You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. - Acts 1:8
 
Some people mistake the ability to witness, or share Christ, with the power of a Spirit filled witness. Being a witness with power is not the same as having the ability to speak about Christ.

There is a story in the book of Acts of some men who were impressed when they saw the apostles doing great miracles in the name of Jesus and tried to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus. The demon cried out, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). The evil spirit then attacked them and beat them severely.

There is a difference between knowing the name of Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit through faith in that name. God has given the command to every believer, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit there is power in their witness that convicts the unbeliever. Just this morning I saw the power witness of a Spirit filled life. A young man gave his heart to the Lord because of the witness of another young man whose life he had seen changed by the power of God.

Your witness must be more than the words you speak. Words alone will not cause people to change. To be effective our witness must be filled with power. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”
  
Prayer: Lord, make me a power witness by filling me with your Holy Spirit. Fill me daily with your Spirit. In Jesus name, amen.
 
Message:  Some people mistake the ability to witness, or share Christ, with the power of a Spirit filled witness. When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit there is power in their witness that convicts the unbeliever.
  
Affirmation:  I not only want to witness to others about Christ but I want my witness to be empowered by the Holy Spirit so that those who hear will be convicted and receive Christ.
  
Reflection:   What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? What are some of the evidences or signs that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit? How has the Holy Spirit affected your life?

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Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
​- 2 Timothy 2:25-26
 
The goal is not just to present the truth, but to have others accept the truth. The godly teacher is more interested in winning people to Christ than he is in being an eloquent teacher.

Notice that Paul, in this passage, puts repentance before understanding the truth. That is interesting because we usually think of truth being the vehicle that brings folks to Christ. But here he is saying that gentle instruction will lead to repentance.

The test of a man’s ability to teach God’s truth is not in the beauty of his words but in the response of those he is teaching. Most people don’t need to hear that they are a sinner, they already know that. They need to know how that has affected them and how they can remedy it.

People want to know how they can make their life work better and we know the answer; faith in Christ. When people are presented with the hope of Christ a spark of faith is ignited and they become candidates for repentance and escaping the trap of the devil.
 Learn to present the truth gently.
 
Prayer: Father, help me to keep the goal of bringing others to repentance ever in my mind. Grant me the wisdom to present the hope of Christ in such a way that others receive him. In Jesus name, amen.

Message:  Our goal should not be just to present the truth, but to have others accept the truth. The test of a man’s ability to teach God’s truth is not in the beauty of his words but in the response of those he is teaching. The godly teacher is more interested in winning people to Christ than he is in being an eloquent teacher.
  
Affirmation:  I am committed to presenting the gospel message in such a way that others are attracted to the hope it offers.
 
 Reflection:  People want to know how they can make their life work better and they aren’t too interested in doctrine. Do not fail to present Jesus as the answer regardless of what the needs are.

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Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. - 2 Timothy 2:23-24
 
I have a friend who some have said is a very negative person. He was telling me one time that people keep telling him that he is too negative and he responded, “I am not negative, I am positive. I positively believe that if you don’t do it my way you will go to hell.” Needless to say, this man often had to argue his way out of many situations.

Arguments do not come from knowing you are right, but from trying to get others to agree that you are right. Arguments lead to bad feelings between friends and brothers and they will produce resentment.

Paul is instructing Timothy on some of the finer points of being a leader. There are times when a leader must look at the bigger picture and realize that reaching the goal of encouraging another is more important than contending for a point in an argument.

A wise servant of the Lord will be kind to everyone, gently teaching kingdom principles. The truth we have is of no value to others if we present it in such a way that it causes resentment.
Practice teaching the truth with kindness.
  
Prayer:  Father, grant me a gentle spirit so I can teach others your way and lead them into your righteousness. Give me the wisdom to teach the truth with kindness. In Jesus name, amen.
Message:  There are times when a leader must look at the bigger picture and realize that reaching the goal of encouraging another is more important than contending for a point in an argument. A wise servant of the Lord will be kind to everyone, gently teaching kingdom principles.
  
Affirmation:  Helping others understand the principles behind Scriptural doctrine is more important than trying to convince them I am right.
  
Reflection:  One reason that there are thousands of denominations in Christianity is because so many people feel like everyone else should agree with them on their “hobby horse” doctrines. Paul is addressing that issue in this passage of Scripture. Think of some ways you can teach without being negative about other people.

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​“The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.” - Ruth 2:20
 
God had made a provision in the law to handle just such a situation that Naomi and Ruth faced. It was called the kinsman-redeemer. Simply stated this law allowed a close relative to marry the childless widow of his relative and the firstborn son would bear the family name of the dead husband. The child would legally be the son of the deceased and all of the benefits, property, etc. of the family would be inherited by this son.

In this story, Boaz was the kinsman-redeemer. He was both a close relative and a wealthy land owner. God had led Ruth to glean the fields owned by this man, even though she did not have a clue as to who he was and she had never heard of the law of the kinsman-redeemer; but Naomi had.

When Naomi heard that Ruth was gleaning in the fields of Boaz, and that he had given her favor, she began to realize that God was working to restore her fruitfulness and reward her faithfulness.

God has prepared people who will come into our lives to be the bearers of his blessing and his will for our lives. We must be diligent to see and hear what opportunities he is bringing to us.
  
Prayer: Father, grant me the wisdom to look beyond my circumstances and see how that you are arranging my life so that you can reveal your purposes for me. In Jesus name, amen.
​
Message:   God has prepared people who will come into our lives to be the bearers of his blessing and his will for our lives. We must be diligent to see and hear what opportunities he is bringing to us.
  
Affirmation:  I recognize that God is trying to lead me into a blessing and diligently look and listen so that I won’t miss his blessing.
  
Reflection:  Do you understand the principle of the kinsman-redeemer? Simply stated it is when a man dies before his wife bears a son to carry his name then the next of kin will take the woman to be his wife and the first son born will carry the name of the man who died. Some have seen a connection with Jesus as our kinsman-redeemer. Can you see that connection?

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When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full but the Lord has brought me back empty. - Ruth 1:19-21
 
If anyone should be down on life it would be Naomi. In a foreign land, a widow, her sons are gone, and a daughter-in-law who refuses to leave her. What can she do now? She can go back home.
Going home required courage. She had left full and was coming back empty. Life had not been fair and she had little hope for the future.

Hardships can make us bitter or better – the difference is how we look at the future.

Naomi was seeking out the comfort of home while she worked out the details of her future. The devotions of the next two days reveal the blessing that was building in her through her emptiness. God will sometimes empty us so that he can fill us with a blessing that only he can provide.

Don’t stop the clock at the point of tragedy and declare that there is no use going on. Don’t let yesterday’s challenge become tomorrow’s prison. God will use your emptiness to produce a much greater thing than you could have produced on your own.

Trust God for the future and use your hardships to make you better instead of bitter.
 
Prayer: Lord, like everyone else I know, I have faced hardship in this life, and I haven’t always faced them with faith. Grant me the grace to trust you, even when the future looks bleak. Amen.

Message:  Hardships can make us bitter or better – the difference is how we look at the future. Don’t stop the clock at the point of tragedy and declare that there is no use going on. Don’t let yesterday’s challenge become tomorrow’s prison. Trust God for the future and use your hardships to make you better instead of bitter.
  
Affirmation:  My faith is based in God and his grace. I will not let hardships define me. I am allowing God to shape me into his image as I endure and mature through life.
  
Reflection:  What do you think is meant by, “God will sometimes empty us so that he can fill us with a blessing that only he can provide”? How did God use Naomi’s hardship to ultimately lead her into blessing?

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Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” - Ruth 1:16
 
 Things had not turned out as Ruth had expected. She was young, pretty and married in a good family; then tragedy struck. Her father-in-law, the leader of the little clan died first, then shortly afterward her husband and his brother died, leaving only Ruth, her sister-in-law and her mother-in-law, Naomi.

