It is important that you RSVP to Phil Walter no later than Friday evening. Contact him at  407-766-8408 or Minister@NHCChome.org .

Watch for the start of the next Church News Contest in the next few weeks.

If you missed last Sunday’s message, you can listen to it by going to our website’s home page and clicking on “GodCasts (Audio Teachings)” at the top of the page. Then, just choose the sermon you want to hear and click on the headphone icon. The GodCasts are posted no later than Wednesday after they are presented live in our Worship Celebrations.

It isn’t too late to join us on this spiritual journey with us. To get started, come to Westbrooke Elementary School (500 E. Tomyn Blvd., Ocoee) this Sunday at 10:00 AM for Aaron’s Bible class and stay for our Worship Celebration at 10:35 AM to hear Aaron’s message.

(NOTE: Write out the BIBLE KEY at least once this week, perhaps in your personal journal.  Then, before you begin to read the devotional thoughts for each day, read the BIBLE KEY for that week. Become familiar with it and, perhaps, even memorize it.)

BIBLE KEY: (John 8:47, NIV) [Jesus speaking.] He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

MONDAY

(Isaiah 55:6-9, NIV) 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

One of the main purposes of our “Experiencing God” Journey is to encourage people to diligently seek God while they can, because a time may come when He feels much farther from them than now. Or, a time may come when they are unable to seek Him—when it’s too late. It’s important to call on the Lord while He is near.

Then, when they turn to the Lord and surrender themselves obediently to Him, He will have mercy on them. He will make it possible for them to do what some consider impossible. That is, He will allow unholy sinners to come into His totally holy presence. (Have you ever thought that God could not love you because you sinned to much?) This is only possible because of God’s great love and grace that offers the cleansing of regeneration through His Son.

Now, that concept may be difficult to understand. That’s because, God is very different from us. His thoughts and ways are governed by His absolute righteousness and pure holiness. But, our the thoughts and ways—those controlled by unregenerate human nature—are governed by our selfish desires, confused morals, incomplete wisdom, mistake-filled lives, and lots of false information about spiritual matters. You see, it’s not our nature to think like God or to understand Him. Our only hope to understand Him is to listen to what He actually says. Fortunately, He will teach us His ways, if we really listen to Him.

Pray that God will give you understanding and wisdom when you read His word, the Bible. Study it so that you learn its truth.

TUESDAY

(Proverbs 19:20-21, NIV) 20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise. 21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

Listening to advice and accepting instruction are difficult things to do. They imply that we have incomplete knowledge or inferior wisdom to make our own decisions. Most of us prefer to rely on ourselves and chart our own courses. We may not trust someone else’s judgment or motives.

From my experiences in life, I think some young people are good examples of this characteristic. They refuse to listen to their parents because they think their parents don’t understand their lives. They think they know more than their parents. They often mistrust the wisdom of people with white hair, because those old folks don’t know how things really are today. Sadly, their refusal to listen to wise advice and instruction relegates them to learn the lessons of life the hard way, if they learn them at all.

In a similar way, we need to listen to God so we can get His wise advice and instruction. Otherwise, we suffer the consequences of our foolish ways.

Regardless of how smart you think you are, God is much smarter. His plans and purposes always prevail. Your plans pale in comparison to His.

So, decide to listen and learn from God.

WEDNESDAY

(1 Corinthians 2:9-12, NIV) 9 …As it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Though we may not know much about the Holy Spirit, He plays some very important roles in our lives. For one thing, He is our teacher. He teaches us empirical truth—truth that never changes. It’s the same in every age of time. It is eternal because it comes from an eternal God.

You see, the Holy Spirit is God, part of the Trinity. He is the gift from God (Acts 2:38) that we receive when we are born of the water and the Spirit (John 3:5). He lives in us to transform us into what God wants us to be. He does so by teaching us and guiding us.

We need to learn to listen to this unique gift from God because He knows the thoughts of God. We won’t learn the truth about God without His help. He reveals His truth through the Bible. Then, He works through that knowledge in the circumstances of our lives, when we pray, and when we interact with other Christians in the church.

What is so wonderful about all this is that the truth you learn from God will set you free from ignorance, false beliefs, and futile living. He will teach you about God, His purposes, and His ways. These are very good reasons to thank God for giving you the Holy Spirit. Why not thank Him now?

THURSDAY

(1 Corinthians 2:14-16, NIV) 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 16 ”For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Christians are very fortunate to have the Holy Spirit living in their lives. He teaches them truths from God.

Yet, unbelievers don’t see it that way because they are blinded to the truth. They measure life from their limited perspectives. They don’t understand spiritual issues of life the way Christians do. Their values have not been impacted by the Judgment and eternity. Their hearts have not been warmed by God’s love.

The man without the Spirit doesn’t accept God’s plans, but the spiritual man does. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. He gradually gives us “the mind of Christ” as we grow in the knowledge and gracious living of our Lord and Savior (2 Peter 3:18).

Pray for God’s wisdom and guidance. Continually strive to develop the mind of Christ by discerning and learning truth in the Bible.

FRIDAY

Don’t forget to read your Bible Key each day.

(Romans 8:26-27, NIV) 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Prayer is a marvelous mechanism. It allows us to communicate with God. Unfortunately, many times we think we are communicating with God when we spend all of our time in prayer telling God what He already knows. Prayer is more than one-way communication.

Yes, prayer can involve verbal expressions of praise, confession, forgiveness, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and commitment. But, it also involves quietly thinking about what God says to us in the Bible. In order to guide us to deal with our prayer requests, God may speak to us through His Word that is planted in our minds, as it acts on our consciences.

