Deaf Devotion 6/27/2009

“For the Lord declares, ‘I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.’” Psalm 2:6 NLT

The kingdoms of this world are being moved around like pawns on a chessboard, but soon God is going to move His Son to His rightful place as King and say, "Crown Him King of kings!" How many times have we prayed, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven" without thinking about what we are really saying? Do we think God’s will is being done on earth as it is in heaven? Look around at the crime, rape, murder, child abuse, and blasphemy. Is that God’s will? Of course it is not. Do you think Jesus Christ would have taught us to pray a prayer that will not be answered? If we pray for God’s Kingdome to come with Jesus as the King of Kings, expect it to happen. God does not break promises and God will answer the prayer He taught us to say. God is going to move Jesus to His rightful place on the throne and say to us, "Crown Him King!"

Some critics of the Bible have assumed that this passage is about King David. The reason they assume this is because they can’t get past the possibility that something could have been written about Jesus so many years before He was born. The only problem with connecting this passage with someone like David is that Psalm 2 is speaking about a King whose reign will be over all the kings of the earth and it will be eternal. Last I checked King David is still in his grave.

So do we see God hiding in a corner of the universe because of the nation’s hatred for Him? Is he easily overthrown? Was Jesus a moral teacher who became a victim of the anger of an angry mob? ABSOLUTELY NOT! At the very root of sin is the desire to reject the sovereign rule of God for the purpose of placing one’s own will on the throne.

There is coming a day, when Christ will return! He is coming back! Things might seem hopeless. With every rotation of our planet we human beings demonstrate just how wicked we can be, but things will not always be that way. On one of the darkest days of history Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin, the religious “leaders.” Their goal was to find a way to kill Jesus. They were demanding an answer about who He claimed to be. Jesus is clear in his response. “Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Matthew 26:62-64 NLT)

Jesus, as King, was born in the flesh to die so that we would be forgiven and have the promise of eternal life. He is coming again as King to judge the living and the dead. The Jesus whom we worship is not the Jesus of earthly imagination. Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Bible. Jesus is our Blessed Redeemer. Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Kings! Bow down, worship and crown HIM King.

Deaf Devotion 6/19/2009

“Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.” Romans 4:20 NLT

Notice that being strong in faith has something that goes with it. To be strong in faith is to give God glory. God told Abraham that he would be the father of a great multitude. God told Abraham his name would be remembered for generations. God even told Abraham he and Sarah would have children. Maybe it seemed impossible, but through it all Abraham is praising God as though all these things had already happened.

Abraham gave God so much glory, that he became fully persuaded that God would do what He had promised. When the praise is as strong as the asking, God’s supernatural power will show itself. We need to praise God, and not just make confessions of faith. We need to praise Him because we have the promise God will do what He say He will do.

Praise Him by saying, "My faith is getting stronger every day. My faith is stronger today than it was yesterday, and I thank you for it, Father. I’m stronger in my mind, stronger in my body, stronger in my bones. My faith is stronger in every way, than yesterday; and thank you for it. I have the promise of eternal life and for that you are to be praised and worshipped."

When Abraham joined Gods plan for faith, he received the promise. Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son. Abraham became the father of a multitude of believers and his name is honored.

Now God is going to close the deal on the enemy. God’s word is in the earth. Jesus is born. Jesus walks the earth, and only says what God says. Jesus only speaks that which the Father tells Him to speak. The enemy is defeated and God is glorified by faith in Jesus Christ. And that is so important. The need to discipline what we say is important. Let our words be God’s words.

When the pressure is on, practice saying what the Bible says. It is so tempting to say the wrong thing when emotions are high. But we must deliberately say what God says and couple that with praise. Give God glory by praising Him in the middle of the crisis. Let it be said that we are people of faith because we are able to focus on what God says, and that our praise is a strong as the asking.

I call us today to stop defining and limiting the future in terms of the past and start defining it God’s way.

I call us to understand that God is greater than one’s personality. God is greater than one’s past experiences of timidity. God is greater than one’s "family of origin." And God calls everyone to joyful fearlessness.

The crucial factor in fearless and faithful living is not about us. It is fully focused on God who alone is worthy of all praise and worship.

Deaf Devotion 6/13/2009

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” James 4:10 NLT

Have you ever wondered what humility was all about? True humility is not thinking negatively about yourself. True humility is not becoming a doormat and letting people walk all over us. True humility is not letting us think we can place our self-esteem below another person. Humility is not about someone being better, more important, or more valuable than another person.

Humility is agreeing with what God says about us. Humility is knowing our place in God’s kingdom. Humility is knowing our place before a holy and righteous God. Humility is knowing the price Jesus paid that day on the cross one time and for all sinners. Humility is knowing our place with our brothers and sisters in the fellowship of believers.

