Living Water or Broken Cisterns

Jeremiah 2:12-13 Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

One thing that I am sure of, one thing that humans have been consistent about throughout history, human nature never changes. Corrupt, rebellious.... and OK well just plain stupid. It seems like we always tend to think more of ourselves and less of God than we should. We tend to love the wrong things, pursue what is harmful and work really hard to obtain what is ultimately useless. Or maybe this is just how I am...... This just illustrates how much we need to have our minds 'transformed by the renewing or our minds.' Spend a little time 'dwelling in Gods' Word as you prepare for worship next Wednesday..... read and meditate on the 2nd chapter of Jeremiah. Have a good weekend goobers and gooberitas.

What do you delight in?

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2

Have you ever sat down to read the Bible just because you felt like you were supposed to, and nothing more? Ever felt guilty when church begins because you realized you haven't opened your bible since the last service? If so consider this question.... would you want people to hang out with you because they felt obligated ? or because they felt guilty if they didn't? Wouldn't you rather them do it because they think you're amazing and wise? OK, so maybe the last part is a stretch..... But one thing should be clear, God intends for us to read the bible because we delight in Him, because we understand that it is TRUTH and results in our good and His glory! If delight is your motivation then you won't have to be reminded or prodded into doing devotions by your goofy youth pastor..... I guess the question is this? If you don't delight in reading and thinking about what the bible says........ then what is it that delights you?

Ponder this for Sunday Night.....

If delight in God is a gift of God, then why doesn't every believer have joy? Why do we have to fight for joy if it is a gift from God?

For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Romans 7:22-23

There is a continual battle within the life of every believer. In part it is a battle for delight. A battle to find our delight in God or the unfulfilling things of our flesh. When you read these verses from Romans do you tend to use them as excuses 'I'm only human' as to why you do not delight in God as we are demanded, or do you see it as a challenge to fight for joy in Christ?

Fast paced, action packed, never get caught up.... maybe we don't need to try harder. Maybe we need to slow down. Sometimes we get so caught up in our day to day life that we forget to do the very basic and most important things...like sleep, eat, relax - but even more than that. When was the last time that you just sat down with an Awesome Book "The Bible" and meditated on what it says? I challenge you to wake up 20 minutes early the rest of the week and just sit down and read and meditate for 15 minutes. Write down a verse of scripture, stick it in your pocket and read and think about it throughout the day..... you can start with this one!

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Col. 3:16

Follow Up Devotion

Several were out Sunday Night so I just wanted to post one of our journal entries from class.......... even if you were in class take some time to reconsider this verse.

Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

1. Who or what is the greatest desire in this verse?
2. Can you, right now, stop and tell God...."God, I have no one in heaven but you, and there is nothing on this earth that I desire more than you!"

3. If you were unable to say this to God sincerely, what do you think is preventing you?

WIDDG Devo 3

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Is delight a decision or an emotion? Can we will ourselves to 'feel' a certain way. Throughout scripure God instructs us to 'feel a certain way..... 'delight in the Lord, Rejoice in the Lord always, be joyful always' .......... but we can not simply will ourselves to 'feel' a certain way. We may make ourselves appear to be happy, we may for a short time deceive ourselves into thinking we're happy. Long term delight & joy is not a result of having strong willpower, or just making a decision to be happy. If what i just said is true, then how does God expect us to obey Psalm 37:4?

Remember to post your answers or questions in your journal!!!

Just a note...about Sunday night

Just a little note to let you know that we will kick back in with discipleship classes on Sunday night. Do devotion for day 3,4&5 from chapter 3. I will have devotions up on here later in the week