Tag: two

Monday Kfirst Kickstart: “Unleash Encouragement” #TheTwo

Today I want to give you a place to start your week. It’s Monday and in the wake of a great weekend and long workweek ahead, sometimes you just need a “kickstart” to get focused.  So grab some coffee let’s start a great week together. 

We are in series at Kfirst called”The Two.” It’s our study of Numbers 13-14. In the face of a culture that shifted from moving toward a land of Promise to a an atmosphere of negativity and hopelessness, two men stood strong in what the Lord had called the nation into. Caleb and Joshua would stick with the promises of God and not the opinion of man.  Our goal yesterday was to help people understand, “Encouragement moves the boundaries of human limitations to faith-filled potential.” (Click here for yesterday’s notes.)

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There are so many people who live in boundaries of what negativity has kept them in. For Israel, the mentality they lived with in Egypt, kept them from seeing what God had in store for them. What they experienced internally, fed discouragement that we all are susceptible to.

  • Anxiety due to a loss of security (13:28).
  • Frustration due to a lack of ability (13:33).
  • Hopelessness due to a loss of vision (14:2-3).
  • Disappointment due to a loss of confidence (14:4).

So our challenge this is to have that “different spirit” that Caleb had. Do do that we need to do three things.

  1. Get rid of negative space.
    • Deal with your heart. Find the places of negativity and evict them.
  2. Change your negative face.
    • Feelings follow actions. Position yourself as an encourager and watch the feels follow purposeful actions.
  3. Step into a dark place.
    • The only way a light works is to be placed where it’s needed. Find someone dealing with discouragement and unleash encouragement.

This week, see yourself as a catalyst of encouragement by bringing hope into someone’s life. Our messages are for Monday and we need to put action to what the Lord is speaking. Ask the Lord to lead you to encourage in a simple, tangible way.

Also, if you need a scripture reading plan to go along with our message, check out this one.

Love you all.  See you this Sunday as we continue our series!

BTW, here’s a song this week for your devotions playlist:

Monday Kfirst Kickstart: “Growing an Environment of Faith” #TheTwo

Today I want to give you a place to start your week. It’s Monday and in the wake of a great weekend and long workweek ahead, sometimes you just need a “kickstart” to get focused.  So grab some coffee let’s start a great week together. 

We kicked off a new series at Kfirst. “The Two” is our study of Numbers 13-14. In the face of a culture that shifted from moving toward a land of Promise to a an atmosphere of negativity and hopelessness, two men stood strong in what the Lord had called the nation into. Caleb and Joshua would stick with the promises of God and not the opinion of man.  Our goal yesterday was to help people understand: “Faith will develop or deteriorate by the words that you speak.” (Click here for yesterday’s notes.)

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We are determined to be a voice of faith in a world that feeds off fear. But what comes out of our mouths is a result of what’s happening in our hearts. Like “The Two” (Caleb and Joshua), we need a response that will create an environment that will grow faith. Our two challenges:

  1. Silence the Negativity (Numbers 13:30). Use the right filter. See through the eyes of Jesus and respond with His love. Then change your inputs. Change the things that are feeding into you that are contrary to the nature of God.
  2. Speak faith & command your space. (Numbers 13:30; 14:7-9). God has placed you into your sphere of influence, not as a thermometer (telling the temp) but as a thermostat (setting the climate). Speak faith and set the environment for other’s faith to grow.

Our prayer this month:

Your two next steps this week: 

  1. Dedicate your words (spoken/typed) to reflect #TheTwo.
  2. Find TWO people this week to send a message to build their faith.

Also, if you need a scripture reading plan to go along with our message, check out this one.

Love you all.  See you this Sunday as we kick off a new series!

BTW, here’s a song this week for your devotions playlist:

2-Minute Devo: Day 40 of Our 40-Day Journey #Undone40

Thanks for joining us on our 40-day journey of prayer. We’re asking you to get your journals out and do 3 things:

  1. Read.
    • Read the Psalm of the day. Enjoy the 2-minute devo.
  2. Reflect.
    • Journal a few thoughts.  Put into words what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
  3. Respond.
    • Spend time in prayer.  Respond to what God is speaking to you through his Spirit and his word.

“Everything that a person can possibly feel, experience, and say is brought into expression before God in the Psalms.” Eugene Peterson

Today’s reading: Psalm 67

May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude

2 May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
3 May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
4 Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude

5 May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
6 Then the earth will yield its harvests,
    and God, our God, will richly bless us.
7 Yes, God will bless us,
    and people all over the world will fear him.

