Weekly Devotional - Gloria Miller
Contemporary Corinthians
1 Corinthians 15:12—NIV—"But it has been preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”
Paul was addressing the Corinthians who had doubts about the resurrection. They were completely unaware of the resurrection power and its importance, so they denied the resurrection ever occurred. Paul had to reel them in, because the foundation of Christian Life is the belief in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This belief is monumental in our walk as believers. Let me tell you why: because it showed God’s ultimate Power over death and sin; it showed Jesus’ divine authority as the Powerful Son of God; the cleansing of sin and the assurance of future resurrection and eternal life for believers; and the resurrection assured the presence of Holy Spirit’s Power operating on the inside of us, so that our transformation can take place. How Powerful is Our God that He can overcome death? The resurrection affirmed Jesus’ Power to take on our sin, cleansing us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah!!!! I feel like shouting!!! His resurrection reconciled us to God and justified our existence as sons and daughters of God. Glory to His Name!!! Divine power is necessary to our existence as believers. (Refer to Romans 8:11—NIV— “And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit Who lives in you.”
Pastor Pete went on to tell us how to access that divine power, as believers. Fill-In #1—Prayer with Fasting is our access point to Divine Power. Pastor Pete wanted us to understand, that the access points to power can be a dangerous thing when it is not respected or used appropriately. In the same way, our access to God’s resurrection power, sometimes feels as though there are child safety locks on it. Even though Jesus is our Lord and Savior, there comes a time and a season when our access to His power is limited for our protection. Why? Because we are a lot like the disciples of Jesus.
Let’s go to Luke 9:51-56—NIV—51-As the time approached for Him to be taken to Heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52-And He sent messengers on ahead who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for Him; 53—But the people there did not welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem. 54-When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from Heaven to destroy them?” 55-But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56-and they went to another village. This scripture was trying to show us that there are issues that arise in our lives that would cause us to feel rejected or disrespected and may cause us to act in ways contrary to our faith. Jesus had already spoken about these times of rejection in Matthew 10:14—NIV-“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.” You see James and John wanted to retaliate, using the Power of God, like Elijah did. We must remember that vengeance and judgement belong to God. We must allow God to use His Power for our good. Our access to His power cannot be used for our retaliations or vendettas. As believers we are empowered by Holy Spirit to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We have got to move out of that comfortable spiritual existence. (Refer to Luke 9:57-62). God requires our every attention, which means we will be required to move out of our comfort zones; give up some things; and rethink our priorities regarding His Kingdom. In following Jesus, our sense of obligation may be confronted.
Pastor Pete reminds us that fasting has the ability, to break into whatever activities that are in front of us. Through fasting, the hunger pains force’s us to focus, on seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness. And then God adds all these things to our life, through His Son Jesus. Analogy: John 12:23—NIV—“The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.” Simply put, Jesus’ sacrifice through death was necessary. Unless a kernel of wheat is buried in the ground, it will not become a blade of wheat producing many seeds. Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for our sin, but also to show His Power over death. His resurrection proves He has Power over death. His resurrection proves He has eternal life. Jesus can give this same eternal life to all who believe in Him. Refer to 2 Corinthians 4:7-This gives reference to God’s Power dwelling in us. Though we are weak, God uses us to spread His Good News and He gives us Power to do His work. Fill-In #2—God’s Power without Restraint, can be deadly. His Glory in us requires the restraint developed through fasting, to begin to release His power through that hard outer shell. When the outer shell is broken, then the power within is seen. If we want the “Power of the Resurrection’ then we must be willing to pay the price of resurrection, death to self. We do that through Spiritual discipline---Fasting. It has always been a means of breaking this outer shell of our soul. When we deny ourselves of what we want, by pushing away the plate, it is very much crucifying the flesh. When we slowly develop the habit of surrendering our wills, our wants, our desires, our perceived needs, through this age-old practice of fasting, then the ‘Power of the Resurrection’ begins to shine through our lives. We must practice fasting as a Spiritual discipline just like Jesus and His many followers and believers throughout the past. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, had to practice fasting the surrendering of His Will and Wants and Desires before God Gave Him the ability to have Divine Power in His life. We don’t fast to manipulate God to perform our will. Why do we Fast? We don’t fast to get something. We fast to become someone. Fasting is Spiritual discipline. It prepares us for all grown-up power. Biblical fasting has always meant food. There are multiple types of fasts. For some who have never fasted before maybe your fast would be a restrictive fast, like the Daniel fast, basically vegan (no processed foods, no meat, no sweets, basically veggie & beans). There is also an intermittent fast (skip at least one meal a day), which means you skip one meal a day (not the meal you typically skip). You will feel the prayer prompts within (referring to the growling and rumbling in your belly). There is also a full fast if you’re medically able. The body is not the only part of us. We also have a soul, mind, will and emotions. We must cleanse them as well with the fast.
