Author Archives: Rhonda Barnes

Our Infinite God!

09 Wednesday Mar 2016

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IMG_0141There have been moments in my life when I have stood on a sandy beach looking across a body of water with no visible end that I had an awareness of the vastness of my God. Recently during my devotional time, He has challenged me to realize that just as in His very nature He is infinite, so is His love for us and His power and anointing that is available to us.

Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?  They are higher than heaven— what can you do? Deeper than Sheol— what can you know?  Their measure is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.

Job 11:7-9 NKJV

A short time ago as I was meditating on this passage, I had my iPad in my lap and I just asked Siri to tell me the definition of infinite. She responded with this on my screen:

Infinite (adjective):  Limitless or endless in space, extent, or size, impossible to measure or calculate

  • Very great amount of degree
  • Greater than any assignable or countable number
  • (of a series) able to be continued indefinitely

Infinite (noun):   A space or quantity that is infinite

  • God

WOW! I didn’t expect that!  Even the on-line dictionary that Siri references equates infinity with God!  In contrast, as a human I do exhibit certain limitations. Elijah was a mighty Old Testament prophet, and we are told in James that he moved beyond his human limits through the power of faith and prayer.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings], and he prayed intensely for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land produced its crops [as usual].

James 5:17-18 AMP

This passage speaks a powerful message! It tells me that while I may have human limitations, through prayer and the Holy Spirit Power we read about in 1 Corinthians 2:10, we can move from being humanly limited to accessing supernaturally power that is limitless and infinite!

For God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the [Holy] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things [diligently], even [sounding and measuring] the [profound] depths of God [the divine counsels and things far beyond human understanding].

1 Corinthians 2:10 AMP

Have you put God in a box? He is an infinite God!  He is limitless.  He is immeasurable!  He is indescribable and all powerful!  His love for you is endless, and His power available to you has no boundaries!

Elijah had the same human limitations that we exhibit, yet through prayer and faith he tapped the power of an infinite God! Can we live by his example?

In my mind’s eye I can visualize a green field with a white fence at the far end. As I move closer and closer to the fence, it continues to expand out and forward encouraging me to understand that through our infinite God, there is a place without borders.  He can enlarge our capacity and create in us exponential expansion if we will only believe!

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Day 7 Devotion: Changing Your Season – Part 2

06 Sunday Mar 2016

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As we come to the end of the week of devotions, we read the last part of a two-day series written by  Pastor Trent Morgan.  This week I have been sharing the first 7 days of a 21 day devotional made available at Grace Community Church.  It was produced by Pastor Charissa Morgan and written by her and other co-laborers in her family in Christ. She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

If you are interested is seeing the remaining days of our 21 Day Devotional, you can pick up a copy at the church, or you can visit Grace Community Church Facebook page each day for the next two weeks where they will be posted following this link:  https://www.facebook.com/GraceCommunitySalem/

To learn more about our church visit our web page at gracecommunitysalem.org

Day 6: Changing Your Season – Part 2

By Pastor Trent Morgan

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matthew 5:9

Earth’s seasons; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, are beyond human control. Instead, our bodies adapt to the season. We have family in the state of Florida. When they come and visit us, we could have a nice sunny day that we’re all wearing light jackets, while they’re dressed as if they’re in Alaska! Their bodies hadn’t had time to adapt to the environment. Within the sensory system of our body, we’re told to change or adapt to our surroundings.

The same is true when speaking of the inner person of your life. When the spiritual environment of your life begins to grow cold and weary due to the attacks of Satan, and that attack collides with your inner man, too often we collapse and adapt to whatever the spiritual environment is! I propose to you that we have the power within us to force the spiritual elements or season to adapt to who we are in Christ, instead of the other way around! In essence you have within you the power to create the seasons your spirit feels!

