Biblical Shakers

Please Click on the tree lines and subscribe if you would like to become a weekly follower. Click on Title for a Video Intro Monday, Amos Introduction Amos Intro Mindy Strayer THOUGHT Amos was a layperson. He was not the son of a prophet or of a priest. The text describes him as a “man of God.”  He was a person whose life was devoted to serving the Lord and whose life-style reflected this devotion. Amos is called by God to speak to the Israelites about their sin. He speaks to them regarding their complacency, oppression of the poor, and their superficial religion. The suggestion for us, as we read, is to place ourselves in both the Israelite’s and Amos’s position.  Are we guilty of any of the sins that the Israelites were guilty of?  God will speak to our hearts on these issues if we ask him to reveal the truth.  Are we a faithful “man of God” as Amos was? Do we do what God tells us to?  Does our lifestyle reflect our service to the Lord? PRAYER Lord, we thank Y...

  Click on the Link for a Video Intro Monday, Joel Introduction Joel Intro Bart Strayer THOUGHT The purpose of the book of Joel was written to warn Judah of God’s impending judgment because of their sins, and to urge them to turn back to God.  The people of Judah had become prosperous and complacent.  Taking God for granted, they had turned to self-centeredness, idolatry, and sin.  Joel warned them that this kind of life-style would inevitably bring down God’s judgment. He has allowed our rebellion.  But soon the day of the Lord will come.  It is about this day that the prophet Joel speaks, and it is the theme of his book.  On this day God will judge all unrighteousness and disobedience.  All accounts will be settled and the crooked made straight.  Joel, therefore, urges the people to turn from their sin and turn back to God.  Woven into this message of judgment and the need for repentance is an affirmation of God’s kindness and the bles...

  If you would like to join, hit on the three lines and hit subscribe. Click on Title for Video Intro Monday, Romans Chapter 13 Romans 13 Verse 8 Jeanie Boldt Verse 8:  “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” THOUGHT With Easter celebration soon approaching,  we know the tremendous debt that we owe Christ for having died on the cross to save us from our sins and to reap eternal life.  We ask ourselves, why is love for others called a debt as well?  We are permanently in debt to Christ for the lavish love He has poured out on us.  The only way we can even begin to repay this debt is by loving others in return.  Because Christ’s love will always be infinitely greater than ours, we will always have the obligation and debt to love our neighbors. Going forward, I urge each and everyone of us to think on and process about the debt we owe of loving others each and ...

If you would like to join the blog, hit on the three white lines and lit subscribe.   Click on Title for Video Intro Monday, Romans chapter 9 Romans 9 Verses 16&21 Heather Williams Verses 16 & 21:  "It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.... Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"  SUBJECT Mercy! God has been teaching me a lot about mercy over the past six months. I don't think I've ever really, really understood the definition and concept of mercy until recently. I mean, I knew what it meant, but God has opened my eyes to understand it more recently. Basically, as all of you know, we deserve absolutely nothing, squat, zero, Zippo. We are sinful and don't deserve anything. However, God chooses to love us, bless us, and forgive us all through His Mercy. It is only through His MERCY. Any time a prayer request of ours is answ...

  If you would like to subscribe, click on the three lines and hit subscribe.   Click on Title for Video Introduction Monday, Romans Chapter 5 Romans 5  Verses 3-5, 20-21 Heather Williams Verses 3-5:  "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."  THOUGHT I love these verses. The bad news is that we as Christians are guaranteed sufferings. Now, that doesn't sound very good at first, but I think we can all attest to that truth. However, the good news follows closely. These sufferings create perseverance, which builds our character, and results in hope. God uses these sufferings to build our character and hope in HIM.   Each of us has varied sufferings quite alive in our lives. Instead of focusing on the struggle, focu...

If you would like a weekly Blog Post emailed to you, just click on the three lines in the corner and hit subscribe. Click on Title for Video Introduction Monday, Romans Introduction Romans Introduction Alan Ruden THOUGHT AWAKEN all ye Salt Shakers.  Live from Wichita, Kansas. Yours truly, Al! I called Jeanie this evening and asked her if I could lead Salt Shakers for the week. She graciously allowed me to do so.  AWAKENING (insert ringing alarm clock here) was our theme for Promise Keepers this weekend. We really had a great weekend. It was great to spend time and fellowship with Tom and Rory on a closer level. Have you ever seen ten thousand men go on a one hour lunch break; or have you ever seen an auditorium full (yes completely full) of men singing for Jesus?   As I read through this introduction, I'm thinking wow; I mean "WOW"!!! This relates to this weekend and Promise Keepers. The book of Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul. He had never been to Rom...

If you would like a weekly Blog Post emailed to you, just click on the three lines in the corner and hit subscribe. Click on Title for Video Intro      Monday, Ecclesiastes Chapter 9 Ecclesiastes 9 Verse 9a Jeanie Boldt Verse 9a:  Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun. THOUGHT I couldn’t help but think of a couple of things when I read this chapter. First of all it spoke of “Our Destiny”.  I asked Rory what he thought of the word when I threw it out to him, and he thought the same thing that I did.   He feels that the word “Destiny” gets way too much attention.  We need to focus on our lives being in the ‘Will and Way of the Lord’.  Yes, no matter who we are - we will die.  However, by knowing the Lord and receiving Christ as our Savior, it is how we live that is more important and should receive more time and attention.  This is the very reason I chose t...