Sadducees, The unbelief.

Sadducees, The Unbelief
by Heather Collver

Can you actually believe in God and not Jesus? Can only part of the Bible be true? Have you ever read something that contradicts itself in the Bible? Which is more important to you: a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ or a religion? Is believing in a resurrection really all that important?

Sadducees: Jewish religious leaders. One of the two major parties of the Jewish High Council.

The Sadducees believed only the Pentateuch alone (Genesis - Deuteronomy) to be God's Word. This party of religious leaders descended mostly from priestly nobility. John the Baptist criticized this group of leaders for using religion to advance their political position.

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize,[a] he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 9 Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

The Sadducees were a lot like I was before I accepted the Word of God. They thought that they could pick and choose what was God's Word and that if they were good, then that was all that mattered. How can we know God's word and be fruitless? It happens all the time. Something gets in the way. Either an alternative motive or we truly don't believe. God changes us by his word, he transforms our lifeless limbs to fruitfulness. When the Sadducees came to be baptized it was more for show. They did not really believe in the coming wrath of God, nor did they care. Their outward appearance was more important.

Has there ever been a time when you have used your religious standing to gain more power, advance your political position, or to seem like someone you are not?

Check out this video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl40wVuCJUA

Dear Lord, I praise you for your Word today. I find the peace that I need when reading it, but feel called to action at the same time. You are the King of all Kings and deserve our praise today. I am reminded of what you went through, the persecution, to save us from our own selves. You have to know each of us by name to do that. To willingly give up your life as our ultimate sacrifice. What an amazing gift. I only pray that I will be fruitful, a sweet aroma to you. Praise God. Amen.

Please pray with me today for those who have not yet heard the Word of God. Who have no idea that we are loved beyond our circumstances, that we can serve a mighty and powerful God who will part the seas for us, who sacrificed his own son on our behalf so that he could spend eternity with us.

Hope

Proverbs 10:28
The hope of the righteous will be gladness,
But the expectation of the wicked will perish.

Hope is so very important, isn't it?

I experienced a miracle first hand yesterday and wanted to share with you what happened.

I had already had quite a long day when I headed out the door to meet up at the church for a quick meeting and then off for an hour walk with some friends. Shortly after arriving at the church I found my friend, Kathy, in distress. She had just received news that her husband had been in a motorcycle accident. While she was in a meeting with the youth group staff, she received a call and ignored it. It was the sheriff. When she returned the call, he did not answer, so she called her husband Rich's cell phone. A woman answered and told her that Rich had been life flighted to the hospital and that he was in a CATT Scan. Ten minutes later we were on the road to the hospital with another friend, Donna. I decided to stop in town for gas. That is when Lisa called and said that she had just heard the news and had passed us on the road, did we want her to come with us? She met us at the gas station, where I quickly realized that I had lost my gas cap key. We loaded up in Lisa's car and headed to Portland Emanuel Hospital. This was about 45 miles from our town. As we drove up to the hospital we talked about how this could be a way for Rich to see God's hand in his life. See, Kathy has been a youth volunteer for over 15 years. She loves the Lord and lives her life for him. Rich, has never accepted the Lord. Many people have been praying for his salvation, including my husband, who prayed that morning that God would grant Kathy the desires of her heart and bring her husband into a relationship with Him. When we arrived at the hospital we were met by a social worker who took us through several winding hallways to the ICU. She gave us more of a tour of the building then explaining the details of what happened. When we arrived she had us wait several minutes before someone else came to escort Kathy and I to see Rich. All the while, each of us had hope, we had already decided that Rich was going to be okay and that he would find salvation through all this. When we entered Rich's room, he turned to us and smiled. He was alive, he was alert, he was smiling. I got as much information as I could, watched Kathy as she checked out her husband, like a brand new mother inspects a newborn. I commented how someone was watching over him and he gently replied that he understood what I was saying. Kathy exclaimed that she knew who it was and he giggled a bit. I left to tell the others what was going on while Rich and Kathy awkwardly celebrated his miracle. Several hours later we learned that Rich had been thrown 35 feet. He didn't remember much, he was in and out of consciousness. He didn't have any broken bones or external bleeding. He had a bruise on his head, his thigh and toes. They were keeping him for observation as he had a little bleeding in his brain. He is going to be okay. Today we found out that a lady had been following him and he looked down or away for a split second and came up on a curve where he didn't have enough time to correct it and he slid. She works for a hospital and instantly came to his aide. His airway was cut off. Had she not been there, he would have suffocated. Life Flight responded and took him to the best hospital for head trauma in Oregon, where he is today. He survived the impossible, will be released sometime in the next few days as long as the bleeding is under control. I would love to say that he has accepted the gift of eternal life and his salvation is no longer in question. That hasn't happened YET.

