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It is a new year and, Christians, it is time for us to mature in the ways and things of God.  We need to meditate in His word daily and find His truth moment by moment.  It is time we stop being spoon fed by someone else.  We need to really put into practice that gift of self-control!  There is great importance in discipline and consistent fellowshipping with Christ. 

This isolation time during the COVID 19 pandemic offers us daily devotional and fellowship time with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You must, however, carefully reserve time for fellowship to begin your day. It won’t just happen; you’ve got to plan it and determine to do it!  Like Jesus did, prepare yourself and listen for His instruction as He listened for God’s. (Jesus had a teachable Spirit.) Expect God to bless you and He will! Daily prepare your heart to listen with a teachable, joyful mind full of lovingkindness and trust.  

Find God early every morning as David said in Psalm 143:8, “Cause me to hear… know the way wherein I should walk and lift my soul unto Thee…”  David trusted God to guide him in daily activities and protect him from making sinful decisions.  Like David, we mess up, but God gives us the forgiveness to go on. Today let’s make a covenant to seek God early each morning and then DO IT. 

When we seek God early each morning, we must be fully available and “usable” in serving Him!  (Early varies by individual… just make coming to Him daily your act of free will!)  

Like Jesus, David came with willingness and desire to be consistent! Do not vacillate! Be dependable. Look at John 8:31, “If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed.”  The Good News Bible says it, “If you obey My teachings, you are really My disciples.”  

How can we know His teachings if we don’t meditate on and practice them?  How can we teach what we do not know?  Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, so that you may be careful to do it… for then you will have success…”  Holy Ghost power is to be encouraged and asked for on a daily basis.  

Be steadfast! God will honor consistency and fellowship when we persevere and endure. Make it your New Year’s Resolution. Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, please be kind and merciful to us; give us peace, truth, and love. (2 John 3, GNB)

Because Jesus obeyed His Father, we now have the Holy Spirit living inside of us when we receive His salvation!  “Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.”  (Hebrews 11:1, GNB) Verse 3 ends with “…We also know that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.”

The devil wants to put doubt and unbelief in our thoughts.  Confess Joel’s prophesy with the words of God:  “I will pour out My Holy Spirit upon all flesh, your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions; and even on slaves, men and women, I will pour out My Spirit…”  (Acts 2:17-18)

Thank you, Jesus, for fulfilling this prophecy for us today. When we pray allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us in heavenly language, we are, of course, speaking for You! We need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak God’s will in relation to our concerns and His supernatural will and interventions. Father God, as your children we experience seeing the outcome of situations (even this pandemic). You show us the problem and outcome in Your due time! You give us dreams, visions, messages in tongues, evidence, and substance of upcoming events. 

God wants His children to allow His Holy Spirit to speak solutions through intercessory prayers. So, ask Him about His will for you in the pandemic situation as well as for your daily needs. We need God as Alpha and Omega (beginning and end) so we can build our faith firmly during unstable events.

He can show and tell us the beginning and, also, the end. He can do that in dreams or visions before they become reality on earth. Faith is evidence (proof) and He gives us faith to believe for that. The Holy Spirit can give us a solution-producing faith all the way to the end.

This is an example of how the Father works His will through Jesus and the Holy Spirit! God is the playwright (Creator), Jesus is the script (Word), and the Holy Spirit is the director, giving us actors the ability to – well – act in God’s will!

Working in ministry with people who are homeless is helping me mature. I love and enjoy having been called as an essential worker at this time! Is it easy? No. But I lean on God daily, and I hear Him speak strategic solutions to problems and situations that arise.

Together we can build our firm faith during these unstable times. Faith is indeed both evidence (proof) and substance (reality of what He supplies to meet our daily needs). As a result, when He gives to our daily needs, He is providing the ending to those daily problems!

We cannot conjure up faith in our minds for problems to be solved. Faith comes through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit giving to us and producing in us DESIRE for these intercessory prayers. And we intercede for others by the use of the heavenly language of the Holy Spirit!

I am learning to pray, pray, pray without ceasing. Real faith is being built!

What God puts in our minds is not mere human imagination or mere hope, wishful thinking. Rather, God gives us the desire to overcome such things as sin, suffering, sorrow.

That desire in our hearts comes as the Holy Spirit reminds and urges us to pray without ceasing. If you allow God’s Holy Spirit to speak His will and His word, and His truth, you will experience His supernatural intervention!

