Short & Sweet: Grow Up

Short and Sweet Nourishment for the Soul

41 “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Acts 2:41-42

On the wall in one of the bedrooms in our house, is a series of hash marks. They start at about 3 feet high and continue to about six feet. Each hash mark contains a name and a date. These cryptic marks chronicle the growth of our two sons. The passage of time measured in feet and inches. How proud my sons were to see their growth from year to year. Physical growth is good, healthy, and normal. More important than physical growth, is spiritual growth. How can we grow up spiritually? With a good dose of Acts 2:42.

Spiritual Growth

Acts 2:42 lists four things the early church did to grow up in their faith:

1. continuous study of doctrine

2. fellowship

3. breaking of bread

4. prayers

Let’s take a quick look at each of the four items above.

1. ” … continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine …”

To us, this means Bible study. In order to grow up, we need to continually feed our souls with the truth of God’s Word.

Action Point:

What can you do today to put more of God’s Word in your heart?
Is anything growing in your heart (bitterness, jealousy, sketchy habits) taking up space needed for God’s Word?

2. Fellowship

The Greek word for fellowship means: 1) a gathering of like-minded Christians who encourage and teach each other, and 2) the works (sharing the gospel, helping the needy) of a group of like-minded people.

Action Point:

Which type of fellowship do you need to grow your faith, teaching and encouragement or good works?
Using your answer to point one, what will you do to start growing in fellowship?

3. Breaking of bread (a.k.a. communion)

Communion is a beautiful portrayal of the message of the Gospel; Christ sacrificing His life, giving His body, pouring out His blood, for you and for me. At the Last Supper, when Jesus implemented communion, Jesus asked His disciples to “Do this in remembrance of Me.” What does Jesus want us to remember? His sacrifice. True life is not about living for self. It’s about doing the will of God and sacrificing our lives for the sake of others.

Action Point:

What can you sacrifice today to help someone else grow up in Christ … time … Starbucks … a plate of cookies … a personal note of encouragement?
Name a certain area of life or character quality you need to improve. How can you more closely follow God’s will in this area?

4. Pray

The Greek word for prayers is proseuch, which simply means prayer addressed to God, to pray fervently. Blue Letter Bible adds the emphasis is not on the contents of the prayer, but its aim and its end. Don’t worry about impressing God with big intricate words, He knows your heart.

Action Points:

Grow up and take a step of faith: I will lay aside my will and ask God to work His will concerning _____________________________.

Thank God for how He will work His will for point 1..

Life is sweet! Grow up!

To Do-ers List: Walk by Faith

Day 4

To Do-ers List: Walk by Faith

7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

2 Corinthians 5: 7-9

It was a harrowing time when my sons were learning to walk. My oldest was determined from the beginning to stand on his own two chunky feet. Staggering from chair to couch to table, he’d continue to lurch and reel until he’d tumble to the ground. Bruised-yes. Vanquished-no. The process continued, day after day, bump after bump, until one day, at the age of nine months Erik could walk.

Learning to walk by faith is also a process.

We stumble.

We stagger.

We fall. Bumped, bruised, and hurt-yes. Vanquished-no. We are not beaten because we fall; we are only beaten if we refuse to rise. We get up and try again. We learn to walk by faith.

What does a walk of faith look like?

A walk of faith looks like a series of good decisions based on the truth of God’s Word.

A friend invites you to a party. You know your parents would not approve. You also know they will never find out. You say no. You walk by faith. “Children, honor your parents.”
Your co-workers are chewing up a colleague no one likes (for good reason) at the lunch table. You change the subject. You walk by faith. “Let no unwholesome talk proceed out of your mouth.”
Your husband has asked you to make a pie for tomorrow’s work picnic after he has just delivered a five-point lecture on how to park the car. The nerve of him. You make the pie. You walk by faith. “Repay evil with good.”
Your sister/spouse/boss/mother-in-law snaps at you during a conversation. You choose (it takes all your strength) to answer with respect. You walk by faith. “Repay no one evil for evil.”
You KNOW God has called you to serve in the new ministry at church. It doesn’t make sense – everyone says so. Some say you aren’t qualified, skilled, or educated enough to do it. God calls you anyway. You say yes. You walk by faith. “Be on your guard before Him and obey His voice.”

