Out with the old in with the ReNew

January 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

WOW where did 2011 go? A lot has happened for me in 2011. God graced me with a beautiful new wife that not only helps me grow with the Lord but challenges me to do so threw testing my patients. With the new year here and everyone starting new diets, work outs, and many many other things and after some prayer time with the Lord I felt it was time to resurrect ReNewed. This is especially the time to start a new journey with the Lord, following Jesus and the Bible is not just for the Holidays.
Proverbs 16:9 says “In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord determines his steps.” (NIV)
The Lord knows your hearts desires Psalm 37:4 tells us “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (NIV) This year my goal as the main contributor to the ReNewed Ministry is to take a deep look into what the meaning of being a Christian is. Each and every Chirstian has room to grow.

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Happy New Year

January 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As we close out 2011 and start a new with 2012 I am excited to announce that the Renewed team will be back with weekly posts starting this week. Please let all your friends and family know and as always your support and comments are always welcome.

 

Best Wishes for 2012 and God Bless you in everything you do!

Ryan

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Healing prayer

June 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With just a look your way your pain and suffering can go away. More times than I could count this is in the Bible. Some are quick to give up when it comes to Prayer and asking God to heal us. In Acts 3 it tells of a man born with out the ability to walk. A man that sat outside the Temple named “Beautiful’ and begged for silver and gold. People were used to seeing the man as he was always there. One day Peter and John were entering into the Temple for prayer when the man asked them for money. Peter looked at the man said “Look at us” so the man did. Then Peter said “ I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth walk” Taking him by the hand he helped the man who had been crippled all his life and helped him up. Instantly the man’s legs and feet became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. The rest of the passage I will leave to you to read on your own. It is a amazing story of the grace God gives. That man had not prayed that he would walk. He was doing what he had done every day. He begged for money. God knows your desires before even you do. He knew that that man wanted to walk and so it was His will that Peter and John walked by that man that day. He was now a believer and spread the Word of God to all he met. Christ heals all. It may not be the way you wanted it to but it is still done.

It is not only physical healing that Christ heals. It is worry, and guilt for sins. It doesn’t matter what it is in life your are going through. The darkest hour in “this” life is the brightest day for Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us “ My Grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” So you see it doesn’t matter. Give your problems to God. Let him carry the weight of your sins like He did carrying the Cross. Let your Sins be forgiven, put your worries in the palm of his hand for he will take them away. Another wonderful Scripture that tells of “a new you” is Romans 6:1 It tells that as we were baptized in Jesus Christ we were also baptized in his death. As as Christ was resurrected from death by God our Father we too were raised Born Again with out sin! Remember to thank God everyday for everything no matter if it’s good or bad. Be grateful for the bad and drive Satan back where he belongs.

 

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Devotion

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Its easy to be “Christian like” on Sundays. You go to church and pray, you give your tithing, you sing and kind of listen to what the Pastor is talking about hoping that he is done so you have enough time to fight traffic home before the big game or race starts.  It doesn’t make you anything more than human to be distracted by what’s going on here on earth.

To walk the Christian life and do things the way God wants is not a 1 hour a week scheduled activity. Its everyday, its all day as much as you possibly can.  I’m sure most of you pray before eating at home. How often do you do it when you are out to dinner with your family. If you don’t, Why? Are you worried that people may look at you while your head is down giving God thanks for providing you and blessing you with the money to be able to go out and eat? Do you just forget?  Matthew 10:33 says “ if you deny me before man, I will deny you before my Father” Don’t be embarrassed, you may find you’re not the only one doing it. You may remind someone else to do the same thing.

2 Timothy 2:12 “if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us.” A relationship with God is one that will never end, it never fades on his side. Gods love is never-ending, his Grace is sufficient. God will always forgive no matter what you do, no matter what you say. The love of Our God is the greatest love we will ever know while on this earth.

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ReNewed Bible study – John 4:46-54

January 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

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ReNewed Bible study – John 4:1-45

January 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

43 After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

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ReNewed Bible study – John 3:22-36

December 18, 2010 By 1 Comment

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

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ReNewed Bible study – John 3:16-21

December 11, 2010 By 2 Comments

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

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For such a time as this…

December 8, 2010 By 2 Comments

Esther 4:14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Sometimes it amazes me how things come together.  Our position in life, our finances, even our forgetfulness or laziness can all be used by God at the precise timing and for the exact purpose He has called us to. Queen Esther lived this out when she had been chosen as queen during a time of great struggle for her Jewish people. One of the king’s officials was trying to wipe out all of the Jewish population and Esther’s uncle urged her to make a plea to the king on their behalf.  In this time the king had to extend an invitation before anyone could enter into his court.  The uninvited could be punished by death unless the king extended his scepter to grant them immunity.

Esther was justifiably nervous to approach the king and face death, but her uncle reminded her that she didn’t just wind up in this high position.  It may very well be that God placed her there for the exact purpose of approaching the king to plea for the lives of the Jews.  It was no coincidence that she had been shown such great favor by the king.  Esther knew Mordecai was right and decided to make the move, knowing that she may die in the process, but confident that this is why she was there at this time in this place. The story ends well and Esther is not killed for entering the king’s court uninvited and her people are saved. What an amazing story and God orchestrated it all.

I’ve seen so many times in my own life that God has worked some little thing that seemed bad, or maybe even really good, into His plan for another purpose.  As an illustration, I’d like to share my recent experience.  This week I started a ministerial internship at a church that is not my own, but under a pastor who used to lead at my church a while back.  In discussing with him what my responsibilities will be, he spoke a lot about the need for me to counsel new believers about baptism.  Could it be a coincidence, I thought, that I just heard an entire sermon devoted to the subject of baptism last Sunday, a day that I was sick and could have stayed home but “felt” like I should go anyway?  Could it be that I was meant to show up to that service despite my sickness just to prepare me for this role?

Then, when I asked the pastor if they had extra clothes for people to change into to get baptized, he said they had “some” but not much.  I immediately thought that I should donate some clothes to the church for this purpose.  Once home, I began searching for some T-shirts and athletic shorts to donate. I wasn’t finding very many and then I remembered why.  I had already gone through my clothes and put much of my stuff to donate in a duffel bag.  For whatever reason I either kept forgetting to drop it off and the Salvation Army or I was just too lazy.  Months have now passed and that bag is still sitting in my garage.  I opened it up and found it almost full of clothes that are perfect for wearing in the baptismal pool.  I hadn’t taken them to donate because, unbeknown to me, they were needed for “such a time as this”.

It’s theses small things that are a testimony to just how much God is at work in our lives, using even the most seemingly insignificant details to bring about His purpose.  Don’t ever doubt that God is working in you and through you.  Sometimes even when He doesn’t let you know it, He’s doing something bigger than you could imagine in your life.

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ReNewed Bible study – John 3:1-15

December 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

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