Matthew 5:9 gives insight to this when it says, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”. Did you see the word peacemaker? This would suggest that the power of creation through Jesus Christ still works within us and is purposeful to change the season of depression, anger, hatred, sickness or the season of _________(fill in the blank) you have been living through. The Jesus in you can not only keep you safe from the elements of your problem, but He can cause the man or woman of faith to rise up and speak CHANGE to the elements you’ve been waking up in for too long!

Remember when Jesus spoke to the sea’s storm that was about to overtake the disciples? That’s the Jesus in you! And the storms that have robbed you of joy and peace, and the clouds that have kept you in the dark are about to find the brightness of Jesus breaking through! This penetration of light that pierces the darkness isn’t going to be from outside of you, it’s got to come from within you! Because greater is He that is IN YOU than he that is in the world! (1 John 4:4) Let Jesus change your season from the inside out!

Day 6 Devotion: Changing Your Season – Part 1

05 Saturday Mar 2016

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IMG_0121As we come to the end of the week, my last two posts are a two-part series written by  Pastor Trent Morgan.  This week I have been sharing the first 7 days of a 21 day devotional made available at Grace Community Church.  It was produced by Pastor Charissa Morgan and written by her and other co-laborers in her family in Christ. She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I pray you will enjoy the last two day’s insight from our Pastor.  If you are interested is seeing the remaining days of our 21 Day Devotional, you can pick up a copy at the church, or you can visit Grace Community Church Facebook page each day for the next two weeks where they will be posted following this link:  https://www.facebook.com/GraceCommunitySalem/

To learn more about our church visit our web page at gracecommunitysalem.org

Day 6: Changing Your Season – Part 1

By Pastor Trent Morgan

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1 

The next eight verses continue on and say there is a time to be born, a time to plant, a time to heal, a time to build up, a time to laugh, a time to dance. A time to keep, a time to lose, a time to gather and a time to cast away…and so on. To everything there is a cycle. Some of which we have no control. Every October the leaves start to change color and the evenings become brisk. But by April, the flowers are budding again and the days are warming. It’s a pattern that since the creation of the world has kept in sync with itself. These patterns of the earth are uncontrollable by mankind. There is no machine that man could ever build that can stop the cycle of seasons that God created in the fabric of our world. Though this scripture references many of those natural seasons, it also speaks of life’s seasons. Today you may feel like you’re in the winter season. You’ve become dull to the feeling of God’s presence. You haven’t been able to find your drive to serve and love the way you feel you need to. You’re stuck between October and April with snow blowing through the front door of your life. But today, I want you to be encouraged! To everything there is a season and seasons don’t last forever! David said in Psalm 30:5b, “weeping (sorrow) may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” What you’re facing today doesn’t have to last forever! In fact, in tomorrow’s devotion you’ll discover just how you can see an accelerated change of seasons in your life!

Day 5 Devotion: Dare to Believe!

04 Friday Mar 2016

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This week I have been sharing the first 7 days of a 21 day devotional made available at Grace Community Church.  It was produced by Pastor Charissa Morgan and written by her and other co-laborers in her family in Christ. She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I pray you will enjoy each day’s insight from different authors, and I am honored to have been given the opportunity to write the devotion for today and I hope it is a blessing to you.  You can go to the web page at  gracecommunitysalem.org to learn more about our amazing church family at Grace.

Day 5: Dare to Believe!

By Rhonda Barnes

There is a song that has been sung at our church for years with this title. It encourages us to believe that miracles still happen, healing is still available, and mountains still move! During Jesus’ short time of ministry on this earth, He performed more miracles, healed more people, and moved more spiritual mountains than could be recorded in Scripture. John 21:25 says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”

Miracles were not limited to Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament; we can also see many examples from the Old Testament. One example that I love is found in 1 Kings 17:8-22. In this passage, Elijah asks a widow for some bread and water. She tells him that all she has is a handful of flour and a little oil, which she plans to use to prepare her last meal for her and her son to eat before they die of starvation. Elijah tells her not to be afraid, but to go home and first make a small cake of bread of him, and then make one for her and her son. After her obedience she is told by the prophet that, “The jar of flour will not be used up and jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.” This is how it was! The needs and misery of this poor widow were not insignificant to God. He sent Elijah to strengthen her faith and to provide for her needs. The widow’s faith in God and His Word through the prophet led her to exchange the CERTAIN for the UNCERTAIN, the SEEN for the UNSEEN! Her faith was strengthened to dare to believe!

