Three boys are in the schoolyard bragging about their fathers.
The first boy says, "My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, and they give him $50."
The second boy says, "That's nothing. My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, and they give him $100."
The third boy says, "I got you both beat. My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a sermon, and it takes eight people to collect all the money!"
LET'S PRAY
Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us: wherever He may send us;
Lord, in times of fear, You are greater
Show the world Your love through our faithfulness.
Give Your people a vision of gentle service.
Lift up leaders, health care workers, and public servants
Help us care for the lost, brokenhearted and needy.
may You guide us through the wilderness: protect us through the storm;
may You bring us home rejoicing: at the wonders You have shown us;
may You bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors.
Amen
Meditation
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2Timothy 1:7 ESV
One of my favorite devotionals is Oswald Chamber's, My Utmost For His Highest, the meditation for June 5th seems appropriate as we consider the verse above.
My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I won’t be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.
What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, “But ‘The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you….’ ”
Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how weak we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never…forsake you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
Our daily scripture reading comes from the following link… http://listenersbible.com/devotionals/biy/ If you have any insights into our daily readings, please feel free to share them with me. I would encourage you to visit https://bibleproject.com/explore/1-2-kings/ for an overview of the book of 1st Kings and https://bibleproject.com/explore/acts/ for an overview of the book of Acts. These videos will help with the “big picture” and the main themes. 1 Kings 12:25-14:20 So the united Kingdom will be split into a Southern Kingdom ruled by Rehoboam (Solomon's son) and a Northern Kingdom ruled by Jeroboam. We saw this prophesied by Ahijah in 1 Kings 11. What we see today is that Jeroboam will set up a new center for worship in the Northern Kingdom. Notice how easy it was to become idolatrous, as they set up shrines and worship other gods. How does this go against what Ahijah had said to Jeroboam? (11:37-39) What will be the result of his idolatry? (Chapter 14) Now the story about the two prophets is an odd story and one that has a lot of cultural significance, which makes it difficult to understand. One note worth making is the idea that prophecy is from God, if it is fulfilled. Look up Deut 18:21-22. Acts 16:1-15 Today we are introduced to a couple of really important people. Timothy and Lydia. We will want to keep an eye out for them. Psalm 78:1-8 Psalm 78 is a long psalm, if you were to look ahead. At the beginning, Asaph is telling us what he will do. What is his goal?