Read: Genesis 41:33-36 33 "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine." Also Read: Psalms 119:11 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. We are living in a time where are nation is crumbling before the eyes of the church. The problem is that most of the church don't even know that the church is in need of the sound word of God. We have a lot of television minister's that minister the word of God, but with a mixture of greed and pride. The only thing this does is bring forth a deception that we are totally alright with no need of repentance as the body of Christ. I believe we are living in a time where a great famine of the word of God is going to come stronger upon our nation, yet the candy coated messages from many preachers will become stronger as well. The messages will be mixed with more humanistic teachings and the sheep of God will become so thirsty for the pure word of God like never before. Joseph had two sons. One was named Manasseh, meaning God has caused me to forget, and the other is Ephraim, meaning God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. I want us today to realize that God wants us to store the word of God in our hearts for the famine that will get stronger in the years to come. The bible says to hide the word of God in our hearts that we may not sin against God, and we see many sinning today by lack of sound doctrine. Joseph told Pharaoh to put a wise man and overseers over the land of Egypt and store up food for the famine that will come upon the land. I believe that God has raised up true teachers in the past few years to speak to the body of Christ as a whole through Internet ministry and other means. I believe that the message from true minister's of God has touched many, and there will be some that will repent during the famine of the word of God in our nation. I want to encourage you today to listen to the greatest wise man who ever lived who is Jesus Christ, and listen to the voices of true teachers who are speaking and storing fresh words from heaven for the days we are living in and the days to come. Prayer: Lord, we need you today like never before in the famine of the word of God that has been with us, and is going to get greater in the years to come. Help us Lord to follow sound doctrine, and help us to discern between what is right and what is wrong. We desire to store the word of God in our hearts today Lord, and we long to be fruitful during the land of affliction, Amen.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
The Jonah Generation 8/28th Weeklyl Devotional by Keith Edwards
Read:
Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Have you ever wondered about what was going on in Jonah's adventure on his way to Tarshish. God called him as a prophet to the city of Ninevah, and Jonah knew that this wicked city would eventually destroy Jerusalem. Jonah didn't want them to receive God's love and forgiveness in a way. If you look at the book of Nahum, you can see how wicked and evil this city was. They were very warlike and brutal. They were like the Nazis of there day. Ninevah was the city that Isaiah, Hoseah, and Amos prophesied the destruction by the Assyrians ,which is Ninevah, and Jonah knew that this great city of Ninevah would one day destroy Israel. Jonah believed the prophets' that foretold Israel being destroyed and taken captive by the Assyrians, and God knew that his prophet would disobey Him and prepared a big fish to swallow him. God knows when we are going to disobey him as well and he makes a reservation at the fish hotel, and after staying at the fish hotel for about three days we will be ready to go back and serve God with a whole heart. I want us to see something though. God used Jonah to touch the lives of Gentiles on that ship to Tarshish. The men were so afraid of that storm, that they made vows to the God that Jonah believed in. God can still use us if we messed up. You may be at that place today where you may even have to stay a little longer in a place that God didn't want you in to begin with, but God will still use you to touch those around you. We see this in Jonah's life here as a prophet of God. Sometimes the most evil people around you will try and awaken the God inside of you, and you find yourself being tossed back and forth asleep at the bottom of the ship of life. If Ninevah can repent then anyone can repent. I remember doing prison ministry with someone years back who was once in the mopheo. We'll just call him John doe. He turned his life over to Christ, and repented of his sins. He was very powerful in ministry. I would go with him to the prison and do some ministry in music while he preached to all of those prisoners. You wouldn't believe the altar call. Many would run to the altar, murderers, rapists etc. and I would pray with them. If John Doe can come to Christ then anyone can. I would just be touched when I talked with John. He was about four hundred pounds, and solid as a brick wall, but tears would begin to fall down his face when he talked about the Lord. I couldn't believe that someone as evil as John once was could fall on his face and repent of his sins. This is what Ninevah did. you never know who that person will be that you win to the Lord, and you never know who is watching you. Never take it for granted who God will send to you. Do you find yourself today on a trip to Tarshish so to speak? You find yourself in a storm that you might have brought upon yourself maybe through some wrong choices or maybe some disobedience in some areas, or maybe God has called you to witness to someone and you don't think they deserve God's love. You can turn your eyes upon Jesus today and ask Him to help you in whatever you are facing. He may prepare a big fish or whale to swallow us for a while, but it's for preservation and pruning. We may find ourselves wrapped in seaweed of life, but god is merciful and forgiving to bring us to a place of His spirit. Let's obey God today in making disciples, advancing God's Kingdom, and doing the works of Christ Jesus.