If you keep reading in this passage, you will learn that at some point after this miracle, the woman’s son became ill and died. She dared to believe that if God could spare their lives once he could do it again. She calls for the prophet to believe with her and the Bible tells us that Elijah prayed 3 times and life came back to the boy. Elijah didn’t stop believing after one prayer, he was persistent. Don’t give up! Regardless of how big the miracle is that you need continue to DARE TO BELIEVE!

Day 4 Devotion: Don’t Settle!

03 Thursday Mar 2016

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This week I have been sharing the first 7 days of a 21 day devotional made available at Grace Community Church.  It was produced by Pastor Charissa Morgan and written by her and other co-laborers in her family in Christ. She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I pray you will enjoy each day’s insight from different authors.  You can go to the web page at  gracecommunitysalem.org to learn more about our amazing church family at Grace.

Day 4: Don’t Settle!

By Christa Barnes

In Ruth, chapters 1-4, we read of Ruth’s love story with Boaz, which parallels our relationship with our Lord on so many levels. Ruth entered the homeland of her mother-in-law, Naomi, as a foreigner. As a widow trying to survive, Ruth asked to glean behind the harvesters in the barley fields. Boaz, the owner of the field, went to his young men and graciously ordered them to let Ruth glean among the sheaves—that is, right where they were working and where the pickings would be the easiest. He even told them to subtly drop handfuls of grain where she could find them.  Ruth could have settled at that point. She went home with more than enough and would have been allowed to continue to glean…but it eventually dawned on her that there could be so much more!!! Ruth went against socially accepted norms of the times, seeking out Boaz in the middle of the night, and planting herself at his feet to show her commitment and desire for a deeper relationship with him. Because of this, instead of filling her pockets with mere seeds day after day, she moved from GLEANER to OWNER when Boaz married her!

Let’s follow Ruth’s lead. We, too, are foreigners that have been accepted and allowed to partake of the bounty of the land, thanks to the generosity of the landowner. Titus 3:4, 6-7 says, “But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared…Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs.” Although we have no entitlement or expectation of fair and equal treatment, at His invitation and His redemptive work at the Cross, we have been given much more than we deserve; we could settle as “gleaners” of the spiritual realm…running from service to service, trying to pick up seeds to fill our pockets and just surviving…but, if we’ll position ourselves at His feet and desire deeper, we will enrich our spiritual inheritance to a level beyond our wildest dreams! Don’t settle!!

 

Day 3 Devotion: He Cares

02 Wednesday Mar 2016

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As I shared Monday, at my amazing church,  Pastor Charissa Morgan challenged us with some great words.  She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She sent us out with a 21 Day Devotional written by her very own co-laborers in her family in Christ.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Using this platform, I am sharing the first 7 days of devotions in this 21 day plan.  I pray you will enjoy each day’s insight from different authors.  You can go to the web page at  gracecommunitysalem.org to learn more about our amazing church family at Grace.

Day 3: He Cares

By Keith McDonald

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”   1 Peter 5:7

At this stage in my life it seems that all I can think about is retirement and what this may or may not mean to me and my family.  There is so much uncertainty in this major life change that it is easy to become overwhelmed and worried about every detail.  As I was crunching the numbers the other day to decide if I was destined for the poor house, the Lord promptly checked me and asked me “Are you going to spend your remaining years worrying about the future or will you trust me to take care of you, as I have promised I would do, and live with joy in the here and now?”

It is easy to serve the Lord when times are good and it costs us nothing to hold our faith.  But there are times when we grow weary, when we feel defeated, when it seems the circumstances of life will surely overwhelm us.  It is in moments like these that we choose between dealing with life in our strength or remaining dependent on the Spirit of God to lift us above the cares of the world and carry us through.

