by George | Apr 26, 2021 | Community News, Devotional, Newsletter
Rise and Shine
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Isaiah 60: 1
Have you ever been awakened by mom or dad saying “Wake up! Rise and shine!”?
What does”rise and shine” mean?
Idioms.com defines it several ways:
- To ask someone to wake up and become active in the daily chores
- Wake up with smile
- Getting out of the bed and starting the day
- Leave the bed and start the routine with energy
- To wake up positively
- To get up and do something nicely
- To ask someone to get out of bed
- To get someone to wake up
The origins of the phrase possibly go back to the 1800’s. Idioms.com explains:
“The phrase is said to have originated in the military operations where soldiers would be asked to wake up early and start their activities in an enthusiastic manner. It was almost a compulsion to be active since the day would be a long one every day and to start positively meant that it went on better.”
“The phrase originates from the rising and shining of the sun. When the sun is out, it is morning and everyone is expected to rise and shine with it to get along with their daily routines.”
Long before the 1800’s, God inspired Isaiah to tell the people “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Isaiah 60: 1
David Guzik explains:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come: After the thick and desperate darkness described in Isaiah 59:9-10, this is the glorious rescue from the Redeemer. Light has come – so God tells His people to respond to it, and to arise and shine.”
Israel had been through the ravages of war, and things looked hopeless.
But, just like the bright rays of the sun breaking through the clouds, God shines the light of His grace and hope.
Do things seem hopeless and impossible right now?
Keep praying, believing that God will answer your prayers.
“Rise and shine!” The light of God’s love, mercy and grace is shining down upon you!
by George | Apr 23, 2021 | Community News, Devotional, Newsletter
Free the Animals
“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
Matthew 21:12-13
A co-worker showed me the “Holy Week” calendar her daughter got from school. (I was glad to find out that at least one school still taught about Jesus!)
What caught my eye was “Holy Monday,” the day Jesus “set the sacrificial animals free and cleansed the temple.”
I’ve always looked at this passage in the sense that the ones who were selling the animals shouldn’t do it in the temple, and I applied this to church.
Don’t sell stuff in the church.
Church should be a “House of prayer.”
The merchants operated kind of a “convenience store.” I can imagine a commercial for their services: “You have a long journey to the temple. It’s hot, the babies are crying and your wife is complaining. You don’t have time to keep up with your sacrificial animals. Leave that to us! We offer same day, in temple delivery.”
The idea that Jesus was setting the sacrificial animals free… This puts me in mind of Jesus’ once and for all sacrifice.
This is explained in Hebrews 10. Take a moment and read the whole chapter, but here’s a summary:
“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,”
Hebrews 10:11-12
Jesus took our place. He became sin for us.
So, the sacrificial animals, the ones being offered in place of us, were no longer needed.
He set them free!
Also, by faith in Jesus, we can be set free.
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
John 8:36
Much like the sacrificial animals being let out of their cages, let us enjoy our freedom from sin today!
by George | Apr 20, 2021 | Community News, Devotional, Newsletter
What Is Supplication?
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”
Philippians 4:6
Supplication is a big Bible word that we usually ignore. It’s in a verse that talks about not worrying. A verse that tells us we should pray instead of being worried about something.
But what is supplication?
According to www.vocabulary.com
“Although it is a noun, supplication comes from the Latin verb supplicare, which means “to plead humbly.” While a supplication is often thought of as a religious prayer (it is used 60 times in the Bible), it can logically be applied to any situation in which you must entreat someone in power for help or a favor. Still, it carries with it an aura of religiosity and deep entreaty, and should not be used to describe just any simple request.”
Is supplication the same as prayer?
www.differencebetween.net says that it isn’t the same.
“Supplication is a form of prayer in which someone makes a humble petition or an entreaty to God. Prayer, however, can be defined as sincere thanksgiving or requests made to God. … There is always a request in supplication. In this type of prayer, one asks for or desires something from God.”
So there can be many types of prayer including thanksgiving or general requests.
Supplication, however, seems to be more serious. If you’ve ever been in a desperate situation, and you plea with God for help; that’s supplication.
A familiar verse is James 5:16:
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
James immediately gives us the example of Elijah:
“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”
James 5:17-18
The time that Elijah “prayed again” happened after Elijah told King Ahab that it was about to rain.
Elijah goes to Mt. Carmel to pray.
“…Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,”
I Kings 18:42
The Bible doesn’t tell us what Elijah’s prayer was specifically, but his posture in this prayer, kneeling down with his face between his knees, tells me this wasn’t a “now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. Elijah was pleading with God.
Elijah sends his servant to look towards the sea. The servant said he didn’t see any clouds. So Elijah sends him back until finally on the seventh time, the servant said there was a small cloud. That strengthened Elijah’s faith to believe God was going to make it rain.
God did just that, and answered Elijah’s prayer.
So, if you need answers to prayer, keep on in your “supplication”, asking God earnestly. He will answer in His time and way. God’s timing is perfect.
