Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
“For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (v. 9).
Here is hope for the discouraged Sunday school teacher, the pastor questioning his calling, the weary and disillusioned missionary. There is encouragement and, yes, strength for the believer struggling to faithfully share his faith and live a Spirit-controlled life in the home, on the job, and in the neighborhood.
It is a glorious privilege to labor together with God while He is at work both in us and through us. We are enabled to share His truth with those we could never reach in our own efforts; using ways we could not accomplish except for Him. To work with God we must lay aside the “I’ll do this my way” attitude. There is no room for self-exaltation, promotion, or a spirit of independence, nor for putting forth minimal effort or doing less than our best. Exhaustion and frustration come quickly when we work for God rather than with Him. Paul exemplified this delicate balance in his life and ministry. Paul gave all of himself to God’s work but did not minister in his own strength or wisdom, nor put undue emphasis on his unworthiness and thorn in the flesh. Paul allowed the sovereign God to orchestrate the timing, places, means, and results of his ministry. (LeeAnn Davison, Free-lance writer, Norwood, Ohio)
God uses man; we do not work alone!
This week's featured devotional is the Wednesday, April 9, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Sunrise in Geneva" by Patrick Nouhailler used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read 1 Kings 8:22-30
“And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart” (v. 23).
The story is told of a traveler who came upon the great Mississippi River one winter evening. He saw that it was frozen over and wondered if it might be able to hold him. He crept carefully to the edge of the river and then proceeded cautiously on his hands and knees hoping he could slowly make his way to the other side. As he inched along, he was startled by the sound of a horse-drawn sleigh barreling across the ice with a load of coal. No doubt the man flushed with embarrassment as he realized his fear of breaking through was unfounded.
Sometimes we are guilty of looking at the promises of God like this man viewed the solid ice. We are reluctant to trust Him fully with our problems, cares, and uncertainties. When we look back at the history of the Christian faith, we clearly see that the heavy loads our forefathers endured have proven time and time again that our God is enough. (Daniel Edwards)
I’m so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
— Louisa M. R. Stead

This week's featured devotional is the Wednesday, April 2, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Frozen River Halladale, Melvich" by jack_spellingbacon used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read Matthew 19:13-15
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 14).
During my years as a faculty member in private, church-supported schools, I have had several pastors/headmasters, but there was one whose life had a very special feature, especially in a world like we know today. His wife was a master Sunday school teacher who often wrote Sunday school lessons for publication. His older daughter was a missionary, and his younger daughter was a young mother who was an expert church pianist. He was a great pastor and administrator. What was his special feature? He was saved at the age of four, later sanctified, and held on all the years of his ministry and life I know about.
The ideas of some people about children are astounding. Some believe young children are incapable of responding to God’s call to salvation. Note the illustration. Some even believe a young child should not be taken to church at all. Readers! They should be taken to church as soon as they are able to go, and given every opportunity to come to God. To fail in this is to disobey the Savior’s clear command! (Joel Miller)

Jesus loves the children, every one of them!
This week's featured devotional is the Monday, March 24, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: This image of children in Ghana, West Africa, was taken during the 2012 missions trip by Church of God (Holiness) World Missions.

Read Joshua 6:6-20
“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city” (v. 20).
It can be easy to look at familiar Bible stories with the end already in mind. We learned about the march around Jericho back in Sunday school, and we watched the cardboard-block wall tumble.
So I have to ask myself the question—if I had been among the Israelites marching around the city on the seventh day, how loud would I have shouted? Maybe I would have waited until others started before I opened my mouth; maybe I would have matched my “hurrah” with the person’s next to me; maybe I would have only pumped my fist about halfway in the air, just in case. I know what I should have done. If I were a part of that multitude, I should have shouted as if the God I served were all-powerful, as if He were fighting for us, as if He were giving us the victory.
On that seventh day, after that seventh trek around the city, those nomadic descendants of ex-slaves “shouted with a great shout.” But how could they be so sure? Was there a brief moment, while their shout still echoed in the silence, that they wondered whether God was going to come through? They were walking in obedience to a God who had promised them the victory; they added that little mustard seed to an otherwise certain defeat, and the walls of their impossibility came crashing down (ASE)
“Faith . . . laughs at the impossibilities, and cries, ‘It shall be done’ ” (Charles Wesley).

