Fervent In Spirit

November 19, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Faith, Trust

Fervent In Spirit

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:11‬

Passion And Enthusiasm

The word fervent means to have passion for something or towards something. There are many things that we show passion for. But most importantly, we are to be passionate about serving the Lord. That really means that we show enthusiasm when it comes to our spiritual behavior. In other words, we are to be excited about the things of God.

What do you have a passion for? Are you enthusiastic when it comes to serving Christ and serving others? We live in a very selfish world that tends to make everything revolve around self. We must constantly and consistently be searching for opportunities to glorify God.

Today it is rare to see someone excited about their job. But when you do it is noticeable. They have a smile on their face and enthusiasm in their soul. They enjoy what they are doing. That is the kind of passion we should have when it comes to serving the Lord. People around us should witness the joy we have and the passion for serving Christ. It is not about money, power, and prestige. It’s about having a fervent spirit. You are not going to naturally wake up in the morning ready to go to work for Jesus. The natural tendency is to be lazy about the work of serving others. Paul essentially instructs us to get our priorities straight. If we have passionate desires for worldly things, something is wrong spiritually. Our focus needs to turn to being enthusiastic about what makes God happy.

Prayer

Lord, renew my mind and fill my heart with joy. I want to serve You today and be enthusiastic about Your work that You have called me to do.

A Bag With Holes

November 16, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Trust

A Bag With Holes

You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
‭‭Haggai‬ ‭1:6‬ ‭

Priorities

In some point in our life we’ve all had to learn some valuable lessons the hard way. Sometimes God will allow us to go our own way so that we finally realize that we are wrong. It may take a little while but eventually we come to our senses. The best biblical example is with the Prodigal Son. After going his separate way, he finally came to his senses and came back to his father. It is the same with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to turn back to Him.

In the Book of Haggai the prophet was sent by God to instruct the people of God to get their priorities straight. The people knew the importance of serving God but had drifted away and started living with an intellectual belief system. They were busy bodies but for the wrong things. They were living for pleasure and not for pleasing the God who had blessed them so much.

We are going to face times when it seems like our life is falling apart. There will be times when our work does not seem productive, our money that we earn is never enough, our clothes seem to grow old, and our food never satisfies. If we don’t trust God for all things we tend to try to make it on our own only to no avail. Remember to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬)

Prayer

Lord, I turn to You for my joy and strength. You are all that I need.

Wait For The Promise

November 15, 2019 Pastor Stephen Dedman Encouragement, Trust

Wait For The Promise

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, which, He said, “you have heard from Me;”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭1:4‬

Patients

No one likes to wait especially for something great and wonderful. We want what we want right now. And sometimes we jump ahead and force things to happen on our timing. Waiting on the Lord and His promises is not a simple task for most people.

Jesus instructed the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. That’s all the details they were given. They didn’t know how long they were going to have to wait. But what we see them doing is great. They were together in the upper room praying and seeking the direction of God. They were spending time together preparing for the next great thing to happen. They were eagerly awaiting the power of God to come. They were also taking care of business as they replaced Judas with Matthias. They were focussed on the things of the Lord.

What do you do when you are waiting on the Lord? It is important to focus on the things of God and never jump ahead of God’s timing. Waiting is sometimes referred to as suffering, but the suffering is part of our character building. Patiently waiting on the Lord requires self-control and wisdom. The reward is worth the wait. When you are in a waiting period of your life consume yourself with the Word of God, surround yourself with godly people, and focus on doing the Lord’s work.

Prayer

Lord, I will wait patiently on You. I will seek You and search You with all of my heart.