So I want to ask a selfish request today, will you please pray for Rich. Do you know someone that needs prayer today to be in a personal relationship with God? Pray for them boldly.

I think this verse goes along well with yesterday. Perish is not anything I want my friends and family to do.

Dear Lord, I thank you for your protection that you placed on Rich. I thank you for your miracles. I pray that people would continue to minister to him today. I pray that we would all continue to minister to those around us. Whether we are planting the seed, watering it, or harvesting it. We praise you today that Rich has a chance to come to you, that his salvation will no longer be in question.

Please continue to pray for Barbara today.

Angela, Day 1

It is a little strange to sit down and try and figure out how to define yourself. So, bare with me.

Angela means "messenger of God"....

I use to not take the meaning of my name too seriously but the more I realize that every name in the Bible has significance, the more I honor the name I was given. I love writing this blog and have come to hope that by doing so I am relaying God's message to people around the world.

I am a wife. I have been married for almost 15 years. I love my husband and Praise God for His amazing work in our marriage and through my husband. I am a mother. I have two beautiful daughters, 9 and 3. I am blessed to stay home with them for the time being. I am a sister. I am the oldest of 4 sisters and two brothers. I am a friend. I have been blessed to love and be loved by some amazing people and pray I to can be a blessing to their lives.

On Valentines Day I ran my first half marathon. Running is a new sport for me. Last year I quit smoking and while looking for a new (healthy) outlet for stress relief a friend of mine recommended I train for a marathon. This has been a big personal step for me. I am not very good at getting the courage to start new things. Especially, if I don't know if I will finish it or not. My husband, Ted, has been running right beside me the entire time. He loves me that much.

On Saturday morning when the gun went off at the race I don't know that either of us thought we would finish. I mean, we knew we could probably walk the whole thing and be able to pick up the kids by at least dinner. Running long distances is as much about physical strength as it is mental. It is easy to get moving and start doubting yourself. It is easy to say to yourself things like "what I am thinking", "why am I doing this", "I am not strong enough", "I am not prepared for this", "look at everyone passing me".

Running has taught me a lot about how God probably sees me. Saturday I accomplished something that 6 months ago wasn't even a possibility. I am capable of running 13.1 miles, now. God sees a potential in me that I don't. I am His creation and yet I doubt my abilities on a daily basis. My mind and thoughts are the only things that keep me from doing the things God has planned for me. He teaches me, trains me, loves me and encourages me daily and still I don't always trust that I am prepared for His plan.

So, today and everyday, I write more of His Word, more of His promises on my heart in hopes that I am prepared to run the race that is before me.

Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Please Pray for Kelly H (WA) this week.

Heavenly Father~Today Lord I praise your name for a strength that is great enough to push even me past my own expectation. May I continue to see that you are bigger than the box I try and fit you in. That I too am more than the box I put myself in. On the days I open my mind up for attacks may you fill it with your promises and your hope. I know Lord that you came not to condemn but to save, may those words, Your Words, be my promise and hope. ~In Your Precious Name.

Need, Day 4

I think God sees beyond our basic needs of food and shelter.

On Monday, I used the scripture in 1 Kings about Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath. At first we see the way God provides for His faithful servant Elijah and a starving woman and her son. The portion of this that always gets my attention is the widows sorrow. She first tells Elijah that she is going to make the last bread with her flour and oil and die. While picking up sticks, she is planning her death.

