SMALL THINGS / Faithful

This is the 2nd of 7 devotions  and music videos 

with the theme from Galatians 5:22 

"The Fruit of the Spirit is Faithfulness" 

SMALL THINGS
by
Rebecca Cooley

(Adapted from Galatians 5:22; Luke 12:42, 16:10-12, 19:17)

Suppose someone had a ministry that was very small. That person so wanted his ministry to grow and develop into a bigger ministry that he prayed and believed God for bigger things constantly. That person might also sow seeds, believing God to bless his ministry and cause it to grow. These are good and acceptable measures but if his heart is so prone to what he wants his ministry to be that he forgets to be faithful over the small ministry the Lord has already provided, then his pursuits are in vain. Faithfulness over the small ministry is the key to growth and the only way for promotion to come.

Lord, I apply myself today to what you have given to me. My ministry is where you have placed me in this season of my life and I am thankful and intend to be faithful over it. I do want to be promoted and go to new levels of ministry but my attention is not on the promotion but on the journey at hand.

“Child of mine, 
my system of promotion is so very simple:

If you are faithful over small things, 
I will make you ruler of many things.

If you are faithful over what is someone else’s, 
I will give you what is your own.

If you are faithful over money, I will give you true riches.

And if you are faithful over the secular, 
I will give you ministry.”

© LoveWalkPublishing RebeccaAnnCooley

Click here to view this weeks video on youtube

FAITHFUL

Devotion: Small Things

(Adapted from Galatians 5:22; Luke 12:42, 16:10-12, 19:17)

Verse 1

Despise not the day of small things,

Everything begins with a seed

Despise not the day of small things,

A seed can meet any need

Chorus

Faithful over small things,

I will make you ruler over many things (repeat)

Bridge

I don’t want to miss the key to promotion,

Promotion comes from the Lord

I don’t want to miss the key to promotion,

Promotion comes from being faithful over small things

© LoveWalkPublishing WordsAndMusic by KentCliffordCooley

THE SHEPHERD VERSUS THE HIRELING / The Good Shepherd

This is the first of seven
devotions and music videos
with the theme of Faithfulness

THE SHEPHERD VERSUS THE HIRELING
by
Kent & Rebecca Cooley

(Adapted from John 10:11-13)

My uncle was a Lt. Colonel and Chaplain in the Army and served tours in Vietnam. We use to enjoy hearing stories of his service to his country. He use to tell us about spending time with the soldiers and getting to know them. He would eat meals with the enlisted men and spend time with the soldiers who missed their families instead of joining the company of the officers and the more elite. He tells of stories of holding wounded men on the battlefield and waiting with them until they were rescued and taken to the hospital. Because he was a chaplain, he could have been exempt from the battlefield. He could have served in the capacity of his office far from the line of fire. He chose to be with the men who needed him. He chose to not leave them when they were under fire and in danger. He put himself in situations that he could have avoided for the sake of the soldiers whom he loved.

Uncle Nevin was not a hireling. He was a shepherd. His assignment was to care for the men who were risking their lives on the battlefield. A shepherd that regards his flock would risk his own life to defend them. When the wolf comes, a dedicated shepherd would still remain to protect them. To give his life means the same as not to fly, or to forsake his flock and to be willing to expose his life, if necessary, to defend them.

Love is brave. Love is loyal. There is a loyalty that the shepherd has for the sheep. Love is not cowardly. There is no fear in love. Love is not a hireling. A hireling cares only about himself.

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His own life for the sheep. But the hired servant, who merely serves for wages, who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away. And the wolf chases and snatches them and scatters the flock. Now the hireling flees because he merely serves for wages and is not himself concerned about the sheep and cares nothing for them.

Lord, thank you for the security and comfort You bring in these words. I can only imagine the comfort and security Uncle Nevin brought to the soldier who lay wounded in a foreign and dangerous place as he held his hand and waited with him for a helicopter to come and take him to safety. I feel comforted knowing that You are the Good Shepherd of my family and You care for us and keep us from the danger of the enemy. Lord, I don’t want to be a hireling. I want to fulfill the assignment You have given me in the role of a shepherd and not a hireling.

© LoveWalkPublishing

RebeccaACooley

Click here to view this week's music video on youtube

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

(Adapted from John 10:11-13)

Chorus:

I am the Good Shepherd

I lay down my life for the sheep

I am the Good Shepherd

I am not a hireling

Verse 1:

The hired hand merely serves for wages

He is not the shepherd

He is not the owner

When he sees the wolf coming

He runs for his life

The wolf chases

The wolf snatches

The wolf scatters the flock

But . . .

