2 KINGS ‭8:4-5

WOMEN OF THE OLD TESTAMENT- THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN- (2 KINGS 418-37, 2 KINGS ‭8:4-5)

8:30 PM

 

A PRAYER IN THE LIGHT OF HER STORY

“My heart rejoices in You Lord, for You have blessed me and my family abundantly and over the years You also gave me the opportunity to witness to our king, of Your Loving-kindness and Your Wondrous works in our lives through Your Prophet Elisha!  

I can vividly remember how we first met Elisha and how through him, You touched our lives in such a special way! My husband and I were old and had not conceived a child, but we loved and served You with all our hearts. When you blessed us with the promise of our child I was so surprised I had not realized I still had this deep yearning in my heart; but You knew this! Later when our child grew and suddenly became ill and died, I now understand that: only You gave me the courage and the certainty that I should find Elisha and trust that “ALL would be fine”, that You would restore my son back to life! You had a Perfect Plan and Purpose in all this! How can I be silent and keep all these blessings to myself?

“I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.
2 I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.

4 All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,When they have heard o

the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
5 Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],
For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord is exalted, He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, And Your right hand will save me.
8 The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me; Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.”  (Psalm 138)

Amen!


Mari Salinas

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Every Friday we meet for prayer and would love to have you join us.  We meet at 9:00am EST. over at Women in the Word Bulletin Board on our Facebook



 


Acts 4

When God Takes Over! {Acts 4}

10:00 AM


Today's Passage: Acts 4

The chapter begins in the middle of the story! Peter and John are addressing the people who have just witnessed Peter heal a man in his forties that had been lame since birth (Acts 3) and right in the middle of their speech we read:

“As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.” Acts 4:1-3

The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, which may be why they decided to cut off their speech right then and put them in jail until morning. But even then, they had been too late for the passage goes on to add, “many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.” (4:4)

Just imagine what that night must have been like for John and Peter, for the last time the Jewish council had met together it was to hear a case concerning Jesus, and had agreed to have Jesus crucified. I wonder if John and Peter were thinking they would be next come morning.

But if they were, it didn’t prevent them from speaking out boldly the next day! Notice,

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,  if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,  let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by his name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.  And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:9-12

Whoa! He’s no longer the Peter who denied Jesus thrice on the last night of His life. Can you remember the last time you spoke out about Jesus? How do you feel about sharing the good news? Bold, like Peter, reluctant or somewhere in between the two.

Chapter four is an awesome example of the Holy Spirit’s power operating in us! Notice how the believers “filled with the Holy Spirit” responded to the threats made to them should they persist in proclaiming Jesus’ name:

“...they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them,  who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
And the peoples devise futile things?
‘The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.  And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,  while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”  And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness!” Acts 4:24-31 (emphasis mine)

I wondered if our churches would respond the same way today. Even still, the most amazing passage of chapter four to me is the description of the New Testament church in verses 32-35,

“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.  And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.  For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales  and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” (Emphasis mine)

They were one in heart and soul which when I studied these words further I discovered it meant, they were one in “intellect” and “emotion”. Over five thousand brand new believers shared everything in common. The Holy Spirit not only caused them to be bold in proclaiming the gospel, but in their actions as well, for they boldly shared all they had with other believers trusting God to care for them all.

That is amazing to me, but that’s God! Nothing is too hard, or impossible for Him, if He is permitted to reign over His people.

Blessings,
sue


Acts 3

Transformed and Empowered (Acts 3:1 - 5:16)

10:50 PM


Many of us resign ourselves to not expect much from God. We settle ourselves into a routine based on the limitations of the circumstances that are familiar to us. We don’t look for God to bring something new, or uplifting, or miraculous. 
“And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.” (3:2)
This lame man had obviously resigned himself to his fate and was totally dependent on others. He may have been placed at the Beautiful Gate but he was most likely a man who felt on the fringes of society, in fact the ugly part of society. He had expectations- that people would give him alms out of pity. He did not, however, expect that life could offer more. He probably didn’t think he would ever be able to have true inclusion and acceptance. Perhaps he wasn’t used to being “truly seen” as a valuable person and perhaps that is why Peter said “ Look at us” (3:4)
That is the Christian experience. We are “seen” as valuable because of who we are called to be in Christ. It was in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that Peter and John healed this man. “And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.” (3:8) 
This man had settled for handouts but God wanted to give him so much more. How wonderful that he used what God blessed him with to glorify God. He was grateful to enter the temple where he had not been able to go before and to celebrate with praise. How do we react to the blessings that we receive? Do we use those blessings to praise and glorify God?  Do we appreciate that we are truly seen, no matter how limited we may be in our circumstances, and valued for who God wants to transform us to be in Christ?
Speaking of transformation, the once fear laden, cowering disciples are now walking boldly in the midst of crowds and proclaiming the risen Jesus as the Son of God. Through their testimony, 5,000 believed that day. When arrested by the religious leaders, Peter was empowered to speak boldly by the power of the Holy Spirit. “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”” (4:10-12)

Although the religious leaders didn’t like what Peter proclaimed, they were, however greatly affected by the change they recognized in these former companions of Jesus. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”(4:13). God wants us to have expectations beyond our limitations.
God wants to transform us and empower us so that we can glorify Him and boldly proclaim Him to a world that desperately needs His saving grace.  Not all may receive this grace, and in fact, they may choose to reject and persecute the proclaimer. The apostles prayed for boldness in the face of opposition and we should do that too. God wants to equip us to trust Him even when we face such challenges and He wants to bless us and astonish us beyond our expectations. 

“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

1 Chronicles 16:8-11 

boldness

12:00 AM

WITH BOLDNESS AND CONFIDENCE!


Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

Today we are memorizing Hebrews 4:16…

Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the the proper time.

And again in the amplified version…

Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].

Oh how rich this verse is!

Time and time again I have witnessed, have personally experienced, this amazing mercy and grace in my time of need and most recently which I’d like to share…

My husband, Rick, is not a believer, yet knows of my faith in Christ, my desire to follow Him in all things and to pray to Him for all things (including for him).  Recently, we made the decision that it would be best to move his mother from where she is to closer to us into an assistant living situation. We both knew that convincing her would not be easy. She loves her independence, yet requires much help because of illness and age, and being far from home that made it difficult. Rick needed to visit her and present our case. So I called upon my prayer warriors - my Christian sisters!  I and my sisters approached the throne of grace with boldness and confidence without fear and prayed that God would go before Rick arrives and soften his mother’s heart.  And of course, our Father came running to the rescue! She immediately said yes-no hesitation! Our Father reached down to Rick, his mother and I, and touched us with His grace! Praised Him! Glory to God! I believe in my heart that Rick experienced how important prayer is, and how God can come and bless us through our prayers, confidence in Christ, and His love, at just the right moment! What a great testimony of His faithfulness!

I know that we all have testimonies like mine.  I pray that we all experience ,on a daily basis, through our prayers and supplications, His great mercy and grace!


Have a blessed and precious day everyone!

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