Friday the 26th

Acts 16:

⁶Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

Have you ever found yourself trying to do something, and it just not working out for you? Have you ever felt like you needed to be somewhere but circumstance after circumstance arises, and you just never make it? Maybe you need to quit trying to force something to happen, stop, and re-evaluate your position, and recognize that although that path might look advantageous, there is a reason that the Lord is keeping you from making that happen! Here we see Paul traveling far and wide preaching the Word, yet often he had to redirect his steps. He had to reflect, pray, and find the path that the Lord wanted him to follow. All too often today we want to forge ahead. We are taught that if we see something and we want it we go get it no matter the cost. When we forge ahead forcing, things to happen, we find that even if we succeed it is a pirique victory at best…..the victory turns out not to be worth the cost. We hang our heads and wonder why. Often the answer is as simple as we failed to ask God to direct our steps. There is a plan for each and everyone of us. The Lord moves us through our lives placing us just where we need to be, not only to accomplish what we are supposed to, but also to be in the right spot to help others achieve their goals. What we find is that people show up to help us in our time of need, and we just happen to be the answer to someone’s prayer, even if we never realize it. That is why it is so important to slow down and spend time with the Lord checking to see if we in fact are on the right course. When we kick down doors, force our way in, and create destinations, we not only rob ourselves of the opportunity to serve the Lord as he needs us to, we very well might not be where the Lord needs us to be to help someone else execute their part of God’s plan. Where I work, the owner has a saying….”the right thing, to the right place, at the right time” that is what we do……I love that mentality, because that is God’s mentality towards His people. He puts His people where He needs them, at the exact moment they need to be there. Let us each recognize that we don’t have to force our way through life. Spend time in prayer, in His word, and listen for the gentle direction He gives us daily. We each have a place to be, and make no doubt about it, we will move through this day and impact those around us. The question we are left with is are we following the Lord’s path, and listening to the Holy Spirit, or are we blazing our own trail?

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

http://www.thenewcovenantchurch.com/

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Thursday the 25th

Acts 15:

¹⁰Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? ¹¹No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

 

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hours I first believed. We LOVE tests don’t we? We really love tests that we know we can excel at and others might struggle! Sadly this is how many approach their faith. You have to do this, you have to do that…..as a result many never get on the path. The yoke is just too intimidating, it is just to heavy. Paul summed it up well, it is through the grace of the Lord that we are saved. Everything else is secondary. Your path to salvation has already started, you were placed at the beginning. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ you are given a gift that no money can buy. There is no entrance fee, there is no jacket required, all that you needed was freely given to you. All you have to do is realize it is there! You want the grace of the Lord, it is yours, you already have it, you want the forgiveness, the love, the hope and the peace? You have it you are carrying it around with you everyday. Have you ever put on a suit or a jacket that you have not worn in a while? You reach into the pocket and you find a twenty dollar bill. You think wow, sweet I did not even know it was there……well folks that is what a lot of us are doing with our faith. We carry it around with us everyday,  we just need to put our hand in our pockets and pull it out! We need to utilize it, we need to exercise it. Just like the cash sitting in your pocket unused and forgotten, your new life is waiting for you to discover it. What you want, what you need, it is there sitting idle. It was yours before you were born, reach into that pocket and pull it out! Do not allow this world to bully you into believing that you are not good enough, or that you do not meet the mark. Remember that Christ came for the wicked, not the righteous.  Your journey to salvation has already started, all you have to do is accept what is already given, and discover what you have had all along. The grace of the Lord is all we need. As he has told us His grace is enough!

