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Happy Saturday!
It actually felt rather nice this morning to put on jeans and boots after two weeks of shorts, sandals and summer style dresses!
Prayer: “Lord, help me to walk in fellowship and communion with You today! Thank You for Your promise to guide my steps and direct my thoughts. Today, Lord, give me an opportunity to tell someone about You! In Your name I pray, Amen.”
Colossians 1: 9-10 “We also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
The other night we were all sitting at the table at dinner when Travis announced that he is going to go back to school, but he is not going to study to become a teacher, which had been his last declaration. Now he decided he is going to study to become a physical therapist, a prior interest. Travis has said for the last year or so that he wanted to be a teacher and teach history and also be a strength and conditioning coach in athletics. But due to the current storm in the field of education in Texas he has decided not to pursue his first choice of a career. He has watched me for 20 years and observed his sister over the last four and knows the ins and outs of the field as well as the benefits. And now due to the current crisis he has changed his mind. How many others will the education system never see because of this disaster? How many colleges and universities will see fewer students study to become teachers because of uncertainty in the system even though all they have ever wanted to become are teachers? How many professors will not have jobs because they do not have students to teach? And how many children and young adults will not be taught by those who are called (and make no mistake, teaching is a calling) to this profession due to the shaky ground on which the system currently rests? Can you imagine the heartbreak those who are graduating from colleges and universities in May with teaching degrees and no jobs on the horizon due to the statewide hiring freezes? (I know of one personally!) This trickle down could go on for a while.
This scripture passage clearly calls us to “Pray without ceasing.” This prayer asks for the person praying to be filled with the knowledge of God and in ALL wisdom and understanding. What a powerful way to pray! This type of praying is praying in boldness to let your concerns be made known to God. But I also believe that this type of praying requires working through the wisdom and understanding God gives us.
Remember God does not zap us with wisdom and understanding fully formed. God gives us opportunities to grow in wisdom and understanding and in the knowledge of God. In order for this crisis to be resolved then wisdom, understanding and knowledge beyond ourselves and those who make the decisions must be sought after in prayer.
My dear friends please lift up in your prayers this passage of scripture and claim it for all who are in need of peace, resolution and for some a place to begin again.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Remember everyone is fighting some sort of battle. Love you all and see you in worship, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Happy Friday!
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, I pray to live a godly life; a life worthy of Your praise. Allow me to serve you today in a spirit of truth, compassion and love for others just as you love. Amen.”
Luke 9: 23 “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Did you ever wish that there was a situation in which you did not have to be a part? I am sure at some time or another all of us have had to do something we just did not want to do. It is in this situation that Jesus was, for just a moment, at His most human.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed to His Father to let this cup pass from Him. Jesus knew what His task was and there was no turning back, but He had to ask. God allowed Him to be human with all of the emotions and human frailties that humans carry around.
I think that the reason this is such a holy moment is because the Garden is the place we all find ourselves at some point. It is the place where we meet God and surrender our wills over to the will of the Father. Jesus did not want to go to the cross, but because He knew it was in His Father’s plan He spoke those words we have heard all of our lives, “Not My will but Thy will be done.” It is the holiest moment in the life of our Savior.
For us to reach a place of holiness we, too, must be willing to put ourselves aside. We must be willing to be obedient to the Father so that the glory of God is revealed.
Jesus was not alone in the Garden that night. His Father was there and guided Jesus to a higher level of holiness. Jesus achieved this holiness in the same way we are made holy. We are made holy through studying the Word, studying about the life of Jesus, living in God’s Presence and worshiping God. The battle was not won on the cross. The battle was won in the garden. Take your battles to the garden and God will meet you there.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer each day remembering that each of us is fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Prayer requests: Geni is taking one of her 3 exit exams tomorrow and is a bit nervous about it. Please pray that she may focus on what she knows and is able to retrieve that knowledge appropriately. Also, I have a huge mid-term test on Tuesday night. I ask your prayers for effective study time and memory during the test. Thanks. Peace, gc
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, I pray to live a godly life; a life worthy of Your praise. Allow me to serve you today in a spirit of truth, compassion and love for others just as you love. Amen.”
