9 DEC 23 Saturday: Coffee with Chaps Devotional

 9 DEC 23 Saturday: Coffee with Chaps Devotional

SOAPS (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer, Share) 

Reading Plan: Psalm 20, 21:1-7; Amos 5:18-27; Jude 17-25; Matthew 22:15-22

The first week of Advent 

Question of the day: Are you living faithfully and building up fellow believers?

S- “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life.  Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.  Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.” Jude 20-21, 23

O- As we await the return of Jesus we can be about the Father’s business and faithfully discharge the duties he has given us.  We can encourage and build up fellow believers by helping them to become more like Christ in their character, relationships, and mission.  We may have to rescue some from sins that have gained control over their lives.  We can also share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know him.

A- (I will statements to commit to faithfulness) I will seek to encourage and build up my fellow Christians and mercifully help them to break the bondages of sin.  I will seek opportunities to share the good news with those who don’t know Jesus.

P- Lord God, sometimes I ponder your second coming and ask myself if I will be found faithful when you arrive.  I thank you for your word and the testimony of the apostles that we don’t have to wonder what to do but do what you have detailed.  Help me to faithfully live out the charge on my life to seek the lost and train the saved, in your great name I pray, amen.

S- My Five. Rose, Daron.

8 DEC 23 Friday: Coffee with Chaps Devotional

 8 DEC 23 Friday: Coffee with Chaps Devotional

SOAPS (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer, Share) 

Reading Plan: Psalm 16, 17; Amos 5:1-17; Jude 1-16; Matthew 22:1-14

The first week of Advent 

Question of the day: What are you pouring your life into that is eternal?

S- “For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.  You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Psalm 16:10-11

O- Our future is set, is good, and beyond imagination for those in Christ.  We sometimes worry about the return of Jesus, for the wrong reasons because we are attached to this world and the things in it.  Everything you see before you is temporary and will come to an end.  Many of the people of this world are suffering or in poverty, so this is good news.  Those who are comfortable and have riches find it difficult to let go, but being with Jesus is greater than everything else.

A- I will reflect on my life this week and look at my family, career, and stuff, and compare it to being with Jesus. I will reset my daily rhythms to focus on eternal things versus the temporary.

P- Heavenly Father, as I read the passage from Psalm 16 today, it sparked feelings of thankfulness and joy that your Son Jesus’ future return.  It also made me feel like I have put things in my life that I don’t want to lose or let go of.  I know that in your presence everything else fades to black in comparison to the satisfaction that is found in you.  So help me Lord, to set the right perspectives now as I look to a future with you. Amen.

S- My Five.

7 DEC 23 Thursday: Coffee with Chaps Devotional

 7 DEC 23 Thursday: Coffee with Chaps Devotional

SOAPS (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer, Share) 

Reading Plan: Psalm 18:1-20; Amos 4:6-13; 2 Peter  3:11-18; Matthew 21:33-46

The first week of Advent 

Question of the day: Are you and the people around you prepared to meet their maker?

S- “Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced.  Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!” Amos 4:12

O- Advent speaks to the anticipation of Jesus’ second coming which is a beautiful and wonderful thing for believers since we are in right standing with God. We look forward to it with joy, desiring to see Jesus in all of his glory and spend eternity in his presence.  It is not something that an unbeliever wants to see.  It is the end of mercy, grace, and love because God’s patience is completed and his justice is unleashed because they rejected Him. 

A- I will pray for those around me and share the good news of Jesus with them.  I will live my life in a manner that keeps the tension of Jesus’ return tight.  I will give thanks for Jesus saving me and forgiving me of my sins thereby making me right with God.

P- Heavenly Father, today I praise you for your goodness, love, and faithfulness to me and my family.  I look forward to seeing the return of your Son Jesus, but my heart breaks now for those who do not know you and are not saved.  So God, help all the believers, especially me, to be about sharing the good news and prepare the hearts of those who are to hear.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

S- Who will share the gospel? A, M

3 DEC 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 3 DEC 23 Sunday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.  So be on your guard, not asleep like the others.  Stay alert and be clearheaded.” 1 Thess. 5: 2, 6

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, bringing excitement and joy as we prepare for Christmas.  As a child, I would start preparing my Christmas list for what I hoped Santa would bring me.  Taking the Sunday advertisements, the J. C. Penny, and Sears catalogs  I would highlight, and make a list of items wished for the jot them down on a piece of paper.  Anticipation was further fueled by all of the things that my family and church did in preparation.

It is a wonder that my head didn’t explode with all the stimulation of the season.  I love this time of year because it is about wonder excitement and joy.  It is not about the gifts, activities, or family, but Jesus.  Advent means coming and as we approach Christmas we remember the first coming of Christ, but also look forward to the second.  For hundreds of years, people expected and desired to see the coming Messiah who would be King.  They wanted to be a strong and independent Kingdom free of their oppressors.

When Jesus came though, they were surprised so much so that most didn’t recognize or rejected him because he didn’t meet their expectations.  Those who received him also received the best gift of all, God himself.  When we receive Jesus we are eternally connected in a relationship with God, the creator of all things.  Jesus stated that he would return to gather his people when both the time and the number were right.  We don’t know either of those factors.

What we do know is that Jesus will return like a thief in the night, in an instant, and at any time.  As we enter the Advent Season, it allows us to pause and look forward with great expectation and anticipation.  The times reveal the great possibility of his coming maybe sooner rather than later.  That being said, he tells us to be on guard, alert, and doing the Father’s business until he returns.  Don’t get caught asleep doing your own thing, but be ready!

Are you anticipating Jesus’ second coming?

Reading Plan: Psalm 146, 147; Amos 1:1-5, 13-2:8; 1 Thes. 5:1-11; Luke 21:5-19 

30 NOV 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

 30 NOV 23 Thursday: A Closer Walk Devotional

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.” 1 Peter 2:13-15

Do you ever find it difficult to live and work under leaders or authorities? Peter, Paul and Jesus, all tell us to submit to the authorities around us because it is God who places them there.  At any given time, God can raise a nation to predominate or take one down and destroy it.  Think about when they were writing and the governors and institutions that were in charge.  Those religious institutions and the government were brutal to Christians and often hunted them down, lit them on fire, or killed them in a horrid manner.

Yet, Peter, Paul, and Jesus say that we are to submit or be subject to these people.  Peter in the verses following the ones above, reminds us that we are ‘slaves’ to Jesus and his will for our lives is to submit.  We are no longer living for ourselves, but living for Jesus and in doing so we will face persecution and suffer because of his name.  Jesus also expects governments to do something, punish those who do evil, and praise those who do good.  When governments don’t fulfill their mandates, then God punishes them.

One thing we can consistently do no matter the institution or government is to do good and be torch-bearers of the gospel.  The Lord expects us to fulfill the mission mandated to us in Matthew 28:19 regardless.  Our good works will be the judge of wicked people, leaders, and rulers.  If they harm us, God will not let them off the hook but give them punishment.  Jesus himself warned the people that if anyone hurt one of his followers, it would be better to have a millstone tied around their neck and thrown into the sea.  God will deal with them.

Are you submitting to earthly authorities?

Reading Plan: Psalm 131, 132; Zeph. 3:1-13; 1 Peter 2:11-25; Matthew 20:1-16