HillThread ~ Supporting Missions

Proverbs 11:30
“The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life;
a wise person wins souls.”

God’s Word tells us to be prepared to Share Christ (1 Peter 3:15).  Witnessing to others about Jesus Christ requires wisdom, especially in three areas:

1.  Don’t assume that people understand the Gospel because you were raised in a church, and don’t think that they will catch your faith through osmosis just because you are around them.  Romans 10:14 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”  Share your testimony – the short version.  Forget the good advice and focus on sharing the Good News of God’s love.

2.  Be patient – sometimes you have to sow the seed and leave the rest to the Lord of the harvest.  Don’t try to corner them into a decision.  Don’t become frustrated and angry because there is no instant belief.  Share the Word, leave the door open, and trust in the One who said, “I am watching over My word to perform it.”  (Jeremiah 1:12)

3.  Be alert to opportunities that God places before you – and don’t be afraid of them.  Some people call them divine appointments, God meetings, or holy coincidences.  Whatever term you have heard most often, the fact remains that, as Christians, God uses us in the lives of others.  God’s strength and power and joy should enable us to meet the opportunities head on and do the will of our Heavenly Father.  If we cower away, we will never know how God wanted to use us.  R.A. Torrey tells of an experience that totally changed his attitude toward witnessing.  While he was eating at a restaurant with some friends, he felt that he should talk to the waiter who seemed to look very depressed.  But he shrugged the feeling off, and never said a word.  At the end of the meal, when the waiter didn’t return, he asked another employee about his whereabouts.  The manager came to their table and said, “We just found him dead in the back of the restaurant.  He has hanged himself.”

When God leads you to speak to someone about His Son, get on the ball and do it!

Related Text:
James 1:5-8

Proverbs 8:12
“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment.
I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.”

No matter how great our cause, when we push ourselves beyond the limits designed for us by God, we suffer the same results as those who burn out in any other pursuit.  Those of us who are classic work-a-holics must learn how to make stress work for us instead of against us.

Here are a few insights learned from experience:

1.  Many people don’t know how to handle life any other way than being under a constant blanket of stress.  (When our only tool is a hammer, we tend to see every problem as a nail.)  You need to acknowledge that stress is like emotional adrenaline to you – which is why you keep creating it and even craving it (as crazy as that sounds).

2.  When you sit in a chair and you hear the legs begin to crack, common sense tells you that if you don’t take your weight off of the chair, you’re going to be on the floor pretty quickly with a big thud.  Use your common sense to heed the telltale signs of your health cracking and the stress taking over so you don’t begin to crack yourself.  When we crack under the pressure, we greatly diminish what we can do for God or anyone else.

3.  Learn prudence.  The word prudence means “careful management”.  A prudent person becomes a better manager of their time, their energy, and their God-given gifts.

4.  Identify your stressors.  I know a lot of mine, have you identified yours?  Change the ones you can, and start accepting the ones you can’t – such as other people.  Learn to adapt to any stressor that can’t be changed so that the stress they create motivates you instead of burying you.

5.  Most importantly, spend more time with Jesus, who said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Related Text:
Proverbs 8:1-14

Matthew 25:25
“I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.”

Jesus’ parable to His disciples about the talents (the money given for investment purposes from a master to his servants) teaches us that the one who risks will be rewarded; but the one who plays it safe will lose. Jesus was not just talking about “the sweet by and by” here. He wasn’t just giving a story for story’s sake. He was pinpointing our lives. This principle applies to our lives here and now. Many failures usually precede any success. If we let the fear of failure keep us from taking risks, we will never do anything significant. Walking by faith involves taking risks and making mistakes, and learning along the way.

One day, a ceramics teacher divided her class into 2 groups. The first group was graded on the number of pieces they produced during the class (50 for an A, 40 for a B, 30 for a C, and so on) but the second group was graded on quality and only had to produce one piece. It had to be perfect to get an A. The results weren’t what you would imagine. The group that was graded on quantity began working at breakneck speed. At first the pieces were sloppy and ugly, but by the end of the class, they first group was producing excellent artwork. They were getting practice, turning out so many pieces. But the second group sat around trying to think about how to start and wondering where the inspiration would come from. The second group failed to finish their piece and had nothing to show for their effort, while the first group not only got an A, but were producing amazing peces by the end of the class. UNLESS we overcome our fear of making mistakes, we will never make a difference.