Pastor Pete encourages: Soul Fast, which includes anything that influences: media, social media, video games or things with a screen. Put it down for 6 days. Suggestions: grey scale your phone (turns colors on phone grey); colors are like the salt and pepper in your meals. Use your phone for emergencies only. Spiritual Fast: lean into spiritual practices. Prayer nights. This week Monday-Friday at 7pm at Cypress Creek Elementary to worship and pray. Saturdays 9am At our temporary office. If you’ve got someone in your life, who needs a Supernatural Encounter with Jesus, why not put some sweat equity into those prayers? Fast, Pray, Come on out. Put some skin in the game!
Pastor Pete spent a lot of time encouraging us to understand the resurrection power and how important it is to activate that power through Fasting and Prayer. These foundational principals of practice (Prayer & Fasting), in these last days MUST be paramount in our lives. These must-have tools, help us to be stronger warriors in the kingdom of God, so that we could draw others into the Kingdom of God and become encouragers of the brethren. Let’s come out to the gatherings and connect with our Leaders and their vision for Thrive Community Church, so that we can be a Force to be reckoned with in our Spiritual fight, through the Resurrected Power of Jesus Christ, in us.
Gloria Miller
1 Corinthians 15:12—NIV—"But it has been preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”
Paul was addressing the Corinthians who had doubts about the resurrection. They were completely unaware of the resurrection power and its importance, so they denied the resurrection ever occurred. Paul had to reel them in, because the foundation of Christian Life is the belief in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This belief is monumental in our walk as believers. Let me tell you why: because it showed God’s ultimate Power over death and sin; it showed Jesus’ divine authority as the Powerful Son of God; the cleansing of sin and the assurance of future resurrection and eternal life for believers; and the resurrection assured the presence of Holy Spirit’s Power operating on the inside of us, so that our transformation can take place. How Powerful is Our God that He can overcome death? The resurrection affirmed Jesus’ Power to take on our sin, cleansing us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah!!!! I feel like shouting!!! His resurrection reconciled us to God and justified our existence as sons and daughters of God. Glory to His Name!!! Divine power is necessary to our existence as believers. (Refer to Romans 8:11—NIV— “And if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit Who lives in you.”
Pastor Pete went on to tell us how to access that divine power, as believers. Fill-In #1—Prayer with Fasting is our access point to Divine Power. Pastor Pete wanted us to understand, that the access points to power can be a dangerous thing when it is not respected or used appropriately. In the same way, our access to God’s resurrection power, sometimes feels as though there are child safety locks on it. Even though Jesus is our Lord and Savior, there comes a time and a season when our access to His power is limited for our protection. Why? Because we are a lot like the disciples of Jesus.
