Zeal Stoker

Thanksgiving is not just a day but a lifestyle for Christ-followers. This segment considers ten lepers Jesus healed (Luke 17:11-19), only one of whom returned to give thanks. Are you thankful to God and humbled by his graciousness, or selfish and entitled? Make every day a day of Thanksgiving! May your quiver be filled with arrows of gratitude to be launched to God on every occasion, pleasant or not.

It is better to be lowly (humble & teachable), than to be in a place where God must humble us (get our attention through loss and or suffering). This segment (James 1:9-11) discusses opportunities to rejoice whether exalted or humiliated.

Check your loyalty! Do you really love and trust God in Christ, or do you simply want what He’s got? This segment (James 1:5-8) discusses our need for wisdom and the internal struggle of double-mindedness: wanting what God has more than wanting Him or what He wants for us.

Have you ever noticed life gets more difficult after praying for patience? This segment (James 1:2-4) discusses the difference between simply “hanging in there” and the cheerful hopeful endurance, which God builds into us through the testing of our faith.

Are you all over the place (spiritually, geographically, mentally, emotionally)? This study (James 1:1) discusses how difficult it was for Jewish-Christians in a first Century Greco-Roman world, and how their experience correlates to Christians in a 21st-century setting.

Would you consider yourself a slave of God in Christ? This study (James 1:1) focuses on early Christians’ comfortability with identifying as slaves of Christ - devoted to Jesus Christ above regard for their own lives or personal interests. Only as slaves of Christ can Jesus call us His “friends.” Listen to see how and why?

If you are waiting for your circumstances to change to be joyful, you may be waiting for a long time. What is the difference between joy and happiness? (And is there a difference?) Remembering God’s faithfulness brings hope. Hope brings joy; joy brings strength.

Habakkuk wants God to revive and finish the work He began to do. God wants Habakkuk to remember He has been working all along and will be as faithful and powerful as He was when He led His people out of Egypt. Chapter three records Habakkuk’s song wherein three times listeners (readers) are called to stop and think about what was just sung, and the lyrics to come.

Five “Woes” upon the Babylonians against their drunkenness, covetousness, ungodly counsel, vain pursuits, debauchery and idolatry. But before Israel points the finger in judgment, they (and we too) have been guilty of much the same. God is doing a work much bigger than we think. He will fill the whole earth with the knowledge of His glory.

God’s response to Habakkuk’s question would cause him and others to run with intentionality, purpose and hope. The change promised, however, would occur in God’s timing. Sometimes it’s hard for us to wait when we want to see change sooner than later. In this study: the importance of waiting on God; The difference between continuing in prideful rebellion, or as godly, faithful people - “the just shall live by his faith.”