God cannot lie, His promises are true.  He said in 1 Peter 5:7 that He cares for us and He asks us to turn our cares and worries over to Him.  With all the uncertainty that we are facing today, there is no better time to heed these words and choose to let God show us that He will do what He has promised.

Day 2 Devotion: Share Hope

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

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As I shared yesterday, at my amazing church,  Pastor Charissa Morgan challenged us with some great words.  She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She sent us out with a 21 Day Devotional written by her very own co-laborers in her family in Christ.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Using this platform, I am sharing the first 7 days of devotions in this 21 day plan.  I pray you will enjoy each day’s insight from different authors.  You can go to the web page at  gracecommunitysalem.org to learn more about our amazing church family at Grace.

Day 2: Share Hope 

By Pastor Trent Morgan

“In His name the nations will put their hope.”   Matthew 12:21

I recently read a quote from Bill Hybels that has helped me to remain focused on the church’s missions. He said “The local church is the hope of the world.”  Let that sink in for just a minute! If it’s through and by Jesus that nations will find their hope, then those of us who the church is comprised of should be offering that hope to the world we are in.

This means you, as a man or woman of God, as a young adult, teenager or child, have living in you the very one who others are meant to hope in. With that in mind, I want to challenge you to take the next three steps.

First, carve out time in your schedule to take a walk through our town or drive the roads of our community.

Secondly, at the same time begin asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the hopeless situations of the people around you.

Thirdly, be willing to do something to help meet the needs of those people the Holy Spirit revealed to you.

The church is purposed to help others find hope in Jesus as their savior. As much as the world needs the church’s help, be reminded that the church needs your help too! The world is better when the church works together!

 

 

Day 1 Devotion: Life Speakers

29 Monday Feb 2016

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I am honored to be a part of an amazing church family at Grace Community Church in Salem Missouri.  For National Women’s Ministry Day, Pastor Charissa Morgan challenged us with some great words.  She shares that it is commonly thought to take 21 days to make or break a habit.  She sent us out with a 21 Day Devotional written by her very own co-laborers in her family in Christ.  She is believing that this devotional will be the launching pad God uses in individual lives to catapult each one into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I would like to use this platform to share the first 7 days of devotions in this 21 day plan.  I pray you will enjoy each day’s insight from different authors.  You can go to the web page at  gracecommunitysalem.org to learn more about our amazing church family at Grace.

Day 1: Life Speaker 

By Pastor Charissa Morgan

Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”     John 7:37-38 NKJV

Oh the importance of having things in the proper order.  I strive daily to keep that in mind as I use spare moments throughout my time at home, putting things away.  Most of the time, I will have to admit that I do fall short.  In fact, in my home one of the last things to get the proper attention it needs is the pile of clothes that is supposed to find a home in my closet, but often doesn’t get there because of the lack of time that I have to place them on a hanger!  I know there are several of you out there who have that same chair!

These clothes are usually our “Sunday best!” The suit coat, my favorite red dress, the best of the Morgan closet buried in a chair!  As I looked at that pile, I began to think of all the best things God has given to us as children of God.  Have they been buried under a mountain of other less important things?

Women in particular are made to be life bearers.  We are the ones who God designed specifically to give birth, to bring forth life.  But in our society, we are known for being naggers!  I believe the reason is because the life flow that we should be operating from has been cut off because it is suffocating under the mound of other priorities controlling our lives.

Out of our belly should flow rivers of living water.  We are life speakers.  Find your flow again, live in His presence.  Speak life to your families, your work situations, your finances, and your health!

 

True Love

11 Thursday Feb 2016

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IMG_0081.PNGThis weekend we have an opportunity to celebrate love. Historically, Valentine’s Day tends to be a day to acknowledge romantic love, and I am blessed to be spending my 33rd sweetheart day with my husband Dennis.  However, for many it can be a difficult day if they do not have a specific person in their life to celebrate this time with.  For all of us it is a great time to focus on the meaning of “True Love”.

