Do We Want to Be Made Well?

    There is a book I enjoyed when I was little called "Questions". In it child after child asked adults deep questions about why things are the way they are. Mark Batterson stated in his book The Grave Robber, that children can ask up to 125 deep questions a day about why or how things are the way they are. By the time we reach adulthood we ask on average 6 deep questions a day. Instead of asking questions we start to make assumptions, thinking that this is just the way things are.
   I believe the man in John 5: 1-9, is in the place of just thinking things are the way the are. He seemed to be letting his aliment define who was in his entirety and define God as well - what was possible and what was not possible in terms of his healing.
   As we get older, we let assumptions replace our faith. We let reality define what God sees as a possibility. How can we start to claim that the impossible can be possible with God once again in our lives?

“The Grave Robber: The Third Sign” - John 5:1-9

  February 28th, 2016  

Devotional

“The Grave Robber: The Third Sign” - John 5:1-9

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Going to the Sheep Gate” - John 5:1-3

Jesus was a devout Jew. He went with his disciples to Jerusalem to celebrate the holy days and festivals. While we aren’t told exactly which festival he was celebrating in this passage, we are told that he found himself in Jerusalem, which was expected. But in the midst of the expected, the unexpected happened.

Jesus walked past the Sheep Gate, Bethesda, where folks who suffered from ailments came to lie and wait for the waters. It was legend that the waters of Bethesda had the power to heal. We don’t know if that is true, or simply a legend like that of the fountain of youth - but either way, Jesus found himself down by the water. 

Tell of a time when Jesus showed up in your life in the midst of your routine, in unexpected ways. 

Prayer: Jesus, open our eyes so we can perceive you in the midst of our days. Open our eyes so we can find you acting in unexpected ways. Amen. 

Tuesday: “38 Years” - John 5:4, Joel 2: 21-27

We like to think of Jesus as a man in ministry between the ages of 30 and 33 like some of today’s young clergy, lively, full of energy. But author Leonard Sweet states that Jesus being in ministry in his 30s would be equivalent to being in ministry in ones late 60s today, for often by the age of 40, males in the ancient world were dead. The average life expectancy was 40 if you lived past the age of 2. With that understanding we can see the man of 38 sitting near the pool, not as a man in his youth or approaching middle age, but instead as a man who would be approaching the end of his years. Yet, it is exactly at this point in the man’s history that God shows up in an unexpected way. 

We are reminded that it is never too late to be who God has called us to be. It is never too late to still seek miracles. God can redeem any part of you life.

What are you continually praying for, waiting for God to respond in a powerful way?

Share a redemption story from your life?

Prayer: Lord, help us to keep praying, to not grow weary, O Lord, even as the years seem to go own. Help us claim the truth that your ways and your timing are not ours. Help us to set aside the assumption of what is and is not possible because of our years. Amen. 

Wednesday: “ Do You Want to Be Made Well?” - John 5:6

Sometimes I wonder how we would respond to the question Jesus poses in today’s scripture - do we want to be made well. Sometimes it seems like the aliments that we suffer from have become excuses that we use to block us from taking risks. This is not to say that all aliments are excuses, or that we mean to use those we do have as barriers between us and possibilities, but rather to ask if we would resoundingly reply that yes, we would want to be made well. 

For the man who had suffered for 38 years, his aliment was all he had ever known. Anything other than not being able to walk would be a risk for him. Is healing a risk we are willing to take? For until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change, we may not be willing to take that risk. 

What are you waiting for healing from?

Do you want to be made well? Why or why not? 

What short term pain may you have to endure to get to long term gain?

Prayer: Lord, empower us to not let what aliments we suffer from define us. We know that is often easier said than done, especially when we begin to see ourselves as others see us. Help us to see ourselves as you see is, made well, and full of potential. Amen. 

Thursday: “No One to Help?” - John 5: 7, John 9 

Have you ever known someone who was not willing to take that risk? Someone who you wished to help but who wouldn’t accept what you offered? 

One of the topics that I find interesting to study is called able-ism - the prejudice we have against those who are differently-abled (sometime also referred to as dis-abled). I find this topic powerful because it connects with stories in my life of friends who others said could not do things because of their disability, when really it was exactly though those areas that others saw as hinderances that God want to shine. 

Those with differing abilities see the world in different ways. Perhaps the man at the pool did not understand what Jesus was asking. Perhaps he thought Jesus asked why he was not yet well - a question he probably heard from not a few people over the years. Or perhaps he heard and thought it was too good to be true, so he skirted around the question to avoid whatever help the man before him was trying to offer. Whatever the reason, the man told of what blocked him in the past from healing instead of recognizing what Christ was offering right before him. 

Have you ever known someone who was not willing to take that risk? Someone who you wished to help but who wouldn’t accept what you offered?

Prayer: Lord, help me to see people as you see them - not as labels, but as people. Forgive me for the times I have denied other people their dignity because of my own prejudices. Amen. 

Friday: “Get Up!” - John 5: 8-9 

Probably the last thing the man expected when Jesus told him that he was to get up and walk was that he would actually be able to do it! The life he had lived helped him to believe that walking would not be possible for him. 

We all carry around assumptions every day, about ourselves and others, that we need to unlearn. The only assumption we need to cling to is the truth that God is able! 

What false assumptions do you need to set aside in order to claim that God is able?

How do you tend to see people - by their past mistakes or future potential?

Prayer: Lord, free us of our assumptions so we can claim the greatest truth - that you only, O Lord, are able! Amen!

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Grave Robber: Two Fish” - John 6: 1-13

Family Activity: Sometimes we put labels on people so we can feel better about ourselves. What are some of the labels or names you have heard kids called at school? How can you help build people up and remember that God loves them?

The Second Miracle - John 4: 46-54

     Miracles and problems go hand in hand. Yet, sometimes we get so caught up in how we think that things should be that we miss the miracles right in front of us. Pastor Mark Batterson in his book The Grave Robber, points out that this is true of the Pharisees - they were so insistent that Jesus follow the laws as they knew them, that they missed the miracle right in front of them.
    We miss the miracles of being in the right place at the right time. We reason that things just happen by accident, instead of seeing the hand of God. Or we get so caught up in our un-pleasant circumstances that we forget that God can redeem our circumstances by using us right where we are.
   Other times we don't even ask for miracles anymore, because we think what we are asking for is just too big. Yet, Jesus healed the boy in today's scripture across miles of distances. What have you given up asking for? What do you need to recognize is right in front of you? What do you need this day?

“The Grave Robber: The Second Miracle” - John 4: 46-54 - Devo

February 21st, 2016

Devotional

“The Grave Robber: The Second Miracle” - John 4: 46-54

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Begging Him” - John 4: 46-47

Take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of the royal official. You’ve heard a bit going around town about this Jesus, who you think is staying in one of the towns nearby when your son becomes ill - gravely ill. Would you take the risk to leave the sick boy’s bedside on the hope of a miracle? What would you expect Jesus to do or say when you arrive? Would you set aside all of your royal dignity to get on your knees and beg for Jesus to heal your son?

We can all probably identify with this scene in some way. A loved one becomes mysteriously ill. We battle our own illnesses for what seems like a lifetime. When we get to the point where we are looking for Christ to perform a miracle in our lives, we know that we have a deep sense of need, one that makes us willing to come and beg Christ to heal us or the ones we love. 

When is a time in your life when you asked God for a miracle? Did God respond as you expected? 

When do you take risks in your prayer life, pleading that God intercede in your life or the lives of others? 

Prayer: God of miracles, all too often we forget that in order for us to be willing to experience a miracle in our own life or pray for the one in the lives of those we love, there must first be great need. O Lord, we confess that all too often we try everything else when we have a problem before coming to you in prayer. Forgive us, Lord. And work a miracle in our lives this day. Amen. 

Tuesday: “What You Need to Believe” - John 4:48, Mark 9: 23-25

If someone asked you what you need in order to believe in something, how would you respond? What if you were asked what you need in order to believe in God? Do you need proof before you can believe in the saving love of Jesus Christ? Jesus seems to respond to the royal official’s begging in an odd way, he doesn’t say that he would help or not help, he simply replied that we live in an age where people need signs and wonders in order to believe. 

We don’t live in a day and age much different from that of today’s text, do we? We too, ask for signs and wonders - demand proof before believing. Yet, there is a great sense of mystery that comes with faith - there is a setting aside of demands in order to have belief. 

What do you need in order to believe?

How do you embrace the faith and mystery that come with belief? 

Prayer: Almighty God, you are the God of choices. You allow us to choose whether we will believe in you and your mercy and grace, or not. Thank you, O God. We believe, but please help our unbelief and forgive us for demeaning signs in order to prove your love for us. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Go” - John 4: 49-50, Luke 18: 1-8

The royal official would not be diswayed by Jesus’s teaching on demanding signs - he persistently brought Jesus back to the topic at hand, his son. We know that we cannot earn miracles - but we do need be persistent in our prayers. How many times do we pray for something only once and then become disappointed when God does not answer us? The royal official reminds us to be persistent in our asking for Kingdom sized things. 

How do you often respond to unanswered prayers?

Prayer: God, sometimes we don’t understand why you don’t answer our prayers in our way and in our timing. Help us to be persistent in praying, O God, but open to your movement among us in unexpected ways. Let us not give up on asking you for the desires of our hearts and spirits. Amen. 

