Weekly Devo Thought

2 Sam 18-22

Today's reading began with the death of Absalom, king David's son.  It really is a striking tale - that of David and his parenting.  When David's daughter, Absalom's sister, Tamar is raped, David does nothing and this leads Absalom to commit murder.  Not excusing Absalom in all this, but David's weak leadership left a vacuum that was filled by his hot headed and rebellious son. 

Another point of note in the reading is the account of the 4 giants that remained in the land and were killed by David's mighty men.  David killed the giant Goliath, but did not kill his brother Lahmi.  The definition of the name Lahmi is "lust."  Odd that David was unable to defeat both the literal, physical giant and the sin pattern with the same name.  His sin with Bathesheba angered the Lord to the extent that the "sword was not removed from Israel in his time."  David squandered the opportunity to build the temple he desired to build for the Lord because of the battle he lost to lust.  Spoiling the rest of the story, but lust proves the undoing of his son Solomon, as well.  Solomon's many women lead him astray and the wisest man who ever lived ends his days worshiping the pagan gods of the region.  Lahmi's victims are a whose-who of the Bible - the strongest man who ever lived (Samson), the greatest king in recorded history and a "man after God's own heart" (David), and the wisest man who ever lived (Solomon) were all defeated by the giant of "Lahmi" (lust).  Not sure why I went on that rabbit trail, maybe that was for someone.  Don't be another of his victims. 

Prayer Points

GIC week is done and all went swimmingly well. Here are the prayer points for this week.

Small Group Prayer Points for Tuesday, 24 February through Monday, 2 March.

1. Wholeheartedly thank our God for his kindness in providing an excellent GIC for our ministry partners and our Manna family.

2. Our God will bring to fruition all the plans he planted in the hearts of Manna members during the GIC.

3. "The Next Step" meeting on Saturday, 28 February from 9:00AM to 12:00PM in the Chapel will be filled to capacity with Manna members who are wholeheartedly committing themselves to the area God has called them.

4. Our Manna members will continue to "plow" through the "Around the Word in 180 Day" reading campaign and that those who have dropped out will refresh themselves and join in with us where we are, "forgetting what is behind and straining ... toward the goal to win the prize ... "

Wk 2 - Weekly Devo Thought

All,

Please pray for the following points - GIC is ongoing - www.mannachurch.org for a complete listing of events

Manna Prayer Points for our Small Groups

    1. Manna Members will set there hearts on knowing their God

           (a.) Continue to persevere with the "Around the World in 180 Days" bible reading program

           (b.) Actively support our international, regional and local ministry partners by attending and participating in the Global Impact Celebration from Wednesday, 18 February through Sunday evening, 22 February. Below is the schedule for your information.

            Kick-off event                            7:00PM               Wednesday night (Cliffdale)

           The CHAT                                  6:30PM               Thursday night (Cliffdale)

           GIC Banquet                              6:30PM                Friday night (Cliffdale)

           Men’s Breakfast                         8:00AM               Saturday ( EP)

           Ladies Brunch                          10:00PM                Saturday (Cliffdale)

           Youth event                                6:30PM                Saturday (Cliffdale)

           Sunday Service                          Regular Times and Locations

           Finale Commitment Service      7:00PM                Sunday night (Cliffdale)

                               
    2. Improve the "Morale Climate" in the city of Fayetteville 

          (a.) Reduction of crime through out the city. Below are some crime statistics. 

                  (1.) Crime of all types increased significantly from 2007 to 2008

                            Homicides: 23%
                            Rapes: 16.3%
                            Robberies: 31.3%
                            Aggravated Assaults: 20.9%
                            Burglaries: 9.5%
                            Larcenies: 5.9%
                            Vehicle Thefts: 8.1%
                            Citations: 22.9%
                            Arrests: 11.5%
                            Calls for Service: 5.5%

                  (2.) Increasing high drop-out rate of high school students 

                  (3.) Growing youth drug culture 
                            
           (b.) Reduction of suicides through out the city

                  (1.) Last year there were a total of 21 suicides for all of 2008

                  (2.) As of the end of January, 2009 there were 7 in the city

     3. Cumberland County can be blessed with jobs through business moving to the county and entrepreneurs beginning new businesses 

            (a.) Unemployment rate in Cumberland County:

                        4th Quarter 2008: 7.6%
                        3rd Quarter 2008: 7.1%
                        2nd Quarter 2008: 6.0%
                        1st Quarter 2008: 5.6%
                        4th Quarter 2007: 5.1%
                        