Prayer:
Lord we pray today that you would help us to repent in some areas where maybe we haven't been pure. Maybe we fled from a calling or something that you want us to do, and you have been trying to show us the right way to go but we have been dull of hearing your voice. Show us how to persevere the storms and trials that come our way, by even the choices we might have made that brought those particular storms in our life, and help us to open our eyes to the right path down that ocean of life. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Jonah 1:3
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Have you ever wondered about what was going on in Jonah's adventure on his way to Tarshish. God called him as a prophet to the city of Ninevah, and Jonah knew that this wicked city would eventually destroy Jerusalem. Jonah didn't want them to receive God's love and forgiveness in a way. If you look at the book of Nahum, you can see how wicked and evil this city was. They were very warlike and brutal. They were like the Nazis of there day. Ninevah was the city that Isaiah, Hoseah, and Amos prophesied the destruction by the Assyrians ,which is Ninevah, and Jonah knew that this great city of Ninevah would one day destroy Israel. Jonah believed the prophets' that foretold Israel being destroyed and taken captive by the Assyrians, and God knew that his prophet would disobey Him and prepared a big fish to swallow him. God knows when we are going to disobey him as well and he makes a reservation at the fish hotel, and after staying at the fish hotel for about three days we will be ready to go back and serve God with a whole heart. I want us to see something though. God used Jonah to touch the lives of Gentiles on that ship to Tarshish. The men were so afraid of that storm, that they made vows to the God that Jonah believed in. God can still use us if we messed up. You may be at that place today where you may even have to stay a little longer in a place that God didn't want you in to begin with, but God will still use you to touch those around you. We see this in Jonah's life here as a prophet of God. Sometimes the most evil people around you will try and awaken the God inside of you, and you find yourself being tossed back and forth asleep at the bottom of the ship of life. If Ninevah can repent then anyone can repent. I remember doing prison ministry with someone years back who was once in the mopheo. We'll just call him John doe. He turned his life over to Christ, and repented of his sins. He was very powerful in ministry. I would go with him to the prison and do some ministry in music while he preached to all of those prisoners. You wouldn't believe the altar call. Many would run to the altar, murderers, rapists etc. and I would pray with them. If John Doe can come to Christ then anyone can. I would just be touched when I talked with John. He was about four hundred pounds, and solid as a brick wall, but tears would begin to fall down his face when he talked about the Lord. I couldn't believe that someone as evil as John once was could fall on his face and repent of his sins. This is what Ninevah did. you never know who that person will be that you win to the Lord, and you never know who is watching you. Never take it for granted who God will send to you. Do you find yourself today on a trip to Tarshish so to speak? You find yourself in a storm that you might have brought upon yourself maybe through some wrong choices or maybe some disobedience in some areas, or maybe God has called you to witness to someone and you don't think they deserve God's love. You can turn your eyes upon Jesus today and ask Him to help you in whatever you are facing. He may prepare a big fish or whale to swallow us for a while, but it's for preservation and pruning. We may find ourselves wrapped in seaweed of life, but god is merciful and forgiving to bring us to a place of His spirit. Let's obey God today in making disciples, advancing God's Kingdom, and doing the works of Christ Jesus.
Prayer:
Lord we pray today that you would help us to repent in some areas where maybe we haven't been pure. Maybe we fled from a calling or something that you want us to do, and you have been trying to show us the right way to go but we have been dull of hearing your voice. Show us how to persevere the storms and trials that come our way, by even the choices we might have made that brought those particular storms in our life, and help us to open our eyes to the right path down that ocean of life. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Alone With A Stone? September 4th Weekly Devotional
Read:
Joshua 4:1-18
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been [a] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. 12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.
14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.
15 Then the LORD said to Joshua, 16 "Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan."
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan."
18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.
Have you ever faced a trial or trouble in your life that you didn't know how in the world you were ever going to come through? We'll I have and still face things in my christian walk that can be challenging. One thing that we need to do when we enter into prayer and worship is to remember how God brought us out of certain situations. we need to look at the story of Joshua and see how God dried up the river of Jordan for them to walk on dry land to the other side. One thing that we need to do though is to remember our first love with the Lord in the new birth with Him. In this story of Joshua, as soon as the ark of the covenant touched the water, the water dried up for them to cross over. I can see this as God making a path for you today as you try and cross over to your promise land. So many times we try and cross over to the other side of our destiny and certain situations alone. We struggle to the other side to find that there was no help with the situation. God never attended for you to fulfill your destiny and dreams alone. You can actually try and fulfill something in your life that God may have actually called you to, but you do it by yourself with the wrong timing. You can't look back at the river and say, "There is a stone of remembrance to prove that Gods' fingerprints were all in this situation. Another thing I see as a life application for us in this story is that there have been ministers' from the past who have stood sound in doctrine and remained true to God in there ministry. We can look back and see that we to can walk in truth and character just as they did. The last thing I want us to look at is when they got to the other side with the ark, the rivers came back to it's original state. Alot of times we look back at where we missed it and not look at where God pulled us through. We can't dwell on the past mistakes and failures of the past when we enter the presence, but we can dwell on a remembrance stone of Jesus shedding His blood for us on the cross. We can look at a remembrance stone of our born again experience with Christ through repentance, and we can look at a remembrance stone of how God brought us to the other side many times in our life. Never look back and dwell on that which is forgotten. The bible tells us that He has thrown our sins as far as the east is to the west. He has thrown them in the sea of forgetfulness. Yesterday is in the tomb but tomorrow is in our womb, and birthed within us are memories of great things God has done for us. Are you alone with a stone today? Have you carried your stone in the wrong place today and found yourself in a world of mess? Let's place our troubles, pains, and sins upon the altar today. We can place our life in the hands of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, just as they placed the stones in a place that was instructed to them, and we can look back at not where we missed it, but where God was with us.
