The StarLight News: JUNE '19 - Daily On Line Edition

Evidence of God’s Love

by Gwen Smith

Today’s Truth

He 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 (John 15:2, NIV).

Friend To Friend

Our hotel room had a small balcony that overlooked the swimming pool. Early one lazy vacation morning, I grabbed my journal, Bible, and a fresh cup of coffee then headed to the balcony for some quiet time.

As I settled in, movement by the pool caught my eye. I watched as a maintenance man approached a palm tree and briskly pulled a brown, life-less branch from underneath the green leaves. Oddly, before he pulled the dead branch off, I hadn’t even noticed it was there.

After he pulled it off, however, the palm tree looked fresh and vibrant.

Seriously.

The pruning made such a difference!

Jesus spoke to His disciples and said,

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He 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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain 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.

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. If 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. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.(John 15:1-8, NIV)

Whom we spend time with really matters. (Ahem… Jesus!)

And what we say and do and how we say and do it also really matters.

Stay with me here! Don’t let the familiarity of this Scripture fade the impact it has on you.

I understand to my core how horrible it feels when my walk and my talk do not line up. Withered branches in my heart constantly need to pulled off and thrown away. You too?

In order to experience the blessings and power of God’s Spirit in our lives we must root our faith deep in the soil of God’s Word and then allow His truth to produce fruits that are ripe with evidence of His love. These fruits are clearly seen (or not) at the intersection of our faith and our actions. I’ve found that when I have those I-just-want-to-scream-because-everyone-in-the-world-is-on-my-last-nerve days God meets me with His grace when I whisper His name.

God will deepen the roots and increase the fruits of your faith as you spend time talking to Him early in the morning over a hot mug of coffee. When you pray and worship on the way to work or on your powerwalk. When you feel a prick of conviction in your heart about that behavior – or about that response – that tone – that act of disobedience. When you call out to Him for patience and strength as your teenager slams his door in rebellion – or when your adult daughter “forgets the morals she was raised with” and moves in with her boyfriend – or when frustrations mount up at work.

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self control. To bring glory to God, this fruit of His Spirit must be seen in our lives.

Unfortunately, we have a keen ability to rationalize our less-than-fruitful behaviors.

But he… But she… But they… I just can’t…

Fortunately, God doesn’t expect us to behave like this without Him. In fact, we simply can’t. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Remember? (v5) But when we remain in Him – when we seek Him, obey Him, savor His presence, live for His glory, and prioritize Him above all else – we can and will make a big impact for God and experience the joy and peace we all long for.

The maintenance man at the resort didn’t pull the branch off to hurt the palm tree. He pruned it to increase its beauty, health, and vibrancy. God does the same for us. He prunes His children to increase our beauty, health and vibrancy for our good and for His glory - to make us more useful to Him and more fruitful.

Pause to ponder this question: Are there any dead branches hanging on your tree?

Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, thank You for Your perfect love that enables me to be fruitful and beautiful. Please remove any lifeless branches in my life. As the psalmist prayed: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV).
In Jesus Name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
How fruitful is your life? Read John 15:1-17 and spend some time reflecting on God’s plan for you to become more fruitful.

TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL SPONSOR:

And Such Were Some of You
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God
AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU:
BUT ye are [were] WASHED,
but ye are [were] SANCTIFIED,
but ye are [were] JUSTIFIED
in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOD.” I Corinthians 6:9-11
This devotion is primarily a reflection on the words, “AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU.”
We sometimes forget where we came from and act like we’re above ministering to that person listed above in verse 9 and 10. This would also include any other sins (prostitution, drug addiction, alcoholism, abusiveness, false religion, etc).
Jesus died for ALL conceivable sins! No one is beyond hope in Christ.
Only by the GRACE of God are any of us saved.
Aren’t you blessed that someone didn’t think they you were too “bad of a sinner” to be saved, or that you were a hopeless case!
God can change ANY heart, no one is hopeless when they come in contact with CHRIST.
The day I got saved (accepted Christ as my LORD and SAVIOR).
I had no intentions on coming to the LORD, but the LORD met me ANYWAY!
I was a hopeless, man-hating, God-hating, self-hating person, yet by the GRACE of God I became a child of God on June 21, 1975.
I’m sure there were many who thought I was a hopeless case.
They also thought of Paul in the same way.
He was leading the attacks against Christians, having them killed; but then God got a hold of him and Paul was saved.
Such a hopeless case in man’s eyes that many Christians were still cautious of Paul after his conversion (Acts 10:26).
Let’s all remember from where we came!!!
We were all LOST SINNERS!
Hopeless in the eyes of man, but God, in His LOVE and GRACE, saved us anyway.
So the next time you run across a lost person, remember you, too, were a LOST sinner and God saved you.
Don’t look at that person as hopeless or beyond Christ’s saving touch!
Be blessed in the LORD,

Jim (jim@biblefood.org)

If you have not giving control of your life to Jesus please read the following:
We would like to take a moment to share some spiritual matters with you.
Why? Because we care about you and want God’s best for you.
What you need to know about your spiritual state:
A. God made you and you are responsible to Him as your Maker. (Rom. 11:36; I Pet. 4:19; Rev. 4:11)
B. You have sinned against a Holy God and have a broken relationship with God. (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:23; Rom. 5:12)
C. Sin requires punishment. You do not have the ability to pay the penalty for your sin – You are GUILTY before God your Maker. (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:10; Rom. 6:23)
D. Jesus is God, and became a perfect man, and as such, He paid the penalty on the cross for your sins (1 Pet. 3:18)
By acknowledging the above statements you now:
1. Accept -You are a sinner in need of a Savior, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.
2. Repent – Turn from sin as a way of life with God’s help.
3. Trust – Put all your faith in Jesus Christ as your forgiver and restorer to a right relationship with God.
You are now ready to start your new life with Jesus.
Now let others know of your decision to follow Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:32, 33; Rom. 10:9,10).
Get together with other Bible-believing Christians to help you in your walk with Christ (Heb. 10:25).
Please do contact us and let us know of your decision so we can rejoice with you and be there for you.

Jim (jim@biblefood.org)

DAILY SMILE:

My Third Wish

Submitted by Jenmo1

Genie: OK, I'm ready for your third wish.

Me: Third? What about the first two?

Genie: Well, this is a little unusual, but after your first wish, you screamed like a madman and said "I wish I'd never made that wish!" So that counted as your second wish, and I erased your memory of both of them.

Me: Well, OK. I wish I really understood how women think.

Genie: Granted. By the way, that was your first wish, too.

Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast With Crispy Dale's Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

5-6 lb roast (chuck, shoulder or London Broil)
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 envelope au jus (brown gravy) mix
1/2 jar (or 8-10 )pepperoncini peppers
1/2 cup pepperoncini juice
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 to 3/4 stick butter, cut into small pieces or long slices.
2 TB oil (for sear) avocado is what I use

INSTRUCTIONS

SEAR ROAST:
Put oil in Instant Pot (spray with non-stick also to help prevent sticking)
Turn IP on saute (high).
Rub 1 TB each of ranch and au jus mix onto surface of roast; covering as much surface as possible.
Sear in hot oil; leave 3-4 minutes on each sides before turning. Do sides also.
COOK ROAST:
Pour pepperoncini juice and broth over roast.
Sprinkle remaining dry seasoning over roast.
Toss peppers and butter pieces over roast.
Cover and lock lid; set valve to sealing.
Set to high pressure for 90 minutes.
When IP beeps, turn off the pot and allow the pressure to release for 10-15 minutes or until the valve drops.
Open the valve to release any remaining pressure; remove lid and carefully remove roast.
Serve on platter or refrigerate in juices until ready to serve. Reheat in juices in slow cooker or low oven.
Cook potatoes and carrots per blog instructions and serve with roast.

Make the Crispy Dale’s potatoes.

Follow this recipe for Instant Pot Crispy Roasted Potatoes; omit rosemary and add 1 TB Dale’s seasoning to butter.
The potatoes will “crisp” during saute but soften during pressure cooking. If you want them crisp for eating with the roast, you’ll want to stick them under a broiler. We just eat them soft; they still have the “crust” from the saute.
Serve these alongside the roast or arrange in the roast on a large platter.

https://www.familysavvy.com/instant-pot-mississippi-pot-roast-crispy-dales-potatoes/

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