Walking by faith is obeying God when it’s easier not to.

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Walking by faith is usually scary, uncomfortable, and involves stepping out of the usual. But I have to tell you, I have never regretted a single step of faith. How do we avoid walking by sight? By keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

What is the outcome of walking by faith?

Our faith grows.

The faith of others grows.

Our lives produce fruit.

We are entrusted with greater work.

The greatest benefit of walking by faith is listed in verse 9 … we please our Father.

For Today:

Make decisions based on faith; not fear, not feelings, not the usual. When faced with a decision today ask yourself, What would a faithful person do? And do it.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal your day.

To Do-ers List Journal Page PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

For ideas on how to walk by faith, please check the resources below.

How Strong is Your Faith?
Keeping Faith Strong Through the Summer

Please take a moment to pray and ask God for His strength to walk by faith. Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below. Have a blessed day!

Missed a day? Don’t worry. Just click on the links below!

To Do-ers List, Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

by Mary Kane

To Do-ers List: Day 1, Love God

Day 1

To Do-ers List: Love God

“37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38

God is a list maker.

He made the greatest list known to mankind: The Ten Commandments. Immediately after giving His people the commandments, God reveals the Greatest Commandment. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and with all your strength. What is the heart of the Greatest Commandment? Love. More important than keeping a list of rules is a heart that beats with love for God. The Greatest Commandment is the key to keeping all the other commandments.

Love God.

How do you act when you are in love with someone? You think of them constantly. You spend every moment possible in their presence. You can’t wait to hear from them. You constantly listen for a text or call. You know their voice anywhere. You find ways to please them. You learn everything you can about your Love.

Loving God.

First on our To Do-ers List is love God. How will that look for you? How will you love God at work, at home, while running errands? How will you direct your thoughts God-ward? When will you be in His presence? How will you listen for His voice? What will you do to learn about Him?

Perhaps you feel anxious about today’s To Do-ers List because you know you don’t love God as you should. Talk to Him. Tell Him you are willing to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He will change your heart. Don’t wait for your feelings. Do the love thing.

Right feelings follow right actions.

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For Today:

Spend a few moments in prayer. Ask God to help you love Him with all your heart. He will give you a new heart that beats only for Him. Look for ways to show your love for God in everything you do today.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal your day.

To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Below are a few resources to help you spend time with Him.

Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below or leave a comment on our private To Do-ers List Facebook page.

Love God.

Have a blessed day.

Short & Sweet: She Heard

Short and Sweet Nourishment for the Soul

She Heard

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” …“The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

Matthew 12:38-39, 42

Jesus is speaking to the crowds. While teaching from His Word, He heals a demon-possessed man of his many afflictions. The Pharisees are not happy. Like the rest of the crowd, they’ve been listening to Jesus preach. However, the teachers of the Law want a sign: a miracle on demand. Would they see with their eyes when they would not hear with their ears? What greater sign did they need than an exorcism? Jesus calls them out by mentioning the queen of the South.

The queen of the South? She heard. She heard all the way from Sheba. What the Pharisees would not hear from across the temple courtyard, she heard from across the continent. 1,200 miles. And she came to hear more. Imagine being mentioned in the Bible, not because you won a great battle or conquered a terrible foe, but because you heard.

I Kings 10:2 gives us little more information: She spoke to Solomon about all that was in her heart. That’s the difference between the Pharisees and the Queen of Sheba. She heard with her heart. The Pharisees, deafened by pride, could only hear with their ears. (To learn more about the connection between the heart and the ears, look up the following verses: Deuteronomy 29:4, Proverbs 23:12, Isaiah 6:10, and Ezekiel 3:10.)

God has an antidote for deaf ears. Acts 7:51: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” Ask God to circumcise your ears to hear His Word.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord and open the ears of my heart.

