The way you can interact with others is to follow the blog entry from top to bottom and then post a comment about what you read. Each entry will be a devotional done by one of our pastors.  Here is how each entry is broken down.  Since we are dealing with God's Word we begin by reviewing the possible outcomes of our interaction with God's Word.  We call these our expectations.  After we meditate on the various expectations we should have as we approach God's Word we then pray to God using the IOUS format (thanks to desiring God). When we are finished praying we read the passage and then jot down our thoughts. After that we revisit our expectations and see which ones God has fulfilled in us with the particular passage we read. The pastor will post his interaction with the passage and you can contribute through your comments. We look forward to hearing from you!

Date: June 01 2010

:Expectations:
1. Convict me of sin. 2. Call me to serve.
3. Command me to change 4. Cause me to praise
5. Challenge me to sacrifice. 6. Compel me to pray.

:Prayer:

I - (Incline!)

Our souls need an inclination toward God and His Word.
Ask God to take your heart and create desires
that are not normally there (Psalm 119:36).

O - (Open!)
We need to have the eyes of our hearts opened
so that when our inclination leads us to the Word,
we see what is really there, and not just our own ideas (Psalm 119:18).

U - (Unite!)
Our hearts are badly fragmented.
Parts of it are inclined, and parts of it are not.
We long for a united heart where all the parts say a joyful Yes!
to what God reveals in His Word (Psalm 86:11).

S - (Satisfy!)
What we really want from all this engagement
with the Word of God and the work of His Spirit
is for our hearts to be satisfied with God.
(Psalm 90:14)

:Text:

Ephesians 2:1,4-5
You were dead in your tresspasses and sins in which you once walked...
But God... made us alive together with Christ.

:Thoughts:

Talk about rags to riches! There is one difference though, generally rags to riches happens when one pulls himself up by his bootstraps.  Here we are pulled up not by our own bootstraps but by the blood of Christ.  I have always been amazed and humbled by the question, "Why me?"  The only thing I know is that the answer to that question does not involve merit on my part.  Even though the answer to that question may be mysterious the implications of being chosen are glorious!  What a source of praise is the little word, "but" in Ephesians 2:4.

:Expectations Met:

1. These verses brings into focus again, for me, my sinfulness not only before salvation but after.
4.  Praise God for such a gift!  He has saved me.
5. What a mercy!  As Paul exhorted... by the mercies of God present yourselves as living sacrifices!