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

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Wed the 24th

2Corinthians 4:7

⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

 

We are little more than jars of clay. We are fragile, we wear out, we crack, and have imperfections. Yet we hold such immense treasure inside of us, we have the limitless possibilities that comes with salvation stuffed into this frail body that we will eventually leave. While we each look forward to our life with Christ, I often wonder who will pick up the pieces of our lives when we are gone? Who will take care of all of the stuff that we have crammed into our jars along the way, that now is useless to us and left behind? Maybe a better question is what will others find to use when they look to see what we have left? It is not a question that many people look at, but one that certainly deserves our attention. What are you filling your jar of life with? The light of the Lord cannot shine through credit cards, inflated egos, and all of the brass rings that so many of us strive to reach, and make our own. These things only serve to dim the light and clutter our jars. I would even go as far as to say that we should not place these items directly in our jars, we should stack them up outside. Sure someone might take something, or maybe they will fade, but the truth of the matter is these things are all temporary, and space is limited! You realize that right? Your jar can only hold so much. What takes up the space is up to you. I don’t know about you, but when that jar breaks when my light has gone on to the next chapter, I don’t want people sifting through debt, useless trinkets, and meaningless trophies that only served to make my life here look good. I want them to find the love that I left behind, the family that loves others fearlessly because I loved so deeply, I want them to find the glory of God that protected me throughout my journey here, I want them to pick up and use every ounce mercy that I left, because I will no longer need it. These are the things worth putting in your jar, these are the things that magnify the light of the Lord, and these are the things that when your jar does break, and you move on in your journey, others can come behind, pick up and put in their jar to continue on building the kingdom, building their lives, and filling their jar with worth while things to leave behind for those that come behind them. I can promise you, we will take nothing into this world that we did not bring into it, so take the time to look at what is going into your jar.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

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Tuesday the 23rd

Acts 14: 1-2

¹At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. ²But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

 

We live in turbulent times to sat the least. The struggles the Paul and Barnabas faced we also face today. While we might come from different perspectives, and “denominations” our faith is the same, the faith in Christ crucified is what holds us together. However there will always be those that will try to poison our minds, and the minds of those around us. Just like Paul and Barnabas, we find that the enemy is not always outside of the gate, but standing right next to us. The attack does not come as most battles are waged. This attack comes on the whispers of doubt, they start with well my God wouldn’t, or the God I believe in……the damage is not sudden like the point of a sword, but it is dull and grows like a cancer, slowly spreading until the entire body is rotten. The brothers had to struggle against that cancer, and it is a cancer that is alive today. We have but one God to worship, He has but one Son. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He might be your God, or My God but at the end of the day He is THE God. We should heed the reminder, and cleave to what we know to be truth. We do not bend God to fit into our will, we must bend our lives to fit into the will of God. The former is the most employed way that people will pervert the Word of God, the latter is the path to salvation. We must be on the look out for those that would distort and manipulate the Word of God so that it will justify turning off the path.  There will always be people who will try to convince you that “their way” is the right way. There is but ONE WAY, and that is the way of the Lord, there is a great reference book out there for those that might have questions….it is called the Bible, it is filled with guidelines for not “a way” but for the way THE WAY……the Way of Christ. Don’t depend on anyone else’s way, don’t look to someone else’s God. Look to your God, the one who has known you before you were born. Don’t allow yourself to be poisoned, suit yourself up with the full armor of God.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

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Friday the 19th

Acts 10:27-29

 

²⁷Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. ²⁸He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. ²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?"

 

This whole account of Peter being called to Cornelius is very telling, and there is much that can be taken from all that transpired, but this passage always strikes me. Peter walks right into the middle of a place where he has been taught he does not belong…….. not just does not belong, but a place where it is illegal for him to go! He not only went, but went without even really knowing why he was going. It makes me question how often do we miss opportunities? How often do we stay planted when we feel the urge to move. We do this because of the unknown. We feel drawn to do something but the “what ifs” and the “what about” get to us, and we don’t move. All too often we decide not to do something because we find ourselves in the same situation that Peter found himself in. The world, the “laws” tell us that we should not do that. When we are called to move, we have to move. Fearlessly, and with the full faith that God is protecting us, and watching over us. There is seldom a day where I do not think of Romans 8:28 “God works for the good in the lives of the people who love Him, and have been called to His purpose.”  We cannot let ourselves become paralyzed by the virus of mediocrity, we cannot allow ourselves to be held fast by traditions of man that keep the full glory of God from being revealed to the world. No matter the situation, no matter how impossible it might seem, if the Lord calls us we have to follow. Set your feet on the path of the Lord, it all starts with one step forward!

