Devos for Nov.30th

Scripture

Daily read - Romans chapters 3, 4

Take away verses (Verses that jumped at me) -  Romans 3:3, Romans 3:23-25, Romans 4:7

Observation/Application

Romans 3:1-20 has a header that says “God’s righteousness upheld”, from verse 1-20 Paul talks about how no matter who we are or what we do, we can’t change God’s righteousness. I get caught up in thinking that because I am not always faithful, that I am causing God to think differently of me, or that He’s going to treat me differently because of my unfaithfulness. We can’t change God’s love or His righteousness. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so to believe that my actions of disobedience has caused Him to be unfaithful or unloving to me is CRAZY! Romans 3:3-4 say’s just because I’m a liar and unfaithful doesn’t mean that God must be to. To seal that idea, WE DON’T CHANGE GOD, HE CHANGES US!

Romans 3:23-25

This portion of scripture is famous because it is foundational to our beliefs as Christians. Even as I accepted Christ into my heart I prayed it. Its message is simple, yet jumbled by the enemy in our full understanding. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. I love this passage because of the foundational truth it lets us in on. It say’s “yep Ben, you are a sinner that messes up… a lot. BUT, there is hope, and it’s been given as a gift, (which means it’s free!) Grace" . We are made right by grace and we receive this gift when we accept Christ Jesus as our savior. So through our relationship with Jesus, we receive this pass that says we are sinners but it’s okay because Jesus has got it covered.  I think we allow the enemy to jumble it because it’s easy to see how bad we are sometimes. Satan says you are not good enough, and then we believe him. But really that’s the point isn’t it? We aren’t good enough! But Jesus has it covered.  

We see in Romans chapter 4 that this idea even extended back into the Old Testament, Abrahams faith in God made him justified. Justified by our faith is how God operates, even when Jesus says He came so that whoever might believe in Him might have eternal life (john 3:16).

Prayer

Pray, Pray, Pray! The foundation of everything we do will be built on prayer. If you want to see God’s promises be fulfilled, we gotta pray through them. When we are in our daily read and we come across those awesome God thoughts for us, we have to grab on to them and pray. Seal todays devos with that prayer.

Notes

Jump on the blog whenever, we do our daily devos every Tuesday and Thursday on here. Ground Zero youth meets every Wednesday night at 7pm and you are welcome to come.

Blessings,

Pastor Ben & Jenny

Thanksgiving Devos 11-25

Scripture

Matthew 20, 21:1-22

Observations/Application

Matt. 20:1-16

In this passage we have the master or owner of a vineyard hiring workers for his vineyard throughout the day; some worked first thing in the morning and then some came at mid-day and others with only an hour left till the end. When the end of the day came, we see the master beginning to pay the denarius (a day’s wages) to the workers. They all got the same pay. The master was generous and gracious on those who began work in the last hour and the first hour workers were mad, thinking they deserved more than those who only worked for 1 hour. The master reminds them that they knew how much they were getting when they started. Jesus used this as an illustration to say that when you become a believer and a worker for the kingdom then you know your prize, heaven, eternal, a life walked with God side by side. The prize is the same for those who accept Christ at age 10 as for those who accept Him at age 90. The same wages, the same love, the same prize in Christ.  So what does this mean for us? It means we can never give up on people! Never, never, never! God’s grace and love extends even till the last minute of a man’s life, even if all they could utter is one sentence, and it was choosing Christ, then they receive the same prize. Just as the thief on the cross who believed Jesus was the Christ, Jesus said the man would be in paradise with him.

Matt. 20:29-34

Just a thought on the two blind men who cried out to Jesus. Jesus asked them “What do you want me to do for you?” They responded by asking for a healing. So Jesus did. We see throughout the bible, people get healed and then go to their old lives. These two got more than their eye sight; they knew who gave it to them. So they followed after Jesus. It’s our job to show people Jesus, then they could also make that choice to follow after Him.

Matt. 21:12-13

In this passage Jesus is cleaning out the temple and flipping tables. The temple was filled with corrupt money-changers and Jesus say’s “My house shall be called a house of prayer”. A house of prayer, this idea makes me think because I always think of our churches as a place of teaching and preaching and building up/ encouraging people so that they can be sent out. BUT if we do not pray, then nothing that we do will be what it could be. God can do everything better than I can, so I should keep Him incorporated in everything I do (PRAYER). You know the army phrase “Be all you can be”, well use that in your life. The only way to do that is to make His house, a house of prayer, make your life a life of prayer because He will make everything you do all it could be.

Prayer

Seal the thoughts God gives you and reveals to you with a prayer to Him, let Him know you got it and want it.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! We blog every Tuesday and Thursday, so join us whenever as we look into the word J

Devos for Nov. 23rd

Today’s reading had soooo much in it. I didn’t blog all of the things God was saying because I didn’t want to write a novel, so I gave some big idea stuff, enjoy!