prayer:
Lord we need you today to show us again the times you were there for us upon our own river of Jordan. Help us Lord to not place our stone in places that we shouldn't place them, but help us to obey your instruction and be obedient today in our worship, devotion, and prayer. We place our lives in your hands today and ask that as we praise and worship you the rivers dry up so we can walk to the othe side of our destiny and calling that you have called us to. We ask in your precious name. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Joshua 4:1-18
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been [a] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. 12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.
14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.
15 Then the LORD said to Joshua, 16 "Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan."
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan."
18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.
Have you ever faced a trial or trouble in your life that you didn't know how in the world you were ever going to come through? We'll I have and still face things in my christian walk that can be challenging. One thing that we need to do when we enter into prayer and worship is to remember how God brought us out of certain situations. we need to look at the story of Joshua and see how God dried up the river of Jordan for them to walk on dry land to the other side. One thing that we need to do though is to remember our first love with the Lord in the new birth with Him. In this story of Joshua, as soon as the ark of the covenant touched the water, the water dried up for them to cross over. I can see this as God making a path for you today as you try and cross over to your promise land. So many times we try and cross over to the other side of our destiny and certain situations alone. We struggle to the other side to find that there was no help with the situation. God never attended for you to fulfill your destiny and dreams alone. You can actually try and fulfill something in your life that God may have actually called you to, but you do it by yourself with the wrong timing. You can't look back at the river and say, "There is a stone of remembrance to prove that Gods' fingerprints were all in this situation. Another thing I see as a life application for us in this story is that there have been ministers' from the past who have stood sound in doctrine and remained true to God in there ministry. We can look back and see that we to can walk in truth and character just as they did. The last thing I want us to look at is when they got to the other side with the ark, the rivers came back to it's original state. Alot of times we look back at where we missed it and not look at where God pulled us through. We can't dwell on the past mistakes and failures of the past when we enter the presence, but we can dwell on a remembrance stone of Jesus shedding His blood for us on the cross. We can look at a remembrance stone of our born again experience with Christ through repentance, and we can look at a remembrance stone of how God brought us to the other side many times in our life. Never look back and dwell on that which is forgotten. The bible tells us that He has thrown our sins as far as the east is to the west. He has thrown them in the sea of forgetfulness. Yesterday is in the tomb but tomorrow is in our womb, and birthed within us are memories of great things God has done for us. Are you alone with a stone today? Have you carried your stone in the wrong place today and found yourself in a world of mess? Let's place our troubles, pains, and sins upon the altar today. We can place our life in the hands of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, just as they placed the stones in a place that was instructed to them, and we can look back at not where we missed it, but where God was with us.
prayer:
Lord we need you today to show us again the times you were there for us upon our own river of Jordan. Help us Lord to not place our stone in places that we shouldn't place them, but help us to obey your instruction and be obedient today in our worship, devotion, and prayer. We place our lives in your hands today and ask that as we praise and worship you the rivers dry up so we can walk to the othe side of our destiny and calling that you have called us to. We ask in your precious name. Amen.