Thursday: “While Still on the Way” - John 4: 51-52

The father in this story went out of his way to have Jesus respond to the desire of his heart - healing for his son. He traveled 20 miles to where Jesus was located and then 20 miles back. What was on his mind during those 40 miles round trip? 

When is the last time you went out of your way to have a prayer requested answered? I remember once while traveling in Kansas, a friend of mine became ill. We traveled 40 miles to the international house of prayer to pray for her. Even all of these years later I remember some of the questions I was feeling on that drive, the anticipation. But those of us who went with my friend to pray, felt that this was where we needed to be, so we went. Perhaps the royal official felt the same thing - that this is where he needed to go -as he went out his way for answered prayers. 

When is a time you went out of your way to have a prayer answered?

When is a time when you had to get out of your own way to have a prayer answered?

Prayer: God, often it seems like we are not in the right position to have our prayers answered. Either we get in the way - instating our prayers be answered as we expect them to be, or we give up praying too soon, looking instead for the next best thing in our mind. Forgive us Lord. Meet us along the way, as we travel closer to you though prayer. Amen. 

Friday: “The Exact Time” - John 4: 53-54, Ecc 3: 1-11

God answers our prayers in God’s way and in God’s time for God’s purposes. Think about the story of the royal official - when he realized that his son was healed at the exact time that Jesus told him that his son will live, his entire household believed.

Often we can get caught up in the train of thought that God bestows miracles on us for us, but God has the power to use our lives and the miracles we experience to transform other’s lives as well. 

Tell of a time that an answer to your prayer transformed someone else’s life as well. 

Prayer: God of miracles - help us see that the blessing of miracles bestowed upon us are not for our benefit alone. Use the power of our stories of answered prayers touch the lives of those around us so that people can come to believe in you alone. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Grave Robber: The Third Sign” - John 5: 1-9. 

Family Activity: Make a list of the blessings you have received from God. Are these miracles? Why or why not? Are they answers to prayer? Why or why not? 

Enough Pt 3

   Are you discontent or content? Another way to ask this would be, are you satisfied? Most people seem to walk around dis-satisfied with one thing or another. Their job. Their boss. Their kids. Their spouse. Their in-laws. Their finances. Their circumstances. Other times we seem to be satisfied with the wrong things - thinking that our relationship with others is "good enough" to squeak by. Or that we have spent "enough" time with week serving God. We becomes satisfied in the things that should mean the most to us, then we cut back our effort in attending to them, while we become increasingly dis-satisfied with that which doesn't mean much in the scheme of things - our job and our finances -causing us to work harder at them. What are you satisfied with today and are your priorities straight? 

Devotional - Enough Pt 3

February 6th, 2016 

Devotional

“Enough: Cultivating Contentment” - Luke 12: 15, Ecc 2: 10-11

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Investing” - Ecc 2:10-11

The old adage says “You reap what you sow”, but did you realize that was a Biblical concept well before it was a cultural phrase? In today’s scripture lesson the Apostle Paul is speaking to the Church in Corinth about sowing and reaping for the bounty of the Kingdom. 

Whether we realize it or not, we are all investing in something. Investing in daily living. Retirement. Our family’s future. And what we invest in is determined by what lens we we view the world from. Aren’t sure what your lens is: what is the first thing you think of when I say the word “money”? Spending? Saving? On what? For whom? 

The lens we see the world through colors our perspective. As Christians, is the lens we view all else through God? Do we trust God with our money? Do we trust God enough with the harvest to invest in the sowing? Do we focus more on our basic needs or on expanding the Kingdom of God?

What are you currently investing in? Why? 

When you examine what you are investing in through the lens of Ecc 2:10-11, is it ultimately worth it?

What things and pleasures to which you devote your time, energy, and money are “vanity and chasing after wind”?

Prayer: For the next several weeks, you are invited to pray the same prayer everyday, which is composed by Rev. Adam Hamilton in his book Enough. As you pray it anew each day, may God speak to your heart. 

Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have, to remember that I don't need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity. Amen.

Tuesday: “Generosity” - 2 Cor 9: 6-11

Paul is telling the Church that each of us needs to decide what exactly we are going to invest in - what exactly we want to be a part of. It has to be a willful decision, not one that we make only when we have to or half-heartedly. Paul is essentially asking the people in Corinth, and us today, what we are going to sow - God’s word, or something else?

A little background - Paul is writing this section of 2nd Corinthians as a thank you to the people in the Corinth Church for investing in another Church he ministered to, people they would never meet in this life time. Its an odd way to say thank you for your generosity isn’t it - or is it? Paul is trying to affirm the choice the Church has made to sow generously so that other’s may come to know the message of Christ. 

