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Introduction : When you gather with friends and family that you don’t see very often, the conversation can include: Remember when….great victories (we won this game, performance in music, drama) or great losses (difficult seasons because of sickness, trauma, etc., funerals, COVID-19).  In our passage today, Paul is remembering when the presence of God was evident through provision and purity. Review: Last week, Brad’s Message “Back to 1 st Corinthians” had three points: A Measuring of the Church, My Rock (which will tie into our passage today as well), and the how/who specifically Who is the Holy Spirit? And Who is the Holy Spirit in you? (Notice ALL in first paragraph and SOME is second paragraph) Provision (vs. 1-5) ·          Vs. 1-Brothers and Sisters, I do not want you to be unaware… o    Our God wants to reveal Himself to us.   He wants us to know what He is doing. o    The Holy Spirit through Paul ...

God is our Provider 19  And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) So Abraham called the name of that place, “ The Lord will provide ”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provide d.” (Genesis 22:14) One of God's names is Jehovah Jireh--the God who provides. Therefore, we are provided for     He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;      the Lord is gracious and merciful. 5  He provides food for those who fear him;      he remembers his covenant forever. 6  He has shown his people the power of his works,      in giving them the inheritance of the nations. (Psalm 111:4-6)  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape...

I am continuing to read Jesus Continued by J.D. Greear.  He will be one of the speakers at Liberate 2015.  I thoroughly enjoyed his message last year and look forward to what Holy Spirit puts on his heart this year.  Here are some quotes on the topic of "greater" from Jesus Continued : In other words, it's not that Jesus worked while he was here and now the church works in his absence. Jesus worked then through his incarnation, and he works now through his church. But Luke writes it (Luke 5:17) in this way to show us that even Jesus' power to heal came from the Holy Spirit. Why make that distinction? If Jesus had healed exclusively out of his own power, then he'd have a significant advantage over his disciples. But if the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus, then the disciples could do what he did, continuing the ministry he started. Believers, who now possess that same Holy Spirit, have access to that same power. Nothing in Acts nor in the rest of the New Testam...

Wishing you a great Thanksgiving today! Enjoy your time with family and friends.  Remember we have much to be thankful for.  Thank you Jesus for your provision! Happy Thanksgiving from the Martin Family

My post for today is over at http://www.1corinthians13parenting.com/blog/  today.  It is on teaching your children (and yourself) about God's faithfulness, goodness, and provision.  Enjoy!

Today's song is a kid's song that is a good reminder for all of us.  Over the years, we have struggled financially and wondered how we would pay all of our bills.  But one thing is certain: God provided.  Sometimes we did not like to wait or we rushed ahead, but the truth from the song is true for all of us.  Do you need God to provide today?  Listen to the song and then ask God for His provision.

I continue two previous posts based on The Circle Maker  today.  These thoughts are based on our limiting of God and how God provides for His glory. You have to trust the favor of God to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. And if we pray in alignment with the will of God, He always provides. God loves showing up in unexpected ways at unexpected times. The blessings of God will complicate your life in positive ways. God is great not just because nothing is too big for Him; God is great because nothing is too small for Him. The reason many of us miss the miracles is that we aren't looking and listening. 

As I promised yesterday, here is a devotional thought to start your day from Hidden in Christ. Today set aside ten minutes to simply reflect on some of the "things of the Spirit." They are (to name a few): the unending and unchanging love of God the provision and power of God the forgiveness of sins the fact that God is with us in all we face the adoption into the family of God for all believers Pick one or two of these and simply take a few minutes to tune your mind to these truths.

Today, I am reminded of God's faithfulness, provision, and love. We leave today for vacation in Branson and I am looking forward to time away with family.  Before we left, I needed to run some errands which included purchasing a family pool pass to get the discount (you know I am always looking for a sale).  All of these things--Branson vacation and pool pass were reminders.  Why? Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we can stay at a home in Branson without cost. Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we have season passes to Silver Dollar City for free. Because of the generosity of an anonymous donor, our pool pass was purchased for us. I am thankful for each of these individuals/families for their generosity.  I thank God for them and their love for me and my family.  I am grateful to serve God with these families at Hesston MB. I have prayed blessing over them as they have understood, "it is more blessed ...

It is official.  We have an offer on our house in Iola. We moved from Iola in November 2008 and have been trying to sell the house while renting it over these 4 years.  It has been a rocky & scary road at times as we wondered how we would be able to make ends meet while making double house payments.  However, God is faithful.  When worry and anxiety came in (believe me it happened more than once), God would answer our prayers.  God did this through unexpected checks in the mail, anonymous cash donations, generous church members who paid mortgage payments, or simply the reassurance we needed by having two offers over the last few weeks. Do you know the song "Jehvoah Jireh"?  It has been a song that has come to mind often over the last four years.  Here are the lyrics: Jehovah Jireh My provider His grace is sufficient For me, for me, for me Jehovah Jireh My provider His grace is sufficient for me My God shall supply all my needs Accor...

