The Story of Jesus

This week we wrapped up Every Day Faith with a look at the life of Jesus. I realize that the whole Bible is part of His story, but we took a brief look at some moments He spent on Earth. The first day we studied Matthew 4:1-11 where Jesus is in the desert being tempted by Satan. Jesus, even after fasting 40 days and nights, wielded the most powerful weapon He had-His Word. It can be so easy to just give in to temptations when we're tired or aggravated. However, if we will wield God's word in those moments, then our lives will probably be a lot less stressful.

The next day we looked at Matthew 26:36-46 where Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is such a powerful and moving portion of scripture. It is hard to picture Jesus in this moment. None the less, we see Him wrestling in prayer over His imminent death. The magnitude of this moment seems to be lost on the disciples. They're sleeping. In verse 41 Jesus tells them to watch and pray so that they will not fall into temptation. The power in praying, of taking our concerns to God, is averting those things that might cause us to stumble.

On the third day we focused on Jesus and the woman at the well. In John 4:7-26, we saw how Jesus went against the customs and spoke with the Samaritan woman. At first the conversation is focused on the physical need for water, but moves to the more important spiritual need for living water. It always seemed a bit odd to me that Jesus asked her about her husband in the middle of this dialogue. This time it struck me that Jesus, ever full of grace and mercy, was touching on the one thing that she probably thought made her unworthy of living water.

Next we studied John 13:1-17 where Jesus is in the Upper Room and washes the disciple's feet. The example Jesus sets is so humbling and powerful. He illustrates fully that serving is the greatest part of leadership. No matter what our role is, we should not think ourselves better than another.

Finally we finished the week with Matthew 28:16-20. Jesus is in Galilee and gives the "Great Commission." The command is to go and make disciples, baptize them and teach them. As believers, it is our command too. Spreading the love and hope of Jesus is a privilege. May we all go with the knowledge that Jesus is ever with us.

The story of Joseph

Reading and studying the story of Joseph's life was exhausting! His life seemed to follow one major disaster after another. If you read through chapters 37 to 50 in Genesis, you'll see what I mean. Joseph encountered many challenges including living with brothers who hated him, sold him into slavery and pretended he was dead. Then Joseph was wrongfully accused by his master's wife and thrown in jail. And finally, he was forgotten by the friends he made in jail for two years.

The good news is that wherever Joseph landed, he found favor. In Genesis 37, Joseph is favored by his father. In Genesis 39 Joseph is favored by his master Potiphar and the prison warden. Finally in Genesis 41 Joseph has favor with Pharoah. I believe that although Joseph faced many hardships, he did two things that allowed this blessing.

• Joseph gave his best no matter what situation he found himself in.
  
• Joseph gave God the glory for whatever good he was able to do.
  

Today many of us are facing hardships that, like Joseph, we didn't cause. None the less, they are our reality. Hopefully as we press into God, we too can give our best and God the glory.

The Story of Peter

Peter, next to Jesus, is my favorite person to read about in the Bible. His stories tell so much about his personality. For instance, you can read about him leaving everything behind to follow Jesus and think he's courageous. You can read about him walking on the water with Jesus and think he's bold. You can read about him rebuking Jesus and think he's arrogant. Or you can read about him denying Christ and think he's humiliated. Every story that I read about Peter seems to bring out another personality trait. One thing, however, always stands out to me -his passion.

I believe that Peter's passion is what Jesus knew would make him a great leader. In John 21:15-22, Jesus has two conversations with Peter that give clear direction for that passion. In the first conversation, Jesus asks Peter three different times if he loves Him and then tells him to feed and care for his sheep. Jesus seems to be reaffirming an earlier teaching he gave on what the greatest commandment is. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus says that the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." Basically, Jesus is saying love me and love my people. When loving God becomes our first passion, then a natural overflow will be to love His people.

In the second conversation between Jesus and Peter in John 21, Jesus tells Peter to follow Him. At first glance it might seem that Jesus is just asking Peter to get up and leave from where they are. However, when Peter notices that John is following behind them and asks Jesus about it, we get clarification. Jesus, seemingly emphatic, tells Peter not to concern himself with John, and says, "You must follow me." It can be easy to get distracted by others when we're passionate. However, as leaders our priority has to be a passionate relationship with Jesus. Then all those that God allows us to lead will know that Christ is the Way---we will be loving God and loving His people.

