|
The Daily
Thursday Sep 9th, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
The Messengers
Thursday, September 9 The Messengers Take a moment to ask God to speak to you during this time. READ REFLECT The average person who hasn’t experienced a healthy local church might not think of Christians as “good news bearers.” They may think of churchgoers as complainers, petitioners, judgers or excluders. But there might not be as much hostility directed toward the church if everywhere we went we reflected the goodness of Jesus. People around us should be saying things like, “Hey, I really like hanging out with you. Every time I’m around you, you enlighten me. You show me what it means to love. You’ve really helped me through ( read more )
Wednesday Sep 8th, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
Sharing Life
Wednesday, September 8 Sharing Life Take a moment to ask God what it means to share your life with others. READ REFLECT To some, being a hermit sounds delightful. Introverted folks love solitude, and having some chatty Cathy talking their ear off is worse than sticking a pencil in one’s eye. Solitude is good in some contexts, but even nonsocial introverts need people to grow, to survive. The early believers didn’t seclude themselves or check out from everything that was going on around them. They had their authentic community with other Christ-followers, and they brought that same identity to the rest of their society. And the Bible says that they had glad and sincere hearts ( read more )
Tuesday Sep 7th, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
Generosity
Tuesday, September 7 Generosity Take a few minutes to ask God to show you what it means to be generous. READ REFLECT There’s nothing saying that in order to be generous, you have to sell all of your stuff and live like a monk. The early church’s generosity was rooted in love. It was their abundance of love that enabled them to share everything they had with each other. The early believers knew they hadn’t joined an organization, but had actually become part of a new family--and a new life. So their generosity wasn’t about guilt, indebtedness or rules. Rather, their generosity was a natural expression of the gratitude they felt ( read more )
Monday Sep 6th, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
Community
Week 2: The Early Church Monday, September 6 Community Take a moment to repent of trying to do things on your own’and being disconnected from God. READ REFLECT This isn’t your big brother’s frat party. If you’re thinking that real community only involves a dorm, neighborhood or kids’ school, think again. Upon reading the phrase in common, you might assume that it refers two or more people who have the same interests. But you don’t all have to love sushi to have everything in common. Common just means belonging equally to a community. It means sharing your life (and maybe even your stuff) with one another. It&rsquo ( read more )
Friday Sep 3rd, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
Awe
Friday, September 3 Awe Take a moment and ask God to be near to you in this time. READ REFLECT Upon seeing the many signs and wonders delivered by the apostles, people were in awe. Were they only filled with awe because of these miracles? Maybe. Or could it be that their awe inspired the apostles to perform such miracles? It’s the old chicken and the egg question: Which came first? Was it the wonders and signs that were done that led to the awe-filled Christ-followers? Or was it the awe-filled Christ-followers that helped the apostles do these things? One thing is for certain, without an awe-filled heart, the early church probably would have missed the ( read more )
Thursday Sep 2nd, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
Signs and Wonders
Thursday, September 2 Signs and Wonders Take a moment and ask God to be near to you in this time. READ REFLECT These signs and wonders didn’t show up as crop circles, baseball players on an Iowa field, or someone being able to see dead people. But they did cause people to be awe-filled. Today, many people find it hard to believe in wonders and signs. There must be some sort of logical explanation for miraculous things, right? Even among Christ-followers there’s a general feeling that miracles may have only been for biblical times and may not occur today. It’s little wonder there’s little wonder left. The word &ldquo ( read more )
Wednesday Sep 1st, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
Devotion
Wednesday, September 1 Devotion Ask God to speak to you about commitment—both his and yours. READ REFLECT The word “devoted” means to give yourself over to a cause or activity, or “to vow.” Sounds like a marriage, doesn’t it? If you’re a commitment-phobe, that’s quite alright. It’s not that type of commitment. The early community of Christ-followers just gave themselves over to following the teachings of Jesus through his disciples. They also “vowed” to do life together: to be authentic with one another without pretense, to eat meals together, and to pray for (and with) one another. They devoted ( read more )
Tuesday Aug 31st, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
A Promise Fulfilled
Tuesday, August 31 A Promise Fulfilled Take a moment and tell God you want to trust in his promises. READ REFLECT A fierce wind and tongues of fire? When God sent us the Holy Spirit, he certainly made it worth the anticipation. Through the Holy Spirit, God kept his promise to the early church. And He keeps his promises now. They don’t always involve flames, fierce winds or speaking in foreign languages, but his promises are fulfilled today, just as they were then. Throughout the Bible, we see that God is as good as his word. RESPOND If you’re dealing with doubt about God fulfilling his promises, write it down. Then, ask ( read more )
Monday Aug 30th, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
The Wait
Week 1: The Early Church Monday, August 30 The Wait Take a moment to ask God to help you trust him in waiting. READ REFLECT For the next two weeks, we’ll look at the experiences of the early church, the first followers of Jesus. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the church of 2010 has to look the same as the early church, but we can still learn from how they applied Jesus’ teachings to their lives. Imagine how Jesus’ friends felt. After the joy of seeing Him come back to life, he leaves again after only 40 days. And He tells them about an amazing gift he’s sending, but he doesn&rsquo ( read more )
Friday Aug 27th, 2010 1:00 am —
The Daily
—Posted by:
Margie Bajema
A Different Way of Life
Friday, August 27 A Different Way of Life Today, ask God to reveal his faithfulness to you. REFLECT So maybe being faithful isn’t quite how it’s generally imagined. In fact, it’s not really all that “religious” sounding. So what is it to be faithful? It’s trusting what you can’t see. It’s being willing to wait for what’s promised. It’s knowing that what seems odd in the moment may just work after all. It’s understanding that the choices of the past don’t keep us (or others) from being faithful now. In the end, it ( read more ) |
My Events
VIEW ALL EVENTS
Top of Page
Prayer Request
Get in Touch