Mount Lebanon UMC Newsletter

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Reading through the Bible together in a year. This system was excerpted from The Ryrie Study Bible, Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Th.D., Ph.D. (Moody Press: Chicago) 1986. The numbers following the name of the book refers to whole chapters, so you may want to think of splitting each day into morning and evening readings. Try to share what God shows you throughout the week with someone else (Co-worker, neighbor, family member, etc.)

A Devotional Thought from Oswald Chambers

By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing . . . that in blessing I will bless thee. . . . — Genesis 22:15-19

Abraham has reached the place where he is in touch with the very nature of God, he understands now the Reality of God.

“My goal is God Himself . . .at any cost, dear Lord, by any road.”

“At any cost, by any road” means nothing self-chosen in the way God brings us to the goal. There is no possibility of questioning when God speaks if He speaks to His own nature in me; prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says – “Come,” I simply come; when He says – “Let go,” I let go; when He says – “Trust in God in this matter,” I do trust. The whole working out is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.

God’s revelation of Himself to me is determined by my character, not by God’s character.

“‘Tis because I am mean, Thy ways so oft look mean to me.”

By the discipline of obedience I get to the place where Abraham was and I see Who God is. I never have a real God until I have come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ, then I know that “in all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.” The promises of God are of no value to us until by obedience we understand the nature of God. We read some things in the Bible three hundred and sixty-five times and they mean nothing to us, then all of a sudden we see what God means, because in some particular we have obeyed God, and instantly His nature is opened up. “All the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen.” The “yea” must be born of obedience; when by the obedience of our lives we say “Amen” to a promise, then that promise is ours.

Taken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, edited by James Reimann, © 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Assn., Ltd., and used by permission of Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids MI 4950l. All rights reserved

Schedule for the Week

Sunday, January 29 5:00 pm The Furnace: Open Prayer Time

5:30 pm Word Alive! Bible Study

6:30 pm Choir Practice

Monday, January 30 6:00 pm Discipleship Groups: Women's & Men's

Groups @ the Jourdan's

Tuesday, January 31 8:00 am Church Breakfast @ Frisch's

Wednes., February 1 6:30 pm WorkWalk: A walk through the Book of Ephesians

7:30 pm Children's Ministry meeting

Thursday, February 2 8:00 am Church Breakfast @ Frisch's

Upcoming Events: Shower for Holly Hager -Sunday, February 5^th @ 3pm @ Susan Burdine's Administrative Board meeting – Sunday, February 5 @ 6:00 pm

Email:pastor@mtlebanonumc.com

www.seanshroll.blogspot.com = FaithSparks, a blog about lessons God is stirring up in the circumstances, thoughts, and experiences of everyday life. Come join in the conversation!