Daily Devotional - First Methodist Midland

Daily Devotional 4/28/20

Posted on Apr 29, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

In today’s Daily Devotional, Pastor Steve invites us to envision what it could be like when we are on the verge of taking our last breath. He shares with us the infamous and surprising story of King David and Shimei as a way to help us think about what dying well could look like.

Key Bible Verses Referenced: II Samuel 16:5-13, Psalm 23, II Samuel 19:17-24, Psalm 51:1, I Kings 2:8-12

Questions for Reflection:

What does dying well look like for you?

David’s faith in God seems to have waned as he got older as mercy gave way to vengeance. What threatens your faith and how can you offer that to our Good Shepherd?

Daily Devotional 4/27/20

Posted on Apr 29, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Daily Devotional 4/24/20

Posted on Apr 29, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Psalm 91 (New Living Translation)

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
    and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.
    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
    nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
    though ten thousand are dying around you,
    these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
    and see how the wicked are punished.

9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
    if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
    no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
    to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
    so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
    you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
    I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
    I will be with them in trouble.
    I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
    and give them my salvation.”

This Psalm has become one of my favorites because several years ago on a Women’s Retreat, I was sitting with the ladies at my table and talking about prayers. One of the ladies at my table introduced me to Psalm 91by saying this Psalm and taking the pronouns (I, you, them) and replacing them into proper nouns and inserting your own (or someone else’s) name. This made the Psalm come to life for me. It made it personal specifically to me, and since that time, I have prayed this psalm over my husband and children, my grandchildren and others. This Psalm is not contributed to David, but it has been a special and meaningful one to me.

When we look and read the psalm and in further study of Psalm 91, we will see there are three different voices we’ll hear in the psalm. The first voice we hear is the voice of the individual proclaiming trust in God. Verses 1-8 speak of trusting in God because of his goodness. For instance verse 2 says: “This I declare about the Lord, he alone is my refuge, my place of safety, He is my God and I trust Him.” If I’m replacing the pronouns with a proper noun it sounds a little like this: “This Melissa declares about the Lord, He alone is Melissa’s refuge, Melissa’s place of safety, He is Melissa’s God, and Melissa trusts Him.”

In Verses 9-13 is the second voice in the psalm, the voice of the advocate. This voice comes from the ones who support and express God’s power back to you. Verse 11 says: “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.” It shows the lengths God will go to reach out and protect us.

And finally we hear from the third voice in the Psalm, this is the voice of God himself. In Verses 14-16 God acknowledges our expression of trust and love in Him and He responds with the promise to answer. “When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.” Showing God’s desire to be with us in the good times and the not so good times.

It’s been a long and trying week for us here in the Permian Basin. In all honesty, we’ve been encountering historical moments over and over in the past few months. We have crossed unprecedented territory and there’s no denying we are spent and weary…. But, as we continue to proclaim our trust in God, we will continue to see that God is still God, God is still with us and God has been and will continue to answer us… All because of his immense love for us.

So my challenge to you is this, over the weekend, read this psalm, see if you recognize the three voices represented in it. Pray this psalm, pray it as it is, pray it by replacing the pronouns with your own name and pray it over your loved ones. I hope you find it come to life for you, I hope it helps you pray over others I hope it reminds you that God is good and in his timing, he will answer.

Daily Devotionals 4/23/20

Posted on Apr 29, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Trust

David’s life was the perfect example to trusting God. Throughout David’s life all he ever did was trust God. From the moment God called for David to be anointed as king David went through many joyous times but just as many trials. One thing for sure David trusted God. As I reread 1st and 2nd Samuel I noticed just about every choice or decision David had to make David prayed and asked God what he wanted him to do. So I asked myself how often do I truly depend on God’s Direction? How well do I really trust God?

Psalms 37:3

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. (NKJV)

The Bible instructs us to “trust in the Lord”. So what is trust?

The definition of trust:

-firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.

