HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

1 Samuel 1:19-28
19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20 So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I asked the LORD for him.”
21 When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the LORD, and he will live there always.”
23 “Do what seems best to you,” Elkanah her husband told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the LORD make good his word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. 25 When they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “As surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.

Related Text:
Genesis 8:1
Genesis 19:29
Exodus 2:24
Luke 1:23-45
Acts 10:25-31
Revelation 16:19
Revelation 18:5

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It’s not uncommon to ask God for something and then not thank Him for answering our prayer. Sometimes we are s preoccupied with other things, we don’t notice when God answers a prayer, or we forgot we even prayed about it. Whatever the case, there are definitely times when we forget to praise God and thank Him for an answered prayer.

Hannah prayed to God for a son. When her son Samuel was born, Hannah expressed her thanks and praise by giving Samuel back to God to be used by God in His service.

Think about it for a bit. Are there any prayers that God has answered for you? Take some time today to thank God for hearing and answering your prayers. Maybe write out a thank you prayer.

John 15:1-13
1″I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9″As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Related Text:
Psalm 80:8-19
Isaiah 5:1-7
Isaiah 27:2-6
Luke 6:43-45
Galatians 5:22-23
Colossians 1:3-12

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It’s a Big Time Word

Obey. In order to keep God’s commands, you must obey God’s ways and follow how He instructs you to live. Just showing up to church doesn’t make you obedient in everything. Church doesn’t give you an “obedience card” that you get to flash around. How do you learn about God’s commands and His instructions? Not by only listening to a preacher once or twice a week, but by opening our Bible and spending personal time with God reading and studying His word. Don’t rely on someone else to read your Bible for you. When you read your Bible, when you dive into God’s word, you not only find out how God wants you to live, but you find encouragement from others who have been obedient, even in the face of persecution.

The Bible is filled with incredible examples of people who obeyed God. Abraham obeyed God and as a result the Israelites, as unfaithful as they were, were chosen as God’s special nation. All because Abraham obeyed – he wasn’t perfect, but he sought after obedience.

God loves obedience. Obedience is living according to God’s plans. God is delighted when you choose to obey Him, and obedience is more than just studying and knowing the Bible, it’s living it out every day, living by faith that God is ultimately in control and knows exactly what’s best for your life.

So, I’m not harping on church or saying it’s a waste of time. By no means! Going to church, being an active part in the body of Christ, being involved in corporate worship with fellow believers is paramount to our faith, our growth, our strength, and our encouragement as Christians. Just be careful that you don’t get stuck in a rut and lean on church as your only spiritual activity.

John 14:1-9
1″Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Related Text:
Psalm 96
John 1:1-18
John 3:13-16
Acts 4:12
Hebrews 10:19-22

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Take a Minute

You may have heard John 14:6 before. It’s probably one of the more familiar verses in the Bible, up there with John 3:16 or Romans 3:23 and 6:23. But do you believe it? Wholeheartedly? Do you believe it to the point that it changes the way you live?

What about the people that say Christians should be more tolerant of other religions? That saying there is only one way to Heaven is a pretty intolerant point of view? What about the people who say that it doesn’t matter what or who you have faith in, as long as you believe in something greater than yourself?

We live in a society that attempts to convince us to compromise our beliefs. If we’re not careful, if we aren’t active in our faith, if we have an attitude that makes Jesus just not that important in our daily lives, then we’re headed down a path that could end up with us compromising any number of truths from scripture. Don’t live just to please people or to conform to society to avoid awkward situations. Live your life to glorify God!

John 11:1-4
1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

John 11:17
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

John 11:21-27
21″Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11:43-44
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
27″Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

Related Text:
Deuteronomy 32:39
John 5:19-26
Romans 5-6
2 Timothy 1:8-10
1 John 1:1-3

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In Other Words

In Old Testament times, people believed that God would send Israel a deliverer who would rule as king, restore the divided kingdom, and explain God’s plan. This special person would be called the Messiah.

Today, Christians accept Jesus as God’s son and the promised Messiah. But during Jesus’ time, people didn’t think He fit the prophesied description of the Messiah. Because of their disbelief, Jesus was charged with blasphemy against God, He was rejected by the Jewish leaders, and He was put to death by being hung on a Roman cross.

