IDOK DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2010

Praise Reports, Prayer Requests and Updates:

Mabel asked us to pray for Marsha Kinsler, she suffered a fall and has a tail broken bone.  I understand this can be very painful.

Some days ago a beloved grandson and his sister were visiting at the Thompson homestead and a little yard (fun) work was going on.  Some bushes and branches were being pruned and a hopeful young man ‘planted’ one of those green, freshly severed twigs in the back yard.   And today I took this picture.

Now this twig several days ago looked very much alive.  It was green and supple, the picture of life.  And this twig had a lot going for it when it was ‘planted’.  It had soil.  It had water.  It had sun.  It lacked one thing and that one thing was of all things most crucial.  Nourishment.  It had nothing to tie it to the source of tree life – sap.  So with no sap the twig was zapped!

I can think of at least two analogies for us in this.  JESUS said He is the Vine and we are the branches — that is we are the branches when we are GRAFTED into Him.   And until we are grafted into Him, we are as dead as our pictured twig even if we LOOK alive.   There is a world of humans walking around that LOOK alive.  And physically they are but spiritually they are as dead as, you guessed it, our subject twig. Only when these dear souls repent and believe that JESUS is willingly and able to GRAFT them into Himself will they become spiritually alive.

How’s this for speaking to us?

Romans 11: ¹⁷If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, ¹⁸do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.

And then there’s the root analogy. The twig had no ROOTS, no tap-root, no fibrous roots.  Without fibrous roots it could not take in nutrients provided by the soil and water and without a tap-root it had no anchor — it’s dead.  (For more science on roots click here.) Now, how does this apply to you and me?  Just for purposes here lets say our tap-root is GOD.  God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and The WORD is our anchor – the very source of life.  And from the tap-root come fibrous roots.  We need fibrous roots.  Even though the tap-root is the anchor of the plant, fibrous roots help too in establishing a plant in its place and they help feed and nourish the plant.  As a Christian what would be our fibrous roots?  The main fibrous root right there adjacent to the tap root – what could that be?  How about church – a local Body of Christian Believers where we gather for food and strength?

Hebrews 10:25 (New International Version)²⁵Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

And as a plant has many, many fibrous roots, we need many connections to others in the Body of Christ.  Allow me to give some suggestions in addition to the main fibrous root – Church membership.

Regular Sunday School attendance (called Bible Study these days), Sunday night worship, Wednesday night prayer meeting (choir rehearsal for me),  tithing and giving, daily Bible reading and checking in with DADDY time,  intercessory prayer, prayer partners,  group Bible studies other than Sunday School,  some accountability partners – people we trust to pray with us and keep our hurts and struggles confidential, people we have holy fun with – socializing, reading good books that reflect the principles of God’s Word, music that feeds our spirit, physical exercise, creative hobbies, continuing education, political awareness, community involvement — perhaps you can think of others.  Without these ‘fibrous roots’ we will not be healthy Christians!

To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.

A few days have passed, ABBA,  since meeting here to pray with our IDOKs and Readers, Memorial Day celebrations are coming to a close and we are looking forward to Tuesday’s dawn in just a few hours.  Summer vacation is on for teachers and students, VBS(s) will be getting started around the area and we are so grateful for people willing to give time, resources and love to area children.  I pray You will bless these efforts and the participants.  I pray JESUS will be exalted and young lives will be changed forever as they hear and believe Your Gospel.  Thank You for the words we heard today as we gave thanks for Veterans and thank You for this community in which I am blessed to live.  I pray You will be honored here even more.  I pray, Holy Spirit, You will raise up a group of Christian Believers who You will anoint to minister Your Gospel and help communities and people all over this nation.  We pray for our IDOK Troops, for their safety and protection and for their soon returns home.  We pray for the peace and safety of Israel.  And I pray You will take this message and minister it to us individually with individual instructions on how You want us to honor You and help us in JESUS NAME.  And we pray for each name recorded on our list, particularly Marsha, asking that You bring healing to her body and that she will draw strength and wisdom from You.  We pray for each other, we pray for courage and wisdom to help each other grow in faith and obedience for JESUS sake.  And, Holy Spirit, I pray You will encourage and people will get up and get out to vote for those You have impressed upon us. Amen and amen.

Just a quick hello to wish you all a Blessed Memorial Day; encouraging you to remember those who have given their lives in our defense.  And reminding you to be sure to exercise one of those freedoms on Tuesday — VOTE!

And for fun here’s a recipe that my hubby is really good at baking.