            (b.)  Unemployment rate in neighboring Lee County, where Sanford is located, was 10.9% for the 4th quarter of 2008

A word on the New York Post

I will not kid myself by assuming that you all are aware of what went down yesterday, but I will inform you and ask you to, perhaps take some action. Yesterday, the New York Post (hardly a bastion of news-worthy content) ran a cartoon depicting two police officers shooting a monkey and stating, "They'll have to find someone else to write their next bailout plan." Needless to say, this has angered and offended the African-American community greatly as well as those of us who have a moral conscience. This morning, editor-in-chief of the Post Col Allen defended the cartoon and made the claim that Rev. Al Sharpton is just looking for a reason to be offended. I have issue with this cartoon and the weak defense on many levels and I will name a few. 1. Whether you voted for Barrack Obama or not, he is your President and my President and we, as Americans, should not stand for anyone who depicts our President in a demeaning manner OR in any way insinuates his death. Even stupid attempts at humor should be limited in the arena of race, but especially when it comes to our President. 2. Assuming that we all knew that a chimp had recently maimed someone in the northeast, there is no way that I am convinced that this was the reason this cartoon was run. Col Allen, in attempting to defend the cartoon, this morning stated that the aforementioned story was the reason the post was run and that the bailout reference was just a backhanded reference. Mr. Allen - come on. That anyone would be so blind as to assume that the reference was not intended to be a dig on our President or African-Americans in general is ridiculous. If you don't know what does/does not offend or, worse yet, don't care, you should not have anything to do with a magazine. 3. Given our shameful past of representing African-Americans as primates, this joke should not be tolerated. I am a caucasian and this cartoon is an outrage. I feel quite strongly on this point that if we know about injustice and do nothing about it, we are condoning what is being printed. Pass this word around, boycott the post and do not tolerate such foolishness when it presents itself. To agree and say nothing is gutless. P.S. Don't be the fool that disagrees with me - I am not in the mood.

Marathon

Posted a PR (Personal Record) at the Myrtle Beach Marathon.

New post I did for the Around the Word in 180 days blog - check it out.  Stay on the lookout for Week 2 of Weekly Devotional Thought.  Let's start talking it up, people.

Peace

C

Weekly Devo Thought

As part of our decentralized prayer strategy for 2009 (more info), we are devoting time in our groups for prayer.  As this is an online group, we cannot pause, so I will post the prayer points and beseech you to join my in praying over these points this week.  God bless and for goodness sake, let's get some discussion and posting!! HA - P.S. Feel free to contact me with any questions regarding these prayer points and more details

Prayer Points for Manna's Small Groups

    a. Global Impact Celebration
        (1.) Manna members will commit their hearts and minds to advancing the Kingdom
        (2.) Largest attendance for each event to date                                           
        
    b. Around the Word in 180 days
        (1.) Manna members will maintain interest and perseverance to complete the 180 day reading task
       (2.) Continue to share knowledge obtained with family members, friends, workmates and neighbors                            
    c. Hope Mills Site
        (1.) Selection of the "best" contractor
        (2.) Keep within budget and time line

Weekly Devo Thought - Wk 1

Discussion time - Hope you all are joining in the "Around the Word in 180 Days" campaign. (More info) As I read through Deuteronomy the last few days, it has struck me how much "love" is referenced.  Most people would have you believe that the Old Testament Covenant was that solely of works - follow the law, sacrifices, feasts, etc and remain in right standing with God.  While this is true, in the sense that following the preceding list DID leave you in right standing with Him, Moses is constantly telling the people to love the Lord their God and follow his commands.  The last few chapters, before Moses dies, he must command them at least 5 times to love the Lord AND follow His commands.  Not that that should surprise anyone as it did me, I guess I had a different view of the Old Covenant. 

V2 - Week 1

Greetings all - week 1 of V2 small group cycle was tonight and first meeting of "Leadership 101." Great discussion time - just getting to know one another and assigning first week's reading - 1st Chapter in the book.  Speaking of book, I still have 8 free copies left to the next 8 who join the group.  Next meeting is Feb. 25th @ 7:30 pm at Manna Church's Cliffdale site.  Not too late to join!!! 

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog - for followers of topherfletcher and WeeklyDevoThought - welcome back and hope you enjoy.  

We are going to embark in a unique journey - my Spring 2009 small groups will use this blog and I will post daily(ish).  

You can also follow me on twitter - CTopher81.  Can't wait to get this thing underway 

Cheers 

CTopher