The widow agreed to take Elijah in her home and feed him. Then, her son dies. Overwhelmed with despair, she tells Elijah "What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!" (v 18). Elijah then takes her son upstairs and pleads to God to heal the woman's son.

There are many things in this life that bring us despair. The widow is starving but more than that, she had lost hope. She couldn't see beyond the heaviness of her current situation. Elijah was faithful to God's commands and met the widow right where she was at. Elijah needed food and God used that to restore a woman back into faith and hope. God can use us in the depths of our needs. Starving, but honorable, Elijah trusted God. Because of his faith, God was exalted. Elijah became a man know to speak Truth.

1 Kings 17:24 Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."

Happy Birthday to Kelly H in Washington. Please continue to pray for Connie W. Please send in your payer and praise requests. I will be posting Fridays devo very early because we are planning on going hiking (yeah!!) in the morning. If you are a little late sending in your request, simply go straight to the blog on Friday morning and you can add it right to the comments for Fridays devo. We love you all very much and appreciate the opportunity to share in God's blessings and be in prayer with you during your time of need.

Need, Day 1

We all have different definitions of what our needs are. Our basic physical needs don't change all that much, we will always need food and shelter for survival. Have you ever wondered what it is about the human condition that makes us desire more then just surviving in our lives? I do. I hope this week we can examine our relational and spiritual needs.



1 Kings 17:8-16
Then the word of the LORD came to him (Elijah), saying, "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink." As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand." But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die." Then Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. "For thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'" So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.



Heavenly Father, I come to you today feeling a little heavy. Burdened with disappointment in my wants; I need to refocus on you as my source of life. In my chaos, Lord be my shelter today. Use me as a vessel for your Word this week. You are a mighty and great God. Thank you for the blessings I look over. ~in your Precious Name....



Please pray for Connie W this week

Hope, Day 5

Third Day: Cry out to Jesus



Don't worry if you forgot to share your prayer or praise. Just comment to today's post. We will be sure to pray for your needs and praise Our God for the blessings He is pouring into your life.

Praises for a new women's group and the friendships and study it will yield. Praises for finances, as they always seem to work themselves out when we make choices in line with God's will. Prayers for daughter's ear infection and my husband as he is gone four days for Guard duty.~KH

Praise God for my hubby and friends. For loving me when I am unlovely. For not letting me pull the covers over my head this week. Thank you for being light in my life this week. ~AS

Please pray for provision and blessing of the House of Courage ministry in Knoxville. They provide a safe haven for young women and their babies. Praise God for their first birthday!!

Please pray for those that are struggling with the fall colds: Shawna L, Hannah C and Hayden C (these are the few I knew by name)

Trip to Milawi (Ron): Dear friends and family,
Thank you all for your gifts and prayers. We have everything that we need for gifts for all the kids and those Ron will be visiting. Ron has the needed funds for the seminars and places to stay in each area has been arranged.
Regina has requested a washing machine. The cost is $600 - 1200. She has been washing all the kids clothes in the bathtub and the city turns off the water at 7:00 in the morning. We do not have enough money for this, so please pray that Ron can find a cheaper one, or he can find a wringer washer.
Ron still needs transportation arrangements for the trip. Please pray that the Lord will provide a car or that trucks will be going in his direction when he goes to the various seminars.
Please pray as we talks to Yohane. Pray for his time with the kids and Regina and that the Lord will help resolve all communication problems. Please pray as he talks to the school to see if we can get reports from them directly. He will also be looking at the land and determining if we should buy another 2 acres. Pray that the chief and he will develop a good relationship. Ron will also be checking on the registration for the ministry. Pray for open doors.
The seminars are arranged. He was so blessed that the Bishop in Bangula( the ones who repented to his fellow pastors last time for not walking in unity and cooperation) that had never let anyone use His facilities, is letting Ron stay there. It has wonderful facilities - even air-conditioning.
We are thankful that Iris Ministries will let them use the generations and lights for the night meetings. Ron will also be teaching at their Bible School for a week.
It would be so wonderful if each person will pick a day of the week to pray for this trip. It is hard to go alone. He will be seeing Will and Pam a day if they are still in country. They may be going home because Will's mother is ill.
Thank you all again for your help and prayers. Only through your love could this trip be made.
Love and Blessings, Joan

