sneuhofer

Author Archives: sneuhofer
- Come and Discover
  
  Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on January 25, 2021
  Then Jesus turned around and saw they were following him and asked, “What do you want?”They responded, “Rabbi (which means, Master Teacher), where are you staying?” Jesus answered, “Come and discover for yourselves.” So they went with him and saw where he was staying, and since it was late in the afternoon, they spent the rest of the day with Jesus. (John 1:38 – 39 TPT)
  
  In the devotion I read this morning, the author refers to the passage in John 1:38 -39 where two of John the Baptist’s disciples saw Jesus walking by and began to follow him. In these two verses, Jesus wants to reveal the condition of their heart so he turns to them and gets straight to the “heart” of the matter and asks “What do you want?”
  
  Now, I’m not sure about you, but…how do you think you would have reacted here? Can you imagine yourself at the scene? This was just after you were standing on the banks of the Jordan River the day John baptized Jesus. You were in the crowd with these two men when you saw a dove descend from heaven and land on Jesus’ shoulder and then, you heard the voice of God say “this is my son whom I love.” Now, this man turns to you and says “what do you want?”
  
  Whoa… “what do you want?” These men could have asked for anything. But scripture says they wanted to know where Jesus was staying. There was something about Jesus that drew people to him. These men wanted to hang out with Jesus and get to know him better, perhaps even be one of his close friends. In other words… they wanted more than just “religion” they wanted “relationship.”
  
  Jesus saw past these two men and what they “needed” in their “moment” and saw into their hearts.
  
  The same is true today. In this same passage, he is inviting us to come and hang out with him each morning over a cup of coffee or tea and get to know him on a deeper more intimate level. How do we get to know him? By reading the Bible, by praying, and by journaling what we believe He is saying to us through our reading. This will allow us to discover for ourselves what Jesus is all about and who He is; not who other people say He is. The only way we can have a deeper relationship with someone is by spending time with them. The same is true of our relationship with Christ.
  
  The invitation is open, Jesus has invited us all to “come and discover” who he really is. The question becomes, will we decide to set some quality time aside to spend with him.
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  Posted in Christian walk; Christian growth, daily devotionals, encounter with Jesus, following Christ | 0 Comments
- God Can Use Anything to Make a Point
  
  Posted at 4:40 pm by sneuhofer, on January 21, 2021
  Isaiah 43:2 (NRSV) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
  
  Last night I was cutting up a few slices of ham to include with scalloped potatoes for dinner. I cut too much and, well, because my dogs were underfoot, I took a piece and dropped it on the floor. My dachshund immediately scooped up the piece I had and began to eat. My black lab (puppy) just watched. I wondered, at that moment, if she expected my dachshund to share or if she was secretly plotting to steal the ham away some how. I’m not sure…but if she would have only looked up at me, she would have noticed that I had a bigger bite-size piece for her. But she never looked up….she just focused on the other dog’s treat.
  
  As I watched this little exchange take place, I heard God’s still, small voice say “If you would only look at me instead of your circumstances you wouldn’t drive yourself so crazy.”
  
  OUCH!
  
  Ok, so, don’t you love it when God gives you a real-time example? My puppy’s focus wasn’t on me at all…it was on what she couldn’t control. God was using this situation to show me what I had been doing over the past few weeks. I had allowed the circumstances in my life to overwhelm me. When things get like that…it’s up to me to ask myself a little question:
  
  “Have I looked to Christ at all to get me through the storm of my current circumstances?”
  
  My answer, “NOPE…not at all.” The truth was really easy to see once I took the focus off of what was going on. My attention was clearly set on my circumstance. Because of this, I got distracted and so spun up that my fear and anxiety took over and rendered me helpless and unable to breathe. Believe me, this is one character flaw I am trying to fix…but…change is hard.
  
  From the moment I saw how I had been relying on myself to “help me get through” my circumstances, I cried out to God.
  
  “Father forgive me! Help me to keep my focus squarely on you. Help me to look to you for answers and not rely on what I can only see with my eyes. I know you are beside me every step of the way – forgive me for failing to see that.”
  
  I must remember, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this world that can separate me from the love of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28)
  
  Three things I know for certain…
  
  1 – God loves me with an everlasting love (His love is without condition) Jerimiah 31:3
  
  2 – He will never leave me nor forsake me (Deut. 31:8) – He is with me wherever I go (Ex. 33:14)
  
  3 – He is not shocked or surprised by anything that happens because He is God and sees everything (Prov. 5:21, Job 34:21)
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  Posted in doubt, God's faithfulness | 0 Comments
- Persistence gets us everywhere!!!
  
  Posted at 8:00 am by sneuhofer, on September 30, 2020
  Luke 18:1-8 (MSG) Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’ He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding. Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”
  
  I love the way God chooses to reveal Himself to us when we “sit still” and truly listen for His voice. As I draw closer to God, He has really given me a burden to pray for (intercede on the behalf of) others. Typically when God wants me to pray for someone He puts their face in front of me. What I mean by this is, I see a picture of them in my mind. He (God) will do this throughout my day or even in the middle of the night.
  
  Have you ever had God wake you up in the middle of the night to pray?
  
  To be honest, the first few times He woke me up with a burden to pray for someone in the middle of the night I really questioned if it was Him or just me having some sort of dream. Let me just tell you that I have been blown away when I find out that my prayers came just at the right time (yes – even in the middle of the night) for the person I was called to pray for.
  
  I love the story told in Luke 18 of the persistent widow. In this story, a widow consistently – persistently – comes before this judge (day after day) asking him to grant her justice because her rights had been violated. Because of her persistence, take a look at how the judge responds:
  
  “But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.” (MSG Luke 18:5)
  
  This woman was not going to give up until something happened. I believe she would have gone back to this judge until her feet couldn’t carry her anymore…and the judge knew that.
  
  In this same passage of scripture, Jesus ensures all of us that if we are persistent, God will hear our plea as well
  
  “So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will.”
  
  If an unfair judge responds after constant pressure…how much more will our loving heavenly Father respond to us?
  
  As I continue to walk out my faith, I must constantly keep my requests before God and believe that He will answer (when His timing is right…not mine). Furthermore, when I am persistent in my prayer life, I know I grow character, faith, hope, and most importantly…closer to Him.
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  Posted in persistence, persistent widow, prayer | 0 Comments
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Author Archives: sneuhofer

Come and Discover

Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on January 25, 2021

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God Can Use Anything to Make a Point

Posted at 4:40 pm by sneuhofer, on January 21, 2021

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Persistence gets us everywhere!!!

Posted at 8:00 am by sneuhofer, on September 30, 2020

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