As a final prayer, I offer the end of the book of Jude. It is one, very short chapter asking us to persevere in being godly. It ends with verses 24-25: “Offer praise to God our Savior because of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Only God can keep you (us) from falling and make you (us) pure and joyful in His glorious presences.  Before time began and now and forevermore, God is worthy of Glory, honor, power and authority.”

Does the bible say to treat everyone equally? Yes, see Romans 3:22-24 (Deaf Bible). “God makes people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this for all people that believe in Christ. All people are the same. All people have sinned and are not good enough for God’s glory. People are made right with God by His grace (kindness).”

Christians, it is time for us to mature in the ways of God. Daily, we need to meditate on His words, find the truth in them, and apply those truths to our lives – moment by moment. It is time to stop being spoon-fed by someone else and start putting into practice the gift of self-control.

The Ark was called in February to minister especially to people who are homeless during the pandemic. Since then, we’ve been continuing to practice that gift of self-control.

From deaf ministry newsletters, I became aware of problems that masks were causing for people who are deaf. If you can’t see mouths, you can’t speech read. If you can’t see faces, you can’t interpret the emotion conveyed in sign language.

I confessed in my church that, although I teach deaf-signing and work with deaf people, I failed to SEE that mask issue. I asked God to forgive me and asked my church to pray. A month later, deaf ministry newsletters were praising God for helping them learn, grow, and find new ways of meeting ALL their needs.

Like me, our friends who are deaf had to learn new disciplines and daily, consistently pray with God’s loving kindness. We are more alike than different.

Praying without ceasing is a biblical mandate. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Thank you, Father, for new awareness. This new awareness caused me to search out other bible verses about equality to learn truly to love everyone. God’s word is truth, clearly telling us that all people – male and female, and all colors and ethnicities –We need to treat others the same way we want them to treat us.

We need the same attitude as Jesus Christ. In Genesis 1:26-28 (Deaf Bible) we hear: “Then God said, ‘Now let’s make man. We will make people as a copy of ourselves. People will be like us’ …So God made people in His own image. God made people a copy of Himself. God made male and female. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it …rule over every living thing that moves on earth.”

So how do we learn to respect everyone? We look at them and treat them with the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16) How do we take on the mind of Christ? Carefully reserve time for fellowship each day with Him. This won’t just happen. You must plan it and intentionally do it. Jesus had to determine to go to Jerusalem. He had to steadfastly set himself to GO. Determine to treat others with respect and kindness, then do it! Jesus listened for God’s instructions, read the scriptures, and expected Father God to bless him. He had a teachable spirit! Do you?

Like me, you may need to alter some ways of thinking and doing. Determine to do it and then do it.

“My brothers, practice the faith of our Lord Yeshua, the glorious Messiah, without showing favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your Synagogue wearing gold rings and fancy clothes and also, a poor man comes in dressed in rags.  If you show more respect to the man wearing fancy clothes and say to him, ‘Have this good seat here,’ while to the poor man you say ‘You, stand over there,’ or ‘sit down on the floor by my feet,’ then aren’t you creating distinctions among yourselves, and haven’t you made yourselves into judges with evil motives?

If you truly attain the goal of Kingdom Torah, in conformity with the passage that says, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.  But if you show favoritism, your actions constitute sin…what good is it…if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to prove it…” (James 2:1-14, Complete Jewish Bible/CJB)

My daughter, Sharee, and her husband gave me a Complete Jewish Bible on Mother’s Day 2000.  Today, I was led to read this same scripture in seven Bibles. Translations from Hebrew and Greek into English (etc.) often give a more clear understanding of His meaning.

God wants to restore us to right relationships with himself. Restoration (of us to God, of our nation to Him, of the world’s cultures and religions) requires recovery from one-sided views. We can’t show favoritism only to our point of view!

When we discriminate in social or financial status, the Recovery Devotional Bible, James 2:9 says, “If you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” That is because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.  Mercy triumphs over judgement.

Every single life matters to God!  Each one is created in God’s image. Read Matthew 22:15-22 (NRSV). “…You teach the way of God in accordance with truth, show deference to no one; for You do not regard people with partiality… give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

We have a responsibility to love our neighbor and help care for them and their well being. Every contact, every interaction is an opportunity to glorify our Creator and make God’s love real! How will we share and carry the image of God in our lives? Can we rest in Him and His word?

Pandemic times have shown Garry and me the need to rest in Him. We made a change and are enjoying keeping the Sabbath Holy. On the Sabbath, we do not follow worldly habits and ways of work, work, work!  Look up Sabbath in a concordance where many scriptures describe it and consider what God wants from you when keeping the day holy.