 

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

<))))><

 

 

 

Thursday the 18th

Acts 9: 21-22

 

²¹All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" ²²Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

 

 

People just don’t get it sometimes….When Saul accepted the Lord into his life, he his life took a 180 degree turn from where it was heading. While he still looked like the same person on the outside, he was very different on the inside. He talked with the same voice, but what he talked about changed, He still went to the same locations, but his purpose had changed, Saul was very different , but in a sense still very much the same man. As a result the Jews did not get him, they could not fathom the strength, power and glory that Christ had shown through Paul……but that is exactly how He works! The rejected stone will become the capstone, the weak will defy the strong, and the common man will baffle the wise. Why is this important to understand? It is important, because this is your story, this is my story as well. When Christ shows up in your life it is a life changing event, that lasts a lifetime…..and beyond. The question that you spend a lifetime answering, is will you be strong like Saul was? Saul did not care what others said about him. Paul lost friends, he lost his position, he had people so confused that they were prepared to kill him. Yet he did not waver. The more that Saul pushed ahead, the more that the Lord blessed him with. Scripture says that Saul grew more and more powerful. That is not to say that Saul became stronger. Paul became powerful because he allowed the power of Christ to shine through him. On the road to Damascus Saul realized just how weak he was and just how powerful the Lord is. Paul allowed Christ to work through him, and when we do that there is no other alternative than to become more powerful. That is the strength, and power that is offered to each one of us, does it come with a worldly cost? Yes, yes it does, just like Saul you will lose friends, you will lose a lot that the world will no longer want to give you. Let them have it. Take the path that Saul chose. Chose to once and for all leave your old life behind, you don’t need it! Make the turn, and place Christ in the drivers seat, let the world talk, let the world plot, and plan, It is of no matter. If you want the peace that Saul had, if you want the security, the joy, and the power that Saul had, then make the choice to confuse the world, baffle them just as Saul did. You might look, talk, and walk the same, but let the world figure out that while the outside is the same….. inside is a very, very different person.

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

<))))><

 

 

 

Wed the 17th

Acts 8:36

 ³⁶As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"

 

Why shouldn’t He be baptized…..right now?  Why shouldn’t we seize the moment and live for God…..right now, Why shouldn’t you take that chance that God has placed in your life and step out in faith……right now. What I love about this scripture is the sense of urgency that the eunuch had. It was not well let’s wait until we get to town, or maybe this weekend I can schedule some time. The only thought eunuch had was why not right now? God works in our lives constantly, sometimes we can see it, other times we cannot. Make no mistake about it though, when the Lord comes  into our lives and presents opportunities, it is right now. He does not say hey next year, or next month I need you to. He shows up and says NOW. Go, leave your people and follow the path I have laid, or go to this town, and preach the word, maybe it is go help a friend in need….The Lord might give you an idea of what is to come, but it is always followed with but right now, I need you to……..Often though we find ourselves more like Jonah, instead of Moses. We have other ideas, we have other plans, we think there are other things we need to do THEN we will get to what God is pointing us at. We need to approach life the way the eunuch approached baptism, why not right now? We need to quit looking at all of the reasons we are telling ourselves later, and start saying NOW! I am just as guilty as anyone about this, it is all to easy to set some of the things the Lord is pulling us to off to the side, while we take care of “more pressing issues”. We wonder why we feel like we are spinning our wheels, we can’t figure out why we keep running the race only to find that we are running in a circle, we shake our fists and shout why?! If we stop and think about it, we might be surprised to find that our problem is that we are working on the worlds issues, not the Lord’s. Why not right now? Everyday we work for a paycheck, but are we spending time working on our soul? Everyday we look at our plans for our life, but are we stopping to see if those plans line up with God’s? Everyday we work to advance our agenda, but what about the Lord’s? What about right now? Is the Lord pulling you towards something? Have you taken the time to look? Maybe you know exactly what it is, but you have other things going on……Why not right now?

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

The New Covenant Church

www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

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