Upside-Down Apple Pie 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted, divided

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 package (15 ounces) folded refrigerated pie crusts

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat a deep-dish pie plate with nonstick cooking spray and line it with waxed paper. Coat the waxed paper with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons butter, the brown sugar, and pecans; mix well and spread evenly over the bottom of the pie plate. Unfold 1 pie crust and place it in the pie plate, pressing the crust firmly against the nut mixture and the sides of the plate; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter; mix well. Add the apples and toss gently to coat. Spoon into the pie crust.
Unfold the second pie crust and place over the apple mixture. Trim, pinch the edges together to seal, and flute, if desired. Using a knife, cut four 1-inch slits in the top crust.
Bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours, or until the crust is golden. Carefully loosen the waxed paper around the rim and invert the pie onto a serving plate while still hot. Remove the waxed paper and allow to cool slightly, then cut into wedges and serve warm, or allow to cool completely before serving.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010

Praise Reports, Prayer Requests and Updates:

I saw something today reading the genealogy of JESUS as recorded in Matthew 1 that I do not recall noticing previously.  I’ll give you my conclusion and then how I arrived at it.  GOD IS NOT ASHAMED OF US.

If you use the link above or open your personal copy of the Bible and read Matthew 1: 1-16 you will find four women listed, only four grandmothers but all the grandfathers.

Tamar. Rahab. Ruth. Bathsheba.  And you say, so how does that indicate to you that ABBA is not ashamed of us?  Why include only four women?  Why not include all the women in the lineage of JESUS?   And if you are going to pick out just four why these four?  Why not  four impeccable women?  Because including these four, I think, will tell us something we need to know about our FATHER.    And certainly there’s more than I have seen today, but this is a start.

Tamar was widowed twice, with no sons by either husband; who by the way were brothers.  Her father-in-law told her to wait around for the younger brother and when he was old enough he would give him to her in marriage to raise up a son.   He didn’t.  And when he did not. Tamar found another way to get pregnant — she dressed up like a harlot and her father-in-law unknowingly paid her a visit and voila two sons were born.   You can read about it in Genesis 38. Now tell me would you be recording this for the world to read if that were YOUR Grandmother? GOD did.  He was not ashamed to list her by name in the human lineage of His Holy Son JESUS.

What about Rahab?  I love Rahab!  I am so looking forward to meeting her when I get to Heaven.   In fact I like her so much for years I have been thinking about a fiction book I’d like to write based upon her life as recorded in Scripture.   Okay. Focus here!   Before coming to know Yahweh, before becoming the wife of Salmon and before giving birth to Boaz, Rahab was a prostitute.  That’s what I said, a prostitute.  Again, would you be preserving for the world to read that YOUR Grandmother was a prostitute?   Check out Joshua 2 – 6 and see Rahab in action — as she converted to Jehovah and she and her family were saved when the City of Jericho fell to Joshua and the Israeli Choir.   Again, ABBA was not ashamed of Rahab!  He listed her by Name in the human lineage of HIS Son.

Now Ruth doesn’t have a seedy sexual past; she’s just not Jewish!  She’s a foreigner.  She’s an outsider and she was dirt poor!    She had nothing as to worldly goods.   Some probably said she was a ‘gold digger’ when she married Boaz.   Again, would you give her a prominent place in YOUR autobiography?   Check out the Book of Ruth.   I am so glad that DADDY GOD is  not ashamed of  poor destitute non-Hebrew Girls.  Aren’t you?  Aren’t you glad He not only includes ‘gold diggers’  in His Family, but puts them up for display and admiration as the Bride of HIS DEAR and ONLY SON?

And lastly, Bathsheba.  And you know what folks say about her.  She’s most often called an adulteress.  Again,  would you make public that SHE was YOUR Grandmother? Again, GOD did!  He was not ashamed to name Bathsheba. And whatever any one of us has done or shall do, OUR DADDY GOD is NOT ashamed of us.

Hebrews 11:16 (New American Standard Bible) ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

How good is that!?  You can read a portion of Bathsheba’s story at 2 Samuel 11.

To review the list of names for prayer, please click here.

This is what I see DADDY.  In You and to You I am beautiful and You are not ashamed of me!  Nor any of my sisters and brothers.  We are loved beyond words or descriptions or feelings!  Thank You for this.  I pray to remember it always and to live according to it for Your honor and glory, LORD JESUS.