Verse 2:

I know I recognize my own and my own know recognize me

Even as the Father knows me and even as my Father

© LoveWalkPublishing WordsAndMusic by KentCliffordCooley

THE MYSTERY / Process Of Love

This is the 4^th of 4 devotions with the theme

From 1 Corinthians 13:5

"Love Is Not Self Seeking”

THE MYSTERY
by
Rebecca Cooley

(Adapted from John 12:23-24; 1 Corinthians 13:5)

Crowds of people came to Jesus after Lazarus was raised from the dead. Many just wanted to get a glimpse of Lazarus. Jesus knew it was time to describe His death. Lazarus’ death and resurrection was a type of what was about to happen to Him. His words could have been:

You have seen a dead man raised to life. I know that many of you just want to see Lazarus with your own eyes and reach out and touch him and go home and talk about this miracle. I want to tell you that a greater miracle than Lazarus’ is about to happen. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified and exalted. I will die and I will be raised from the dead just like Lazarus. I am like a grain of wheat. If the grain of wheat is not planted, it will remain just one grain, alone and not producing anything. If the grain is planted and decomposes in the ground, it will sprout and produce a rich harvest. My body will be given to death as a grain sown into the ground. My resurrection is compared to the blade springing up from the dead grain. Just like the grain that produces an abundance of fruit, my life will yield a rich harvest of souls.

It is a physical truth that the whole body of the grain dies, is converted into the earth and forms the first nourishment of the embryo plant. The only part of the seed that lives is the germ and the germ helps the new plant receive support from the surrounding soil. Though the body of the Lord died, there was still the germ, the quickening power of the Divinity, which revived His body and put a stamp of approval on the atonement. The merit value of the atonement sacrifice was multiplied. So through the death of that one person, the Son of the Living God, salvation was procured for the whole world. Never was an allegory more appropriate or an illustration more suitable to describe the mystery of life.

Jesus’ death on the cross was the greatest act of selflessness ever expressed. Selflessness and love are synonymous. The seed is alone but when it dies it produces many others. Jesus died alone but his death caused life for a multitude of others. When we die to ourselves and to selfishness, we are doing what is best for others rather than ourselves and it produces love that grows beyond what we could imagine.

Lord, I don’t understand how a tiny grain can be planted in the ground, watered and spring up into life. That is a mystery that You hold in Your hand. I am amazed that a tiny grain can reproduce itself and multiply hundreds of times of itself. I am amazed how it takes in water and becomes vegetation and assumes a form and consistency completely different than itself. I am amazed that it can become something that releases indescribable aromas and tastes so pleasant and pleasing. The wisest man on earth could not explain how a tiny seed becomes nourishment for an animal and assimilates to the very nature of the body that receives it and becomes flesh and blood and nerves and bones. The truth is that I believe this mystery even though I don’t understand it. And I believe in Your death, burial and resurrection even though I cannot explain it or comprehend it and I thank You for the miracle of it all.

© LoveWalkPublishing 
Authored by RebeccaCooley

All Rights Reserved

Click here to view today's video on youtube

THE PROCESS OF LOVE

(Adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:5; John 12:23-24)

Verse :

The time has come for the Son of Man

To be glorified and exalted (repeat)

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies

It remains just one grain

It never becomes more,

It lives alone, by itself

But if it dies it produces many others

If it dies it yields a rich harvest

If it dies it produces many others

If it dies it yields a rich harvest

Chorus 1:

I yield my life to selflessness

I yield my life to the process

I yield my life to the process of love

Chorus 2:

Lord I die to myself

I live to you

Lord I die to selfish ambition

I live to You

I yield my life to the process of love

I yield my life to the process of love

© LoveWalkMusic
WordsAndMusic by KentCliffordCooley

All Rights Reserved

DEVELOPING SELFLESSNESS / I'm So Glad

This is the 3^rd of 4 devotions with the theme

From 1 Corinthians 13:5

"Love Is Not Self Seeking”

DEVELOPING SELFLESSNESS
by 
Kent Cooley

(Adapted from 1 Cor. 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:17)

Spring has always been my favorite time of year, so much so that during my childhood and teen years, I would sometimes experience mild depression during the fall and winter months.  Instead of enjoying all the seasons, I just enjoyed spring and summer and despised fall and winter.  I took some delight in the beauty of the fall colors but knowing that the trees would soon be bare was depressing to me. 