Now I can hear the argument forming - but Pastor Michelle - the people in Corinth didn’t have the same financial obligations as we have today. You are right -they didn’t have the same bills - the auto insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and utility bills - but they were heavily taxed - more then we can even imagine today, and made a lot less, having a lot more children to feed. The vast majority, over eighty percent, of folks during the New Testament Era would have been considered poor by their own standards, let alone ours. In order for the Church in Corinth to give to Paul for the sake of the gospel message in this magnitude they had to be generous and make sacrifices.

How would you describe your personal generosity? How is your generosity reflective of your faith?

Prayer:  Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have, to remember that I don't need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity. Amen.

Wednesday: “ Abundance vs. Holding Back” - Phil 4:11-12

I Have you ever noticed when your generosity becomes limited? Is it at certain times of the year? Or when certain bills arrive in the mail? Our generosity is most quickly limited by our desire for surplus above sowing. When we want to make sure every I is dotted and every t is crossed for the future. But here’s the thing, the future is beyond our control. We don’t know what the future holds - when the next stock market crash will come or when we will receive a pink slip. That’s why being generous for the sake of the Kingdom is a risk, an act of trust. When we give sacrificially we say that we believe God’s Kingdom is worth investing in. We are proclaiming that while we may not know what the future holds, we want to give abundantly. And we are willing to sacrifice the mirage of being in control that accumulating wealth and saving for a rainy day can bring in order for more people to come to know the One who is in Control.

What are some practical ways for you to become more generous?

How are generosity and contentment linked? 

Prayer: Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have, to remember that I don't need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity. Amen.

Thursday: “Give it Away” - 2 Cor 9: 6-11, Luke 12:15

Paul goes on to tell the church that God loves a cheerful giver. A congregation member once told me that it is fun to give money away. Its fun to spread the word of God through our generosity. But that is hard to do if we continually focus on gaining more material things.. Sometimes we give simply because it makes us feel good, cheerful. But I think its also so much more than that - we need to think about why we feel good when we give money away. As Christians we feel good because we recognize that we are giving to something bigger than ourselves. Recognize that God is up to something in the world. Recognize that God is inviting us to be part of the Kingdom work before us. The reality is God is going to do God’s will with or without out - but God is inviting us to be a part of it and to see the bounty of God!

How are Jesus’s words in Luke contrary to the message of the world?

How can giving money away keep you guard against materialism and greed?

Prayer: Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have, to remember that I don't need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity. Amen.

Friday: “Being Prepared through Contentment ” - 2 Cor 9: 6-11, Hebrews 13: 5-6

Paul is proclaiming that God wants us to share abundantly in and for every good work! God wants to use us to distribute for the sake of the Kingdom to the very ends of the earth. The apostle even says that God will supply seed to the sower (that is the giver) in order to increase the harvest. Once again, this verse and accompanying concept has been abused by preachers in the past to mean that God wants to give you everything that you want. But that isn’t what Paul is trying to say. Instead he is pointing out that if people are faithful in putting the Kingdom of God first in their lives, including in their finances and giving, that God will provide what you need, which is not the same as everything you want. God is going to to give the giver or sower what they need to keep sowing, because God wants to see us continue to be good stewards. 

At some point you need to just go for it. You need to just give in order to be a steward of what God has blessed you with, however meager you may think that is. At some point you need to take the leap and invite God to be a part of your finances whether they are good or bad. It was true in Paul’s time and its true in our time, often money is the very last door we open to God in faith. Are you willing to take a risk? Are you willing to open that door? Are you willing to sow for the harvest of the Kingdom of God, giving God control

In Hebrews, what is both our motivation and empowerment for being content with what we have? 

What effect does contentment have on our attitude and outlook? How does contentment prepare us to be generous?

Prayer: Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have, to remember that I don't need most of what I want, and that joy is found in simplicity and generosity. Amen.

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Grave Robber: Water into Wine” - John 2: 1-10

Family Activity: Clean out your closet. Give something away before something new comes into the house. How can your family cultivate a sense of gratitude and contentment?

Enough Pt 2

One of the lessons I learned from my parents I often share during the pre-marital sessions. When we were little, my parents explained to us there was a set amount of money to be spent on our Christmas gifts, put aside in a white envelope. When we composed our Christmas lists we should think about how far the envelope could possibly go because when the money was gone it was gone. There wouldn’t be adjustments by adding more money.

One of the problems with how we live with finances in this day and age is that when the money is gone we pretend that it isn’t really gone. We shift money around or turn to credit cards instead of being wise with our money. What are some Biblical practices you believe speak to being wise with finances?