Now she is a widow in a family devastated by tragedy. What would she do? How could she survive? With all of these things happening Naomi tells her to go home to her family.

That wouldn’t work for Ruth. She had made a commitment to her new family. Her cry became, “Don’t urge me to leave you.” Her commitment was, “Where you go I will go… Your people will be my people and your God my God.” It is a wise person who commits themselves to people of character.

Ruth’s commitment to Naomi is a display of the valuable character trait of loyalty. There is no greater friend than one that is not influenced by circumstances and the opinion of others.

Loyalty is tested by hardship and when it is practiced it becomes a quality that releases many blessings – blessings from the Lord and blessings from others. Make loyalty to your friends a priority.
  
Prayer: Lord, Loyalty is a character trait that I need to practice more often. Grant me the grace to see the value of maintaining relationships even when it seems that the cost is greater than the benefit. Amen.


Message:  There is no greater friend than one that is not influenced by circumstances and the opinion of others. Loyalty is tested by hardship and when it is practiced it becomes a quality that releases many blessings – blessings from the Lord and blessings from others. Make loyalty to your friends a priority.
  
Affirmation:  Loyalty is a gift and when possessed it leads to great blessing from God and from others. I am committed to being loyal, first to God then to other believers he places in my life.
  
Reflection:  How is loyalty to God and loyalty to our relationship with others related? Give some thought to the reasons Ruth committed herself to Naomi. How was Ruth rewarded for her commitment to Naomi?
 
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Now Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Nahlon and Killion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. - Ruth 1:6-7
 
  The test of a persons’ character is how they respond to difficulty and tragedy. Naomi was certainly put to the test.

This woman, whose name means pleasant, went with her husband to a foreign land when they were trying to survive a famine. There they did well until her husband died. Not long after he died her two sons also died leaving her with two daughters-in-law to care for and support.

Naomi was truly a pleasant one. There was an integrity of character in her that she had been instilling in her daughters-in-law. When she told them they must return to their families they replied, “We will go back with you to your people.” When we display godly character others will want to follow us.

We cannot avoid hardship in this life, but we can allow hardship to bring out the character of Christ in us. As long as we are looking at the hardship and bemoaning the fate that has come to us we will miss the best that God has for us.

Look for a chance to display the character of Christ in every tragedy and you will lead others to Christ as they see His character in you.
  
Prayer: Lord, I look at the example of Naomi and I feel that I fall far short of what you would have me to be. Grant me the character of Christ. Amen. 
 
Message:   We cannot avoid hardship in this life, but we can allow hardship to bring out the character of Christ in us. As long as we are looking at the hardship and bemoaning the fate that has come to us we will miss the best that God has for us.
  
Affirmation:  Hardships bring out the depth of my faith. With God’s grace I will endure hard times and become stronger as I serve Him faithfully.
  
Reflection:  The story of Naomi in the book of Ruth is a lesson in character and faithfulness. We should remember that we cannot avoid hardship, but we can determine the effect that hardship has on us. How can we have a faith which will take us through difficult times?

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching.  - Hebrews 10:24-25
 
We are living in a time when people are falling away from the faith because they have not built a support system for their faith. The writer here at least implies that regularly meeting with other believers is critical to continuing in the faith.

We are being encouraged to consider how we can prevent this from happening. We must consider this: How can I inspire others to love more and serve better? To do this we have to get our mind off of our own needs and look to the needs of others. When we are asking, “What can I do help someone else in their journey of faith,” we are actually helping ourselves in our journey at the same time.

As times become hard it becomes all the more important to encourage one another in the faith. When others are in times of financial difficulty we need to consider how we can encourage them; when others are having relationship problems we need ask ourselves how we can serve them; when we see someone becoming distant in their faith we must find a way to “Spur them on to love and good deeds.
  
