Feb 20, 2023 | #MotivationMondayatCapri, Devotion, General, Post
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
Relationships don’t happen overnight. Sure, you may meet someone and instantly hit it off, but it will still take time before you have a strong, trusting relationship with them. So how do you build a strong relationship with someone? You spend time with them, you learn about them, their past and present trials and tribulations, you listen to them, you share what you have in common. It’s the same with building a relationship with the Lord. He wants you to spend time with Him. He wants you to know what He has done in the past. He wants you to listen to Him and He has made it pretty clear what He likes and doesn’t! The beauty of a relationship with the Lord is that He already knows all those things about you and He still wants to have one with you! Psalm 77 gives us three ways to help us have a strong relationship with Him. REMEMBER, all the things He has done for you and “all His wonders of old.” MEDITATE, on His Word. You can’t be close to Him if you don’t know for yourself what He has said! TALK, about what He has done for you, for others. How often do the Psalms talk about God’s miraculous hand leading the Hebrews out of Egypt? We can remember song lyrics from the ’60’s, but forget blessings bestowed on us last week! Relationships take work but there is none more important to work on than your personal one-on-one relationship with God!
Feb 13, 2023 | #MotivationMondayatCapri, Devotion, General, Post
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
You may have an electric baby grand piano sitting in your living room, polished, shining, looking grand, but if it isn’t plugged in what is its purpose aside from gathering dust? It is meant to resonate with beautiful music, but unplugged, it sits in silence, not fulfilling the purpose for which it was made. The devil loves unplugged people, loves to see them isolated, especially Christians! The lame line people use, “the beach, the mountains, nature is my church” is exactly what the devil loves to hear. Yes, you can feel God’s presence and have moving spiritual moments alone with Him in His creation, but then you need to get back to the church. Not the building but the body of Christ.! We are a part of His body, whether an eye, an ear, a toe, or whatever, and we are a needed part of that functioning body. When a toe is missing the foot lets the whole body feel its pain. When the back is being rubbed, the whole body relaxes. We need each other, we need to share each other’s joys and sorrows, to encourage each other, strengthen each other, help each other to develop spiritual maturity. It isn’t an option, it is what He expects and tells us to do. The NT writers used the term one another over 50 times for a reason! We are His church, His body, we need Him and we need each other! Have your quiet times with Him each day, get alone with Him in nature, and then come together and help the body stay strong and healthy and whole. We don’t want to be missing any toes!
Feb 6, 2023 | #MotivationMondayatCapri, Devotion, General, Post
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
James said it best. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” You can quote the Bible all day long but if your actions don’t match your words, what good is it? I shared this quote from an old HS friend before but it bears repeating. “I’m so tired of people with a mouth full of Scripture and a heart full of hate!” There’s a harsh modern day translation of what James said that should cut you to the quick! We are to know His Word, study His Word, and then live His Word. Not just Sunday mornings with brothers and sisters, but every day, everywhere; in the workplace, in workout places, on golf courses, in restaurants, in club houses, in your neighbor’s house. We don’t need to be spouting Scripture but we should be overflowing with kindness, patience, love. The point of knowing His Word is so that we will apply its principles and make a personal application to our lives. A great point Pastor Curt made yesterday, that many people may gloss over,, was, “we don’t change without Biblical confrontation!” Until we take His Word into our hearts and apply it to our lives, we won’t become the person the Lord wants us to be! Keep working, like the wise man, to build your house, to build your life, upon the Rock and seek His guidance for what He wants you to do, what He wants you to be. Remember, wherever you go, you are the Lord’s representative, He’s not yours.
Jan 30, 2023 | #MotivationMondayatCapri, Devotion, General, Post
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
I suppose this is a guy thing,, but why would you try to put together a complicated piece of furniture or machinery or child’s toy without first looking at the instructions? Or why would you drive for miles when you have no idea where you are rather than ask a local for help? Why do people (not just guys) try to make their way through life without ever consulting the Book that was written to do just that? Why do people think they can find their way to Heaven without ever asking directions? God gave us the Bible for our benefit, to make our life easier (not easy, easier), and to give us His directions to Heaven, so why is it the last book most people pick up? The world and society have changed but His Word remains the same yet how would you know if you never read it? I was explaining something in Genesis to a skeptic and concluded by reading the Scripture account of what we discussed. Their response was, well that’s one version! No! That is the version, it’s His version! Listen to the Pastors, listen to Biblical scholars, and then go and read it for yourself. Pray before you read, asking the Holy Spirit to open your understanding. Don’t merely accept what others say, spend time in the Word, know it so well that no one can lead you astray. As Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word … you shall know the truth …”
Jan 16, 2023 | #MotivationMondayatCapri, Devotion, General, Post
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
Who doesn’t love Peter? Big, tough guy fisherman, boldly going where no disciple has gone before, first to speak up, first to react with the sword, first to proclaim who Jesus really was, first to swear undying love and loyalty to the Lord, and the first to openly deny Him! Peter was quite a guy, one to which we all can relate. After His resurrection, when Jesus confronted him on the beach three times about his love for Him, Peter’s heart was grieved. “You know I love You Lord” was all he could say. Three declarations for three denials. How many times would Jesus ask you, “Do you love Me?” How many times, whether by words or actions, have you denied Him? How many times, from watching your lifestyle or listening to your speech, would people question your love for the Lord? We aren’t a perfect people, and like Peter, we all have failed Him one time or another. Maybe not blatantly, maybe only subtly, but we still have let Him down. Yet the beauty of His amazing grace is that just like Peter, we may have failed Him in some way, but He knows if we still love Him! Funny how it was Peter who encouraged the churches to be holy because He is holy. We won’t be perfect, our holiness may waiver, but we need to never stop trying! Then someday if He asks you “Do you love Me?” you will be able to answer, “You know I love You Lord … and He will!
By Tim Irving – Evangelism Team
I suppose this is a guy thing,, but why would you try to put together a complicated piece of furniture or machinery or child’s toy without first looking at the instructions? Or why would you drive for miles when you have no idea where you are rather than ask a local for help? Why do people (not just guys) try to make their way through life without ever consulting the Book that was written to do just that? Why do people think they can find their way to Heaven without ever asking directions? God gave us the Bible for our benefit, to make our life easier (not easy, easier), and to give us His directions to Heaven, so why is it the last book most people pick up? The world and society have changed but His Word remains the same yet how would you know if you never read it? I was explaining something in Genesis to a skeptic and concluded by reading the Scripture account of what we discussed. Their response was, well that’s one version! No! That is the version, it’s His version! Listen to the Pastors, listen to Biblical scholars, and then go and read it for yourself. Pray before you read, asking the Holy Spirit to open your understanding. Don’t merely accept what others say, spend time in the Word, know it so well that no one can lead you astray. As Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word … you shall know the truth …”
By, Tim Irving – Evangelism Team