My names sake (Acts 9:15-16 NAS).” .

Paul endured under great suffering. (2 Corinthians 23-33) I detect a fine line between discipline, punishment, testing and suffering. Through the lives of the apostles, I perceive their joy in suffering for Christ. In the words of Paul, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me (Philippians 1:29-30 NAS).”  Apostle Peter also encouraged those undergoing persecution.

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you (1 Peter 4:12-14 NAS).”  Through the suffering of saints, I sense the advancement of the cause of Christ. In effect, He saves the lost.

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Bible Studies, Christian Growth, Devotionals

Up in a Puff of Smoke

 

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Up, in a puff of smoke! It alludes to rapid ruin for a structure. Yet, scripturally, smoke is symbolic of God’s glory, presence and power. His glory filled the Jerusalem temple. “And one cried to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:3-4 Amplified Bible).”

Smoke wafted through the screen door of the camper and ascended through the opened vent in the ceiling. Watching, I pondered on the idiom-where there’s smoke, there’s fire. In this case, I knew my husband was burning leaves. There is validity in the statement. Sometimes we can only see smoke; the fire, though not dominant, is there. Where there is smoke, there is sacrificial fire. Elijah made an offering unto holy God.

“Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You, the Lord, are God, and have turned their hearts back [to You]. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust, and also licked up the water that was in the trench (1 Kings 18:37-38 Amplified Bible).” The Lord can still today turn our hearts back to Him. We need only to repent and return.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

A Prompter

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Have you ever worked in hometown theatrical groups? Maybe you enjoyed drama club in high school or college. In your speaking roles, the director expected you to know the dialogue. Even if you were an extra with only a small speaking part, memorization was mandatory. Oops, you forgot your line. Off stage, a prompter fed you your lines.

The Holy Spirit is prompting the faithful. “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say (Luke 12:11-12 Pilgrim Study Bible).” Feed on His word and He will feed you your lines.

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Bible Studies, Christian Growth

Got Saved?

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Saved, what does that mean? To unbelievers the term might mean, “Got religion.” Another phrase takes our consideration further. “He was saved from a fate worse than death!” I turn to a trusted thesaurus, and chose most applicable save synonyms: rescue, deliverance, ransom, liberation, release, salvation, atone, redeem, free, liberate. (Roget’s International Thesaurus)

Saved, what does that mean to you, personally? Look through the list of synonyms again.  Without Christ, all are in dire straits, in need of rescue from sin, deliverance from the bondage of sin. He paid the ransom with His sacrificial death, freeing all who trust Him as Lord and Savior.

Jesus saves sinful men.

“And she will bear a Son; and you shall call his name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21 NAS)”

“For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10 NAS).”

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him (John 3:16-17 NAS).”

“But what does it say? ‘THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART’-that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (Romans 10:8-9 NAS).”

“for WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED (Romans 10:13 NAS).”

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9 NAS).”

 

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Bible Studies, Christian Growth

Peter’s Pointed Question

 

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“Why?” The repetitious questions of a three year old try the patience of parents. “What?”  The pointed question of Apostle Peter pricks my conscience. He was not giving believers a pop-quiz; his query is not testing intellect or IQ. Instead, he questions my commitment and character.  Do I pass the test? He sets the scene for a day of reckoning.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with a fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness (2 Peter 3:10-11 NKJ)…”

What type of person should I be and where should my focus be? “…looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat (2 Peter 3:12 NKJ)?” God has called me to testify of His mercy; yet, as Noah, I warn of His pending judgment.

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Christian Growth, Devotionals

Buttons and Bows

 

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We recently received two female kittens from our next-door neighbors.  I affectionately named them Buttons and Bows. The first couple of days they were reclusive but now put on regular entertainment. As children first learning to walk prefers the risk of running, our kittens know one speed, wide open. We wanted the kittens to curtail the farm mouse population; they throw in the antics as a bonus. I seldom see one kitten without the other.

“Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket gain warmth from each other, but how can one be warm alone? And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer, three is even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 Living Bible).” A third kitten…three kitty stooges. Hmm… Buttons, Bows and Barrettes. I think I’ll pass on that.

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