 

2-Minute Devo: Day 39 of Our 40-Day Journey #Undone40

Thanks for joining us on our 40-day journey of prayer. We’re asking you to get your journals out and do 3 things:

  1. Read.
    • Read the Psalm of the day. Enjoy the 2-minute devo.
  2. Reflect.
    • Journal a few thoughts.  Put into words what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
  3. Respond.
    • Spend time in prayer.  Respond to what God is speaking to you through his Spirit and his word.

“Everything that a person can possibly feel, experience, and say is brought into expression before God in the Psalms.” Eugene Peterson

Today’s reading: Psalm 26

Declare me innocent, O Lord,
    for I have acted with integrity;
    I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me.
    Test my motives and my heart.
3 For I am always aware of your unfailing love,
    and I have lived according to your truth.
4 I do not spend time with liars
    or go along with hypocrites.
5 I hate the gatherings of those who do evil,
    and I refuse to join in with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands to declare my innocence.
    I come to your altar, O Lord,
7 singing a song of thanksgiving
    and telling of all your wonders.
8 I love your sanctuary, Lord,
    the place where your glorious presence dwells.

9 Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners.
    Don’t condemn me along with murderers.
10 Their hands are dirty with evil schemes,
    and they constantly take bribes.
11 But I am not like that; I live with integrity.
    So redeem me and show me mercy.
12 Now I stand on solid ground,
    and I will publicly praise the Lord.

2-Minute Devo: Day 38 of Our 40-Day Journey #Undone40

Thanks for joining us on our 40-day journey of prayer. We’re asking you to get your journals out and do 3 things:

  1. Read.
    • Read the Psalm of the day. Enjoy the 2-minute devo.
  2. Reflect.
    • Journal a few thoughts.  Put into words what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
  3. Respond.
    • Spend time in prayer.  Respond to what God is speaking to you through his Spirit and his word.

“Everything that a person can possibly feel, experience, and say is brought into expression before God in the Psalms.” Eugene Peterson

Today’s reading: Psalm 141

O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!
    Listen when I cry to you for help!
2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,
    and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

3 Take control of what I say, O Lord,
    and guard my lips.
4 Don’t let me drift toward evil
    or take part in acts of wickedness.
Don’t let me share in the delicacies
    of those who do wrong.

5 Let the godly strike me!
    It will be a kindness!
If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.
    Don’t let me refuse it.

But I pray constantly
    against the wicked and their deeds.
6 When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff,
    the wicked will listen to my words and find them true.
7 Like rocks brought up by a plow,
    the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial.[a]

8 I look to you for help, O Sovereign Lord.
    You are my refuge; don’t let them kill me.
9 Keep me from the traps they have set for me,
    from the snares of those who do wrong.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
    but let me escape.

 

2-Minute Devo: Day 37 of Our 40-Day Journey #Undone40

Thanks for joining us on our 40-day journey of prayer. We’re asking you to get your journals out and do 3 things:

  1. Read.
    • Read the Psalm of the day. Enjoy the 2-minute devo.
  2. Reflect.
    • Journal a few thoughts.  Put into words what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
  3. Respond.
    • Spend time in prayer.  Respond to what God is speaking to you through his Spirit and his word.

“Everything that a person can possibly feel, experience, and say is brought into expression before God in the Psalms.” Eugene Peterson

Today’s reading: Psalm 22:11-22

Do not stay so far from me,
    for trouble is near,
    and no one else can help me.
12 My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
    fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
13 Like lions they open their jaws against me,
    roaring and tearing into their prey.
14 My life is poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
    melting within me.
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
    My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
    You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
    an evil gang closes in on me.
    They have pierced[a] my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
    My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
    and throw dice[b] for my clothing.

19 O Lord, do not stay far away!
    You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 Save me from the sword;
    spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 Snatch me from the lion’s jaws
    and from the horns of these wild oxen.

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.[c]
    I will praise you among your assembled people.

2-Minute Devo: Day 36 of Our 40-Day Journey #Undone40

Thanks for joining us on our 40-day journey of prayer. We’re asking you to get your journals out and do 3 things:

  1. Read.
    • Read the Psalm of the day. Enjoy the 2-minute devo.
  2. Reflect.
    • Journal a few thoughts.  Put into words what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
  3. Respond.
    • Spend time in prayer.  Respond to what God is speaking to you through his Spirit and his word.

“Everything that a person can possibly feel, experience, and say is brought into expression before God in the Psalms.” Eugene Peterson

Today’s reading: Psalm 126

When the Lord brought back his exiles to Jerusalem,[a]
    it was like a dream!
2 We were filled with laughter,
    and we sang for joy.
And the other nations said,
    “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”
3 Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us!
    What joy!

4 Restore our fortunes, Lord,
    as streams renew the desert.
5 Those who plant in tears
    will harvest with shouts of joy.
6 They weep as they go to plant their seed,
    but they sing as they return with the harvest.