The grace of God will exalt a person without inflating him and humble a person without tearing them down. We are what we are because of Jesus Christ. In this life, we will not be sinless, but as we deal with sin in our lives, through the Blood of Jesus we are free from sin’s penalty.

Sinless? No. Blameless? Yes.

True humility does not focus on our position or title. True humility focuses on God’s position and authority.

True humility says, “I forgive you.” True humility says, “YOU are forgiven.” Period. True humility does not say we “cannot” or “will not” forgive.

True humility focuses on God’s opportunities and how He will use us in those opportunities. True humility does not focus on one’s appointment book and how full it is or how busy we are.

True humility focuses on the things God does through us to bring Him glory and how He does those things through us. True humility does not focus on or glorify the things we are able to do or not do because of our abilities or disabilities.

True humility focuses on God’s ability to use the skills and abilities He gives us to further His Kingdom and glorify Himself. True humility does not focus on how I use skills and abilities to exalt myself.

True humility willingly and quickly says, “I am sorry.” True humility does not force an apology and make excuses

True humility focuses on God’s Word. True humility does not focus on our empty promises.

True humility focuses on living in obedience to God’s will and His Commandments. True humility does not seek ways of sneaking something past God.

True humility says God knows. True humility does not say we know better

True humility says God can and will do anything. True humility does not say we are tired of waiting for God to do something.

True humility lets others see God by our example and testimony. True humility does not tell others to look at what we can do ourselves.

Jesus Christ is unselfish in His love. Jesus Christ is unselfish in His sacrifice. Jesus Christ is unselfish in His death and resurrection. Jesus Christ is the picture of true humility. Humility leads to obedience. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, He said that He was here on earth to do the Will of His Father who is in heaven. For God to be able to use us we are to have that same humble mind and focus.

Deaf Devotion 6/6/2009

“and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles. Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come to pass - as you well know.” (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4)

We as believers are not going to escape trouble, trials, and temptations. If you do not already know this, I am sorry to be the one to break the news to you. To accept Christ does not mean we have an insurance policy against suffering.

God has never promised that we would miss any storms, but he helps us understand that we would all go through the storms that come up through our time on this earth. What is promised is that He will go with us through any storm that comes up.

If things are smooth and easy we tend to not be concerned about what is going on around us. We tend to look to ourselves and what we are doing to make things so smooth. But if we experience trouble and trial here, if we have the pressures and tensions of life, it is a sign that we are children of God. This is how God teaches us to rely on Him.

When things come up that make us scratch our head, when others attack and accuse us without thinking about what they are doing to God’s witness and testimony, we are to remember that God knows what is going on. That is what is most important. God will take care of things His way. We are to remain faithful to His Word and His plan. Let God go with us to deal with the problems and work it out His way to His glory.

There was once a congregation where the Pastor asked people for their favorite verses of Scripture. One man stood up and said his favorite verse is “would soon come to pass” then he quietly sat down. Everyone looked puzzled. How could that be his favorite passage? The man answered, “When I get in trouble, I turn to where it says, ‘it came to pass,’ and I know my troubles came to pass. They did not come to stay.”

What an excellent thought! Whatever storms, trials, and troubles we experience here did not come to stay. They came to pass. When we leave here and go into the loving arms of our Savior, we will finally be rid of all our troubles. Can there be anything better?

Spiritual Leadership

We, as individuals, as believers, as faithful stewards, and as team members are said to be “spiritual leaders.” We are called to BECOME spiritual leaders. But taking it to the next level, Deaf Café itself is called to be a “Spiritual Leader.”

In his book, “The Spiritual Leader,” (Striving Together Publications, Lancaster, CA, 2008) author Paul Chappell says that many churches, organizations, and fellowships have drifted from the primary goal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “In fact, it seems in this “grace gone wild” age, man have opened the front doors of the church to all the trends of the world merely to attract visitors. Quite literally, the world is evangelizing the church. When we attempt to please the world we become just like the world. Yet, when God’s Spirit is in control of our lives and leadership, there will be a noticeable direction away from sin – both privately and publicly, at home and at church.” (Chappell p.20)

Deaf Café and its team members have endured trials, trouble, troublemakers, temptation, criticism, jealousy, and many other attacks on our central mission. Our central mission is the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to present God’s plan of salvation and eternal life to the Deaf in OUR community.

It is an blessing for us for God to trust us with this mission. Deaf Café is a SPIRITUAL LEADER in our community. We seek to evangelize the lost and seek God’s plan and control in all we do. In this way we exalt God, glorify Him, and lift Him high above all others. The Holy Spirit has placed us together as the Deaf Cafe team and is right now preparing others who are willing to serve when the need and availability arises as well as right now preparing others who need to experience the message of Deaf Café seeking the message of Salvation. The Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us to establish God’s message for His glory.