Faith means following God to the very edge, trusting Him that when we do, He will either put a solid foundation underneath our feat, or He will teach us to fly!

Related Text:
Matthew 25:14-30 (entire talent parable)

2 Peter 1:5-9
“So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Lord Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.”

Learning to control your impulsive reactions instead of “mouthing off” with the first thing that pops into your head takes great restraint: “Patience is better than strength.  Controlling your temper is better than capturing a city.  (Proverbs 16:32)  Learn to respond with wisdom, instead of reacting with anger.  The difference between responding and reacting is subtle, but crucial.

For instance, if your boss fires you and your first reaction is to take a swing at him, take 10, go for a walk, and realize you have a better long-term options than getting an assault charge.  If you can rely on God to keep your head above water during the flood, you might be able to negotiate severance pay, a letter of recommendation, or even a referral for your next job.  And if you want to be a learner instead of a loser, find out why it happened and what you need to do different next time.  Take the time to learn ad make the necessary changes.  There’s wisdom in every crisis – ask God for His wisdom, even if the situation makes you feel like your world is falling apart.  Be patient and remember that faith in our Savior is the bridge that will take you from where you are right now to where you need to be.

Don’t overreact to a crisis.  Instead, trust that God is working on angles you haven’t even considered:  ”13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.  14 Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”

Exercise self control in any crisis by learning to see beyond the eclipse of the present situation.  The sun will shine gain.  God has promised it, so you can count on it!

Hebrews 12:1-3
“1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

We talked a few days ago about the race worth running.  All of our lives will at some point be hindered by sin.  It will entangle us, slow us down, and make it hard for us to achieve the things that God has planned for us.

I encourage you to take some time today and take a personal inventory at the beginning of this new year/new decade.  Identify those things in your life that hinder your relationship with Jesus, those things that stop you from achieving all that God has for you because you can’t get past your sin.  Identify those things and find ways to remove them.  Ask God for ideas and plans of action to get those hinderances out of your life so that you can live strong for God.

Focus on Jesus, focus on His word, meditate and study your Bible.  When things get tough and dark in your life and you feel like there’s no hope, remember what Jesus went through to offer you salvation.

Job 19:25-27
25 But I know my living Redeemer,
and He will stand on the dust at last.
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,
yet I will see God in my flesh.
27 I will see Him myself;
my eyes will look at Him, and not as a stranger.
My heart longs within me.
Psalm 19:12-14
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
13 Moreover, keep Your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule over me.
Then I will be innocent,
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,
LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.
Isaiah 44:6-7
6 This is what the LORD, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts, says:
I am the first and I am the last.
There is no God but Me.
7 Who, like Me, can announce the future?
Let him say so and make a case before Me,
since I have established an ancient people.
Let these gods declare the coming things,
and what will take place.

Related Text:
Isaiah 44:24-28
Isaiah 54
Luke 24:13-36
Galatians 4:4-5
Titus 2:11-14

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God is called Redeemer because He saves people from being prisoners to the power of sin. Our sinful nature, which the Bible calls our “flesh” wants to do bad stuff. That’s why it’s called our “sinful nature”. Our sinful nature desires to sin. When we remain in Christ, He gives us the power to break out of our sinful nature, to overcome it’s desires and the temptations that we all face. Take some time to read John 15, it’s powerful stuff!

Since God cannot tolerate sin, as a sinner you must be saved, or REDEEMED, from sin’s captivity. God redeemed humanity through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection.

Jesus’ death on the cross paid for your sins! When we believe in Christ as our Savior, we throw away our old sinful self because Jesus has made us into a new creation, a new person raised in Christ from the death of our sin as He was raised from His death on the cross. And Jesus gives us the strength and the wisdom to overcome those temptations that are always aimed at us.