In the Greek and Hebrew, to hear means not only to sense with the ears, but to understand, consider, comprehend, and OBEY.

Hearing God’s word requires change.

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Let’s follow the example of the Queen of Sheba, and do what it takes to hear from God.

She heard.

Action Points:

How can you put yourself in a position to hear from God?
What noise is blocking the Word of God in your life?
What action can you take to hear from God today?

Life is sweet.

7 Days of Freedom, Day 4: Glory Hallelujah!

16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18

glory [glawr-ee, glohr-ee]

noun

very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown
adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving
a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity
the splendor and bliss of heaven; heaven

In the original Greek, glory descends from the word doxa, which means magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace; a thing belonging to God (emphasis mine). Because glory belongs to God, it is a word that is uncommon to the current culture. The less God we allow, the less glory will be revealed.

In the Old Testament, God’s shekinah glory appeared as a consuming fire, a pillar of cloud, or brilliant light. Shekinah, a Hebrew word for glory, descends from the word shachan, which means to dwell or tabernacle. In the Old Testament, God’s glory dwelt between the cherubim. In the New Testament, God’s glory tabernacles with men, by the indwelling presence of His Spirit in the heart of each believer. Hallelujah!

According to the verse above, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, the veil is lifted, and we see the glory of God. Matthew Henry states, “This light [glory] and liberty are transforming; we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory (v. 18), from one degree of glorious grace unto another, till grace here be consummated in glory for ever.” And as we are transformed, we reflect His glory to those around us.

Trying to define God’s glory is like trying to capture the wind. Who can explain it?

There are a few things I have learned over the years about God’s glory. There are as follows:

God will share His glory with no one.
By using our gifts, we can bring God great glory.
We are to do all things to the glory of God.
In our present state, we cannot see the full-on glory of God and live.
The earth is full of God’s glory.

Glory refers to God’s perfectness, power, holiness, and goodness, in short His God-ness. If we were able to explain His glory, we would be able to explain God Himself. The Great I AM. That is perhaps the best explanation glory … it is who He is. Glory Hallelujah!

Action Points:

How can you use your gifts to bring God glory?
How can you glorify God in your present challenge?
Look for God’s glory today in nature and praise Him!

God Bless America.

“glory.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 30 Jun. 2015. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/glory>.

Short & Sweet: She Follows

Nourishment for the Soul

15 “And she [Naomi] said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said:

“Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you;

For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.

17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried.

The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”

Ruth 1:15-17

Ruth is a daughter-in-law of Naomi and Elimelech. During a time of famine, Naomi followed her husband from the land of Israel to the land of Moab; a very controversial move. In Moab, Naomi’s two sons married Moabite women; another controversial move.

After the deaths of all three husbands, Naomi decides to follow the stirring of the Holy Spirit and return to Israel; a smart move. However, perhaps fearing racial tensions in Israel, Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to return to Moab. Orpah quickly turns back, but Ruth … she follows.

She follows whom?

At first glance it appears she follows Naomi. When we follow the progression of the verses,

1. Where you go, I go,

2. Where you live, I live,

3. Your people, my people,

4. Your God, my God,

however, we learn she follows Naomi right to the heart of God.

In the eyes of the culture, Ruth has little future in Israel.

1. She’s a woman.

2. She’s a widow.

3. She’s a foreigner.

4. She’s a Moabite.

Despite the strikes against her, Ruth risks everything and she follows. The daughter-in-law of Naomi would rather live as an outcast and follow God in Israel than live in comfort in Moab. Ruth chooses her soul over her flesh.

Thankfully,

God uses anyone who’ll answer His call to follow Him,

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even a foreign widow from a pagan land. In God’s perfect timimg, Ruth marries Boaz, the most eligible man in town and becomes part of the family line of Christ; a scandalous move … the scandalous love of God.

Can we be like Ruth and fly in the face of public opinion and follow God?

She follows.

Action Points:

What steps do you need to take today to follow God?
What do you need to leave behind so you can follow Him?
Are you willing to follow without the approval of others, even the approval of close friends and family members?

Life is sweet.