Welcome To The Snack Shack!! God's Word is compared to food all throughout the Bible. The reason: as humans we need food to survive, and as Christians we need God's Word to survive. Not only do we need food, but it's something we desire. Right? Well, God's Word should be something we desire too. It is full of nutrients that we need and flavor that can be compared to the best of physical food that's out there! We're talking gourmet here! :) Now, along with the fried chicken and tri-tip...the ice cream and pie...and all those foods we put on our list of "favorites", are those vegetables like spinach and broccoli...or whatever it is that you eat only because you have to! It's the same way with our Spiritual food, God's Word. There are those verses and stories that we have no problem reading and applying them to our lives (you know, those ones that promise blessings...), and then there's those verses that don't taste quite as good, those ones that are hard to understand or make you feel convicted. Those "vegetables" are just as important to read and apply to your life. We need them to survive! So, take a few minutes and check out these "snacks" from God's Word. Remember, we don't live on bread alone...physical food is great, but we need God's Word, our spiritual food, too! Every word that comes from the mouth of God.... that's real food!

Snacks available in this issue... Devotionals Daily Bread Fruit Bowl

DEVOTIONALS Devotional 1 "The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.”—Psalms 50:1 When I was a young child, I was taught the song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands”. Many of you who grew up in church and Sunday-school probably know the song too. It’s all about how God has the whole world in His hands…you, your family and friends, etc. The song kind of paints a picture of how big and powerful and able to meet our needs God is. This verse from Psalms does the same thing. It shows us that God is in control of things…that His creation rests in His hands. He speaks and summons and the sun rises or sets according to His will. His very command is final…and nature obeys. Sometimes we get this idea that God is just this loving but helpless being who doesn’t have a clue about our feelings or needs. Or we think that He can’t solve our problems or take care of our needs. We don’t really give God the credit that He deserves. We often forget that God is ALL-POWERFUL. We limit Him…put Him in a box…and decide that it’s much better for us to worry than to give our concerns to God. Some people even have this notion that they are superior to God and know more than He does, and that they can choose what parts of His will and plan to accept. But you see, God is NOT the helpless or powerless God that He often is portrayed as. No matter how hard we try, we can never out-smart God. He KNOWS all things and has ALL POWER, after-all, He did create all things. He speaks and nature acts according to His plan. He has the WHOLE world in His hands…that means you, and me, and every other person whether they believe it or not. God created us with a mind to think and a free-will to choose, but that doesn’t change the fact that He has the whole world in His hands. It doesn’t change His power, and it doesn’t change the truth. We serve a loving God, but One who is also all powerful and fully able to take care of things. Don’t forget that important part. :) -HK Devotional 2 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”—Hebrews 4:16 Did you know that you can approach the very throne of grace with confidence?? You don’t have to hold back because of your unworthiness. I mean, let’s face it…none of us even come close to being worthy enough to approach the Creator of the universe and all-powerful God. Yet, the scriptures say that we can come with confidence AND receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. I don’t know if you find this news as unbelievably incredible and amazing as I do, but will you consider things for a moment? I think that sometimes we tend to take for granted the amazing grace we’re given, and we overlook the wonder that God allows us to come to Him at all…not to mention that we are allowed to come with boldness! We don’t stand in awe quite enough, and that’s exactly what we need to do. Be thankful for this grace and praise God that we can approach Him with confidence. Don’t let it become meaningless to you, and don’t let it become “old news,” stagnant and not worth getting excited over. Rejoice that we don’t have to guess or hope about our salvation, but that we can know for sure that His grace is sufficient. Praise God that we don’t have to offer animal sacrifices and go through high priests to be forgiven and accepted by God, like they had to in the Old Testament times. And be thankful that Jesus became OUR “high priest” and is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted in every way and still was victorious…without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Because of all this we are able to approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence at any given time. Now, don’t you think that’s awesome and worth getting excited over?? -HK Devotional 3 “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.”—Psalms 105:1 It seems that sometimes we Christians feel almost ashamed to tell the world what the Lord has done for us. Maybe it’s fear; fear of what they will think of us, fear of offending someone, fear that speaking up will cause a big scene. It’s not that we’re ashamed, it’s more that we just don’t want to seem like we’re pushing our faith down others’ throats. People can get so touchy when you announce what God has been doing in your life or what God says in His Word. But you know what, this verse tells us that we need to make it known among the nations what He has done. Yes, we need to show Jesus through our actions, but we also need to be bold and tell people. Sometimes we stray from publicly giving praise to God, but you see, that’s exactly what we should be doing. God is worthy to be praised. He is worthy to receive praise publicly so that others might know what He has done. This is a form of thanking Him, of showing your appreciation for everything that He’s done for you. Don’t be afraid; don’t be ashamed. Stand up and boldly make it known to others what God has done for you! -HK

Daily Bread An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but what about a Proverb a day? What's the importance of reading scripture daily, you might ask. Well, daily reading of God's Word is like eating daily. Do you like to eat daily? I sure do! When you starve yourself of God's Word and don't take the time to read and study it every day, it's kind of like starving your physical body: you become a little weaker...you get kind of irritated and angry easily...you lose out on nutrients that you need...it's just not very comfortable, and besides, it's not very much fun! Proverbs is a good book to read a chapter of of every day. It has 31 chapters, and can be read in a month. The wisdom that is offered in these proverbs are written by Soloman, the wisest person (well, except for Jesus) who ever lived. But they are inspired by God. I guarantee that they will help you! But of course, you can't just read them, you have to actually use them for them to work. :) (Note: Proverbs are good...but they aren't the only thing you should read each day. Pick a verse or section of verses from another book of the Bible to read also for best results.) Day 1 Proverbs 1 Day 2 Proverbs 2 Day 3 Proverbs 3 Day 4 Proverbs 4 Day 5 Proverbs 5 Day 6 Proverbs 6 Day 7 Proverbs 7 Day 8 Proverbs 8 Day 9 Proverbs 9 Day 10 Proverbs 10 Day 11 Proverbs 11 Day 12 Proverbs 12 Day 13 Proverbs 13 Day 14 Proverbs 14 Day 15 Proverbs 15 Day 16 Proverbs 16 Day 17 Proverbs 17 Day 18 Proverbs 18 Day 19 Proverbs 19 Day 20 Proverbs 20 Day 21 Proverbs 21 Day 22 Proverbs 22 Day 23 Proverbs 23 Day 24 Proverbs 24 Day 25 Proverbs 25 Day 26 Proverbs 26 Day 27 Proverbs 27 Day 28 Proverbs 28 Day 29 Proverbs 29 Day 30 Proverbs 30 Day 31 Proverbs 31

The Fruit Bowl In Galations 5:22,23 we find a listing of the Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. We're told in God's Word that people will know us by our fruit. That's how they will be able to tell if we are followers and servants of Christ. The Bible also tells us that God will cut off the branches that don't bear good fruit! Yikes! This fruit thing is pretty important, isn't it?! Well, here we will feature one of these "fruits" in each issue, starting with the first fruit mentioned: Love. Do you think that the "fruit" you bear is good? Do you think that people are able to tell that you are a Christian by the way that you act or respond in different situations? Let's take a look at this issue's featured fruit... PATIENCE You’ve likely heard it a thousand times—patience is a virtue. Probably ever since you can remember, you’ve been told over and over by your parents and/or others in charge of you to “be patient” or “wait”. Patience is a lesson we all begin learning at a very young age. But it’s really not an easy concept to master. Webster’s dictionary defines being patient as: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint…remaining steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity…not being hasty or impetuous. Long-suffering, which is the word that the King James Version uses, is defined as: long and patient endurance of offense. When Paul wrote to the Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit and included patience on the list, he was not talking about the “wait until after dinner for your ice-cream” type of patience. The patience he spoke of was the “hang in there; don’t give up, even though everything is coming against you” type. Okay, now this concept has become one that is even more difficult to master. It’s no longer just “wait”, it’s “persevere” and “endure”. Until I started researching for this article, I did not fully understand the amount that patience and faith work together in the Christian walk. Patience is waiting on God’s timing, but it is also believing that God WILL bring you through your trials and difficulties IN His perfect timing. If you don’t have that kind of faith, then you can’t endure with patience. On the other hand, faith requires patience too. If you truly trust God to take care of you, then you have to be willing to be patient…wait AND remain steadfast even through things that aren’t easy or fun. Hebrews 6:12 tells us to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” There IS a reward…an inheritance…a promise for those who will wait on the Lord and keep the faith. Proverbs has a lot to say about this specific fruit of the Spirit too. We’re told that a patient man has great understanding, that a patient man calms a quarrel, and that it is better to be a patient man than a warrior. Proverbs 25:15 says that through patience a ruler can be persuaded. It is obvious through these verses that patience has a lot to do with being wise. Proverbs 19:11 even says, “A man’s wisdom gives him patience…” When should we be patient? Out of all the scripture references to patience in the Bible, the majority talks about being patient in “affliction” and trials. We have several examples of people in the Bible who had this type of patience. Job was one of them…in fact, he is probably the first Bible character that comes to mind when most people thing of patience. James 5:10 gives the prophets as an example of patience in affliction and suffering. Romans tells us that we become patient through tribulation (trials, sufferings, etc.). And James says that the “trying of your faith works patience”. So, we become patient by going through hard times…and going through hard times is the most important time to be patient. Do you see a cycle here?? The last thing I want to point out is that Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run with patience the race that is set before us. The definition I gave earlier from the Webster’s dictionary said that patience is bearing pains or trials calmly and without complaining. I’m positive that THIS type of patience is the kind that God wants us to have when running the Christian race. He wants us to do more than just wait for His return, and He even wants us to do more than just persevere through the bad times. God wants us to wait—to persevere—WITHOUT complaining along the way. It really spoils the whole being patient thing when you make sure that everyone around you knows how miserable you are and how many trials you’re going through and all that stuff. True patience doesn’t complain or grumble…it just waits and obeys, no matter how hard things get. It’s not an easy task, I know, but it’s really important that you strive to have true patience evident in your life. And don’t think that God won’t help you…you won’t be left to accomplish this goal on your own. But just think, if people can see this patience in you, they will know that there’s something different about you. The world is anything but patient. But Jesus’ love will shine through your life if you calmly endure and persevere. And you will be known by your fruit…by whether it is good or bad…by whether it reflects God’s image or the world’s image. PREVIOUSLY FEATURED FRUITS LOVE JOY PEACE Return To Main Page Return To Cover Page