Reliability- Do we know God to be reliable? YES!
Truth- Do we know God to be the truth? YES!
Ability- Do we know God is able? YES!
Strength- Do we know God to have strength? YES!

So, if we know God has all the qualities of trust why is it so hard to trust God?

I believe trust is a lifelong journey it’s not something we get as soon as we become Christian. As we go along in the journey of being a Christian we will continually be learning to trust God. It’s not a lesson learned but lesson being learned.

Can we really say we fully trust God?

I honestly don’t think we can. Why, because we are all sinners; we fail, we fall short. We tend to trust other things like ourselves, spouses, family, our bank accounts and so many other things. We have to learn not have so much trust in those things, because at some point those things will bring disappointment.

What are some ways to practice trusting God?

Stop trusting yourself. We can be our own worst enemy. We can deceive ourselves so easily.

Trust the Word. Be in the Word. The Bible gives directions and examples of what God wants for our lives

Prayer. If you keep record of your prayers and the ways God answers those prayers it can serve as a reminder of how faithfully God is.

Don’t travel alone in this Christian journey. Accountability, Accountability! Surround yourself with people who you can count on to pray with you and encourage you when you are weak. Have back up!

In the coming days of not knowing what is going to happen next it is important to trust God. I know its easier said than done, but remember God’s Got You!

Daily Devotional 4/22/20

Posted on Apr 29, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Deepening Your Relationship with God

I actually had to go back and count, but we haven’t been able to physically worship together for 6 Sundays. For me, it’s been since March 1st, Confirmation Sunday, since I was in Lubbock on March 8 at Encounter with the youth. I look back of the last part of 2019, in November I had two continuing education trips – one to Chicago and one in Tampa for the National Youth Workers’ Convention. Then it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, Youth Ski Trip, then school and Confirmation both started on January 7, and the Confirmation retreat in January. Fast forward to Sunday, March 1. It was such a meaningful and beautiful service as 28 kids were confirmed. I wouldn’t say I felt a lot of pressure from November 2019 – March 1, 2020, but it was definitely a busy season for me professionally.

Pressure begins at an early age. We have pressure from school, extracurricular activities, getting into the right college, and starting a successful career. Then add the pressures of marriage and raising a family. Our busy lives consist of lots of pressures. If you’ve ever felt pressure, most likely, you have had to add your priorities in the mix. We all have priorities. Priorities keep us grounded and can be a useful guide to when we respond to the pressures in our lives.

I know a lot of you are probably feeling pressures like you’ve never felt before. Pressure to work from home while also helping teach your children as they continue virtual learning. Pressure of not being able to see your family and friends. Pressure to wear a mask or to not wear a mask, and the list goes on.

During this time, I have heard so many stories of people finding more time to do the things they love, have always wanted to do, or taking time to be grateful for so many things they might have taken for granted. My daughter Faith uses writing and music in times of lament and praise, and on Saturday she wrote about having to miss her Junior Prom. “As today was the original prom date, I have had time to think about the implications of not being able to attend my junior prom. It is sad, but I know that I’ll definitely cherish next year’s dance and make it memorable. To me, this green dress represents the fact that no matter how much you plan, no matter how unlikely things may seem, life will always be unexpected. It means to never take any day for granted, because now, “maybe tomorrow” now means “maybe next year.” The dress that I was supposed to wear tonight is now in my closet, forcing me to stop and think about what really matters. Nonetheless, I know that this isn’t the case for everyone.”

King David was a man who understood what it was like to live in under pressure. He served Saul after Samuel anointed David king, fought Goliath, and became a commander in King Saul’s army. When Saul became very jealous of David and discovered that the Lord was with David, Saul became even more afraid of him, and he remained David’s enemy for the rest of his life. Due to Saul’s fear and jealousy of David, Saul tries to kill him. David fled from Saul into the wilderness [1 Samuel 22:5].