 Prayer: Lord, I tend to look at others in terms of what they can do for me. Grant me the grace to look at others in terms of what I can do for them. Help m to purposes to spur others on to love and good deeds. In Jesus name, amen.
  
Message:   We must consider this: How can I inspire others to love more and serve better? To do this we have to get our mind off of our own needs and look to the needs of others. When we are asking, “What can I do help someone else in their journey of faith,” we are actually helping ourselves in our journey at the same time.
  
Affirmation:   I am intentional about encouragers in their faith journey and I am also intentional about gathering with other believers to build up my own faith.
  
Reflection:  Our Scripture passage, Hebrews 10:24-25, has two messages. First, consider how we can encourage others in their journey of faith. Second, we are encouraged to continue meeting together so that our own faith will be reinforced. How do you see those two things being worked out in your life? 

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I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. - 1 Corinthians 1:10
 
One leader coined this phrase, “appeasement only makes the aggressor more aggressive.” There is no place where that statement is more true than in religion. A divided people is the result of trying to compromise rather than coming to agreement.

It is easier to throw our hands up and give in than it is to pray an issue through together. When we are using human reason to come to agreement we will always have to come to a compromise that will eventually divide us. When we pray an issue through until both sides are submitted to the truth that God reveals on the issue, then we have harmony.

Agreeing on an issue brings unity in what we speak and in what we think. How do we come to agreement without compromise when we have such a variety of opinions? We can only be in agreement when we are purposed to pursue God and God alone.

Jesus said, “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you” (Matthew 18:19). Pray it through until you come to agreement – then God will bless it.
 
Prayer: Lord, I have compromised for the sake of a project so many times. Now I pray that you grant me the grace to seek your will on issues until there is agreement. In Jesus name, amen.   
  
Message:   Jesus said, “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you” (Matthew 18:19). Pray it through until you come to agreement – then God will bless it. Agreeing on an issue brings unity in what we speak and in what we think.
  
Affirmation:  I realize that walking in unity does not mean I must compromise basic truth. It does mean that I must be agreeable even among those with whom I disagree.
  
Reflection:  How can we be in unity with those who disagree with us on some issues without compromising the truth? What does it mean to “pray an issue through until both sides are submitted to the truth that God reveals on the issue?

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“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.” - 1 Samuel 12:20-21
 
 Here is a rebuke, an admonishment to be faithful, and a hope for the future. Samuel acknowledges that Israel has done a lot of evil, and he rebukes them for that, but in the middle of that he says, “Yet, do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.”  The call to turn back to the Lord implies that God will be there to receive them.

God is faithful – even to the disobedient. There is a passage in 2 Timothy that says, “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful.” God’s faithfulness is not determined by our response; it is determined by his nature. When God calls us into his family he will remain faithful to receive us back when our waywardness has drawn us away from him.

Israel had a problem of handling prosperity. Every time God blessed them they used the blessing as an opportunity to turn to idols that allowed them to live out their physical desires and didn’t hold them accountable. The problem was that those idols were powerless and could not help them in any way. Do not turn away from God to useless things that will only lead to destruction.

Remember: He is faithful – renew your commitment to be faithful to him.
 
 Prayer:  Father, my failings are all too often, but you have never failed me. Grant me the grace to always turn to you when I fall. In Jesus name, amen. 
 
Message:  God’s faithfulness is not determined by our response; it is determined by his nature. When God calls us into his family he will remain faithful to receive us back when our waywardness has drawn us away from him. Do not turn away from God to useless things that will only lead to destruction. Remember: He is faithful – renew your commitment to be faithful to him.
  
Affirmation:  God has shown himself faithful and that inspires me to faithfulness. When I do fail, I trust him to restore me because his love is everlasting.
  
Reflection:  It would be good to read the entire chapter of 2 Samuel 12. Samuel is reminding the people that he has faithfully served God and the people, but they have not always been faithful. In that context he says, “Do not be afraid.” How does this devotion speak to the faithfulness of God?

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