Author: Pastor Howie

12 14 14 Luke 2.10-20 We turn our attention once again to the very familiar story on the quiet hillside overlooking Bethlehem.  In the still of an ordinary evening, the extraordinary occurred when an angel pulled back the curtain from the unseen realm where they reside to announce the birth of Jesus, the Savior.  The coming of Jesus is a time of praise.  Our praise is a celebration.  Our praise is contagious.  At the coming of Jesus and as we celebrate this Christmas season, are we filled with adoration or apathy? 

12 07 14 Matthew 1.20-23 Once again we turn our attention to the Christ child as we approach Christmas.  Just who is He and why did He come?  Our text reveals to us that Jesus was not only God given to us through the announcement of the angel who reassured that what had happened to Mary was the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, but also that He is our Savior.  If Jesus is not God, then we are still dead in our sins and hopelessly lost.  He came to be your Savior.

11 30 Psalm 100 What are we truly thankful for this year as we celebrate Thanksgiving?  Psalm 100 gives us pause to ponder that question and also direct us to the source of everything we should be thankful for.  Our thanksgiving is to God alone, from whom all blessings flow.  He is the reason for our thanksgiving.  Today, shout to the Lord, come into His presence with thanksgiving and praise.

11 23 Luke 10.1-24 Jesus has conveyed with his disciples what following Him would entail, even giving them examples of the cost that must be considered to do so.  In today’s passage Jesus appoints 72 other disciples because of the urgency of proclaiming the kingdom of God prior to His crucifixion which was now just months away.  In this passage Jesus commissions, He cautions, and He celebrates.  Jesus’ return is imminent.  What are we doing to prepare the way for His return?

11 16 Luke 9.57-62 In this passage Jesus fleshes out the challenge of discipleship in verse 23.  He asks us to consider surrendering riches, surrendering responsibilities, and surrendering relationships.  What are we holding onto that hinders us from following Jesus.  We may say we are willing, but are there things in our life that cause us to delay that decision.

11 09 Luke 9.46-56 The disciples reveal the heart that is in us all, the heart of pride.  It is at the core of every sin we commit.  Pride seeks power, is paranoid, and is prejudice.  For God to effectively use us, He must strip away any pride we have.  To get rid of pride we need to humble ourselves under the hand of God, submit to His will instead of wanting to do our will.  Ask God today to search your heart and reveal any sin that is there.

11 02 Luke 9.37-45 A desperate father comes to Jesus pleading for his son.  He has some faith but asks Jesus to help with his unbelief.  He wants more faith.  Jesus further explains to the disciples that even with a little faith great things can be done.  What are pleading with Jesus about?  How much faith do we have?  Faith believes in the God who is able to do the impossible.

10 26 Luke 9.28-36  The transfiguration provides a glimpse into the future as Jesus shares this experience with Three of His closest disciples.  They get a sneak peak at the glorified nature of Christ as He pulls back the veil that shrouded His glory.  This event has implications for us as well both for the present and for the future.  The transfiguration suggests our triumph and our transformation.  A change has taken place but will be completed when Christ returns.  What change does the transfiguration make in your life.

10 19 Luke 9.18-27 Every day we face a myriad of decisions to make.  Some are very trivial.  Some have lifelong implications.  One decision that is of utmost importance that has eternal ramifications has to do with the question of who Jesus is.  How we answer that will determine our eternal destiny.  If we come to the same conclusion Peter did, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then the next question has to do with our commitment.  Jesus tells us that to follow Him, we must consider the cost.

We are challenged today to consider the work of Christ in reaching out to the boys and girls of the world through CEF.