In Psalm 63 he sees himself in a spiritual wilderness thirsting for God’s presence and a place of refuge. It’s hard to imagine if I were under the kinds of pressure David faced at this point in his life, I would be writing songs. If I did the song would probably contain desperate requests: “God help me or God please get me out of here!” In Psalm 3, David did write something very similar to this.

However, in Psalm 63, we see David in a spiritual wilderness thirsting for God’s presence and a place of refuge. Psalm 63 gives us a glimpse of a man after God’s own heart. David gives us an example of how we should all seek to have a deep, intimate relationship with God. Psalm 63 shows us that David’s priority was to seek the Lord. Seeking God should be our first priority.

I know the pressures you might be feeling during this time, are like nothing you’ve ever felt before, and they are most likely changing each day. When you having these feelings, seek after God. What does it mean to seek after God? To seek after God means to develop an intimate and personal relationship with God. This relationship is one that is ongoing.

There are ways you can develop a deeper relationship with God:

Spend consistent time alone with him.

Be honest with God because our souls our longing for God, even when we don’t know actually how we are feeling. David recognizes this when he says “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you.” In Romans 8:26-27 says “26And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
Make God part of your everyday life.

One of the ways I have grown closer to God after reading Psalm 63 is finding some of my favorite songs that remind me of Psalm 63. I made a Spotify Playlist. You could find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2878DidDhBblvR1L2lFrn5?si=GiNlV1Z6QCCduLZy7wILRA

Questions:

1. What does it mean to you to seek after God?

2. Have you been spending more time with God over the last 6 weeks?

3. When is a time you’ve been the most honest with God?

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, regarding a time when David was in the wilderness of Judah.

1 O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary
    and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
    how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
    I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,
    meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your strong right hand holds me securely.

9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
    They will go down into the depths of the earth.
10 They will die by the sword
    and become the food of jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
    All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,
    while liars will be silenced.

Apr '20

Daily Devotional 4/21/20

Posted on Apr 21, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Apr '20

Good morning, First Methodist Midland church family! Last week, began daily staff devotionals on the Psalms of David and David’s life. I am one who really likes the book of Psalms! I was glad that Pastor Melissa was honest last week about not really liking them, and you may share this opinion. For me, Psalms is my go-to place when I’m not sure where else to turn first in the Bible.

The collection of Psalms in the Bible gives a place for every emotion – lament and praise, joy and sadness, gratitude, anger, bitterness, and deep regret. It’s ALL there!  This is comforting to me because it’s like giving permission for these emotions – that there’s a place for them. We sometimes want to hide some of these emotions that we view as less desirable, but the Psalms, and particularly David and the stories of his life, show us that it is good to admit them before God so he can work with us on them. If you didn’t get a chance to watch Jim Collett’s devotional yesterday – you should! It is excellent! He talked about pouring out our souls before God so He can help us move on from there.

In my last video staff devotional, I talked about an experience of God’s presence during illness when my husband Daniel and I were living in Guatemala for two years. The Psalms of David immediately bring to mind for me another experience during that time that I’d like to share with you today. While that first experience of extreme sickness occurred shortly after arriving in Guatemala, this experience took place after we had been living there for about a year and a half.

On New Year’s Day 2008, Daniel and I were in a clinic at a hospital in Guatemala City. I was thinking that I likely had developed pneumonia again. Imagine our surprise and great confusion when after a blood test the doctor came with the results and told me “Congratulations”! That was the way we found out that I was expecting a child.