Luke 9: 23 “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Did you ever wish that there was a situation in which you did not have to be a part? I am sure at some time or another all of us have had to do something we just did not want to do. It is in this situation that Jesus was, for just a moment, at His most human.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed to His Father to let this cup pass from Him. Jesus knew what His task was and there was no turning back, but He had to ask. God allowed Him to be human with all of the emotions and human frailties that humans carry around.
I think that the reason this is such a holy moment is because the Garden is the place we all find ourselves at some point. It is the place where we meet God and surrender our wills over to the will of the Father. Jesus did not want to go to the cross, but because He knew it was in His Father’s plan He spoke those words we have heard all of our lives, “Not My will but Thy will be done.” It is the holiest moment in the life of our Savior.
For us to reach a place of holiness we, too, must be willing to put ourselves aside. We must be willing to be obedient to the Father so that the glory of God is revealed.
Jesus was not alone in the Garden that night. His Father was there and guided Jesus to a higher level of holiness. Jesus achieved this holiness in the same way we are made holy. We are made holy through studying the Word, studying about the life of Jesus, living in God’s Presence and worshiping God. The battle was not won on the cross. The battle was won in the garden. Take your battles to the garden and God will meet you there.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer each day remembering that each of us is fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Prayer requests: Geni is taking one of her 3 exit exams tomorrow and is a bit nervous about it. Please pray that she may focus on what she knows and is able to retrieve that knowledge appropriately. Also, I have a huge mid-term test on Tuesday night. I ask your prayers for effective study time and memory during the test. Thanks. Peace, gc
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Happy Thursday!
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, please give me Your wisdom and grace throughout this day. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I may be pleasing to You in all my ways. Thank you for using me as a reflection of Your glory! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
James 3: 17-18 “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
My meditation tonight gave a brief history lesson from James. This book is generally thought of as being written by James, the half brother of Jesus. Since James grew up with Jesus he saw Jesus in each way siblings see each other. James did not believe Jesus was who He claimed to be until Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection. James then had a major change of heart and put his faith in Jesus and then assumed leadership in the Jerusalem church.
As James saw Jesus as a person he was able to recall just how Jesus acted in all situations. What James saw in Jesus was His wisdom. James describes the wisdom of Jesus as “peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
I have been teaching the first graders in my class about plants and seeds. One of the children asked, “How does the seed know what to do?” I so wanted to say, because God made it that way, but instead I responded that in each seed is all that seed needs to know what to do. It comes equipped to know when to sprout, leaf and bear fruit. But if the seed is not tended to then the seed will lay in the ground and die.
James knew that God gave us the Holy Spirit to bear the same qualities of wisdom as within the life of Jesus. For these gifts to come into fruition we must focus everything we do on our walk with Christ. Let us not allow this gift of extraordinary wisdom to lay in the ground and die. Ask God for opportunities to share His wisdom that is planted in each of us. This wisdom will not just be zapped down on us without us being prepared how to use it because just like any good teacher (and Jesus was the best!) Jesus will teach us to use this gift of wisdom.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Please continue to pray for each other and me. Remember we are all fighting some sort of battle. Love you all so much, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Request for prayer: I have a huge test on Tuesday night. I will hopefully send in my 6 weeks grades tomorrow afternoon so I can study for the entire weekend. Please pray for me to be able to study and to do well on this test. Thank you. Peace, gc
Prayer: “Heavenly Father, please give me Your wisdom and grace throughout this day. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I may be pleasing to You in all my ways. Thank you for using me as a reflection of Your glory! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
James 3: 17-18 “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
My meditation tonight gave a brief history lesson from James. This book is generally thought of as being written by James, the half brother of Jesus. Since James grew up with Jesus he saw Jesus in each way siblings see each other. James did not believe Jesus was who He claimed to be until Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection. James then had a major change of heart and put his faith in Jesus and then assumed leadership in the Jerusalem church.
As James saw Jesus as a person he was able to recall just how Jesus acted in all situations. What James saw in Jesus was His wisdom. James describes the wisdom of Jesus as “peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
I have been teaching the first graders in my class about plants and seeds. One of the children asked, “How does the seed know what to do?” I so wanted to say, because God made it that way, but instead I responded that in each seed is all that seed needs to know what to do. It comes equipped to know when to sprout, leaf and bear fruit. But if the seed is not tended to then the seed will lay in the ground and die.
James knew that God gave us the Holy Spirit to bear the same qualities of wisdom as within the life of Jesus. For these gifts to come into fruition we must focus everything we do on our walk with Christ. Let us not allow this gift of extraordinary wisdom to lay in the ground and die. Ask God for opportunities to share His wisdom that is planted in each of us. This wisdom will not just be zapped down on us without us being prepared how to use it because just like any good teacher (and Jesus was the best!) Jesus will teach us to use this gift of wisdom.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Please continue to pray for each other and me. Remember we are all fighting some sort of battle. Love you all so much, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Request for prayer: I have a huge test on Tuesday night. I will hopefully send in my 6 weeks grades tomorrow afternoon so I can study for the entire weekend. Please pray for me to be able to study and to do well on this test. Thank you. Peace, gc
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Happy Wednesday!
Prayer: “Father, how I rejoice today in the wonderful promises of Your Word. And there can be no greater one than the fact that Jesus is our High Priest and has offered for us the perfect sacrifice for our sin—His own shed blood. Please give me the spirit of gratitude and thanks as I delight in Your goodness. Let me share Your goodness and grace with those who need it. Amen.”
Hebrews 13: 13-15 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is. The fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do the good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
I love the book of Hebrews. This book tells all believers the completeness and supremacy of Christ as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He is the High Priest who offered the perfect, complete and once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sins. My meditation says that “His sacrifice has, therefore completed God’s powerful plan of salvation so that it is based on faith in Christ Jesus alone.”God receives all those who come in need. The best part of this promise is that it is our need that invites God to respond to us. God responds to us out of His goodness and mercy.
There is a song that says, “There is no problem too big that God cannot solve it. There is no mountain too big that He cannot move it. If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders then I know my sister that he can carry you.” Come to God in time of need and he promises to be there and help you through.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to pray for one another, claiming God’s Word and remembering that we are all fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Prayer: “Father, how I rejoice today in the wonderful promises of Your Word. And there can be no greater one than the fact that Jesus is our High Priest and has offered for us the perfect sacrifice for our sin—His own shed blood. Please give me the spirit of gratitude and thanks as I delight in Your goodness. Let me share Your goodness and grace with those who need it. Amen.”
Hebrews 13: 13-15 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is. The fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do the good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
I love the book of Hebrews. This book tells all believers the completeness and supremacy of Christ as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He is the High Priest who offered the perfect, complete and once-and-for-all sacrifice for our sins. My meditation says that “His sacrifice has, therefore completed God’s powerful plan of salvation so that it is based on faith in Christ Jesus alone.”God receives all those who come in need. The best part of this promise is that it is our need that invites God to respond to us. God responds to us out of His goodness and mercy.
There is a song that says, “There is no problem too big that God cannot solve it. There is no mountain too big that He cannot move it. If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders then I know my sister that he can carry you.” Come to God in time of need and he promises to be there and help you through.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to pray for one another, claiming God’s Word and remembering that we are all fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Happy Tuesday!
It is Tuesday once again. By next Tuesday my six weeks grades are due and I have a test in my Congregational Leadership class. The review sheet is huge! Please pray for me to manage my time and accomplish both tasks. Also, I ask for prayer for Travis. He is a bit under the weather. Thank you, mighty and faithful prayer warriors.
Prayer: “Thank you, Jesus, for the empowering of the Holy Spirit. I want to honor You today by allowing Your Spirit to bear His fruit in me and direct me for the glory of Your name. Teach me afresh that I can be more like You. It is solely by Your wonderful working and not by my individual effort, power or might that I can be more like You. Amen”
Galatians 5: 22-25 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Okay, I get this passage. I have read this scripture and talked about it for a while, but now I finally get it. So here goes.
I love trees, but in truth I do not know one tree from another unless I see the fruit hanging from it. I know an apple tree or a peach tree for a pecan tree when I see the ripe fruit hanging from its limbs. Other than that one tree looks pretty much like another.
So, the spiritual fruit is the Holy Spirit. This spiritual fruit has nine parts. Only when the nine parts are present in our lives can others know that we are carriers of the Holy Spirit. Others will recognize the characteristics of this amazing piece of spiritual fruit. Some people have love, others have gentleness, some faithfulness and all the rest. When God’s seed was planted in all of us, each of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit were planted too, just as when a seed is planted it has all of the instincts and abilities to grow into the plant it was created to be. We were given all of the characteristics listed in Galatians and they will each develop in time. God nurtures us in His loving care. Through prayer, scripture study, worship and service each of these wonderful characteristics develop in each of us. As these develop we learn more about God and become more like Him.
As we allow the Holy Spirit to develop these godly characteristics in our lives then we not only talk the talk, but we walk the walk and we are known by the fruit we bear.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to pray for each other each day remembering that each of us is fighting some type of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
It is Tuesday once again. By next Tuesday my six weeks grades are due and I have a test in my Congregational Leadership class. The review sheet is huge! Please pray for me to manage my time and accomplish both tasks. Also, I ask for prayer for Travis. He is a bit under the weather. Thank you, mighty and faithful prayer warriors.
Prayer: “Thank you, Jesus, for the empowering of the Holy Spirit. I want to honor You today by allowing Your Spirit to bear His fruit in me and direct me for the glory of Your name. Teach me afresh that I can be more like You. It is solely by Your wonderful working and not by my individual effort, power or might that I can be more like You. Amen”
Galatians 5: 22-25 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Okay, I get this passage. I have read this scripture and talked about it for a while, but now I finally get it. So here goes.
I love trees, but in truth I do not know one tree from another unless I see the fruit hanging from it. I know an apple tree or a peach tree for a pecan tree when I see the ripe fruit hanging from its limbs. Other than that one tree looks pretty much like another.
So, the spiritual fruit is the Holy Spirit. This spiritual fruit has nine parts. Only when the nine parts are present in our lives can others know that we are carriers of the Holy Spirit. Others will recognize the characteristics of this amazing piece of spiritual fruit. Some people have love, others have gentleness, some faithfulness and all the rest. When God’s seed was planted in all of us, each of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit were planted too, just as when a seed is planted it has all of the instincts and abilities to grow into the plant it was created to be. We were given all of the characteristics listed in Galatians and they will each develop in time. God nurtures us in His loving care. Through prayer, scripture study, worship and service each of these wonderful characteristics develop in each of us. As these develop we learn more about God and become more like Him.
As we allow the Holy Spirit to develop these godly characteristics in our lives then we not only talk the talk, but we walk the walk and we are known by the fruit we bear.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to pray for each other each day remembering that each of us is fighting some type of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Happy Monday!
Prayer: “Lord, I rejoice in the living relationship I enjoy with You by faith in Jesus. Thank you so much for freedom from the law, for new life in Christ, and for the energy it brings to all that I do. I acknowledge that Jesus conquered sin, death, and the grave. So today, Lord Jesus, empower me to walk in Your resurrection power and to bear true, lasting fruit for you. Amen!”
Romans 7:4 “My friends, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
When we accept Christ and join into fellowship with Him we become one with Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the most intimate relationship we have which is why the Apostle Paul calls it a marriage. Once this relationship is established because of the death and resurrection of Jesus then our salvation is eternal. But while we are serving here on this side of heaven we are called to nurture this relationship through prayer, worship and fellowship with other believers and to bear fruit. The seed of Christ has been planted within each of us and now it is our service to nurture the seed, bear the fruit so that others might see and believe. When we bear fruit we pass along the seeds to others and the fruit of the Holy Spirit continues on in others. Our most productive service to God is to share the story of Christ with those we meet and let Him tend the garden.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to pray for each other each day remembering that we are all fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Prayer: “Lord, I rejoice in the living relationship I enjoy with You by faith in Jesus. Thank you so much for freedom from the law, for new life in Christ, and for the energy it brings to all that I do. I acknowledge that Jesus conquered sin, death, and the grave. So today, Lord Jesus, empower me to walk in Your resurrection power and to bear true, lasting fruit for you. Amen!”
Romans 7:4 “My friends, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”
When we accept Christ and join into fellowship with Him we become one with Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the most intimate relationship we have which is why the Apostle Paul calls it a marriage. Once this relationship is established because of the death and resurrection of Jesus then our salvation is eternal. But while we are serving here on this side of heaven we are called to nurture this relationship through prayer, worship and fellowship with other believers and to bear fruit. The seed of Christ has been planted within each of us and now it is our service to nurture the seed, bear the fruit so that others might see and believe. When we bear fruit we pass along the seeds to others and the fruit of the Holy Spirit continues on in others. Our most productive service to God is to share the story of Christ with those we meet and let Him tend the garden.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to pray for each other each day remembering that we are all fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Blessed Sunday! Here is the best story of the day.
Last Saturday I made 130 cupcakes for a baby shower at church. There were several pans full of cupcakes left over. The husband of the honoree is a medical student. My family forbade me to bring the leftovers back home so Jeremy said let me take them to my school. No problem! Upon arrival at church he had this to report. “I went to share the cupcakes with my classmates. There was a church bake sale going on nearby with only a few items on the table and no customers. They were raising money for a mission trip. My classmates and I decided that I should donate the cupcakes to this struggling bake sale. The next time I looked up there were lines going down the hall with people waiting in line to purchase cupcakes.”
I was so excited when I heard this news and felt so humbled that my cupcakes helped this church raise money for a mission trip. I was just reminded that God uses our offerings in ways we cannot imagine. Is that the best cupcake story ever?! I loved it.
Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there I prayed.”
Even Jesus needed time alone with His Father. Jesus gave us the perfect model for quiet time. He got up early and spent time in prayer with His Father. I am sure He prayed for guidance and strength to minister to all with whom He came into contact. I can just imagine the joy that Jesus felt as He spent time with His Father.
When we spend time alone with God, how He must rejoice that we have chosen to spend time in His presence. Prayer is a time of growth. Prayer is the time we deepen our friendship with God. The time spent with God is such a valuable time. A friend of ours shared a bit of wisdom from our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone. His mother had just returned from a mission trip in Sierra Leone. She shared that while they were in worship for well over two hours, no one seemed to be fidgety or looking at their watches and everyone was still happy. It seems that American worshipers have watches and clocks while worshipers in Sierra Leone have time.
Kind of hits you square in the face doesn’t it? Spend time with our creator. Take joy in that time and let Him fill you with His presence, guide your every step, strengthen you and grow in friendship.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer throughout each day remembering that each of us is fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
Last Saturday I made 130 cupcakes for a baby shower at church. There were several pans full of cupcakes left over. The husband of the honoree is a medical student. My family forbade me to bring the leftovers back home so Jeremy said let me take them to my school. No problem! Upon arrival at church he had this to report. “I went to share the cupcakes with my classmates. There was a church bake sale going on nearby with only a few items on the table and no customers. They were raising money for a mission trip. My classmates and I decided that I should donate the cupcakes to this struggling bake sale. The next time I looked up there were lines going down the hall with people waiting in line to purchase cupcakes.”
I was so excited when I heard this news and felt so humbled that my cupcakes helped this church raise money for a mission trip. I was just reminded that God uses our offerings in ways we cannot imagine. Is that the best cupcake story ever?! I loved it.
Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there I prayed.”
Even Jesus needed time alone with His Father. Jesus gave us the perfect model for quiet time. He got up early and spent time in prayer with His Father. I am sure He prayed for guidance and strength to minister to all with whom He came into contact. I can just imagine the joy that Jesus felt as He spent time with His Father.
When we spend time alone with God, how He must rejoice that we have chosen to spend time in His presence. Prayer is a time of growth. Prayer is the time we deepen our friendship with God. The time spent with God is such a valuable time. A friend of ours shared a bit of wisdom from our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone. His mother had just returned from a mission trip in Sierra Leone. She shared that while they were in worship for well over two hours, no one seemed to be fidgety or looking at their watches and everyone was still happy. It seems that American worshipers have watches and clocks while worshipers in Sierra Leone have time.
Kind of hits you square in the face doesn’t it? Spend time with our creator. Take joy in that time and let Him fill you with His presence, guide your every step, strengthen you and grow in friendship.
Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer throughout each day remembering that each of us is fighting some sort of battle. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.
Gcapplenotes@aol.com
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
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