In this way, the Holy Spirit helps our weakness. He carries each of our heart-felt petitions to God with the clarity that we cannot express. Then, when God is ready to answer our prayer and we are ready to receive the answer, the Spirit brings to our remembrance the truth of God’s word that applies to it. After that, it’s up to us to take action on it. At the same time, we can be assured that God will act on it, too.

You should learn to practice two-way prayer. First, remove distractions around you and focus on your time with God, as if you were sitting at His feet. Humble yourself before Him by reflecting on His unique characteristics as God. Tell Him you love Him and thank Him for some of His blessings. Submit yourself to Him and make yourself available for His purposes. Tell Him what is on your heart and mind—be open and honest with Him. Surrender yourself to Him—be receptive to His instructions. Think about God and Jesus—try to recall His instructions from the Bible. Commit yourself to obeying Him, even if you must sacrifice something to do so. Then, lay your prayer before His throne of grace in Jesus’ name.

As you learn to pray in this way, you will discover a beautiful intimacy with God that will make His daily presence in your life a magnificent reality.

["Devotional Guides for the Journey" are written by Philip Walter. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2012 ]

(Scripture quotes are from the New International Version [NIV] of the Bible, copyright © 1984, International Bible Society.)

(NOTE: Write out the BIBLE KEY at least once this week, perhaps in your personal journal.  Then, before you begin to read the devotional thoughts for each day, read the BIBLE KEY for that week. Become familiar with it and, perhaps, even memorize it.)

BIBLE KEY: (John 14:21, NIV) [Jesus speaking] “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

MONDAY

Today, we look at one of the most enduring stories in the Bible. It’s about faith.  (Genesis 22:1-2, NIV) 1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

Verses 3-8 tell us how Abraham took his son and all the necessary provisions to the mountain where God commanded him to go.

(Genesis 22:9-12, NIV) 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12 ”Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Verses 13 and 14 tell us that God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice, instead of his son.

(Genesis 22:15-18, NIV) 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice the dearest thing he had in life—his son who was the heir that God had promised. Not only would killing his son have brought terrible sorrow on Abraham, but also it would have meant that Abraham would have no heir from his beloved wife, Sarah. Though Abraham didn’t understand why God was asking him to do this, he trusted God to do what was best for him and his son. As a result, God blessed them in ways greater than Abraham could imagine.

How has God tested your faith recently? Has He put something on your heart to do that will serve His Biblical purposes? Does it require some sacrifice on your part? Maybe He’s testing your faith.

Trust God’s love for you. Draw close to Him. Obey His commands.

TUESDAY

(Hebrews 12:5-6, NIV) 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:  “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

Sometimes, God allows us to experience various kinds suffering as a form of His discipline. When He does, He is trying to teach us important lessons about our attitudes and our obedience to Him. This kind of suffering has a purpose. He allows it to come on us for our benefit.

The idea behind the proverb in these verses is that God disciplines us because He loves us; not because he hates us. He treats us as a loving father who disciplines his dear son. He does it for our good. He does it out of necessity, not out of anger or sadistic delight.

If we consider God to be our Heavenly Father, we must learn to accept His discipline with humility, obedience, and trust.

WEDNESDAY

Don’t forget to read the Bible Key each day.

It’s interesting how different people view God’s commands. Some think they are suggestions, not requirements. Others think they are restrictions designed to steal fun from our lives. Others think they are outdated and irrelevant.

(Deuteronomy 32:45-47, NIV) 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you–they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

From these verses, how would you describe what Moses thought about God’s commands?

During his life, Moses learned the importance of obeying God’s commands. He had spent 40 years in the wilderness with God before God called him to service. He developed a personal relationship with God during that time. And, he saw first hand God’s power unleashed in miraculous ways. So, Moses knew that obedience to God was paramount in life.

Let’s listen to God’s Word and respect His commands.

THURSDAY

Moses was thinking of future generations who would hear about God and His Word from their parents. So, he advises fathers what to tell their children about God’s commands.

(Deuteronomy 6:20-25, NIV) 20 In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders–great and terrible–upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. 24 The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

Verses 24-25 reveal some of the purposes behind God’s commands—prosperity, life, and righteousness before God. God has good and noble purposes for His commands. He is much wiser than we are. He sees the hallway of history from its beginning to its end–He knows all the past, the present, and the future. He understands how everything is supposed to fit together.

So, let’s trust His word, even when we don’t understand it. Let’s resolve to obey Him. And, let’s thank Him for giving us His commands to guide our lives.

FRIDAY

(John 5:17, 19-20, NIV) 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”…….19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.

At the time that Jesus spoke these words, the Jewish leaders were trying to find some way to stop Him, perhaps even kill Him. In this passage, Jesus is defending the fact that He is God’s Son, doing God’s work. In fact, Jesus was saying that He was doing just what He saw His Heavenly Father doing.

Implied in this story is an invitation for us to join Jesus in the work He is doing. So, what did He do that we should doing with Him?

There is a broad range of activities that we can do with Jesus. We could do extraordinary activities that amaze everyone who sees them, such as when Jesus healed the sick. We are accomplishing extraordinary activities when we exceed people’s expectations of what Christians can do. At the other end of the spectrum, we might do simple activities, such as when Jesus comforted those who were sorrowing or when He taught others the Word of God. We are doing these simple activities when we touch other people’s lives with Jesus’ love. When we take a little time out of our daily routine to reach out to others with Christian love, we are serving them with Jesus.

Apparently, Jesus is inviting you to join Him in His work? Will you do so? If yes, where is He at work and what opportunity is He presenting to you do today?

["Devotional Guides for the Journey" are written by Philip Walter. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2012 ]

(Scripture quotes are from the New International Version [NIV] of the Bible, copyright © 1984, International Bible Society.)