1 Timothy 2 - 1.6.25

Scripture

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.”

Observation

In this passage, Paul is writing Timothy to give him instructions about worship. In these particular verses that I chose, Paul highlights the importance of praying for ALL people.-(This includes especially people in authority over us). We need to intercede on the behalf of ALL people. God’s desire is that ALL will come to know Him through His Son Jesus Christ.  

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Application

Imagine a world where everyone knew and followed Jesus. 🤔 

It would be a world who loved each other the way God loves us (unconditionally). It would be a world who fought for justice for one another. It would be a world without racism and prejudices towards one another. It would be a world who gave each other a helping hand whenever and wherever needed. But mostly it would be a world where people could live “peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.”-(see verse 2).

That is why Paul stresses the importance for the Church to pray for ALL people. We need to pray not only for our family and friends, but even for our leaders and enemies. We need to pray and intercede on their behalf. Pray for them to know and love God, by putting their faith and trust in Jesus. Pray for our leaders to be surrounded by godly people, giving them godly counsel. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ to stand strong in their faith, so we can ALL do our part by sharing the Good News of Jesus to ALL. I believe by doing that we can begin to see real change in this world. A change that is good, and that would please God our Savior. 

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for a world where ALL can come to know You the way I know You. May You reveal Yourself to them in tangible and miraculous ways. I pray for wisdom for our leaders. May You surround them with godly people that can give them godly counsel. I even pray for my enemies. May they know that there is a God who loves them so much that He died for them. May they know they have a God who forgives them if they are willing to put their faith in His Son Jesus, and turn from their sins. Finally, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ. May we ALL be bold and courageous to share our faith and pray for others the way You have called us to. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

Proverbs 3 - 1.3.25

Scripture: Proverbs 3:1-8 

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

Observation 

King Solomon wrote Proverbs to offer instruction, wisdom and understanding. King Solomon is called the Wisest Man who ever lived. 

Application 

We are encouraged by the wisest man who ever lived to study our bible every day, memorize the scriptures, write them on the tablets of our heart and we will live a long life with peace and prosperity. He also tells us to live our lives loving others and being a faithful person, then we will be respected by God and man. The world is on a constant quest to find Well-Being, where they have peace in the chaos. But all the meditation, relaxation, yoga, and self-reflection won’t give you peace unless Jesus is in the center of it all. Proverbs 3 is very clear on what gives us peace, prosperity and a Blessed Life. Meditating on God’s word, Resting in God’s Will for our life, keeping our bodies or God’s Temple healthy and Trusting God in everything and Knowing that He loves us so much and He will guide us on our life journey. Jeremiah 29:11 (my favorite scripture) tells us “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. I walked many, many years with my life in total dysfunction…verbal abuse, divorce, poverty, a homeless son, sickness and death of a spouse, not knowing how I was going to make my bills let alone feed my kids…BUT GOD! I took my instruction from the wisest man who ever lived, I woke up early to read my Bible, memorized scripture, loved boldly and courageously and Trusted God with ALL my heart, kept my eyes on Jesus and tried not to look at my circumstances. I walked through my trials with a Peace Cloud over me and God took care of all the details of my life. I anticipate that I will live a long life with peace and prosperity because I followed the direction of the wisest man who ever lived.  

Prayer 

Dear Lord,  Help us to TRUST You in ALL things. Help us to not look at our circumstances with fear and defeat, but because we TRUST You and KNOW that You love us so much, you will make our path straight. Thank You for giving us basic instructions how to live a life of love, faithfulness, obedience, and in return, you give us well-being, and a peace cloud to live under. You are such a magnificent God! Amen.  

- Michelle Craig 

Proverbs 2 - 1.2.25

S -  Proverbs 2:1-8  

1 My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
    he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.

O – Proverbs begins with a clear statement of its purpose - to impart wisdom for godly living. The first few chapters are Solomen’s fatherly advice to young people. However, this is also where anyone can discover the source of wisdom, the value of wisdom and the benefits of wisdom. Wisdom is a complex psychological quality that involves using knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments. It’s more than a collection of information, but rather the ability to USE that information to improve well-being. Wisdom is a God-given gift, as well as the result of an energetic search. Wisdom’s starting point IS GOD and His revealed Word. God’s wisdom is hidden from the foolish and rebellious, so it takes effort to find it and use it. When we are on the right path, we discover that true wisdom is God’s and that He will guide us and reward our sincere and persistent search.  We gain wisdom through a constant process of growing. It doesn’t come upon us all at once. We need to trust and honor God, know that the Bible reveals His wisdom to us, and study His Word! We need to strive to make a lifelong series of right choices, learning from our sinful or mistaken choices along the way.

A – Life is certainly a JOURNEY! I look back at where I came from, who I was, the things I was doing, and I am ALWAYS so grateful God picked me up out of that mess and began to work in, and through my life. I can look back and actually see the wisdom He has imparted on me over the years. I am always still a work in progress, but His wisdom has changed the trajectory of my life forever and it is good. We should always be seeking HIS wisdom in everything we do, and in every decision. Rich and I have had a couple of years of seeking wisdom and discernment for a very specific area in our lives. God has been walking us through this one step at a time (His time not ours LOL) and I can honestly say we have been ENERGETICALLY seeking Him and His wisdom. We have grown so much in our walk with Him over these past two years and I attribute that all to Him revealing Himself to us through the ongoing seeking of His wisdom in our lives. As we were wrapping up these last couple days of the year, He literally just hit us with some knowledge, peace, healing and discernment in a big way! These scriptures are promises from God and what I am actively doing now:

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding…

Side note - my son had to go to Urgent Care on Monday, almost needing a wheelchair to get in from the car due to pain, and he was healed without any medical intervention before we left the building! In addition, we saw a sweet friend who was there feeling very ill and got to put him on the prayer chain immediately. Feel free to ask me for more details.

As we begin 2025, our family has no doubts that God is with us, imparting His wisdom in us for big decisions and we feel so much peace and joy! And gratitude!

P  - Lord, I pray that we, as a church family, will begin 2025 and our 28-days of prayer and fasting earnestly, energetically seeking you for wisdom in all areas of our lives! For marriages, finances, healings, to know who to speak to, when to speak to them, and what to speak into their lives; wisdom for where you want to use us, for what ministries to get involved in. Wisdom to trust you with our tithes and offerings, our health, our families. May we do nothing on our own this year, without asking you for wisdom first! Amen!

- Crystal Flory