Sunday

Ephesians 2:4-10
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Sunday Quiet Times

^{1 Kings 19:9 - 18
9} Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
 ¹¹ So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
 ¹⁵ The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; ¹⁶ and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. ¹⁸Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
  

It's easy to look at and react to the storms in life, in these storms of wind, fire and earthquakes it may seem like we're being tested, but will we respond to the gentle breeze?  It's the quiet voice of Gods love that make the difference in our lives and where God speaks to us.  It's the quiet voice of Gods love that leads us to make a difference in the lives of others.   Do you take the time in your life to listen for the quiet voice of God?  Do you respond to it?

Sunday Thoughts

Jesus Christ in His humanity was subject to the same temptations you and I are today.  In Matthew chapter 4 we see his response to temptation.  This temptation is not just a temptation to sin, but more importantly it's a temptation to remove faith from God the Father.  Jesus was tempted just like you and I are today.  We have the same choice He did, we can either look to God for guidance and strength, or we can look to our own wisdom. 

Matthew Chapter 4

^{1 } Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

^2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights,and afterwards he was hungry.

^3 The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.”

^{4 }He said in reply, “It is written:

‘One does not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’”

^{5 }Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,

^6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘He will command his angels concerning you

and ‘with their hands they will support you,lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

^7 Jesus answered him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”

^8 Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,

^9 and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”

^10 At this, Jesus said to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written:

‘The Lord, your God, shall you worship

and him alone shall you serve.’”

^11 Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.