This week's featured devotional is the Monday, March 17, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "IMG_1240" by shildsen used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read James 1:1-3
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (v. 2).
During the time we were going through the difficulty, I did not think of it as a tribulation, but looking back on it I believe it was. We had experienced the birth of our second child and a few days later my wife had gall bladder surgery. She recovered rapidly and returned home only to begin experiencing pain in her stomach. A trip to the doctor resulted in her return to the hospital and exploratory surgery. A severe infection had developed in her stomach cavity. She lingered near death for two weeks before beginning to recover. After three weeks in the hospital, she was allowed to return home for weeks of bed rest.
We had only become Christians a few weeks before all of these things developed. I cannot say that we counted it joy to be going through those things, but apparently we displayed a true Christian attitude while enduring those weeks. Following these experiences, we encountered people who had visited us during those difficult days, and they expressed that they had come to encourage us but went away encouraged.
The joy of that period of our lives was that we experienced the mercy of God and His undergirding strength which resulted in our being able to be a blessing to others. (Larry DeOrnellis)
A true attitude in affliction is possible as we have joy in the midst of our difficulties because we realize God counted us worthy to be tested.
This week's featured devotional is the Wednesday, March 12, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Peace and the passing storm" by Chinchu2 used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read Acts 20:13-27
“For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (v. 27).
The hospital called me asking for my help because a woman was told she had not long to live, and she wanted someone to be with her. When I entered the room I saw a very small emaciated woman, whom I later learned was eighty-seven years old and weighed eighty-six pounds. Ruth was scared. My concern was her soul, and I wasted no time in inquiring about her relationship with the Lord. She assured me that she was trusting Christ for salvation, but her fear stemmed from the thought of being alone at the hour of death. I promised Ruth as I sat on her bed that I would stay until family members had time to arrive.
There is a lesson in that narrative just as today’s passage suggests. The message of the gospel is best delivered by someone with skin. Paul taught publicly and went from house to house. He was there. He could be seen. His touch could be felt. His voice could be heard at close range.
We should be thankful for mass mailing, blogs, email, and texting, but nothing will replace human presence — the touch of the hand, the arm around the shoulder, or the embrace. Most of us who have come to Christ came because of a personal encounter with a real, live, caring human. The gospel without arms, legs, and voice is not nearly as effective as the gospel preached in person. (Lonnie Witt)
The depth of our commitment to the proclamation of the gospel can be demonstrated by just how much direct effort we put into its declaration.
This week's featured devotional is the Friday, March 7, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Caronlina Hospital Bed" by bfi Office Furniture used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read Exodus 3:1-12
"Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharoah, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (v. 10).
God must get a person's attention before He can speak to him. God used a very unusual happening to get the attention of Moses. The burning bush is not the only impressive thing; the location is as well, as the Scripture says, "the backside of the desert."
The Lord gave me the privilege several years to visit the Holy Land. While in the desert region of southern Lebanon, a small bush growing there was pointed out as perhaps the kind of bush that Moses witnesses burning but not being consumed. It seemed to be a very unlikely place for such an extraordinary event.
This showed not only the power of God, but also His care to make sure Moses got His message. God also prepared the atmosphere by hallowing the sandy ground upon which Moses was standing. The first response of Moses was, "Here am I."
Moses was rightly humbled that God would call him for such a mission. He wanted to be sure the call was from God. God gave him ample assurance that He would go with him.
It is encouraging to know that if God calls us, He will go with us. (Burl A McClanahan)
What would it take for God to get your attention?
This week's featured devotional is the Monday, February 24, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Desert Bushes" by greeblie used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read John 9:1-8
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (v. 4).
Is your to-do list like mine — always a carry-over from yesterday and seemingly never done? I have often wished for a few extra hours in my day and then need to remind myself that God apportioned the number of hours to a day and it corresponds to the rhythm He has established for us. If twenty-four is the right number, then I must learn to work within that allotment.
It is astonishing to realize that, while on this earth, Jesus was re- stricted to the limitations of time in the same way as we are. He submitted to all the hardships of humanness, including time pressure.
John related that, on leaving the Temple, Jesus encountered this blind man. His followers were sure his affliction was the result of direct sin, but Jesus corrected their thinking. Then Christ went on to say He had many works to complete before night. It seems He was referring to His death — the cessation of work. And like Him, you and I must be focused on completing the tasks the Father has given us while it is day. Let us not be found with an incomplete “to-do list” when He calls. (Valorie Quesenberry)
Work when the day grows brighter;
Work in the glowing sun.
Work, for the night is coming,
When man’s work is done.
— Annie L. Coghill
God has given you twenty-four hours today; fill your to-do list for His glory.
This is the Monday, February 17, 2014 devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "tuesday to-do list" by Stacey Spensley used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read Matthew 13:36-43
“The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one” (v. 38).
A number of years ago I worked for a screen printing company in Kansas City, Missouri, and one of our clients was a large seed company with its home office in Iowa. Usually, each year we would receive an order to print corrugated plastic field signs that would be placed along the highway in the fields where our customer’s “certified” seed was being grown.
As we think about the motive of the seed company, we would note their desire to advertise and express their pride in the quality crop being produced from their seed. In this parable, Jesus noted that there is both good seed and bad seed. The good seed is representative of the children of the kingdom, but the poor seed is the result of Satan’s activity in the lives of lost humanity.
If there were to be a sign posted in your life as to the quality or purity of the seed in your life, would you be a representative of good seed or bad seed? We cannot expect to sow the seed of unrighteousness in our lives and then bring forth a harvest of holiness. As we live in this world today, what signs are being read by those who pass our way? Are we producing a life of purity or that of wicked worldliness? (Marshall Mosley)
There are only two kinds of spiritual seeds — God’s and Satan’s. Which
do you use?
This is the February 11, 2014 devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "Billboard by Editor B used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read 2 Kings 17:14-23
“Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only” (v. 18).

Having grown up in the 50’s and 60’s under the training of parents who believed in teaching us that children were responsible for behavior, sometimes the rod (maybe a yardstick or green switch) was employed. Sometimes we got the “brown chair treatment.” The brown chair was a place where we could sit and reflect upon our misdemeanors and consider how we might adjust our attitudes to be more conformable to the expectations of parents.
Admittedly, as a parent I sometimes counted to ten. Counting is condemned by those who may have it all together, but I was not one of those. Sometimes counting to ten gave me time to think of the next step. Sometimes a time-out chair was safer for the child than corporal discipline, and again, it gave me time to formulate a plan.
God gave Israel a “time-out” not because He was fearful that He would overreact nor because He did not have a next step in mind. He set Israel aside so they could reflect. He set them aside so they could reject those things which had displaced God. (Lonnie Witt)
God sometimes sets us aside so we can deal with carnal pride.
God sometimes sets us aside so that we can better accept Him as a guide. — Lonnie Witt

It is better to take a time-out voluntarily than it is for God to impose one on us.

This is the February 3, 2014 devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "chair" by qmnonic used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped and resampled.