Sheep among Wolves

Finally, after what seems like forever, I'm DONE with all my tests until after Thanksgiving! I'm so thankful that this break is finally rolling around, as I have been exhausted from school and really need time to rest.

Today, I read Genesis 30-32 Matthew 10

The passage in Matthew has reminded me of the importance of spreading the word of God, as "The kingdom of heaven is near" (Mat 10:7) Many questions came to my mind as I was pondering on this message. As Timothy group, a college minstry group, how are we preaching this message to our peers? How are we as Christians at IU, where clearly it is a battlefield of lost souls, going to witness to our peers everyday?

I find it extremely hard to testify to my faith at times, when worldly matters tend to be so much more tangible.

v16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Surely, we are sent as sheet among wolves. I find it challenging for me many times to be confident in my faith and be able to share it with others. How can I witness to others? How can I win souls for Christ?

v. 37-40 "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me."

Take up the challenge my beloved brothers and sisters! Let us pray for God's family all over this world to see Christ in our lives when they approach us and receive Christ to be their savior and receive salvation to eternal life.

Praise God everday because we are saved and pray for those who aren't.

Prayers:

*My Grandpa as he struggles to recover

*My Mom, for strength, energy, patience (even though she is probably the most patient woman on the planet already)

*My back, for some reason (probably lack of sleep), it aches really bad constantly

*PRAISE God for a break!! I really, really need it!!

'Whom God loves, he will never leave'

I read Genesis 27-28; Matthew 9:18-38.

In Genesis I read about Jacob and his dream and the pillar at Bethel. Jacob was blessed by God because of his faith and trust in HIM.

v. 15 "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Even when Jacob was in the middle of nowhere, he trusted that God would not do any harm to him. God revealed himself to Jacob, showing Jacob through a dream, a ladder all the way up to heaven with angels of God ascending and decending from it.

The commentary I read about this story from Matthew Henry, says that the ladder is a symbol of Christ, as he is the way, the truth and the life. No one will go to the Father, in heave, expect through the belief in Christ and his salvation for us. God reveals to Jacob and lets him know that he even though he has a long journey ahead of him, God will bring him back to this land. Whom God loves, he will never leave.

v. 22 ..."and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." Remember that our mission in our lives here on this earth is to set up pillars for God and witness to him. Also, remembering to give back a tenth of what is given to us.

Prayers:

Grandpa/health
That I may have the patience to study for my law exam
Thanksgiving Break and my allocation of plans/time

"Whom God loves, he will never leave."

Love,Dawn

'You of Little Faith!'

I read Genesis 23-26, Matthew 8-9:1-17

In Genesis, I read about Abraham's servant going back to Abraham's hometown to look for a wife for Isaac after Sarah's death. Here, God reminds me once again, his faithfulness and his promise that he has provided for a great future marriage, someone who is my perfect match, for God knows me better than I know myself.

"God prepares for those that love him and glorify him." I think this can be a great discussion. I often times find myself trying to "search for" the perfect "mate." I often forget that God has his time for me and that he will provide for me when I am ready and prepared. Right now, I need to be patient and trust that he will provide.

My mom often says, right now, Dawn, all you have to do is prepare yourself. Take this time of being single to grow and mature in God and his word.

Matthew talks about many of the micrales Jesus performs throughout his minstry on the Earth. One of my favorite things is reading about the miracles that Jesus perfoms to let people know he is God. I read about the demon-possesed men and when Jesus calls the waves to quite down while at sea with his disciples.

Matthew 8:26 "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. Often times, we are always caught up in worrying (like my Economics test today) and trying to be well prepared for things in the future, but here, God reminds us to always have faith in him, despite the evil desires of controlling our own lives, God wants to us to trust him more than anything else.

Prayers:
Grandpa's recovery from suguery
Grandma's life in Taiwan and her health
Law Exam on Thursday

In Him, Dawn

'Tomorrow will worry about itself'

Scripture:

Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6

Verses:

M 6:14-15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

M 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

M 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Thoughts for the day:

As a student, I feel like we have to worry about tomorrow all the time. Tests coming up, projects due the next week, presentations, auditions, orchestras competitions to attend. It seems unavoidable to prepare for our academic exellence and achievements, but I don't think God wants us to forget about our role on this earth and not do our best of be a student. I think he wants us to know that, all we have to do is do our best, knowing that we are glorifying him in all that we do, then we don't have to worry. Because ultimately, we are not pursuing the treasures of this earth, for they rust and mold; we are pursuing the treasures of heaven.

