Good morning everyone. What a wonderful day we have in front of us. Although we in the Midwest are dealing with cold and snowy weather (regular winter weather for us), somebody reading this message is basking in the warmth of the sun and possibly complaining about the heat. Regardless of what is happening around you, God is in it. As I sit here the phrase “moving apart is sometimes a good thing, it’s only a test” dropped into my spirit and it took me awhile to make sense out of it so of course I went to the word for an example and oh what I got from the word.
TODAY’S PRAYER
(This is for me. If it is also your desire, pray it that way)
Father, It’s a new year. I want to begin the year with praise and thankfulness to you. I want to recommit myself to you; to do your good will; to follow your word and the guidance of your Holy Spirit. I want to draw closer to you in word, thought, and deed. I want to have an attitude of gratitude, a smile on my face and in my voice, and energy to do whatever task or ministry you want me to do. Please continue to provide my every need, as only you can do. Please bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Please give me wisdom, knowledge, desire, and power to go forth and live for you to make a difference in the lives of those around me and to glorify you. Please bless my coming and my going and open my mouth to speak words of truth and love. Thank you, God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Dissolving Relationships
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord. – Genesis 13:18
Have you ever been in a relationship that started out really good but for some reason ended with a result that you didn’t anticipate at all and you felt taken advantage of? Maybe it was a male/female situation or perhaps a business relationship. What ever the situation may have been it was only a test that made you more aware and strong.
The bible tells us that Abraham had a relationship with a relative (nephew) that had to change. He could no longer share the same area with him. Abraham took a totally different approach to solving his problem. He told his nephew Lot to choose which land he wanted. Imagine, Abraham could have been dooming himself and his family if he was unable to find adequate land and water for them. He gave up his rights in the matter, and Lot took full advantage. “Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar” (Genesis 13:10). So Lot left and took up residence in the valley later to be known as Sodom and Gomorrah. Sometimes what seems good on the front end turns out to be disastrous later. That would be the case for Lot and his family. As for Abraham, he made a choice. He decided to take life’s high road — a choice that didn’t necessarily mean his life circumstances would benefit him. He was willing to leave that outcome to God. He made the decision based on an eternal measuring stick. Interestingly, the place where Abraham moved was called Mamre. In Hebrew, the name Mamre means “strength.” How can choosing the weakest position become “strength”? Jesus must have asked the same question of His Father when He was faced with the proposition of going to the cross. How can the cross be a place of strength? The devil thought he had won, but the cross is what freed the captives for eternity. The Bible tells us that when we are weak, then we are really strong. To willingly choose the way of the cross becomes our strength.
Oh by the way, we all know what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah; it was destroyed by God.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We should go into His presence as a child goes to his father. We do it with reverence and godly fear, of course, but we should go with a Childlike confidence and simplicity.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
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REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION – ‘THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY’