Everything in common

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:44 (NIV)

44 All of the believers were together and had everything in common.

Good morning!

God gave me three incredibly talented, strong opinionated, uniquely different children to love. They share some of our unique characteristics, like their father’s heart, my crazy sense of adventure, and their grandparents’ inherent spunk! It is with great joy that I give God thanks for all three of my children, especially when we disagree with each other. Our unique personalities and critical thinking skills make for an interesting mix whenever we get together as a family.

What is it like in your home? Do you share all things in common with your kin?

It is tempting to get ramped up about our unique differences. We put them on display for the world to see, losing sight of the many things we do share in common. We may not look or think alike – yet, we share a common bond of flesh and blood. We are the heartbeat of humanity. We know what it feels like to go hungry, and what happens to our bodies, minds and souls, when basic human needs are not met. We understand what it feels like to be hurt, and the profound pain that comes from broken relationships. We relish the wonder of inexplicable joy. We experience great love as we hold a newborn baby, say a marriage vow, or celebrate happy moments with good friends. We find camaraderie in laughter. We understand the daily temptations that lead us to make mistakes, to choose the wrong path, and find ourselves falling into sinful, deceitful behaviors. We walk the path of destruction every day, moving far too close to the edge of the pit. Have you ever seen someone slip and fall? Do you know what it feels like to slide down a slippery slope with no branch to grab and hold on to for dear life?

The day the Holy Spirit came, thousands of uniquely distinct and different individuals were instantly filled with Christ’s love. They found the one thing they had longed for – they had found Christ’s amazing love. He is the branch that reaches out and grabs you in the middle of human diversity, freeing you from the sins that are literally sucking all hope out of your life. What once was a gathering of diverse peoples with little to share suddenly became a bunch of believers with everything in common! Jesus had become their absolute everything. And nothing else was more important than Him.

I think we spend way too much time dissecting our differences and far too little time focusing on our everything! My prayer for today is that Jesus Christ becomes absolutely everything to you. He is all that truly matters in this world and in the world to come. He is new life, fresh breath, and offers freedom forever from all that keeps us from the Father’s heart. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the only cure to humanity’s hurt; He brings new life to all who will call upon His name by faith. We have everything in common when we share Christ together.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.

Awesome love

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:43 (NIV)

43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

Good morning!

It is an awesome thing to see a miracle in motion, happening right before your eyes. Something incredible occurs when a heart is touched by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Lives are transformed into Christ-likeness. Hurting hearts are healed, broken families are mended, and people learn how to love each other for real. What does this amazing, unconditional love look like? What did it look like on the day the Holy Spirit saved 3,000 men in Jerusalem?

Take a closer look at the Scripture. Can you imagine what it must have been like for the people who came to know the Lord in that moment when the Spirit fell? Folks from different nations, beliefs, races, cultures and creeds, were all hearing the Gospel message and receiving Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. These people were not all Jews. Many did not live in the area, nor had they had any real knowledge or contact with Christ as he walked in flesh on the earth. Still, in one amazing fell swoop, the Spirit set their hearts on fire, and lives were instantly changed. A new way of living emerged. The people who did not agree on much of anything culturally or religiously, suddenly found themselves worshipping and trusting Christ for salvation all together. Can you imagine what a miraculous wonder this must have been?

It takes the power and presence of the Holy Spirit working in and through our lives today, to experience what unconditional love really is. So much more than simply agreeing to disagree with each other, we must learn to really love each other the way that Jesus loves us. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can look beyond all the hidden agendas, our differences of opinion, and even our own precious preconceived notions, and find His love resting on all people, everywhere. We can only be fully united in Christ’s love alone, and it is His love that is birthed in and through us when the power of Holy Spirit comes.

I am daily filled with awe, every time I experience Christ’s love through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Won’t you open your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ today? He can teach us how to better love each other, if we are willing to let Him be the Lord of our lives. Are you willing to love others the way Jesus Christ loves you?

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.

The bigger picture

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:41(b)-42 (NIV)

41(b) About three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Good morning!

At the coffee shop this week, I sat at a table with one of my pastors, sipping on a hot cup of Earl Grey tea while listening as she spoke. My pen didn’t work. I had a notebook with me, ready to take notes on the conversation for future review. This seemed to be a strange blessing, because it forced me to sit still and pay close attention, not trying to pen every thought on paper. While it often helps me see things clearly in writing, I will tell you that the visual images God birthed from that holy conversation far surpasses anything I could have read in a book or studied from personal notes. I have found this particular conversation especially meaningful as I’ve prayed and asked the Lord for clarity of call.

Sometimes God has to hit me over the head a few times to get my undivided attention. In the last forty-eight hours, I’ve confessed to the Lord that my prayers have been way too small. I’d like to think that my view is not skewed by the four walls that surround me today; yet, I know in my heart I have not allowed Jesus to expand my view beyond what I can physically see. I’ve been stuck in this mold for well over two years, and I thought I might eventually suffocate if I didn’t find a tiny air pocket in which to breathe. All I really needed was one holy breath. Isn’t that what all of us need – His breath, filling up our souls with a holy fire?

Take a closer look at today’s Scripture and tell me what you see. Three thousand men got saved that day in the city: three thousand men who did not share a common language or culture. They traveled from all over the world to attend the festival, not knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ had specifically called them together to receive the gift of His Holy Spirit. The Apostles had been praying together constantly, looking to the Lord for guidance and help in sharing His message of salvation to all men. And when the Lord opened the flood gates, thousands of hearts were forever changed, birthed through constant prayer.

It occurred to me that my God doesn’t need a primed and ready heart to reach out and grab them. He has ultimate power and authority to draw all people, everywhere, especially the ones who have never been exposed to Jesus in their culture. Not all who came to the city that day were primed and ready for a spiritual transformation, but through the work of Christ on the cross, they got Him, lock, stock and barrel!

Father, help me today to see your bigger picture. Teach me to dream limitless dreams, praying and seeking what seems impossible at the surface, for through your Son, Jesus Christ I know all things are possible! Help me stand on Your Word today. And, thank you for sending me pastors with discerning hearts. I claim it today, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.

She said yes!

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:41 (NKJV)
41 Then those who gladly received His Word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Good morning!

When she said yes, everything changed. I remember the day when she gave her life to the Lord. A long time ago, God had planted a tiny seed of faith in a young child’s heart. That little seed survived in some rough weather conditions. Baking in the broiler of adversity, surviving a season of extreme drought, continuing to push up through the hard, cold ground, a tiny sprout of faith survived! I've often wondered how it was possible, that a little miracle could grow in such an unforgiving climate. Every now and then, someone would come along and shower her with some water and a lot of unconditional love, prompting a deep desire within to grow and stretch a bit more. It is that childlike seed of faith that continually propelled her heart forward, reaching up, seeking the Son's light.

Sometimes, the barometric pressure seemed much too heavy to bear. Totally unprepared, she found herself completely uprooted in the spring cyclones of life; her faith being tossed to and fro amid high winds and heavy rain. Buried alive in a thick layer of hail, it seemed her heart had been left over-exposed to die outside, alone in the cold. The Father was merciful and showed great compassion on a limp, lifeless vine. He saw something precious worth saving inside her hollow heart. He obviously knew and recognized the seedling inside. It was, after all, His perfect gift of love.

When she said yes, a brand new life began to grow, from the inside out. Her transformation was nothing short of a miracle! Sweet water from heaven restored the broken pieces of her life. There is something wholly mysterious in the newfound freedom borne in forgiveness. She may never fully understand why things happen exactly the way they sometimes do. There is new life when the Father transplants His child into the rich soil of everlasting life, daily nourished by the saving blood of the Lamb.

This is exactly what happens when someone says yes to the Lord. It happened that day in Jerusalem, when three thousand broken souls came forward, gladly giving their hearts away to the Lord. They were baptized by the power of the Holy Spirit, and their lives were forever changed. Would you like to experience a brand new life in Jesus Christ?

Everything changed when she finally said yes. Please say yes to Jesus today. Ask Him to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life. He will forgive you for all the things that have uprooted and separated you from Him. Ask Him to receive baptism of the Holy Spirit. When you finally say yes to the Lord, He will move into your heart and home and He will change your life forever.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding
Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO
www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________
© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding
All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.

The sin cycle

Today’s Reading: Acts 2:40 (NKJV)

40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”

Good morning!

Everyone likes to reminisce on “the good old days,” when life was not quite so fast-paced. My mother often says of her childhood, “We were poor and didn’t even know it!” She grew up in the backwoods of Mississippi. Her dad was a cotton picker, and they lived off the land. Very few supplies were purchased from the town grocer, as money was scarce during the Great Depression. They threw absolutely nothing away – everything got recycled for the greater good. Even potato sacks were reused as undergarments! Doesn’t that sound comfy? My mom used to tell about one of her cousins getting slain in the Holy Ghost at church one hot summer’s night and rolling around on the floor in her potato sack underwear. Now, that’s a story for another day, but I can tell you my mother grew up actually seeing Holy Rollers in church!

It’s amazing in the differences between my mother’s childhood and my childhood. Mom’s favorite mode of transportation was on the back of a mule, the same animal that helped till the soil for spring planting. My favorite mode of transportation as a child was a Schwinn High Flyer Bicycle, painted bright red with white and blue streamers on each handle bar. My children loved their prized roller blades and skate boards. They were pretty good at maneuvering the subdivisions where we lived on wheels. My grandchildren prefer to ride the trails on Wii bicycles hooked to video games inside the comfort of their own home. My eight year old grandson Jett is a master at racing video games. He can maneuver the many obstacles, winning each round and advancing from level to level with ease. Some of the games he plays make me dizzy just watching him. It seems, as far as generational tendencies go, our need for speed has ramped way up over the last eighty or so years.

Unfortunately, our continual need for speed has escalated the sinful perversions of this generation. It is easy to sit back and read our Scriptures, pointing to the cultural and historical issues of their day while saying to ourselves, “We are not like them at all.” Do you really think that? Somehow, we have fooled ourselves into believing because we are more technologically and socially advanced, that we do not face the same sins that plagued the people in Jerusalem on the day the Holy Spirit came. It is just not true. We may have grown up in a sheltered environment, unaware or unmoved by the atrocities happening around us, but believe me, the ravages of sin is as prevalent today as it was when my mother was a child, and for every generation before and after her. There are no good old days to reminisce about, when it comes to humanity’s sinful nature, and the path of destruction it leaves along the highways of life. Which road are you racing on?

Peter cried out to the people that day with conviction of truth. You have a choice. You don’t have to live in the sins that are eating you alive. You can take a different path and be saved from this perverse generation! Jesus has done the work needed to save you from your sin. You don’t have to live life in the fast lane with no where to turn to at the edge of the cliff. You have a choice to make right now. Cry out to Jesus today, and be saved. In Christ alone, you will find the way to step off the sin cycle. And when you ask Jesus to come and live in your heart, it may very well change the course of direction in the lives of your family and friends for many generations to follow. Please come to Jesus Christ today, and begin to experience real life like you have never known before.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2009, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles.