GodsAcres.org
  • HOME
    • WHAT'S NEW?
  • ABOUT
    • contact us
    • Our Facebook Page (public)
    • our history
    • our pastor
    • visitors (FAQ)
    • what we believe
    • WHAT'S NEW?
  • AUDIO & VIDEO
    • AUDIO ARCHIVES
    • -----------------------------------
    • audio - 2023 radio
    • -----------------------------------
    • audio - 2022 revivals & CM
    • audio - 2022 weekly services
    • audio - 2023 weekly services
    • -----------------------------------
    • VIDEO - 2022 revivals & cm
    • VIDEO - 2022 weekly services
    • VIDEO - 2023 weekly services
    • -----------------------------------
    • music [choir]
    • music [video collections]
    • -----------------------------------
  • EVENTS
    • Calendar of Events
    • camp meeting
    • dates and reservations
  • CHILDREN
    • children's choruses
    • KAREN'S KORNER
    • printable lessons
    • sunday school
  • GALLERY
    • 2022 portraits
    • 2021 portraits
    • 2019 portraits
    • 2018 portraits
    • 2017 portraits
    • -----------------------------------
    • - 2015-2016 archives
    • - 2011-2012 archives
    • - 2005-2010 archives
  • LIVE STREAMING
    • JOIN OUR LIVE BROADCAST
  • RESOURCES
    • radio broadcast
    • -----------------------------------
    • study materials
    • - by author
    • - by category
    • - by title
    • -----------------------------------
    • sunday school (adult)
    • sunday school (primary)
    • sunday school (youth)
    • -----------------------------------
    • The Gospel Trumpeter
    • The Revelation Chart (Basics)
  • YOUTH
    • meet our local youth group
    • -----------------------------------
    • YOUTH DEVOTIONS
    • -----------------------------------
    • audio messages (archive)
    • audio messages (2022)
    • audio messages (2021)
    • -----------------------------------
    • VIDEO MESSAGES (2022)
    • VIDEO MESSAGES (2023)
    • -----------------------------------
    • bible studies
    • bible studies (senior)
    • Revelation Chart Study
    • -----------------------------------
    • lessons (sunday school)
    • lessons (video & activity)
    • -----------------------------------
    • virtual services (pandemic)
  • HOME
    • WHAT'S NEW?
  • ABOUT
    • contact us
    • Our Facebook Page (public)
    • our history
    • our pastor
    • visitors (FAQ)
    • what we believe
    • WHAT'S NEW?
  • AUDIO & VIDEO
    • AUDIO ARCHIVES
    • -----------------------------------
    • audio - 2023 radio
    • -----------------------------------
    • audio - 2022 revivals & CM
    • audio - 2022 weekly services
    • audio - 2023 weekly services
    • -----------------------------------
    • VIDEO - 2022 revivals & cm
    • VIDEO - 2022 weekly services
    • VIDEO - 2023 weekly services
    • -----------------------------------
    • music [choir]
    • music [video collections]
    • -----------------------------------
  • EVENTS
    • Calendar of Events
    • camp meeting
    • dates and reservations
  • CHILDREN
    • children's choruses
    • KAREN'S KORNER
    • printable lessons
    • sunday school
  • GALLERY
    • 2022 portraits
    • 2021 portraits
    • 2019 portraits
    • 2018 portraits
    • 2017 portraits
    • -----------------------------------
    • - 2015-2016 archives
    • - 2011-2012 archives
    • - 2005-2010 archives
  • LIVE STREAMING
    • JOIN OUR LIVE BROADCAST
  • RESOURCES
    • radio broadcast
    • -----------------------------------
    • study materials
    • - by author
    • - by category
    • - by title
    • -----------------------------------
    • sunday school (adult)
    • sunday school (primary)
    • sunday school (youth)
    • -----------------------------------
    • The Gospel Trumpeter
    • The Revelation Chart (Basics)
  • YOUTH
    • meet our local youth group
    • -----------------------------------
    • YOUTH DEVOTIONS
    • -----------------------------------
    • audio messages (archive)
    • audio messages (2022)
    • audio messages (2021)
    • -----------------------------------
    • VIDEO MESSAGES (2022)
    • VIDEO MESSAGES (2023)
    • -----------------------------------
    • bible studies
    • bible studies (senior)
    • Revelation Chart Study
    • -----------------------------------
    • lessons (sunday school)
    • lessons (video & activity)
    • -----------------------------------
    • virtual services (pandemic)
THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY​
​
​youth devotions for daily living
| inspiration from our youth leaders |

feeling safe

5/24/2022

 
Picture
Years ago, there was a shooting close to my local Walmart. For a few hours, it was thought that there was an "active shooter" in the area. As I was paying for my groceries, the cashier said to me, "Be SAFE out there!" I certainly did not FEEL safe walking out to my car.

How often do we make decisions based on feeling safe or feeling unsafe? Consider what makes you FEEL SAFE. Having enough money makes me feel safe. Many years ago, we went through a financially difficult time, and we did not have enough money for all our needs. That created stress and anxiety. Being in control also makes me feel safe. When our children were learning how to drive, they were in control of the car (not me), and at times I did not feel safe.
​
Have you ever considered that keeping the Gospel to ourselves makes us FEEL SAFE? Sharing our faith with others often requires stepping out of our comfort zone (a place of safety). After Jesus' death, the Christians stayed together in Jerusalem. No doubt, there was a feeling of safety in numbers, but the Great Commission was "Go!"

Consider men and women who stepped out of their comfort zones. Abraham left his country, not knowing where God would lead him. Moses led over a million Israelite slaves out of Egypt. Noah built an enormous ark. Esther went to see the king without being summoned. They risked much but saved many.

For many, Christianity consists of reading the Bible, praying, and attending worship services. There seems to be little risk or courage required. However, God needs people who will step out of their comfort zones and share the Gospel. "If we expect great things from God, we must attempt great things for God" (William Carey).

​With God's help, we can "be strong and of good courage, and DO IT!"
Great things never come from comfort zones.
— Unknown

"Things above"

5/9/2022

 
Picture
​When reading the story of Corrie ten Boom, who hid Jews from the Nazis, I find myself thinking: "If only she hadn't opened the door to the man who betrayed her, she would not have been arrested. She could have stayed in her home, safe with her family." Perhaps I have been looking at this story with earthly eyes. What if Corrie's arrest and imprisonment were God's plan all along? God needed missionaries to go to the Ravensbrück  concentration camp and share the Gospel with the many women who were facing certain death.

Although the cost was high (Corrie's father, sister, brother, and nephew died), Corrie's prayer was: "Lord Jesus, I offer myself for Your people. In any way. Any place. Any time." She had "set" her "affection on things above."

When suffering, trials, afflictions, and persecution come our way, James 1:2 tells us to "Count it all joy." This is difficult when we have an earthly mindset, but when our eyes are "set . . . on things above," we learn that trials and joy are not incompatible. Third John 1:4 tells us the greatest joy is "to hear that my children walk in truth." While we do not enjoy the suffering, we can find great joy when God uses it for His glory!

The danger is in becoming too attached to the "things on the earth." "When we focus on earthly things, our eyes slip from the 'things above'" (L. Hoover). When that happens, we need to refocus and "set" (an action word) our mind on "things above." This will require laying down things, plans, ideas, and opinions that are not part of God's plan and submit to His plans and ideas. When we do this, the songwriter tells us that "the things of earth will grow strangely dim."
Every possible trial to the child of God is a masterpiece of strategy of the Captain of His salvation for His good.

—Jamieson-Fausset-Brown 

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Copyright ©   Church of God, Inc.   All Rights Reserved. 675 North Cedar Street, Newark, OH 43055