When we think about the definition of love from a Scripture perspective, most immediately think of the “Love Chapter” found in 1 Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…..

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NASU

Wow! If this is the definition of “True Love” then it is a tall order for us mere humans. Thankfully, Christ enables us to love this way.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

1 John 4:7-9 NASU

During this Valentine’s Weekend, I want to encourage you to look for ways to allow the love of God to mold you beyond your human ability to show love. Below are three possible areas you could allow love to grow in your life.

LOVE DICTATES ACTION

But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

1 John 3:17-18 NASU

LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…

1 John 4:18 NASU

LOVE IS OBEDIENT

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5:2-3 NASU

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Contend and Defend

04 Thursday Feb 2016

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This coming Sunday many will gather to watch Super Bowl 50 played from Levis Stadium in Santa Clara California. As the end of the football season comes this year, I wanted to use some of the basic concepts of the game to drive a very important spiritual point.

From a spiritual perspective, I have recently been praying and studying about the word, “Contend”.  For those of you who read my post in December, “Mary Did You Know”, I shared a Word I received from the Lord that began with the statement, “I said it before, and I will say it again, CONTEND!”  In fact, if I look back over important revelations I have received from God over the years, the word “contend” often comes up.

If we consider the definition of this word from Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it states:

Contend: 1) to strive or vie in contest or rivalry or against difficulties : struggle 2)maintain, assert

Contender: one that contends; especially a competitor for a championship or high honor 1

When we consider these definitions, one can easily relate these two words to those players who will play in the very prestigious game on Sunday. The very basics of the game are all about contending.

Those amazing athletes CONTEND for every single yard as they inch down the field toward the goal line. It is also important to realize that once they push through the obstacles to reach a particular line, they then have to DEFEND so they do not lose that forward progress.

Down the field they go, contending and defending a minimum of ten yards at a time. Sometimes with great effort only progressing ten yards with every three-four attempts, and sometimes with great ease when there is an opening for a quick runner or a wide-open receiver to catch the pass.

Unfortunately, there are also times that the attempts for forward movement are simply blocked. The opposition is too great for the desired breakthrough. It is also possible that the quarterback is sacked, or the runner is pushed back and ground is lost.

Isn’t this a great analogy of our spiritual walk?  Every day we contend for forward momentum in our spiritual maturity as we grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some days it takes great effort and some days there is more ease. There are also times when we are sacked with a hard hit that knocks us off course and causes us to seemingly lose ground. Other times the obstacles and opposition are so great that we cannot seem to break through.

Jude 3:3b NASU says:

…I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

The word “contend” from this passage in the original language is epagoonizesthai.

“epagoonizesthai – is one of those words used by the sacred writers, which have allusion to the Grecian games. This word does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It means ‘to contend upon’ – i.e., ‘for or about’ anything; and would be applicable to the earnest effort put forth in those games to obtain the prize.”2

 Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NASU:

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

Both of these scriptures encourage us to contend in our spiritual life the way these men will contend in Sunday’s big game….CONTEND TO WIN!

I often see individuals who contend, but they are not successful to defend the ground that they take. The helmet is a critical part of the uniform in the game of football.  It is also a vital part of the Christian Armor!  In Ephesians 6:17, you can read about the helmet of salvation.  Our salvation gives us access to our identity in Christ and to the promises of God.  This helmet is the protection for our mind, which is essential to defend the ground we contend to obtain.

IMG_0050 Let me ask you a difficult question. Are you contending or are you pretending?  I can assure you that none of the players who are privileged enough to play in Sunday’s game will be pretending.  Shouldn’t we walk out our spiritual life with the same intensity?  Do not let the opposition cause you to be sidelined. Focused on the goal and determine to win the prize!

 

 

 

  1. Contend. 2016. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved from http//Encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictonaryhome.aspx
  2. Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc.