Scripture:
2 Kings 4:1-7 (NIV)
- "Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars.
Don't ask for just a few."
Message: The widow was in
need of a miracle. Elisha gave the instructions, and now it was up
to her obedience. How many empty jars did they gather?
What was her level of faith and expectancy? When the last jar
was full, the oil stopped flowing. But what if she had
gathered more? With the Lord, there is always more. Read
the invitation of the Lord in Isaiah 55. And go gather and get
ready, don't ask for just a few.
Prayer: Lord may our hearts be
lifted up to dream God sized dreams. May our expectancy be for
the God of the impossible. Speak Lord, for your servant is
listening. Amen.
Pastor Daniel Ivey
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Scriptures:
James 1:5-8
- "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to
him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That
man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
Proverbs 2:7
- "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to
those who walk in integrity."
Message:
If any of you lacks wisdom...well, I think that probably encompasses
us all. Who doesn't lack wisdom? Who doesn't need to ask God for
insight into the matters of life that we face? Yet, I ask us all to
look in the mirror today and be true to ourselves: have I asked for
wisdom today?
I remember coming
across these verses in the Bible, and especially the book of
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes when I was a young teenager. I took it to
the bank, the storehouse of Heaven. I believed that if I would just
simply ask God for wisdom with a prayer of faith, that God would
give it just as God promised, liberally and without reproach. I set
myself out to pray for wisdom regularly in my prayer life.
But, we have to ask
and pray in faith. We have to believe that God is able and that God
is willing. Almighty God is certainly able. Maybe what you need to
know today is that God is more than eager to give than you are to
receive.
Prayer:
Lord, show me the way to receive what You offer. Grant me wisdom, so
I may know Your will for my life. Amen.
Pastor Daniel Ivey
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Scripture:
Ephesians 4:32
- "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving
each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Message: Be kind to one another. My Granny always told it to me this way,
"Be sweet!" Be sweet. This is something that has really stuck with
me throughout my years. I like to pass that word on to others. "Be
sweet!" But why? Just to be sugary and nice? Just to be syrupy
and sweet?
No, because God in
Christ forgave us. We are to be sweet, kind and compassionate
people who are about the mission of God to be forgiving people,
because we are the people of God who have been forgiven by God.
Next time you feel
like being anything else but sweet toward someone else, and maybe
even hold something against them. I'd like you to consider how much
of your own faults you'd like God to continue to hold against you.
How much of your sin are you willing to let God hold onto and not
forgive?
I think I'm hearing
crickets, so the answer must be none. Therefore, we are called to
hold onto none as well. Be forgiving. Be compassionate. Be kind.
Be sweet!
Prayer:
Father God, help me to be sweet in all my dealings with others and
help me to remember to be sweet to myself.
Pastor Daniel Ivey
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Scripture:
Luke 1:5-80 - "In the
time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named
Zacharias....And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he
lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly in Israel.
(Read
this entire passage for the story of the birth of John the Baptist)
Message: Zacharias and Elizabeth
always wanted to be parents, but old age had come upon them. Their
dreams and prayers of family seemed to be forgotten, or at least
accepted as loss. Then the angel Gabriel pops in on the scene in the
Temple with extraordinary news. Not only a son, but the forerunner
of the Messiah, John the Baptist.
Now it is doubtful that Zacharias had
recently in his old age prayed a prayer for a son. This gives us
insight into God's timing. Sometimes our dreams and hopes of old,
come to fruition now or in the future. But instead of believing the
word of the Lord from Gabriel, Zacharias questioned. At his doubting
and questioning, his voice went mute. He remained mute all of
Elizabeth's pregnancy and after his son was born. But on the eighth
day when the baby was to be named, Zacharias wrote the words of the
Lord from Gabriel's mouth, "His name is John." This then led to the
glory of God being released in prophetic utterance.
Here we draw two points. First, the
things we've prayed for are never forgotten. Second, our voice in
this world is only authentic and effective if it is backed by faith.
Prayer: Lord, may we always
remember, that You remember. May we always trust that You are
trustworthy and that You hold the future.
Pastor Daniel
Ivey
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