Yesterday was a day when I was blessed by God's amazing answer to several prayers.  Rather than forget about these, I decided to share them with you. God, you are awesome!  You hear our prayers, know what is best, and have the amazing power to bring to completion.  Thank you for the words to complete this year's family devotions for Hide N Seek Thankful for a great school system and a great start to the school year for all four of my kids Praising God for working out our church facility shortage with another great option Completed many of the notebooks for our Wednesday night ministries. Thankful for great help from Carol, Joanna, & Vicki! Continual provision for my family while we make double house payments May we always remember the faithfulness of God in the past and trust His goodness & greatness for the future!

As you may know, we have had two offers on our house in Iola this weekend. We actually heard from a third who was still interested as well. Things are still moving forward and we hope for all payments and paperwork to be signed by this weekend. Praise God! However, God continues to provide in amazing and unexpected ways. I received a gift today in the amount of our monthly rent. The individuals felt "convicted" (their word) to provide this gift to our family. I was blown away. I had already believed God had provided in an awesome way with multiple offers. But God exceeds our expectations. Ephesians 3:20-21 says, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." God truly provides in ways that we cannot comprehend. Even though, it was unexpected and left me speechless, I thank G...

Well, we have had quite the journey in relation to selling our house in Iola . We have been trying to sell the home since September 2008. God has provided through renters over the last 20 months. He has also provided through unusual gifts of cash, meat, and opportunities for fun. God was faithful in getting us to Hesston and worked everything out so wonderfully including finding a great home, easy transition for kids to school, smooth move, and a great church family and community to live in. The one thing left: selling the house. We feel confident that is about to occur. Another thing I should mention is that we have not had a realtor over this entire time. Would that have made the sale happen quicker? Maybe. But we did not feel after much prayer, that was the direction we were to go. A few months ago when our last renter had informed their plans of moving out, I considered getting a realtor again. But before doing it, Bethany and I prayed. We prayed that if were to not hi...

As many of you know, we still have not sold our house in Iola . We have had a renter in it most of the past 2o months, but no contract to buy. God has provided in so many ways. We only have a had a few months of double house payments. Bethany and I have been at peace (sometimes going back and forth between the two of us) over these 20 months which is again an answer to prayer. First, we had a renter who paid rent on time. Unfortunately, that did not end well. Sometime ask Bethany about her time as a cleaning lady. : ) Lately, we have had a great family the past few months. They will be moving out at the end of June to go into ministry in Alaska. We are trusting God for a buyer by the end of the month. Nothing is impossible for Him! I know His Will is best and He will sell the home in his timing. It is His Home and we just have not found the right family yet. As we were beginning to consider listing with a realtor, we again had two serious inquiries about the house. One wi...

Today, I received a wonderful surprise and blessing. I had written previously that two families in our church has blessed us with surprises in November and December. I was at a loss for words then and can just say, "Praise the Lord." These families' generosity reveals a picture of what Jesus wants the church to be. Back to today-I left for lunch and got in my van and found an envelope taped to my steering wheel. I thought "this is strange." I opened the envelope and it contained a note and cash that was to be used to help us pay double mortgages this month. I truly don't know why our house in Iola has not sold, but what I do know is that God has provided for us in amazing ways over the last 14 months. I want to say thanks to my anonymous donor and to give praise to God. I laugh to myself as I think that I will be preaching this Sunday and one of my points is that we need to "get giving". Here is my testimony today: life does not always wo...

As many of you know, we are still working to sell our home in Iola . We have had a renter for the past 9 months and that has ended. We are getting the home ready to sell. Please pray with us for a quick sale as we don't want to continue leasing any longer. As I began thinking about the Iola house, I began to worry a little about finances. I began to be concerned with Christmas approaching and wondering how we are going to make it with double payments. Then God made it very clear to me that He was in control and He provides. Here are the 3 special blessings that God used in my life. I am reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and the following quote challenged my worry over the sale of our home. "Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, o...

Well, I have officially been in Hesston for a year now. As I think back over the last year, I am blessed by what God has done for me and in and through me. I cannot believe it has already been a year. As I ponder those times of provision and learning, I am reminded that God is always faithful. He has been with us every step of the way. I wanted to share a few ways God has worked in the last year: Richard & Rosemary Prieb opening their house to my family. I stayed with them during the week and Bethany and the kids joined on the weekends. Thanks to the generosity of the Priebs ! Moving the whole family into our current home which was a complete God thing in how we found out about the house and how patient the Holmes were with us as we tried to sell our house in Iola . Around 30 visits with individuals and couples to get to know them better and to share about the family ministry at Hesston MB. I have loved each of these visits! Closing on our home in Hesston in March. A ren...