Continued Prayer Requests:
~Pray for comfort and guidance for Rachael S.
~Pray for strength for Ashley J.
~Pray for Healing: JoAnne A.Heather C.Dale G.Lea N.Jim R.
~Ron M leaves for Africa on 22nd to visit their orphanage
~Kathy L needs continued prayer for restoration
~McKayla L needs prayer for protection and safety in her living situation
~Janell O and her family need prayer for provision in there planning phase of an Africa missions trip.
~Farah R needs prayer for provision and employment opportunities in their family.
~Canvas Fellowship needs prayers for location opportunities. The children's ministry has outgrown their space.
~Julz Y and Sam and their upcoming marriage on Oct 4
~Ginny R needs prayer for healing of her cancer
~Brittany J and her family are in need of Gods guidance and provision.
~Please pray for revival at Canal Fulton Christian Fellowship

Hope, Day 4

It is time to stop blowing on the dice.

It is time to stop wishing on the stars.

It is time to stop looking for the numbers on the back of your fortune.

It is time to start looking to your Savior.

Refocus your thoughts on things not of this world but on the thing you cannot see. Many people around us and some of us are struggling with the realities of a struggling economy, rising gas prices and a terrible housing market. People are loosing jobs and the cost of everything is going up. How do we keep going? How do you keep going?

Can you show the world around you what it looks like to focus hope on Christ?

Instead of lottery tickets, horoscopes and government put your trust and expectations on the One who loves you.

We all have to go through the struggles that come to us. We have to work through financial struggles. We have to mend broken hearts. We have to keep moving when some days it is easier to pull the covers over your head.

Focus on the One that has promised you hope and love.

Heavenly Father, Your grace and beauty overwhelms me with Thanksgiving. Times are getting hard for many of us and we need your guidance. More then ever Lord I need to turn to you with my expectations. I want to be a light in a world that wants to turn to failing promises. Guide us Lord with your word. In our times of struggle be our focus and strength. Be the hope in the darkness. Even though it is tough and hard to struggle in our relationships and our finances, be our focus. Don't let me look to the things of this world for answers but to you. ~In your precious name.

Please continue to pray for Shawna L this week. Please let us know your praise and prayers for tomorrow. God Bless.

Hope, Day 3

So, what does it mean to have confident expectations or hope in God?

Scripture talks about both putting our hope in and on God. What is the difference?

Putting your hope in God, is really the first part of faith. When you have expectations of life reconciled, you are hoping in God's truth and Word.

Ephesians1:9-12 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.

When you believe and have expectations of God as He is the father He promises to be, then you are putting your hope on Him.

1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

1 Timothy 4:10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

Please continue to pray for Shawna L this week.

Hope, Day 2

Why do we cheapen Faith? Why do we cheapen Christ? Why do we cheapen Hope?

If we don't believe in it's power, it no longer has any.

It was only a few short years ago that I had one of those "ahh-haa" moments and truly realized what Hope was/is. I don't remember what we were discussing at the time. We were at our small group in Cedar Falls and someone defines hope; "hope is confident expectation". What? Confident Expectation? What does that mean? Okay, so whatever the group continued to talk about was completely lost to me. I had just realized that all I had ever considered of the word hope was like "wish" or "luck". It was a pat on the back, a word of encouragement to let someone know you were, well, hoping that whatever it was they wanted to do or accomplish or have was going to happen for them. I don't know that up to that point in my life I had ever said the word hope with the thought of expectation.

May I encourage you to take time to reflect on how you use the word hope. Do you cheapen it like I did? Do you use it like a wish and not like putting expectations on/in Christ? Be intentional when you use the word hope. Every time you say Hope, may it be a prayer of expectation to your Savior.