Let’s go to Luke 9:51-56—NIV—51-As the time approached for Him to be taken to Heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52-And He sent messengers on ahead who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for Him; 53—But the people there did not welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem. 54-When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from Heaven to destroy them?” 55-But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56-and they went to another village. This scripture was trying to show us that there are issues that arise in our lives that would cause us to feel rejected or disrespected and may cause us to act in ways contrary to our faith. Jesus had already spoken about these times of rejection in Matthew 10:14—NIV-“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.” You see James and John wanted to retaliate, using the Power of God, like Elijah did. We must remember that vengeance and judgement belong to God. We must allow God to use His Power for our good. Our access to His power cannot be used for our retaliations or vendettas. As believers we are empowered by Holy Spirit to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We have got to move out of that comfortable spiritual existence. (Refer to Luke 9:57-62). God requires our every attention, which means we will be required to move out of our comfort zones; give up some things; and rethink our priorities regarding His Kingdom. In following Jesus, our sense of obligation may be confronted.
Pastor Pete reminds us that fasting has the ability, to break into whatever activities that are in front of us. Through fasting, the hunger pains force’s us to focus, on seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness. And then God adds all these things to our life, through His Son Jesus. Analogy: John 12:23—NIV—“The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.” Simply put, Jesus’ sacrifice through death was necessary. Unless a kernel of wheat is buried in the ground, it will not become a blade of wheat producing many seeds. Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for our sin, but also to show His Power over death. His resurrection proves He has Power over death. His resurrection proves He has eternal life. Jesus can give this same eternal life to all who believe in Him. Refer to 2 Corinthians 4:7-This gives reference to God’s Power dwelling in us. Though we are weak, God uses us to spread His Good News and He gives us Power to do His work. Fill-In #2—God’s Power without Restraint, can be deadly. His Glory in us requires the restraint developed through fasting, to begin to release His power through that hard outer shell. When the outer shell is broken, then the power within is seen. If we want the “Power of the Resurrection’ then we must be willing to pay the price of resurrection, death to self. We do that through Spiritual discipline---Fasting. It has always been a means of breaking this outer shell of our soul. When we deny ourselves of what we want, by pushing away the plate, it is very much crucifying the flesh. When we slowly develop the habit of surrendering our wills, our wants, our desires, our perceived needs, through this age-old practice of fasting, then the ‘Power of the Resurrection’ begins to shine through our lives. We must practice fasting as a Spiritual discipline just like Jesus and His many followers and believers throughout the past. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, had to practice fasting the surrendering of His Will and Wants and Desires before God Gave Him the ability to have Divine Power in His life. We don’t fast to manipulate God to perform our will. Why do we Fast? We don’t fast to get something. We fast to become someone. Fasting is Spiritual discipline. It prepares us for all grown-up power. Biblical fasting has always meant food. There are multiple types of fasts. For some who have never fasted before maybe your fast would be a restrictive fast, like the Daniel fast, basically vegan (no processed foods, no meat, no sweets, basically veggie & beans). There is also an intermittent fast (skip at least one meal a day), which means you skip one meal a day (not the meal you typically skip). You will feel the prayer prompts within (referring to the growling and rumbling in your belly). There is also a full fast if you’re medically able. The body is not the only part of us. We also have a soul, mind, will and emotions. We must cleanse them as well with the fast.
Pastor Pete encourages: Soul Fast, which includes anything that influences: media, social media, video games or things with a screen. Put it down for 6 days. Suggestions: grey scale your phone (turns colors on phone grey); colors are like the salt and pepper in your meals. Use your phone for emergencies only. Spiritual Fast: lean into spiritual practices. Prayer nights. This week Monday-Friday at 7pm at Cypress Creek Elementary to worship and pray. Saturdays 9am At our temporary office. If you’ve got someone in your life, who needs a Supernatural Encounter with Jesus, why not put some sweat equity into those prayers? Fast, Pray, Come on out. Put some skin in the game!
Pastor Pete spent a lot of time encouraging us to understand the resurrection power and how important it is to activate that power through Fasting and Prayer. These foundational principals of practice (Prayer & Fasting), in these last days MUST be paramount in our lives. These must-have tools, help us to be stronger warriors in the kingdom of God, so that we could draw others into the Kingdom of God and become encouragers of the brethren. Let’s come out to the gatherings and connect with our Leaders and their vision for Thrive Community Church, so that we can be a Force to be reckoned with in our Spiritual fight, through the Resurrected Power of Jesus Christ, in us.
Gloria Miller
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