Love and pray for you all,
Dawn

Salt and Light of the World

I read Genesis and Matthew 5

Matthew 5:3-11 are the eight Beatitudes that Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount that represent to us the principal graces as a Christian. It talks about the different graces God gives us as Christians and how we will be rewarded in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-14 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

This is one of my favorite verses throughout the Bible, as it encourages Christians to preach the gospel and reminds us that it is the ultimate purpose of our lives.

Matthew Henry makes a great point that as Christians, we should aim to be "good salt", we are white, and small, and broken into many grains, but very useful and necessary.

We are also called to be the light of the world and a city on a hill. We are to do great works to be a testimony for God, as all we do is again, ultimately for God and for his kingdom.

I love this analogy of us being the salt and the light of the earth and also the city on a hill. It reminds me how important we are in the world today. We are the testimonies, we are the people that unbelievers look at and see Christ in us.

We are the salt and the light of the world. For God, we are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Shine for God and don't hide under a bush!

Love,Dawn

God's covenant

First of all, I really encourage each and every one of you to continue with your devotions. I have gone a long time without my devotions, but throughout this week I've tried to be keep up with my devotions and has truly heard God speaking through his word. Like Joy said in her devotions, "the Bible is old, but what God has to say is new everyday."

Today I read Genesis 9-11; Matthew 4

A lot happened in these chapters...

Summary: Genesis 9 finished up the story of Noah with God's covenant to us.

Genesis 9:13-15 "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life."

Chapter 11 went on to talk about the story of the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages. I heard a sermon on this section of Genesis and the pastor mentioned that a lot of people disregard this passage, but it should be just as important to a Christian as any other lesson taught to us in the Bible. It talks about the importance of following God's commands and when we don't, the consequenses we suffer.

Matthew 4 talks about:
1. The temptation of Jesus
2. Jesus and the beginning of his ministry-"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
3. The call of Jesus' disciples: Peter/Andrew, John/James
4. Jesus heals the sick

Passage Focus:

Matthew 4:4 "'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" I have always thought that this passage means that: As the body lives by bread, so the soul lives by the word of God. Even though this is true, after reading John Gill's commentary on this passage, Gill interperts this as "in satisfying man's hunger, and in supporting and preserving his life, is not tied to bread only, but can make use of other means, and order whatever he pleases to answer these ends; as, by raining manna from heaven. (Deut.8:3) Our Lord hereby expresses his strong faith and confidence in God, that he was able to support him, and would do it, though in a wilderness, and destitute of supply; whereby he overcame this temptation of Satan."

My thoughts:

"Give us this day, our daily bread." Part of the LORD's prayer says that surely, as humans we need to eat our meals, snacks, applebees..(ha!) because of the weakness of our human flesh. However, God choses his way to satisfy our hunger physically and spiritually; all we need is to trust that he will provide. Jesus here gives a great example. He is willing to trust God and believe that God is able to support him; this is what ultimately helped him overcome the tempation from Satan.

Surely, God provides, but we need to believe he will.

Love, Dawn

'Repent Ye'

Today, I read Genesis 6-8 (The story of Noah) and Matthew 3

Here are some verses I would like to share:

Matthew 3:3 "This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "

Matthew 3:10 "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." And every tree, however high in gifts and honours, however green in outward professions and performances, if it bring not forth good fruit, the fruits meet for repentance, is hewn down and cast into the fire of God's wrath, the fittest place for barren trees: what else are they good for? 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "

John the Baptist was the first prophet to exist after Malachi. He preached on the doctrine of "Repent ye" I thought this was really interesting since Jason talked about the significance of repentance last Friday. John prepared the way for the coming of Christ. (v. 11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.) He acknowledged that he was to prepare for the coming of Christ again, for Christ was the one that will be able to save us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

We as Christians today need to be more and more like John the Baptist because ultimately our purpose on Earth is to "prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." We need to repent of our sins so that when Christ comes again we can stand at this throne and rejoyce for he has forgiven us of our sins when we do so.

Live your life like Christ will come again tomorrow.

In Him,
Dawn

The Fall of Man

Today I read Genesis 3-5; Matthew 2.

