Greater Things To Come

May 10, 2021

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 KJV)

RISE ABOVE IT ALL

The Israelites were exhausted and burdened from the circumstances of life. They weren’t just weak in body, but weak in spirit. How could they endure the hard circumstances of life any longer? The Prophet Isaiah encouraged them that God had promised to be their strength. For He gives power and renews strength to the weak while they wait on the Lord. As Christians, we look to Jesus, who came to us and said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). He carried the burden of our sin and judgment upon Himself on the cross. He rose again and sent His Spirit to empower us and strengthen us in all our weaknesses. But so many Christians are like the Israelites, we struggle needlessly because we do not want to wait on the Lord. Rather, we trust in ourselves and try to solve our own problems apart from God. 

Waiting on the Lord means to wait for his help; that is to trust in him, to put our hope and confidence in him, expecting him to move. Waiting on the Lord does not mean that you are inactive and not productive but only that you seek the Lord for guidance and direction. Remember, “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) 

Then, God will renew your strength and you will soar on wings like an eagle and not grow weary on this Christian journey. You see rising above it all is all about your mindset, your attitude, how you perceive and understand the reality of the situation, and realize that God is bigger than anything you can imagine. Don’t let the cares of this world shake your faith or steal your joy!

Throughout the scriptures, eagles have been used as a symbol of the divine presence of God. The eagle represents great power and balance, dignity with grace, and a connection with higher truths. In Exodus 19:4, God said to Moses on the mountain, “You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto myself.” The eagle soars from the higher nature (heaven) to the lower nature (earth). In comparison, God’s power gives us strength like the eagle to fly above life’s worldly levels. He will shelter you with His wings and protect you in the storm.

There is a wonderful lesson for God’s children to learn from the way an eagle approaches a storm. While the storm rages below him, the eagle is soaring above it. It does not escape the storm. It simply uses the strength of the storm to lift its body higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. What an extraordinary way to deal with adversity. Likewise, Holy Spirit is the wind that raises us above the storms of life and God can use adversity for gain. We need to learn from trials—to grow from the experience and be made better (James 1:2-3) and greater for God’s glory.

So, when the storms of life come upon us, we, too, can rise above them all. We can lift ourselves above adversity by setting our minds and our hearts toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. Jesus said, “In the world, you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37) 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for being the source of all strength, comfort, and peace. Help us to patiently wait on and be obedient to You. Holy Spirit, endow us with power to faithfully endure in times like these. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Submitted by: Pastor Rosa Orr, Macedonia #1 Christian Church, Ehrhardt, SC

1. On this week’s prayer list: Path of Life, Columbia, all mothers, and Northern California-Nevada Region

May 5, 2021

Ask, Believe and Receive 

“Verily, Verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also: and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:12-13 (KJV)

There are some who believe that Jesus meant that individual believers can and should do more spectacular works than Jesus did in the years of His earthly ministry. We earnestly await proof of those who have repeatedly done greater works than walking on water, calming storms with a word, multiplying food for thousands, raising people from the dead (more than the three recorded in Jesus’ work). Even if it were proved that one person after Jesus had done such things, it still does not explain why there are not now or have been thousands of people who have fulfilled this wrong and sometimes dangerous understanding of what Jesus meant when He said, greater works than these he will do.

Because I go to My Father: According to (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 15:7-9, 15:13) because Jesus went to the Father the Holy Ghost came upon His people, enabling them to do these greater works. We are never better than God, the Son, however He will use us if we are willing vessels. It is important to note that we have an example in Jesus Christ who gives us the keys to moving forward beyond where we are. All possibilities have been made available, if we just trust and believe in the Lord. Faith is not waiting on eternal life to come. Faith believes that all things are possible right now. It is in our right now that we must find the determination and courage to fight on in Jesus Christ's name and continue to ask, believe and receive.

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do: Jesus further explained how greater works would be possible for His followers. It would be possible because Jesus would do His work through His prayerful people, who asked and acted in His name. He promised to do anything that His trusting followers asked for in His name; that is, according to His character and authority.

In conclusion, we can move forward, because He [Jesus Christ] has paved the path to move forward. Simply read these verses (John 14:16, 14: 26, 15:26, 15:7-9, 15:13), and then ask Jesus to supply your needs and He will!

Word of Wisdom: “Keep on looking to Jesus and just ask, believe and receive”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for what your word says: ask and ye shall receive, believe and know that I am God and receive that I am God almighty. Amen.

Submitted by: Rev. Martha Watson, Briner Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Holly Hill, SC

On this week’s prayer list: Varnville, Varnville; Camp & Conference   

  April 27, 2021

Created To Do Good Works

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

God has a unique plan for our lives. He wants to use us to touch other people and to make a difference in our world. There are people around us that need to know about Jesus. God wants to use us to show them Jesus.

We are created by God, for God, and in God. We are created for the purpose of action. The action we should take is the action that God had in mind for us to take when he created us.