The story of Ruth

This past week we looked at the book of Ruth in Bible study. Much of our discussion centered on Ruth's humility, her commitment to Naomi and her tenacity in serving.

As one member noted, Ruth seemed to embody Philippians 2:5 which says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." Although she faced the heartbreak of losing her husband and leaving her family, Ruth's resolve never wavered. She remained faithful. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if we as believers had that same kind of dedication in our marriages.

"Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." (Ruth 1: 16) These words are often read as part of marriage ceremonies and were read at my wedding almost 15 years ago. But do we really take them to heart? As the story of Ruth invades my everyday life, I'm praying for God to remind me that humility, service and commitment are the attitudes that reflect Him in my marriage. What about you? Will you join me?

Trophies

This week I experienced one of the greatest moments of my life. I had the honor and privilege to lead several ladies in a Bible study that God allowed me to write! The study is the name sake of this blog, Every Day Faith. Basically the study takes you on an inductive journey through the lives of Old and New Testament Saints looking for how their stories apply to your everyday life.

A few days ago, someone asked me how I got the idea, what prompted me to write it? For a moment I didn't have a real answer, but for God, of course! Then God, of course, reminded me...it all started with trophies. I grew up in a very rural part of South Carolina and attended a very small country church with wooden pews. Once a year, the church would attend an event called "The Sunday School Convention." The convention would take place on a Saturday and last all day. Part of the day was a Bible contest that the children participated in for the member churches. I always went along with another girl. We would study together and practice for weeks. At the convention, each team would take turns answering questions about the Bible. If you missed a question you were out of the game until the last group was left. We always did quite well. Still today there are trophies sitting in my home church that we won for answering all the questions right. Unfortunately it was all about the trophies then. But God, of course, had planted the stories in my heart.

Now as a believer and a tad bit more mature, I know that these Biblical stories are part of God's message to me. They're part of God's instruction for me, they're part of God's direction for me, and they're part of His plan for me. And they're part of God's message, instruction, direction and plan for YOU! How do I know? God, of course, told me so through the stories of the ladies this week. The greatest trophy I've ever received was hearing how the story of Naaman related to their lives. And this was only the first story and the first week of our study!

If you don't know the story of Naaman, look it up in 2 Kings, chapter 5. Send me a note and tell me how it speaks to your everyday life.

Revival

I read this article today. The title was "Why We Don't Have Revival" and it rattled my cage a little, in a good way!

You see I'm a person who thrives on routine. I like to have a plan and follow it. I like to make decisions and work them out. Change doesn't upset me so long as I know about it and can fit it into the plans. (That last statement almost sounds ludicrous, but it's the truth for me.) When I think about my spiritual life and how I want my faith to grow and become more and more a part of my everyday life, then change is inevitable. And well I already told you how I feel about change, so what's a girl to do?

In his article, Mr. McKeever, says "By "revival," we mean an across-the-board movement of the Holy Spirit as He touches hearts, changes minds, melts pride, and transforms sinners. In a revival, the hearts of God's people are broken in repentance and humility, the Lord's people come together in love and service, and the Lord's work of ministry and giving and witnessing and missions moves forward at warp speed."

If you ask me if I want that "revival" I'm going to say a big ole Yes! But do I really? Certainly that kind of revival means my cage is going to be rattled, my life unsettled and CHANGE is going to happen. I think what this girl is going to do is pray to want it…ask God to help me want revival. Amen.

Do you want revival? You can read Mr. McKeever's full article here.

Happy Fall!

I love the Fall...the crisp air, the beautiful colors, football, light jackets, fairs, more football, soups, and the smell of pumpkin. Recently I read here that there was a pumpkin shortage! How would we survive all things Fall and holiday-ish without some pumpkin? Then it occurred to me that I hadn't been able to find my favorite can of pumpkin in the local grocery stores. No one seemed to have it on their holiday "all things bakery" displays. I kept telling myself it was too early, ignoring the Christmas decor that was already out and on sale.

So I decided to take one more look at my local grocery store and found this huge can of pumpkin...one of only two in the store. So this week I made my favorite pumpkin muffins for my Bible Study group.

These are made with chocolate chips and I add some walnuts in too. They are so good and the kitchen smells wonderful when you bake them. You can get the recipe here.

If you can find some pumpkin, try them; you'll like them!