He paid the price, He bought you back through His death and resurrection and rescued you (who believe) from the penalty of sin – which is death and separation from God. When you believe in what Jesus did on the cross, you are saved from being a prisoner to sin, and you receive salvation.

Be sure and ask questions if you have any questions about this topic. It is super important and super powerful.

And if you understand it all, then GREAT. Now go share it with someone who hasn’t heard it!

Our k-5th grade RA boys got up early this past Saturday morning and took some time to cut bed sheets into 3-inch bandages to be sent to the Baptist Medical Centre in Ghana, West Africa.  We were able to collect a few thousand feet of bandages to be sent!  Our prayer is that God will bless this effort and that those who need these bandages may find quick and safe healing from our Father.  Find out more about the Ghana Bandage Project.

Hill Thread will be participating in the 10 Day Give this year for the first time.  We are super excited and can’t wait for October 1.  Make sure you sign up and partner with this great act of service.

“The 10 Day Give is a challenge that is designed to help us get our minds off of ourselves and start thinking about how we can help others.

The thing is, I think most people really want to make other people’s lives better, but with everything going on all around us all hours of the day, we just don’t get a chance. This is an opportunity to choose, on purpose, to give of ourselves. There really are hundreds of opportunities that we overlook each day. My goal is to just grab hold of one of them each day.

For some people that means giving money, for others time is far more precious than money, and for others it may mean their expertise in an area. But, no matter who you are, we all have something to give.

It could be taking someone out to lunch, it could be babysitting for an overworked mom, it can as simple as giving your precious time by taking your mom to the park to talk. There are no rules, no judges, and no right or wrong ways of completing the challenge.

But, I encourage you to sign up for the challenge and decide to give whatever you can – it’s only for 10 days. And who knows, maybe it will become a habit.

So, why not decide to take 10 days to give something to a different person, each day. It doesn’t matter what the gift is, how much it costs, who it is given to, or how it is given. The point is to just to give – on purpose. We hope you decide to join us.”

Job 19:1-7 Job’s reply to his friend Bildad
1 Then Job answered:
2 How long will you torment me
and crush me with words?
3 You have humiliated me ten times now,
and you mistreat me without shame.
4 Even if it is true that I have sinned,
my mistake concerns only me.
5 If you really want to appear superior to me
and would use my disgrace as evidence against me,
6 then understand that it is God who has wronged me
and caught me in His net.
7 I cry out: Violence! but get no response;
I call for help, but there is no justice.

Job 27:1-6
1 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,
3 as long as my breath is still in me
and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak unjustly,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity until I die.
6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.
My conscience will not accuse as long as I live!

Related Text:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Matthew 6:25-34

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Instead

God heard the prayers of Job thousands of years ago. And He hears your prayers today! While God doesn’t always choose to answer your prayers the way you hope or expect, rest assured that He hears them. In Luke 18:1-11, Jesus explained the need to pray consistently and to keep praying until an answer comes.(even if it’s not the answer you were looking for, it can still be an answer) So next time you feel like worrying about something, try giving that worry up to God by praying about it instead! See, it’s that easy.

Ezra 1:1-7
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
” ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Anyone of his people among you-may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’ ”
5 Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites-everyone whose heart God had moved-prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings. 7 Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god.

Related Text:
2 Chronicles 36:22-23
Jeremiah 25:11-12
Jeremiah 29:l10-14

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The Low Down

When the possibility of returning home and rebuilding the temple came around, the Iaraelites needed help with the finances and with the physical workload. They needed both money and manpower, not just one or the other.

When you think of contributing to a task, it’s easy to think of just donating money or just praying, and letting others foot the bill or do the work. But there are instances where God can use more than your prayers and more than your financial contributions. He can use you, your physical skills and talents and your time, to help get the job done. There are ministries all over, in and outside of your church, that need prayer, finances and physical aid to be built, to grow, and to make an impact for God.

Make a contribution this week. Fins a ministry to get involved in at your church. Find a place to serve. Your contribution may not seem like much to you, but it may be a treasure to another!

James 2:15-16
15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”-but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?