Author Archive
A Heart After God
by jdaley0118 on Apr.02, 2009, under Life Groups
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16
Most of us put a lot of stock in outward appearance. While there’s nothing wrong with combing our hair and smelling good, it says a lot about our basic orientation to life. We are most concerned with how other people see us.
Not so with God. When the Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as king, Samuel was impressed with Eliab, but God said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
Does that mean that a big, good-looking guy cannot be a spiritual leader? No, of course not. It just means that God looks for something deeper than that: a heart that is given to Him.
David, who wasn’t even invited to the event, was finally brought in from the pasture where he was tending the sheep, and the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” There was something within David that only the Lord could see.
What does God see when He looks at us? Hearts that are filled with the Word and given to prayer? And what about our opinion of others? Are we so turned off by someone’s outward appearance that we write them off before we discover their inner beauty?
It is one of the great ironies of our day that we spend buckets of money on our bodies, which are, in effect, wasting away. At the same time, we often neglect the inward person, which the apostle Paul says should be renewed day by day
Dating Til Death Do Us Part: Devotion 5
by jdaley0118 on Feb.13, 2009, under Larry Potter
Marriage Cement
Author: Evelyn Christenson
James 5:16
An important aspect of a married person’s prayer life has to be praying with your spouse. Prayer is the cement that holds a marriage together. The hurts and misunderstandings that come into all marriages melt away in the presence of a holy God. When you stand before God, there is no room for pride or anger or resentful feelings. Rather, there is power in your marriage and in your lives as the two of you agree together in prayer.
Praying with my husband, Chris is a humbling experience. We often kneel and hold hands. When we invite the Holy God into our marriage, into our home, into our bedroom where we pray, it is bound to draw us together.
Living a life of prayer is the power source of all Christians. If provides us with the resources to be the persons God would have us be.
Life Builders
*In what ways have you found prayer to be the “cement” that holds your marriage together?
*If there is any area of conflict between the two of you right now, stop and take time to pray about it together.
Dating Til Death Do Us Part: Devotion 4
by jdaley0118 on Feb.10, 2009, under Life Groups
Jesus, the Righteous Husband
Matthew 12:19-20
I looked around my living room, seeing reminders of the relationship my wife and I share. I reflected on jst how much I love this woman, and I reminded myself of my desire to be all she needs in a husband. That’s when this question occurred to me: What kind of husband would Jesus have made?
I flipped through the gospel of Matthew with the image in mind of Jesus as a husband. “He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Matthew 12: 19-20)
It was an image of strong gentleness. I thought of Jesus taking time for the children; patiently instructing his followers, though tired and hungry; touching the rotting skin of outcast lepers; weeping over a city’s waywardness; calling even his betrayer “friend”.
This Man felt the whole spectrum of emotion, yet always maintained self-control. He experienced success without it degenerating to egotism. He faced reversal without turning bitter. He endured temptation, but did not yield to its pressure. You could freeze any moment of his life in time and he would have no reason for regret or embarrassment.
I realized that, in a sense, every moment of my life is a moment frozen. An expression of who I am, in that instant. And I decided to devote myself to piling up moments and memories that will give my wife some small glimpse of Jesus in my life.
Life Builders
*Why is it helpful to have a sense that how you behave each moment is important?
*When have you seen glimpses of Christ’s character in your spouse’s behavior?