Thank You for seeing the names and the faces and the hearts of each name we read.  Thank You for speaking to them, for attending and tending to them.   LaJuanna and Lynette are a couple days out of surgery now, I pray for a steady and clean recovery for both of them.  And Martha has a surgery still pending I think, tend to that for her too I pray.  And there are others on our minds and other needs.  Social gatherings coming up and new Bible Study teachers to take position in little more than a week, I pray we study to show ourselves approved and that You will anoint the speaking and the hearing of every class and every member.  I pray too for churches in conflict, that the conflicts will be repented of and You will be consulted and obeyed by everyone of them.  And I pray for our IDOK Troops, please keep them safe and protect them from all harm.  And certain young ones so loved just came to mind – school is out and the summer is on.  I pray for their safety, for peace and harmony to prevail, for holy fun for them and for their love and knowledge of You to increase this summer.   I pray for the teachers, that this summer they will experience rest and refreshment that only YOU can give them.  I pray they will apply themselves to sitting and resting at Your Feet, willing and ready to LEARN from YOU so they can teach and serve even better when school begins again.

And before putting this to waiting, I pray for Israel.  Please prosper them and protect them and bring them to the peace and security You desire for them.  Amen and amen in JESUS Name.

IDOK DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY, MAY 27, 2010

Beth (Moore) said today via Wednesdays with Beth:

If it still hurts it is not a scar, it’s a wound and we better let JESUS heal that thing!

You cannot read many IDOK Devotions and not know that the people of Israel are dear to me.  A precious people to be loved and prayed for.  A treasured people who as a whole, as a Nation, have yet to fulfill their destiny and purpose for being chosen by Yahweh.  The purpose of introducing to the world, the Savior of the World — JESUS the CHRIST of Nazareth by way of Bethlehem by way of Heaven.   And when I read Matthew 1:1 I am today struck with the very Jewish-ness of JESUS.   Read with me.  The record of the genealogy of JESUS the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

The son of David, the son of Abraham.  The son of their greatest earthly king, the son of their Father, their Leader — the First of them.

And knowing the very Jewish-ness of JESUS, our Savior, the LORD of our spirit, soul, and body, how can anyone of us not dearly and passionately love the people of Israel?  How can we not love them as our very own when He is so One of them?   In these Countdown Days, please let not a day go by that you do not pray for Israel, even on those days that I do not remind us, Holy Spirit, please remind us to pray for Israel.

What brought me to Matthew 1:1 today?  Adventuring through the Life of Christ by Ray C. Stedman.   You may already know this but just in case you have not thought of it lately, this is what I am gleaning from Mr. Stedman’s book.

The Gospel of Matthew was penned by Matthew, a tax collector; his primary audience was a Jewish one; and his purpose was to introduce to them their KING.  Matthew is the Gospel of JESUS, the KING.

The Gospel of Mark, as we call it, was penned by Mark and his primary audience was the Romans which could be the reason this Gospel contains the most Latin words of the Four. And why in keeping with the spirit of a Roman we find haste and action on its pages; but most importantly we find JESUS, The Servant.  So Mark is the Gospel of JESUS, The Servant.   And I so like that Mr. Stedman described JESUS as the Servant of God, not the Servant of Man.  Oh how freeing it is for us when we become the servant of God rather than a servant of man.

The Gospel of Luke, again, as we call it, was penned by Luke and his primary audience was the Greek-minded folk, those philosophically minded.  And get this, the book of Luke is filled with the LORD’s table talk.  Those things He said to His disciples, their intimate fellowship.  Don’t you love it?!  But that’s not all, Luke is the Gospel of JESUS, the Perfect Human Being.

John, the beloved, the penman of the Gospel of JESUS the Everlasting One; written to his primary audience — us, the Christians.  This Gospel from beginning to end lets us see JESUS, the I AM – Very GOD.  In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And one last thing for this time from Mr. Stedman and I quote: “They are not biographies but character sketches, intended to present different points of view, different dimensions of the complex and endlessly fascinating person of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.”  And my take on that is If JESUS is not the most fascinating to me person of all persons I know, then I don’t know Him very well.  But by the time I get through the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and The ACTS,  alongside Mr. Stedman’s book, I will be much more fascinated with Him!!  Oh, YES! Make it so LORD! Make it so!!

ABBA, it is my desire, my hope, and my prayer that this writing will encourage and inspire our IDOKs, our Readers, and me to pour these Gospels into us.  For You LORD JESUS to become the most fascinating person, the ONE Person that we love more than any other or anything.  I pray that be so of us.  And I pray for Israel, for this People that You love so much, for them to love You back.  I pray Your Gospel will be demonstrated to them, lived out before them by us, Gentile Christians, so well that they will desire You and will embrace You as their Messiah, individually in these Countdown Days prior to that time to come.

I pray for our IDOK Troops, please keep them safe and protected today and bring each home at Your appointed time.  And for the remainder of our list, we pray for them as we pray for ourselves that You will be our pursuit in whatever season and situation, and station that we are.   And since it comes to mind at this moment I pray for services tonight as Christians gather to pray on local sites that You will be welcomed and desired and real worship will be offered and real prayers will be prayed in the Name of JESUS.  Amen and amen.