by Keith Edwards
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
The functioning Temple As The Church
DAY 1
Read:
Ephesians 2:19-21
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
The church As The Temple
a Good picture of the church comes from the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, but before that he was pastor of Washington D.C.'s large Fourth Presbyterian Church. He had been leading that church for years when suddenly, one night, he saw his church clearly for the very first time. He was flying into Washington one day at dusk. At that time the approach path to Washington's Reagan National Airport happened to pass directly over Fourth Presbyterian Church. He pressed his face against the window to catch a glimpse of the building from the air. But everything on the ground was shrouded in the shadows falling over the city as the sun set. Dick could not find his church. He leaned back in his seat, gazing at the Washington skyline, always an inspiring sight. As his eyes followed the Potomac River, he could see the skyscrapers of Rosslyn, just across Key Bridge from Georgetown. Then, in the distance to the left, the White House, the lights of the Labor Department, the distant glow of the Capitol dome. As he stared out the window, he began mentally ticking off the names of members of his congregation who worked in those office buildings and government bureaus. Disciples he had equipped to live their faith. And suddenly it hit him. "Of course!" he exclaimed to the startled passenger in the next seat. "There it is! Fourth Presbyterian Church!" You see a church isn't marked by a sanctuary or steeple. The church was poured out into homes, Washington, and neighborhoods. I want you to see yourself looking below the plane today. How many lives have you impacted in some way or another. You look down and you can't seem to find your church, but you see your school where you might have impacted someone. Then you see a large building where you led someone to Christ. As you are flying a little further, you see a neighborhood where you might have led a cell group, or touched someone. Maybe you haven't made an impact like you needed to as a Christian, and you want to. Just look below the plane today. There is opportunity waiting for you. You can make a difference as being part of the church.
There are 3 things that I want us to reflect on as we go forward with the Functioning Temple series.
1. Connection- We need to connect greater than ever with our home church. The church should be teaching God's truth of course, but it's time as the temple that we connect in a healthy way. There is such a power in connecting a the church.
2. Motivation- We need to be motivated to go out of the church and hit our community. We shouldn't stay within the 4 walls of the building and expect to see a change in our community and nation. We can each make a difference. We need to be motivated by God's spirit and the 5-fold ministry in the church to feed the poor, help the widows, orphanages, and win lost souls for the Lord Jesus.
3. Revelation- We need a fresh revelation of how God builds. God builds generationally, relationally, and by revelation. When we get fresh revelation of how God builds, then we can enter that placement that God has got for us as part of the body of Christ.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask that you give us a new perspective outlook on where we all fit in as the church. Give us that revelation to plug in to the church in a healthy way, and allow our gifts and talents that you have given us unfold before us as we connect to the body of Christ the right way, amen.
by Keith Edwards
Ephesians 2:19-21
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
The church As The Temple
a Good picture of the church comes from the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, but before that he was pastor of Washington D.C.'s large Fourth Presbyterian Church. He had been leading that church for years when suddenly, one night, he saw his church clearly for the very first time. He was flying into Washington one day at dusk. At that time the approach path to Washington's Reagan National Airport happened to pass directly over Fourth Presbyterian Church. He pressed his face against the window to catch a glimpse of the building from the air. But everything on the ground was shrouded in the shadows falling over the city as the sun set. Dick could not find his church. He leaned back in his seat, gazing at the Washington skyline, always an inspiring sight. As his eyes followed the Potomac River, he could see the skyscrapers of Rosslyn, just across Key Bridge from Georgetown. Then, in the distance to the left, the White House, the lights of the Labor Department, the distant glow of the Capitol dome. As he stared out the window, he began mentally ticking off the names of members of his congregation who worked in those office buildings and government bureaus. Disciples he had equipped to live their faith. And suddenly it hit him. "Of course!" he exclaimed to the startled passenger in the next seat. "There it is! Fourth Presbyterian Church!" You see a church isn't marked by a sanctuary or steeple. The church was poured out into homes, Washington, and neighborhoods. I want you to see yourself looking below the plane today. How many lives have you impacted in some way or another. You look down and you can't seem to find your church, but you see your school where you might have impacted someone. Then you see a large building where you led someone to Christ. As you are flying a little further, you see a neighborhood where you might have led a cell group, or touched someone. Maybe you haven't made an impact like you needed to as a Christian, and you want to. Just look below the plane today. There is opportunity waiting for you. You can make a difference as being part of the church.
There are 3 things that I want us to reflect on as we go forward with the Functioning Temple series.
1. Connection- We need to connect greater than ever with our home church. The church should be teaching God's truth of course, but it's time as the temple that we connect in a healthy way. There is such a power in connecting a the church.
2. Motivation- We need to be motivated to go out of the church and hit our community. We shouldn't stay within the 4 walls of the building and expect to see a change in our community and nation. We can each make a difference. We need to be motivated by God's spirit and the 5-fold ministry in the church to feed the poor, help the widows, orphanages, and win lost souls for the Lord Jesus.
3. Revelation- We need a fresh revelation of how God builds. God builds generationally, relationally, and by revelation. When we get fresh revelation of how God builds, then we can enter that placement that God has got for us as part of the body of Christ.
Prayer:
Lord, we ask that you give us a new perspective outlook on where we all fit in as the church. Give us that revelation to plug in to the church in a healthy way, and allow our gifts and talents that you have given us unfold before us as we connect to the body of Christ the right way, amen.
by Keith Edwards
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