Daniel and I had been married for six years at that point and very much wanted to have children. I had miscarried with our first, so while this new was very exciting, we also received it with a great deal of caution and wondering. The road during the next few months wasn’t an easy one. There were some issues with the pregnancy, so my doctor, in an abundance of caution, put me on five weeks of bed rest. When you are lying in bed for five weeks, it is hard to keep your mind from filling with fears – constantly wondering what was going to happen with that little life inside me.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this devotional, Psalms is my go-to place when I don’t know where else to go. So as I was lying there one day, I started reading the Psalms. I was reading the very familiar Psalm of David – Psalm 139. I love that my Bible titles this Psalm: “The Inescapable God.” This Psalm would probably rank among the most familiar Psalms, at least parts of it. You have probably heard the parts about “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” or “you knit me together in my mother’s womb”. It’s a great Psalm, and these parts would have been appropriately meaningful to someone expecting a child, but these weren’t the parts of it that stood out to me. What leaped off the page that day were verses 5 and 6: “You hem me in, behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

I imagined the hem on a piece of clothing and this visual was so comforting to me. I imagined that little life inside of me safely enclosed in God’s hands – like material that is folded over and stitched together to make a hem.  It wasn’t a guarantee that this life was going to make it and that I would one day see and hold him or her, but it was a strong reassurance that helped me to surrender – whatever happened with that life, it would be okay because he or she was held in God’s hands.

It wasn’t long after that day that I received an email from my sister in law on January 27, 2008. What do you know, she said….

“I ran across this verse the other day and you came to mind: Psalm 139:5 – You hem me in before and behind; You have laid Your hand upon me. When I read that I envisioned your baby in your womb because this is the passage that talks about how we are fearfully and wonderfully made, so this is my prayer for Baby Harris!”

That was like the exclamation point on it and how God uses other people to speak in our lives sometimes. It was as if He was saying, in case you are doubting that you heard me the first time, yes, I gave you this verse. Cling to it. I haven’t stopped holding your child.

There’s some powerful things in that and we would need many more devotionals to cover them all but let me just say as an aside – when you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit – God’s bringing someone to mind: to pray for them, share a verse with them, a word of encouragement, maybe something physically you need to share with them  — do it! You may be their answer to prayer. That is such a wonderful and amazing part about God allowing us to be used in His work and about the body of Christ coming together!

Back to the story, I did cling to that verse and in August of 2008 our amazing son, who is now almost twelve, arrived into our lives. He is a constant reminder of God’s wonderful gifts!

Psalm 139:5 is now part of my son’s identity and I hope he always knows that God has hemmed him in behind and before and God’s hand is upon him.

Let us pray – Thank you God for the gift of your Word. I pray that we would all remember today that we are hemmed in and can rest in the assurance that your hand is upon us. Amen.

Apr '20

Daily Devotional 4/20/20

Posted on Apr 21, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Apr '20

Daily Devotional 4/17/20

Posted on Apr 21, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Apr '20

GOD IS WITH US ON THE PLANE

Some background from First Samuel 16 will bring you up to speed with our passage for today’s devotion. King Saul had recently disobeyed God’s command resulting in God taking away his anointing as King of Israel. Samuel was still mourning this loss when God came to him and said, “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 1 Samuel 1:1. Samuel arrives in Bethlehem in the presence of Jesse’s family. We pick up the scripture reading from here:

“Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” So, he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have? “There is still the youngest, “Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So, he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” So, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power…” 1 Samuel 16:10-13

The story of John Jones who was traveling by plane from New York City to Boston on the 2:20 flight.

Many of us, if not most of us, have missed our 2:20 flight to Boston. We missed it not because we were curious about our weight and fortune but because of an unseen life-threatening virus. Our normal way of life has been hi-jacked by COVID-19. Not only has our normal way of life been hi-jacked but we have no clue as to when and where this plane is going to land!

As Christians, do we have any bases for hope during this Coronavirus hi-jacking of our normal way of life? Yes, as a matter of fact, we do! Paul says as Christians we have hope living in us. Colossians 1:27b…” Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Another way of saying the same thing is this: Wherever this plane takes us as Christians, we have Heaven in us!

