by Jim Brummett | Mar 18, 2020 | Devotions
Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
The Apostle Paul wrote this letter while in prison in Rome. Life must have been overwhelming for in chapter one he wrote of the benefits of dying and going to heaven. So how does one transition from a death wish to talking about rejoicing (to be cheerful and calmly happy), being gentle (patient), prayerful and thankful? Perhaps a key is found in verse 8 when he spoke of disciplining our thoughts by focusing on what is virtuous and praiseworthy. The result: “the peace of God will be with you.”
Without question, we live in troubling times. The threat of the spread of the Coronavirus has created a hysteria in our country. This is a time to calmly and purposely take the necessary precautions to protect the physical health of your family. As I write this devotion, Gina and I have submitted to a self-imposed two week quarantine at home because of our recent travels to Israel. After consulting with our board of deacons, we made the decision to comply with government recommendations and have suspended all group activities and worship services at the church until such a time government officials give us the “all clear” to resume our regular schedule of activities.
This is a time to take the necessary steps to ensure the spiritual health of your family. Block out a part of each day when you spend time alone in worship, prayer and reading God’s word. Participate in the audio and video teachings we will be making available.
This is also a time to let your light shine. Follow the advice from Paul and rejoice, be gentle with others (even with the guy who bought the last package of TP right in front of you), be thankful and focus on things virtuous and praiseworthy. We have the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. After all, a heart of peace is the result of focusing on the right things.
by Jim Brummett | Feb 13, 2019 | Devotions
John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Loving people is a characteristic of Christians who are serious followers of Christ. The word love used by Jesus in our text is agape, the strongest expression of love that I know. It means to love someone practically and sacrificially, regardless of how who they respond to you. It means to give to someone without expecting any return. Coincidentally, love is part of the Fruit of the Spirit referenced in Galatians 5, which means loving others gives evidence we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Consider this: The people who are the most difficult to love are the ones who need it the most. You don’t need a pulpit to impact your community, you just need to love others.
by Jim Brummett | Feb 6, 2019 | Devotions
As an emissary of God, Moses led the Hebrew people out of bondage in Egypt, and delivered to them the Law of God. As an emissary of the people, he called out to God in intercessory prayer. Consider these examples:
In Genesis 18, he interceded for people guilty of the sin of sexual perversion.
In Genesis 20, he interceded for a man to be healed of infirmity.
In Exodus 32, he interceded for people guilty of the sin of idolatry.
In Numbers 11 and 14, he interceded for the people guilty of the sin of grumbling. Grumbling seems rather innocuous compared to the sins of sexual perversion and idolatry, but to God, it was a sin and the people had to be judged.
In Numbers 12 and 16, he interceded for people guilty of the sin of causing division.
In Numbers 27, as he was preparing for the end of his journey here on earth, Moses interceded for his successor who would lead the next generation, Joshua.
We need a Moses for this generation today; someone to intercede for entire communities engrossed in sexual perversion and idolatry, for people involved whose attitudes and words that cause division, for people dealing with infirmity, and for people of the next generation.
In his book entitled PRAYER, E.M. Bounds wrote “Not only is prayer the medium of supply and support, it is a compassionate agency through which the pitying, longsuffering God has an outflow. Prayer is a medium to restrain God’s wrath, allowing mercy to rejoice against judgment.”
You don’t need a pulpit to make an impact on your community, you just need a prayer closet.
by Jim Brummett | Jan 16, 2019 | Devotions
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
“Men ought always pray and not lose heart.” These words of Jesus (Luke 18:1) are followed with his parable of the persistent widow, which illustrates the importance of our commitment to prayer.
Prayer is a partnership. The Holy Spirit prompts us to pray about specific things or to pray for needs in a specific way that we’d previously not considered. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom (Acts 6), faith to believe for miracles (Acts 10), fills us with joy (Acts 13) and gives us insight (Acts 21).
Prayer is personal. It is a private appointment with the King of kings, Lord of lords and Creator of the universe. It is an opportunity to share with Him your most private thoughts and for Him to share His thoughts with you.
Prayer is also a privilege. Throughout history, those who have carried out God’s divine will on earth have been people of prayer. In his book entitled Prayer, E.M. Bounds said “The man of prayer is God’s right-hand man. In the realm of spiritual affairs, he creates conditions, begins movements and brings things to pass.”
We have a prayer meeting in our sanctuary every Wednesday morning from 6:00 – 8:00 and Wednesday evening from 7:00 – 8:00. I look forward to praying with you!
by Jim Brummett | Jan 3, 2019 | Devotions
Nehemiah 8:1-3 “Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.”
The referenced ceremony occurred shortly after walls around the city of Jerusalem had been built and the gates hung in place. The city’s material needs had been met, and now it was time to focus on the spiritual needs of the people. It was the seventh month on our modern calendar, but was celebrated as the Jewish New Year. In essence, the people were starting the year by gathering for the public reading of the Word of God. I like that idea!
As you will note in chapter 8, the people stood as Ezra started reading the Law and remained standing for the 6 hours of the reading and repeated this for a week. Now, if you join me in church this Sunday I promise to not preach for 6 hours and also promise you will be able to sit in a comfortable chair in a climate controlled room.
Let’s start 2019 in the house of God, reading the Word of God, worshipping and praying to Almighty God and fellowshipping with His family. Our service times are 9 am and 10:30, and we have an evening service at 5:00. I hope to see you Sunday.