God has already prepared the works He has for us, and His purpose is that we walk in them. Therefore it is not us that prepare the good works but rather God has already prepared them for us. We however need to walk in them.

As mysterious as it is, God has planned our works in advance, so that as we fulfill them we make true the Scripture that “we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9). We have been designed to do His work. He desires to use us for His greater glory. 

When most people think of this “good and greater work,” they think of apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and missionaries, but Jesus says in John 14:12, “that every believer can do the works that He did”. These works include miracles, signs, wonders and mighty acts of power. Greater works! That’s what Jesus expects us to do. And we can when we yield to the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

Receive in your heart God’s great plans for your life and the great and good work He has called you to do, even if you can’t fully wrap your mind around it. Just know that He is preparing you for greater. Greater levels of faith, greater operations of the gifts of the Spirit, greater manifestations of healing and power, greater knowledge and awareness of who He is, and a greater deeper walk with Him.

Be motivated to do good and greater works because the God in you is mightier and stronger than he that is in the world. Renew your mind because you are capable of greater works according to God's will through Christ.

Prayer:  Thank You, Lord, that as we believe in Your Word, and believe in You, we will do the very works that You did on earth, and even greater works, because of our faith in You and Your Word. I pray that You bless all of our congregations and that You use us in mighty ways to bless others to Your glory. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Submitted by: Susie H. Cobb, Pastor of Agape Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Columbia, SC

On this week’s prayer list: April 25: Agape, Columbia & Pension Fund

April 12, 2021

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9 KJV

When Eve and then Adam ate of the forbidden fruit in the  Garden of Eden a broken relationship with God began and continues throughout the generations on earth (Genesis 2:16-17). Our sinful nature and our sinful practices have such a stronghold on our daily actions that we drift continuously further and further away from the holy image of  God. We stray so far away that we can barely see God and His mighty  works in this world. 

God is telling us the same thing that He told Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy  God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). Greater things  are yet to come if we are strong and courageous to claim this  opportunity. God promises to strengthen us and give us the courage to face giants in our lives and move forward toward reaching the goal that  He has for each of us. 

As we move forward on our daily journey, “Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand  of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus will show us opportunities, and not opposition to accomplish God’s mission for us. In Jesus Christ, we have a new life now and the promise of eternal life to come. In His  promise there is a certainty of greater things to come. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we come to You humbly as we know how. We  thank You for all that You have provided and as the Bible says, “that the  Holy Spirit will show us things to come” (John 16:13). Lord, please help  us to spend more time with You through prayer, the reading of Your Word, scriptural meditation, and fellowshipping in love with each other. Through individual meditation, corporate prayer, and fellowshipping, we know you will show us things to come, in Jesus name. Amen. 

Submitted by: Rev. Dr. Rosemary Simmons-Brown, Pastor of Three Mile Creek Christian Church, Ehrhardt, South Carolina

On this week’s prayer list:  Rice Patch, Islandton; Communication 

Ministries and Mid-America Region 

April 4, 2021

Mark 16:1-8 New Revised Standard Version 

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Our devotional theme this year is “Greater Things to Come”. That certainly applies to the scripture lesson I have chosen for today. In the New Revised Common Lectionary, a three year cycle of scripture readings, one for each Sunday of the year, found in our Disciples Annual Planning Guide and Calendar, this is year B and the Gospel focus is primarily on Mark. For Easter Sunday, two Gospel lessons are listed, one is Mark 16:1-8. It will be good to think of “Greater Things to Come” as we read the words of the chosen text.

The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end right there, “they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” The late esteemed Bible Scholar Dr. Bruce Metzger, Princeton Seminary Professor, and chair of the Revised Standard Version translation committee for the Bible, gives two possible explanations for why Mark would have ended his Gospel that way. Either he died before he finished writing it, or the final page of his original handwritten manuscript got lost. The early church thought that there was a need for more to be said, so one century added a summary statement and another century added the familiar resurrection stories from Matthew, Luke and John, to provide what some thought would be a more fitting ending to the Gospel.

But what if Mark really did stop there? Well, to me that suggests that the responsibility to share the Good News of the Gospel of the risen Jesus Christ falls to us, today, in our churches, in our towns, in our nation and in our world. We know that greater things are to come following the account of the empty tomb. Indeed, Christ is risen and He has revealed Himself to His followers, even to us in the breaking of the bread each Sunday! Mark may well have left us with a job to do: It is up to us to proclaim that Good News which each of us discovers as we encounter Christ for ourselves.

Prayer: Eternal God, we thank you for the Good News of the Gospel which has been handed down to us. Help us to find Jesus today, and to welcome Him again into our hearts, and then to share the risen Christ. In Jesus’s name we pray. Amen

Thought for today:  If “they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid,” it is up to us to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Submitted by: Pastor Fred Clarke, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Charleston

On this week’s prayer list: St. Phillip, Reevesville & National Benevolent Association