That full day is one of no cooking, yard mowing, laundry, rushing, rushing, rushing to do car maintenance, be on electronic devices, computers, cell phones… For us, Sabbath is God and family day – a day of rest in Him! Resting in Him is a necessary part of what restores us to Him. Take a deep breath. Exhale s l o w l y… Rest… and know that God is with you.

Thank God for this time of seeing people who are healing from the Coronavirus, even while others are becoming ill.  We continue to learn and mature. 

Christ must completely fill our lives! It is our choice whether to be controlled by our bodily desires or the Holy Spirit’s leading. Christ lives in all of us when we receive, believe, and know He chose each of us. Now, “whatever we say or do should be done in the name of Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of Him.” (Colossians 3:17 CEV)  Christ now gives meaning to your life. (Colossians 3:4)  We should each “Do our work willingly, as though…serving the Lord Himself.” (Colossians 3:23 CEV) Paul was in prison as he wrote this letter. By our experience of isolation, we need to give up certain desires and our worship should be directed to Christ!  

Paul, and each of us, were chosen by God to be faithful followers. He even says in Colossians 1:2 ”I pray that God our Father will be kind to you and will bless you with peace.”  He adds, in verse 9, “We have not stopped praying for you…In fact, I always pray that God will show you everything He wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that His Spirit gives.  Then you will live a life that honors the Lord and you will always please Him by doing good…”  

Come to know God even better.  His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything and you will be happy.”  Christ suffered for each of us and Paul did too. “God’s plan was to make me [and you] a servant of His church and to send each to preach His complete message…” (Colossians 1:25)  God’s desire that each of us “announce the message about Christ…and use all our wisdom to warn and teach everyone, so that all of Christ’s followers will grow and become mature.” (v 28)  Together, we are being matured.

Like Paul, we have been going through life’s problems and difficulties. My mother and father struggled through Infantile Paralysis (Polio) with my baby brother.  Frankie was sent to Oklahoma City and isolated for 3 months in the crippled children’s hospital. No visits. No known details or cures. But God honored my mama’s prayers and strong belief that Frankie would not die, or be paralyzed from the neck down, or in an iron lung for life.  

Christ brings new life. He did it then, and still does today. “Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator and you will understand Him better…all that matters… He lives in all of us.” (Colossians 3:10, CEV) 

Yes, love is the key. “…with thankful hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of Him.” (Colossians 3:16-17 CEV) 

I may sound repetitive, but the Spirit leads me to continually remind us that we, as believers, must be restrained, disciplined, and vigilant. We should focus on Father God, Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit! We need to work daily to be Christ-like, with a heart for serving others and efforts each day to stay spiritually aware of our own relationship with our Sovereign Lord.

This will give God glory, and that is our purpose in this life. As His children, we must do this together to overcome evil in our lives because Satan is running rampant, causing discontent, hatred, and violence. We look around and see illness, and racial and social injustice everywhere.

When giving the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says of His Father: “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45b, ESV) Just before that, in v. 43-45a he reminded them: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

God is both merciful and just. He is merciful when he gives sunshine and rain to everyone, not just those who follow him. He gives justice when he allows us to suffer the consequences of our choices to disobey, dishonor, and disrespect Him, others, and ourselves.

Christians have a choice to love like Jesus did. We are not puppets but we are asked to treat each other well so it might go well with us. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5, NIV)

But how to get His mindset? Keep reading and acting on word of God.

Continue to seek Father God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit for truth, wisdom, and guidance in all things. Pray daily. Pray without ceasing. Be active and intentional about seeking God’s will instead of our own control, comfort, and convenience. In these ways we can be better to each other and choose godly leadership in our churches, cities, states, and countries. The Spirit will help us discern the truth so we can become doers of the Word, not hearers only.

Ask the Lord about your part in overcoming the globally spreading virus. Become a part of God’s healing process…a doer of the word, not a hearer only!

Recognize God loves you! Ask Him about your part in overcoming hatred of people who are different from us. Be part of God’s reconciliation process… a doer of the word, not a hearer only! Recognize God loves you! Ask about your part in overcoming political divides that prevent us from working together for the good of us all. Be part of God’s justice process… a doer of the word, not a hearer only! Recognize God loves you!

We need to take control of our thoughts. In all this unknown, we cannot allow fear to take over and move in feelings as of failure…change any thought from failure to success. Stop saying “Woe is me!” Instead say, “Even though I suffer, I am saved!” Choose God’s will! Be Christ-like with scripture and prayer we practice and seek God’s will over and in all we do.