One difference between present-day Jews and Christians is that most Jewish people don’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They are still waiting for the promised Messiah to come and reunite and rule. Where are you today on this issue? Do you believe Jesus was who He claimed to be? God’s Son? The Messiah? Or was He just a good teacher? If you believe He was who He claimed to be, are you living it?

John 10:11-18
11″I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14″I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Related Text:
John 15:13
John 19:28-30

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Close Your Eyes and Picture It

Have you ever sat down and really spent a solid amount of time to think about what the disciples must have been thinking when Jesus died. Most of them had to hear about it because they ran off after Jesus was arrested. Think about the moment these regular guys, these fishermen and tax collectors, heard that the man they had been following, the man that said He was God’s son and was ushering in a new lifestyle of faith, had died on a Roman cross. It must have been confusing and terrifying.

I wonder how long it took some of them to remember what Jesus said about giving up His life. I wonder if they were floored when the light went off in their heads and they realized that this, that His death, was what He had been talking about all along. I wonder how long it took verses like John 10:11-18 and John 15:13 to make complete sense. Remember too, that these words from Jesus weren’t in a Bible that they could read. They may have been written down as note or something by someone. But it’s not like they could go home after His death and pick up their New Testament and be encouraged by the words of Jesus. They had to remember. They had to rid their minds of fear and sadness and confusion and remember what He had told them.

They experienced something different than we have. Not that Jesus died more for them than for us. But we read about Jesus sacrificing His life for us, and they lived through it. Would we live differently if we physically experienced Jesus dying for us? Would we be less luke warm, and more devoted to our faith if we could remember the sights and the smells of witnessing Jesus giving up His life for us? Would we be different Christians if we could remember the heartbreak from when we first Heard that He had died?

Take some time, really make it a goal, to be still and ask God to make it unbelievably real to, the fact that Jesus died, that He gave up His life, His breath, His blood for you.

Hebrews 12:3
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

John 10:1-10
1″I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Related Text:
Psalm 118:17-21
Matthew 7:13-14
Matthew 25:1-13
Luke 13:23-29
John 14

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Making Sense of It All

John 10:10 is a great verse to memorize. But I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s only good to memorize it if you understand it and believe it without wavering.
So what does it mean to have life to the full, to have abundant life? Is it all about listening to the advertising around us? Having money, power, houses, cars, stuff? None of these things are bad, but my question is, do having these things give us abundant life? Do we think we’ve got the abundant life, the life to the full that John 10:10 speaks of if we have a vacation house on the coast, or an extra car in the garage? What about sex, drinking, drugs, porn, addiction? Does the high that these things offer actually give us life to the full?

In John 10:1-10, Jesus calls Himself the gate for the sheep to pass through, and whichever sheep (us) passes through the gate (Jesus) will be saved. The Jesus directly follows this metaphor of the sheep and the gate by saying, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus is not only saying that He is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6), but He is explaining that the only way to gain te full life and abundant life is through Him, through the salvation that He offers us, and through following Him in obedience. This is where abundant life is found.

So a quick little side note. There was a sports story from yesterday that sort of shed light on the two different views between Christians and the world.

Tim Tebow is the quarterback for the Florida Gators College Football Team. He has won 2 National Championships, and came back to play this season, his senior year. He just might be one of the greatest, most exciting college athletes to watch. He’s also a Christian. His parents are missionaries, were based in the Philippines, and Tim was born there. He has a great testimony, and doesn’t shy away from sharing his faith. I’ve included a few links to some videos so you can get an idea about who he is and what his skills are like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlf3CBULOw0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sGv2Zw-WQw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUc_JO7A6OU

After his speech about being sorry for the loss to Ole Miss, the gators wend on to win the National Championship. The video about his missionary work aired on ESPN just as you saw. It aired prior to a game on Saturday, no telling how many millions of people got to see it.

So, I’m telling you this stuff about Tim Tebow because yesterday at a news conference about the upcoming College Football Season, someone asked him if we was waiting to have sex until he is married. Tebow said yes and took the opportunity to share a little of his testimony as to why he is waiting.

When you watch his videos, read articles about him and listen to how he talks, it seems like Tim Tebow understands the “full life” that Jesus is talking about. So I was listening to sports talk radio on the way home from work yesterday, knowing they would probably have something to say about Tebow the Virgin. No one was critical, which was awesome. But one guy’s comment just showed me where the world’s views are off. The radio host said “good for him, he’s got morals and values and he’s sticking to them. That doesn’t mean that’s the way everyone should live, but good for him.” I’m sure he did it so his audience wouldn’t turn the station dial to another program, but the host made it clear that he applauds Tebow for his decision, but then he started telling his listeners that sex before marriage isn’t wrong. This lead into talk about premarital sex, living together vs. marriage, and gay marriage and how none of this is really wrong, it’s each persons decision.

I’m sharing this because this, in a way, signifies the difference between followers of Jesus and those who have never known Him. We have a decision to make. We are either Christians who follow Jesus and who are obedient to Him and His word, or we are lost and obedient to ourselves and our own desires.

Jesus is the only way to full, abundant life. Those people who don’t know Jesus find, use, buy, and fill their lives with whatever they can to make them feel like they have abundant life. And there is an attack on each of us every day to try and convince us all that we can supplant Jesus and His abundant life with whatever else there is out there. But Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 9:1-7
1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3″Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7″Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

John 1:1-5
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Related Text:
Psalm 27:1
John 1:1-14
John 3:19-22
John 12:44-46
1 John 1:1-7
Revelation 21:2-27

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Just a Thought

Don’t be blind to what God can do in your life and through your life. Here’s a good principle to remember: You do what is possible, but do it with the faith that God will do the impossible.

John 6:30-40
30So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[a]”
32Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34″Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Related Text:
Deuteronomy 8:2
Proverbs 30:7-9
John 6:25-59
1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Revelation 2-17

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In Other Words

Eternal life is life beyond your physical body. It is timeless and it has no beginning and no end. It is something that we sometimes have a hard time wrapping our heads around. It’s hard to think about and really comprehend something that will never end, ever. God is eternal, but He created the earth and he created humans -both of which have a beginning and an end.

Eternal life in heaven is the life with God after your life here on earth has ended. This eternal life is promised to those who believe by faith that Jesus is God’s son, the Messiah, and who believe by faith that His death on the cross paid for their sins and made them right with God. Those made right will experience eternal life with God, and that is longer and more glorious than any of us could ever imagine!

The question for those who don’t believe and who haven’t put their faith in Jesus isn’t “How long will eternal life without God last?” But rather, “How painful will it be spending eternal life separated from God?”

Ruth 4:9-15
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!”
11 Then the elders and all those at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
The Genealogy of David
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”

Related Text:
Genesis 29:31 – 30:4
Micah 5:2
Matthew 1:1-6

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Random Acts of Kindness

Ruth was a woman who expressed great kindness and obedience. Sometimes, as we go through our daily routine, it seems like kindness in this world is sometimes hard to find.

But it doesn’t have to be hard to find. As followers of Jesus, we should have this overflowing abundance of love and kindness just gushing out of us. Kindness is a part of the fruit of the spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. We should be changed so much by our salvation and relationship with Jesus Christ that we truly do love our neighbors in the same way that we love ourselves, love our enemies, and pray for people even though they persecute us.

As you live your life today, be aware of situations you are in and diagnose if there is a way you can interject a little bit of kindness into someone’s life. Think of some people you know you’re going to see today, ask God for ideas so that you can show His love to others. When we are obedient to God, even in the area of kindness, showing God’s love to others might not be that random of an occurrence in our lives anymore.

Ruth 3:1-11
1 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home [a] for you, where you will be well provided for? 2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.”
10 “The LORD bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character

Related Text:
Genesis 38:8-10
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
Hebrews 13:4

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Friends – Not Just a TV Show

As you can tell by reading, Ruth was a true and loyal friend. From the beginning of where we meet her in the scripture, she was unselfish and deeply committed to Naomi. She loved Naomi and enjoyed her company, and their relationship serves as a great example of friendship centered around God.

As you read about Ruth and Naomi, you might think about your own relationships and the commitments you and your friends make to one another. Is there any depth beyond the fun you have together? Do you rejoice together in the times of rejoicing and mourn together in the times of mourning? Would a degree of pain devastate your relationship, or are you a good friend only in the good times? Take a inventory of your friendships and see what might be missing from your relationships, and what steps can you take to become a better friend.