Scripture

 Matthew 15:15-39; Ch. 16

Observation/Application

Matt. 15-20

Peter is asking for Jesus to explain a parable he shared; Jesus goes on to explain that it isn’t the things that go into our mouths that defile us as people but what comes out of our mouths. To defile something is to corrupt, ruin, damage reputation or good name. When I read this passage it speaks volumes to our testimony, we are to live as a living sacrifice, what people see in us might be the only Jesus they get to see and I would hope that with my mouth I don’t defile myself or damage my Christ like reputation, thus closing the door on my witness with my peers.

Verse 18 “But the words you speak come from the heart-that’s what defiles you.” Jesus is saying what is in our hearts comes out of our mouth… when I ponder this idea, I think of how I accepted Jesus into my heart. SO He is what should be coming out of my mouth! When we allow other things to take hold of our heart we begin to see Jesus getting edged out of our speech, time, and life. When this happens it’s time to fix the order of our lives (reprioritizing and putting God first).

Matt. 21-28

We find a woman pleading for the healing of her daughter; she being a Canaanite not an Israelite (God’s chosen) wasn’t going to get the healing, but Jesus sees an extraordinary faith in this woman who believed that only a fallen table scrap of God’s power was enough to heal her daughter. Jesus did indeed heal her daughter and it serves as a lesson to us, if we have faith in just how BIG our God is then we too can share in the miraculous.

Matt. 16:1-12

The Pharisees and Sadducees (religious leaders of that time period. P.S. they didn’t like Jesus) came to Jesus and said show us some signs and miracles. Jesus pretty much calls them names and walks away. He says it is an evil and adulterous generation that seeks signs, and then he adds “but no sign will be given to it” just to let them know where they stand. Here’s the deal, we all want signs and miracles right? Well in Mark 16:17 Jesus says these signs will follow those who believe in Him. So the Pharisees and Sadducees (religious leaders who were really smart dummies) were missing the key ingredient…Jesus! If we set our eyes on God and live a life according to that then signs and miracles will follow. Basically when you follow Him they follow you J.

Prayer

Always journal a prayer at the end. We are to pray God’s will and when we pray the word, it is God’s will.

Remember, write your questions, comment your thoughts from your journal, and I blog every Tuesday and Thursday (even on thanksgiving)

Devos for Nov. 18th

Hey everyone, I will possibly be playing around with the format a little over the next few entries untill I find one that fits well.

Daily Sripture
 Psamls 124; 2Cor. 12,13

Observations/Application
psalm 124 
David (the author of this psalm) says that if God wasn't on our side then we would have been and could be swallowed up by our enemies. Also the flood and waters would overwhelm our very lives. When David begins writting this psaml it's from a joyfull perspective, he's saying "What if the Lord had not been on our side" lifting up the fact that He is on our side! I love in verse 5 when the phrase "raging waters" is used, it reminds me of when Jesus was on the raging sea and calmed the storm when it seemed like death was upon the disciples. In the same way we see Jesus calm the waters in our lives, we see because of our God the raging waters will not engulf us, but He sets us on dry land. Praise be to God, right?! He is awesome.

2corinthians 12
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians speaks about boasting in his weakness only. For when we are weak, Christ can be strong. So Paul's saying that we can boast about Christ in us. He's not saying to speak of our shortcomings in a pathetic way like, "woe is me, I can't do anything right" but to be clear that it's not me who should get the glory, but Jesus.   Another passage that jumped out at me was when Paul lists off things he hopes not to find upon his arrival(12:20-21). I would like to think that if Paul was coming over to my awesome house, to visit me, that he wouldn't find these things... lets be honest here, I'm just as messed up as everyone else, so I think Paul might have to work with me too. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm not satisfied with falling short, but I know I'm being transformed still. 
2corinthians 13
There were a lot of good things in this final chapter; however, what I found myself dwelling on was the idea of genuine faith. Paul says we ought to test ourselves. I feel as though we are in a time where lukewarm is not enough and we are hungry for something real! A genuine faith, a faith that can be tested and set to the fire! Being a passionate generation, starting a revival in your schools, work, home, and heart takes a genuine faith. God's seeking a people who are willing to have this faith and I know for me I want it and intend on pressing into Him until I do.

Prayer
At the end of my journaling I finish with a prayer which I have written in my personal journal. It's something to seal the ideas and promises of God. The yes and amen to Him. I follow the format of S.O.A.P. Scripture. Observations. Applications. Prayer.
I hope you enjoy this new blog to encourage you as we read together in our devotions.
Blessings,
Pastor Ben

It's Here!

Okay Rhapsody Youth, it's here. Our new blog for you to read and interact with. Our goal in having this blog is to encourage Ground Zero youth in your devotions as well as answer your questions, allowing you to have a better understanding of the word of God. I believe this blog will also prove to be a form of accountability as we meet together on the web every tuesday and thursday for devotions. Our youth life journals provide daily scriptures for us to read and my wife and I will be posting what God has revealed to us in our devotional time. 
We are looking forward to this new way of connecting with all Ground Zero youth. We hope that this blog proves to be a blessing.
Pastor Ben&Jenny