When we are introduced to the story of David, as it is found in First Samuel 16, we discover, at least, two things about David. First, we learn that he is a shepherd boy, 15 years of age or younger. Up to this point in David’s life, life was normal. You know things like routines – feeding and watering the sheep, walking the sheep from pasture to pasture, school bells, and Taco Tuesday at Rosas’! It’s this second thing, that hi-jacks his normal way of life: he was chosen by God through the prophet Samuel to be Israel’s new king. You say, well that’s a good thing isn’t it. Yes, but this is where our lives and David’s intersect.

The day Samuel anointed David to be king of Israel until the day he reigned in Israel as king was about 13 years. During these 13 long years, the Bible tells us that David’s life was literally spent running for his life from King Saul who was trying to kill him! What David did not know at the time was that God was preparing him to rule, to lead, and to defend His People, Israel! God was preparing David to be a King.

During this pandemic, you and I should know with absolute confidence that God is wanting to show His Kingdom both to us and through us! Remember this verse, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” ( Matthew 6:33-34) Or, how about this scripture, “… Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”( Matthew 6:9-10) The stories of the Bible are there to encourage us to believe that God indeed has a plan! He had a plan for King David’s life, and He has a plan for each of our lives. CHRIST in us the HOPE of Glory reminds us that our Heavenly Father is on the plane with us, hi-jacked or not.

During this pandemic, let us hold up high the banner of Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he [God] who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ.”

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father be our shepherd, our protector, our strength, our peace and our comforter until you come and rescue and redeem us from this time, we find ourselves. In Jesus name, Amen.

Until we see each other again, face to face, may the Lord bless you!

Brother Wade

Apr '20

Daily Devotional 4/16/20

Posted on Apr 16, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Apr '20

Waiting and the In Between

1. Psalms and David. – Our pastors have started us off so well.

2. As I looked at this topic and considered both how I am doing and how so many of my students are doing, I thought about the point in Davids life where he has been anointed and yet is not king.

3. 1 Samuel 24 – David is being chased down by Saul and has an opportunity to kill him. In doing this, he would be able to take his rightful place where God has led him and it would all be like it should. Right? Instead, God shows him that while Saul is disobeying God, he was also anointed. This had to be infuriating. “God, you called me to lead your people, not run from them!” Yet David is obedient to wait.

4. If you are like me, and I hope you are, you may have felt like God was doing great things in January and February of 2020. It was a new year with new opportunities. It was the final semester for some of our kids and was on track to be the best one yet. Then Covid happened and many of us felt like everything that God was doing was taken away. Yet if we look at this passage, God didn’t say never mind your not anointed any more just Saul is. Instead it was a call to wait. Now as the story continues David doesn’t do perfectly, but I think we see that he gets it a little more in Psalm 27.

5. Psalm 27 talks of hard times and bad things, but finishes strongly with “Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord” In my study bible there is a note that said “Wait is to look to him with dependence and Trust, not passivity, for this is what enables us to be strong.”

6. This time of trial has not changed the good things that God wants to do in your life. It is instead to wait.

7. One of my students recently wrote a blog and talked about the “Interlude” and “Waiting”. For her, this idea of the in-between in a musical sense connected with where she was with God. There are things that He is calling her too and places where she can be a light. However, that is not where she is. Instead, she is able to be grateful and present with God where she is. Not in the big bridge section of the song or in the cymbal crash, but in the interlude.

Questions:

– What work was God doing in your life before COVOD – 19?

– How has God continued to work in your life during COVID-19?

Apr '20

Daily Devotional 4/15/20

Posted on Apr 16, 2020 in Daily Devotional |

Apr '20

Join Pastor Steve for today’s Daily Devotional as he talks about the importance of reading and praying the Psalms in context.  He will dive into Psalm 1 and show how it sets the tone and illuminates the rest of the Psalms and makes connection points back to the first five books in the Bible.

Click here for Psalm 1 set to song by Corner Room.  It is the verbatim text of Psalm 1 from the ESV.  This is a great way to memorize the Psalm 1.  They also have one for Psalm 23 here.

Click here for a great video outline of the Psalms from the Bible Project

Click here for a great video about how to the read the Psalms by the Bible Project.