1 Thessalonians 1:2,3
We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers;
constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father

Please continue to pray for Shawna L this week

Hope, Day 1

Hope: "favorable and confident expectation"

Colossians 1:26-29 (The Message) This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

Please pray for Shawna L this week. Please pray for all of the people affected by Ike, including Janell O and her family in Ohio that doesn't have power.

Expectations

E X pectations

Day 1

E X pectations

To consider probable or certain; hope; assurance

1 Peter 1:3

All honor to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by his boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again. Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead.

Our hope is not only for the future; eternal life begins when we trust Christ and join God's family. No matter what pain or trial we face in this life, we know that it is not our final experience. Eventually we will live with Christ forever.

Day 2

Expecting

Good or bad, expectations may limit our relationship with God. I have only been a Christian for about 6 years now. In that time I have learned that my expectations are not always God's greatest concern. I have learned to become a bit more humble when presenting my requests to God. Not to expect that what I desire will be given to me, but to expect that God will hear my prayers and will answer them according to his own understanding and expectations for my life.

This is a hard concept for me. I tend to listen to many views and then desperately try to filter them through God's word so that I will rely only on his promises and not on what I have come to expect from him. In my walk with God, I have come across those who believe that if you ask, then you can expect to receive what you have asked for. Experience shows me otherwise. I am thankful that there have been times that I have not gotten what I expected, because the alternative was far better than my tiny little mind could have imagined. Many times, though, I have allowed my self to only expect a little and God has provided more. So what do we do to balance out our expectation when it comes to God?

In 2 Corinthians 8-11, Paul writes "I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead. And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us. He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people's prayers for our safety have been answered.

I think this passage tells us we need to pray for each other and ask for other to pray for us. We need to be in constant prayer for what we need and want, but always remember that God is ultimately in control. That is where faith shows its face. Even if our expectations aren't met or are met far greater than we could imagine, our faith in prayer is the vehicle in which God can act out his Love for us. Remember, that the blessing your receive is for God's glory and for others to come to know and praise him for the prayers he answers.

Day 3

Expect your faith to be enough

We often depend on our own skills and abilities when life seems easy and only turn to God when we feel unable to help ourselves. But as we realize our own powerlessness with out him and our need for his constant hope in our lives, we come to depend on him more and more. God is our source of power and we receive his help by keeping in touch with him. With this attitude of dependence, problems will drive us to God rather than away from him. Learn how to rely on God daily, start your day with prayer and thanksgiving.

A few years ago I decided to run for the Biggest Turkey Contest. Despite it's name, the contest was well worth it. The Biggest Turkey Contest was comprised of several members of the community who had about 3 months to earn/raise the most money for Hospice care in our community. My husband and I had volunteered on the committee since he ran in the contest several years earlier. I had no doubt that I would be able to raise funds as I had many very experienced people on my team helping me. It was the second part of the contest that I feared the most, the talent show. This talent show consisted of a lip sync about 3-4 minutes long in front of the entire community and it would be played on public access channel for an entire year. I had decided I wanted to honor my mentor and friend, Lea, who was also the head Hospice Manager in the area. I had it all figured out until the week of the talent show. I realized I was not going to be able to get up on stage and do this thing by myself. So I hit my knees and I prayed and I cried and I prayed some more. I asked God to bless whoever put the time and energy into their talent show and that I would do my best but that He had to be there for me. I only expected that I was going to be able to get up on stage and somehow my lips would move to a song I had not rehearsed. In a matter of 30 minutes, I received a call from my daughters ballet instructor asking if she could put together the lip sync for me. PRAISE GOD. I did win the Biggest Turkey Contest overall, raising the most money, I did not get first place for the talent show, but I was able to go through with the talent show and honor my friend. Every time my life gets a little out of hand I remember how my faith brought me to God's feet and even though He did more than I expected, he did not go over board and he did not do only what I expected.

Have you relied on your own skills and abilities when life is easy?

Have you turned to God when you feel unable to help yourself?