The scriptures covered the topics of the Fall of Man in the garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, and the family tree of Adam (which later becomes the line to Christ) up until Enoch and then Noah.

Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Genesis 3:24 "After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." I haven't noticed the importance of this verse up until now. The commentary I read talked about how this verse is an indication of "worship now established to show God's anger at sin and teach the mediation of a promised Saviour as the way of life, as well as of access to God. They were the same figures as were afterwards in the tabernacle and temple; and now, as then, God said, "I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims" (Exodus 25:22) I thought it was really neat how God reminds us here that Christ is our only way of life and access to God. -----I actually have a question here: Does the flaming sword flashing back and forth symbolize the cross? What does the gree of life ressemble?

2. Genesis 5:24 "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." In the Bible, we see that God only took Enoch and Elijah directly from the Earth to heaven because in Hebrews we see that Enoch pleased God with his faith. Hebrews 11:5-6 "By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." We can see here that God rewards those who are pleasing in his sight. A lot of times, I feel its hard to do so though. With earthly temptations and hardships, it is extremely easy to neglect the importance of pleasing God and obeying Him. However, I need to realize that all earthy things will eventually pass away, ultimately, it is the rewards in heaven that we need to look to.

3. In Ch. 2 of Matthew, time after time, we can see the prophecies in the Old Testement being revealed: v. " 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' " v. 15: "where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called my son.'" The passage above is my favorite. For God called the Israelites out of Egypt for they are God's chosen people. v. 23 "and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: 'He will be called a Nazarene.'"

Time and time again we can see that God keeps his promises. We can see the history of disobedience from the Israelites, but God still keeps his promises that were translated through prophets time and time again throughout the Bible. Please let me know what you guys think!

Love,Dawn

The Sabbath

I have found a great resource to start with my devotions. I'm still not very familiar with this website, but it is an extremely convienet website with a reading plan laid out for you whenever you would like to start. It also gives you the option of reading directly through the Bible in the order for the books, or a few chapters from the new testement and a few from the old testement. I'm going with some from old and some from new because I find it a little more easier for me to follow.

This is the link: http://bible.christianity.com/readingplan/

Here is my goal for the week:
1. Nov 9 Genesis 1-2; Matthew 1
2. Nov 10 Genesis 3-5; Matthew 2
3. Nov 11 Genesis 6-8; Matthew 3
4. Nov 12 Genesis 9-11; Matthew 4
5. Nov 13 Genesis 12-14; Matthew 5:1-26
6. Nov 14 Genesis 15-17; Matthew 5:27-48
7. Nov 15 Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6

Thoughts for Today
Today I read Genesis 1-2 and Matthew 1. The verses that touched me the most were the following: By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.This reminded me of God's command through the first Sabbath: Setting aside the last day of the week for rest, not in response to wearyness, but simply cease from working.

The website gave a reference to Isaiah 40:28-31. God rested the seventh day. It is his command, not because he was tired from creating the world, for he never grows tired or weary, but because he understood that we as people will grow tired and weary. But in Isaiah God promises that he will give strength to the weary and increase power of the weak.

I had a test this afternoon and then a discussion class. It's not that I don't have a choice, but going to Sunday discussion classes make my schedule more flexible. However, God wants us to treat every start of the week as a day for resting. Surely, everytime I start the week without resting for a full day after worship service, I feel very weary and very tired. I feel like I'm running on empty. I feel tired and weak. With so many things laid in front of me; classes, work, Daisy, family, I feel like I just can't finish this marathon. But through this verse God promises that he will give strength to me. I just need to put my hope in HIM and I will "soar on wings like eagles. And I will run and not grow weary." I want to forever put my hope in the LORD and trust that he will provide, so that through his strength I will not grow weary.

Prayers
1. Please pray for each other. To finish reading the Bible is not a sprint, but a marathon. It will take time, effort, and determination. However, I have trust that God wants us to learn more about HIM and at the same time grow in our faith and mature in our spiritual lives.

2. Please pray for Daisy and I. We are having rough patches here and there. It just seems so hard to get along. I know that God has his own will in putting Daisy in my life and having her with me right now. Please pray that I may trust God to know that he knows what is best for me and for Daisy as well.


Hope all you girls have a great week! Can't wait to hear about blessing and thoughts through your devotion!

Love,Dawn


Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.29.He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.30.Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;31.but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint