Pentecostal - Anointed For Service (Freedom Devotional)

I consider myself to be among the fortunate because as a child I was given Psalty: The Singing Songbook cassettes My favourite was Kids Praise 4.

And yes, I'm including these links because I think every child needs Psalty as part of their Christian education. LOL!

The reason I loved Kids Praise 4 so much was because it was about a church mouse named Charity who wanted to be a gospel singing star. This essentially summed up my dreams as a child. I'm sure you don't find that hard to believe. The lesson in the story comes when Charity realizes that even though she loves to sing, it's more important for her to be a servant than a star. 

The soundtrack of my childhood included lyrics like "make me a servant, humble and meek," "take all of me" and "learn to be the servant of all." I am so grateful for that because it has helped me understand something as I grew up in Christ. It's not a matter of how much you can bring to the kingdom, it's a matter of being filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit for kingdom service. Surrender is more valuable than status.

And while I know these things are true, when the rubber meets the road these principles are not always easy to live out. Surrender to the Holy Spirit and walking in anointed service isn't something we can decide once and for all. It's a daily decision to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. 

When we read in scripture the anointing for service that Christ has made available to us, it's pretty amazing. I've heard many of you say that you are hungry for more of God and would love to see Matthew 10:8 happening in your life and in our church. What does it take to live out "anointed service" in our every day lives? I'm looking forward to exploring this with you on Sunday. 
 

See you then,

P. Tracy

Hidden Treasures: Zechariah (Freedom Devotional - July 21)

I remember reading the Old Testament in Sunday School or hearing my youth pastor preach from it at Youth Group. I always felt like it was disconnected from the New Testament... what does 2 Chronicles have to do with Paul's letter to the church in Galatia (Galatians)? One of the great things about being older and studying the bible for myself has been the realization and deeply held understanding that God is God. He never changes and His story is His story. He is revealed throughout scripture and He invites us to get to know Him.

I've been approaching the Prophets with that same wonder. What used to seem like doomsday warnings to "stiff-necked people" is proving to hold so much more as I camp out there. Zechariah, just like Haggai from Erin's message last week, was speaking for God during the time of rebuilding. What is encouraging is how God's words to His people came at the right time, in the right season and enabled them to do what He had for them to do. 

I invite you to read through Zechariah 3 before we meet together on Sunday. See if there is anything that speaks to your heart and look for Jesus. (**SPOILER ALERT** He's there!)

See you Sunday,

P. Tracy

Hidden Treasures: Haggai... Serve the Lord First

Me first!  No, you went first last time!  You are always first, I'm always last!

Sound familiar to any of you that are parents or spend time with young kids?  This is the constant sound in my house when asked to do something or come get something.  It's absolutely maddening and as we are only in the second week of summer vacation, I can only imagine the frustration levels for parents and care givers will increase as the summer goes on and the race to be first continues.

It can be so absolutely frustrating listening to people fight over who is first, or who's need is the most important and I think, how does God do it? How does He listen to our prayers all day long, with each of us desperately declaring our needs as the most important?

This week we will be looking at the book of Haggai, a small book but with a really great theme of who or what is first in our lives. Have you thought about that lately? Who is first?What things are the most important to you, that you prioritize over everything else? We are going to look at how things worked out for Judah when they put their needs above everything else.  **Spoiler alert** It didn't work out very well.

Spend some time this week asking God to help you sort out your priorities so that He is first and foremost in every area of your life. I promise it will be worth it!

See you Sunday,

Erin