Do you depend on God at all times?

Do you have a story about how God has met or exceeded your expectations? Not met them?

What are your beliefs about God? Do you think he will give you EVERYTHING you ask for, or will he use these opportunities to teach us?

Dear Lord, I know that many times I don't expect your power and love to be big enough to help me through my situations. I know that there are times I expect you to take care of things because you have done it so many times in the past. Help me Lord, to come to you with everything and to be willing to receive whatever it is that you have for me. Help me not to have high or low expectations, but faith that you listen to my prayers and want the best for me.

Day 4

Proverbs 10:28 The hopes of the Godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked are all in vain.

Ask God to give you hope and faith enough to come to him in times of pleasure and need. Give yourself the opportunity to lay down your requests to God daily and not have any expectations, but faith that God will hear you and do what is best for you.

Be willing to let go of the past expectations you may have had and look for the gift that God gave you in place of your expectations. Let go of any resentment you may have for not getting what you wanted and remember to give praise for those times you have received more than you expected.

Day 5

Gracious Heavenly Father, I thank you.

I thank you first for the love you showed me in giving your son to save me.
I thank you for the mercy that did not leave me in my sin.

Thank you for the sunshine and the rain.

Father, I want to be content wherever I am.

I ask you to show me the blessing in my circumstances. Please open my eyes to see your grace and its sufficiency.

Remind me how you have delivered me and protected me.

Show me placed in my life where your hand held me when I would have fallen.

Put praises on my lips.

Let my life praise you.

Clothe me with your glory, that others might see you and praise you too.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Tamar, Daughter of King David

Day 1

Tamar "date tree" or "palm tree"

Tamar shared her father David's good looks. Young and innocent, she was naive to the danger that threatened from her own family.

Her Sorrow: That her half brother saw her only as an object for his lust, destroying her future as a result. And her father the King did nothing to protect her.

2 Samuel 13:1-22
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.
2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.
3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David's brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, "Why do you, the king's son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won't you tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I'm in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
5 "Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.' "
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, "I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand."
7 David sent word to Tamar at the palace: "Go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him." 8 So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it. 9 Then she took the pan and served him the bread, but he refused to eat. "Send everyone out of here," Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
12 "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.
15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and get out!"
16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me." But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her." 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.
21 When King David heard all this, he was furious. 22 Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar.

Day 2

Rape

God's reaction to sexual sin is evident throughout the Bible. He doesn't turn away from the victim, he doesn't allow the rapist to go unpunished. Deuteronomy 22:25 says that "the man who has done this shall die." Leviticus 18:29 reminds the Israelites that "everyone who does any of these detestable things--such persons must be cut off from their people." In the New Testament, Paul repeatedly reminds believers to pursue sexual purity: Romans 13:13-14, 1 Corinthians 6:18, Ephesians 5:3.

The Bible doesn't gloss over the fact that God's people participated in these dreadful acts; it describes many instances of rape, incest, homosexuality, and adultery. Why would a holy God think it necessary to include such sored stories in Scripture? Perhaps, because he knows our thoughts and actions, even if the world is blind to them.

Through these stories God reminds us that he never forsakes his own, whether victim or criminal. Just as he offers help and comfort to the victims, never forsaking them in their trouble, he also offers healing and forgiveness to the evildoer.

Day 3

2 Samuel 13:9b-14
"Send everyone out of here," Amnon said. So everyone left him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, "Come to bed with me, my sister."
12 "Don't, my brother!" she said to him. "Don't force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don't do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you." 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

Describe your feelings as a woman when you read Tamar's pleas.

2 Samuel 13: 16-20
16 "No!" she said to him. "Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me." But he refused to listen to her. 17 He called his personal servant and said, "Get this woman out of here and bolt the door after her." 18 So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing a richly ornamented robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. 19 Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
20 Her brother Absalom said to her, "Has that Amnon, your brother, been with you? Be quiet now, my sister; he is your brother. Don't take this thing to heart." And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.

What has happened to you in the past that dramatically affected the way your life turned out? How has God used that circumstance to bring about his work in your life?

