Dare to Dream: Perseverance Devo

February 17th, 2019

Devotional

“Dare to Dream: Perseverance”

                          Matthew 6: 19-24 and Deut 34: 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: “Heavenly Treasures” -  Matthew 6: 19-21

  I think the fact that this passage of scripture is found in scripture points to the fact that the tug of war between generosity and self-preservation is age old. Part of us wants to save money “just in case” and buy things for ourselves because “we deserve it”. We get caught up in questions of what if: what if the harvest isn’t good this year? What if I get a pay cut? What if my bills increase? What if the stock market crashes? So we focus on self-preservation, letting the fear of the “what if?” block our generosity. Let me be clear - I am not telling us to be irresponsible with our money - going into debt for the Kingdom of God. Instead, I’m asking us to examine our lifestyle, live below our means, and look past the “what ifs” for the sake of the Kingdom. 

 If God has given us all that we have, including the money we get from our vocation, and the offering plate belongs to God, why are we still fearful? If all of our treasures belong to God, why do we invest so much time and money into protecting them? And do we offer the same level of care and money into the work of God among us?

  How do our treasures reveal where our inward heart is through our outward actions?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for this day and for the invitation to grow closer to you everyday. As we examine our inward lives, may it reveal to us where our treasures truly are, and may we trust you to move our treasure to where you desire it to be as we grow closer to you. Amen. 

Tuesday: “ Who Do You Serve?” - Matthew 6:24

 Would you say that you trust God financially? If your check book reveals your heart chasing after God? If you are trying to grow in your stewardship? Its not until we start to ask these questions that we can find freedom. Its not until we start examining our hearts that we can truly seek the Kingdom of God first. 

 Every person in this room has a threshold when it comes to giving. Just as everyone in that crowd gathered around Jesus as he taught about where our treasure is, so our heart is, and asked who they served - money or God - had a threshold for what they would give. Thresholds are natural for humans. They are the dollar amount or percentage of money that we feel comfortable giving. When we step out in faith beyond our threshold, thats when we become uncomfortable. But the question is are we willing to step out in faith, beyond our threshold? Are we willing to surrender control of our money to God? Or are we going to let our fear be in control? Stanley shares his own threshold moment to which he responded, “God I’m not 100 percent comfortable with giving this money but I’m too uncomfortable not to give it”.

  What are two things can you try for the next few months to help you grow in trusting God with equipping you for your call?

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: “This is the Land” - Deut 34: 1-4

Moses was never permitted to enter the Promised Land due to his own disobedience. However, he was permitted to look upon it before he died. Moses would have known all that went into reaching that place that God had promised so long ago. He would have heard the stories of the covenantal promise God made with Abraham, Issac and Jacob. He would have thought back to that call upon his life that came forty years earlier, at the age of eighty at the burning bush. He would have remembered so many parts of the forty year journey, from the exodus to this exact moment, looking out upon a promise to be fulfilled. 

Sometimes we trick ourselves into thinking that call means ever step along the way should go smoothly, however, this isn’t the case. We only need to look as far as the story of Moses, from the initial call to this moment and everything in between, to realize that sometimes part of the call is persevere. To keep our eyes and hearts focused on the one who called trust, trusting that we are faithfully responding to our God. 

Tell of a time that you had to persevere. What was that experience like for you?

Prayer: Lord, we want calls to be easy. We want to know everything that will happen from the moment we are called to when your promise is fulfilled. But that is not the example we find in scripture, especially with your servant Moses. Instead, you call us to keep our eyes focused on you as we respond in obedience. Strengthen us to do this, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Moses Died” - Deut 34: 5-8

  Some pastors can tell you exactly how many funerals they have done throughout the course of their ministry. I am not that type of pastor. But I can remember the names of the people. The precious time sitting at deathbeds and mourning people whom I loved and their families. 

One of the questions I ask folks as we prepare funeral services is, “what do you want your loved one to be remembered for?” And it is rarely accomplishments or awards or even their vocations. Instead, they want them to be remembered for the love that they had shown, for their care and compassion. The friends they had and the family members they touched. How they impacted their community. That is their legacy. 

Moses was beloved by the people he led. So much so that they wept over him for thirty days. His legacy was part of their story, because he had touched their lives. 

What do you want your legacy to be?

Prayer: Lord, at times we feel like we are just going through the motions, O Lord, not knowing what difference we are making. But then, we remember your servant, Moses. How he must have felt the same way at times, yet left such a rich legacy behind for generations to come. Use us, we pray, in such a way that your Kingdom is proclaimed from generation to generation. Amen. 

Friday: “Joshua” - Deut 34: 9

  Even with Moses’s powerful legacy, the people knew that they still needed a leader to help them continue on their journey to the promised land. 

Part of being the body of Christ is that we all have a part to play and we are connected to one another. Paul says that we all have unique spiritual gifts given to us to build up the body of Jesus Christ, and that we are all under the Lordship of Jesus Christ together. 

Moses’s time of living into his call ended when he was 120 years old, but God raised up another person to take people on the next leg of the journey. When we are called, we may not reach the promised land ourselves, but we trust and believe that God uses us in connection with others to make the Kingdom of God known. 

What are your spiritual gifts? 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for making us a connected people. People who can rely on Jesus to guide us. People who can encourage one another upon this journey. Bind our hearts and minds together, we pray, all for the sake of your name alone. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Nahum: The Power of God” - Nahum 1.