Day 4

Promises in Scripture

For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath. ~Deuteronomy 4:31

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." ~Deuteronomy 31:6

Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
~Psalm 27:7-10

Day 5

Though [God] slay me, yet will I hope in him ~Job 13:15~

Praise God for giving us a hope rooted not in the events of this life, but in eternity.

Thank God that He has the power to restore our hope.

Confess any hopelessness about your life.

Ask God to show you that he really does care about you.

Even if you have difficulty believing in hope, pray for the grace to want to believe it. As a small gesture expressing your desire, plant something. This simple act will affirm your belief that even after the harshest winter spring will come again with its profusion of color and new life.

Father, plant something new in my life, a sprig of hope that will set me on a new course. Help me to live in the present, spending my emotional energies on this moment rather than squandering them on regrets about the past or anxieties about the future.

Naomi

Day 1

Naomi "My Joy" "Pleasant"

Her Character: Suffering a threefold tragedy, Naomi refused to hide her sorrow or bitterness. Believing in God's sovereignty, she attributed her suffering to his will. But her fixation on circumstances, both past and present, led to hopelessness. A kind and loving mother-in-law, she inspired unusual love and loyalty in her daughters-in-law.

Her Sorrow: To have lost a husband and two sons in a foreign land, far from family and friends.

Her Joy: To have returned safely to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth, who would eventually rekindle her happiness and hope.

Ruth 1
Naomi and Ruth
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons- 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"
14 At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

Ruth 4:13-17
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."
16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Day 2
Famine

Throughout scripture God uses famine to bring about his purposes.

In one of Scripture's most somber prophecies, Amos tells of the time when God will bring about another sort of famine:
"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. ~Amos 8:11
In the past, God had always listened and responded when his people cried out to him, but Amos told of a time to come when their cries would be met with frightening silence.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" asks Paul "Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" (Romans 8:35). But then Paul answers his own question with that wonderful believer's cry of victory: Nothing, not even famine, will ever separate us from God's love.

Day 3

Ruth 1:19-22
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

Was the Lord at fault for Naomi's circumstances? Was he at fault for her bitterness over them?

Describe one situation for which you have held or do hold bitterness.

What is more important in life: your circumstances or your reactions to them? Explain your answer.

Day 4

Like Naomi, we may have trouble recognizing God's goodness and faithfulness at times. But he is still with us no matter the circumstances.

The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." ~Ruth 4: 14-15

Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. ~Psalm 71:20

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten... You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. ~Joel 2:25-26

Day 5

But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." ~Ruth 1:16-17

Praise God for creating us with the power to form deep and lasting relationships.

Offer Thanks for the variety of friends God has given you.

Confess your tendency to be too busy to pay attention to your friends or too preoccupied with your won concerns to take time for theirs.

Ask God to make you a more loyal and loving friend.

Lord, thank you for the blessing of friends who, by sharing their lives with us, double our joy and halve our sorrows. Help me to cherish the friends you've given me and to become the kind of friend others will cherish; a women who listens, encourages, and keeps confidences; a women who knows how to laugh and how to cry, who is loyal, forgiving and loving.

Hope

1 Peter 1: 3-9
A Real Reason for Hope

Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.
You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns. You have never seen Jesus, and you don't see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy you are to be saved. That's why you have faith.

Dear Friends, May our Living Hope fill you today and throughout this year. When you are hoping for better things take time to find hope in God's promises to you. Here are a few scriptures to help you on your journey. I will list them completely here so that you may print it. Keep it in your purse or in your car as an easy reference when God's Word is what you need to help find hope.


Psalm 42:5 (New King James Version)
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.

Isaiah 40:31 (New King James Version)
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 119:74 (New King James Version)
Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.

Romans 8:24 (New King James Version)
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Titus 2:12-13 (New International Version)
12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

1 Timothy 4:10 (New International Version)
(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

Romans 8:25 (New International Version)
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Psalm 130:7 (New International Version)
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

Colossians 1:26-29 (The Message)
This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.