It dawned on me one day as I was approaching my 20’s that it was not the will of God for me to be depressed about anything, especially something that is in His grand design such as the four distinct seasons.  So I made a choice and a quality decision to enjoy all four seasons.  I realized that my favorite season could still be Spring but I would now chose to enjoy the other seasons. 

I am older now and the Holy Spirit still continues to teach me to get rid of negative mindsets. The Father has given me all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17).  Also I am learning to get rid of selfish ways of thinking.  For instance, my favorite season may be Spring and my favorite music might be Southern Gospel.  What if my neighbor’s favorite season is winter and their favorite music is Contemporary Christian? They should not feel peer pressure from me nor should I feel peer pressure from them.  I should not attempt to create them in my image and attempt to make them like what I like. 

As a worship leader, I am learning the importance of developing selflessness by considering the kinds of music that the people in the audience might enjoy.  It is not at all about the kind of music I relate to but rather about the kinds of music that individuals in the audience relate to.   When I lead a congregation in praise worship, I will exhort them to develop selfless thinking by being considerate of one another.  We do not want to leave anybody out.  A hymn might lift the spirit of an older person while a new chorus might help a young adult to experience the presence of God.  It is an oxymoron for a worship leader or a worshiper to attempt to connect with God in a worship service with any sort of selfish thinking that would say “I do not care about what other people want or need.  I want my kind of music and I am not going to be considerate of what other people want or need.”

Father, You are love. I am learning that love and selflessness are synonymous and that love and selfishness are incompatible.    Thank you for teaching me to develop positive and selfless ways of thinking.  I chose to enjoy You.  I chose to enjoy all the seasons and I chose to enjoy all Your people and develop a servant’s heart, not for them to serve me but for me to serve them selflessly.         

© LoveWalkPublishing Authored by Kent Clifford Cooley

Click here to view today's music video on youtube

I’M SO GLAD

(Adapted from 1 Cor. 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:17)

Verse:

We enjoy the summer 

We enjoy the fall 

We enjoy the winter

But most of all

Chorus:

I’m so glad to see Spring here 

Flowers are bloomin’ 

Song birds are singin’

I’m so glad to see Spring here 

Everything is coming alive

Bridge:

The calendar has rolled around 

To the month of March

And we have been looking forward to Spring 

From the bottom of our hearts

© LoveWalkMusic WordsAndMusic by Kent Clifford Cooley

THE SEASONS OF OUR LIVES / It's Beginning To Feel Like Spring

This is the 2^nd of four devotions with the theme

From 1 Corinthians 13:5

"Love Is Not Self Seeking”

THE SEASONS OF OUR LIVES
by
Kent Cooley

(Adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:5; 15:55; Psalms 116:15; 126:6)

Spring has always been my favorite time of the year. It is a time when new life springs forth from the earth. As the seasons unfold and spring turns to summer, and summer turns to fall, and fall changes to winter, it is a cycle created by the Almighty. Winter fades and the cycle starts all over again with the new life of spring. Because of the contrasts of the seasons, the beauty of each season is manifested in wonderful distinctions.

Then, there are the seasons of our lives. We are born and go through the seasons of our lives from birth to the grave. Growing old and eventually dying is a result of the fall. However, isn’t it just like our God to grace our lives in this grand design as a wonderful thing?

Precious in the sight of the Lord 
is the death of his saints

And

O death, where is your sting? 
O grave, where is your victory?

When a believer dies the cycle of life here ends, and a new life begins in heaven. Heaven is an eternal youth where we will never grow old.

The very last time Billy Graham spoke at the Mall of our Nation’s Capital, he pointed to the memorials and he said, “All of these great men that are memorialized here at the Nation’s Capital mall have one thing in common. They are all dead. And you are going to die too. In order for you to be prepared to die, you need Christ.” Billy Graham would always use the death factor to bring people to the rude awakening of their need for Christ.

DEATH FORCES ME INTO SELFLESSNESS! Death says someday you will be gone and you will not be able to take anything with you except souls that you have won to Christ.

Father, The reality of death reminds me that I am going to lay it all down and leave it for someone else forcing me into selflessness. Death reminds me that I need you and I must invest in others to leave a legacy behind me. Give me souls for my hire and I will come before you one day rejoicing as I present them as the only items I could bring with me, before you, into heaven.

© LoveWalkPublishing

Authored by KentCliffordCooley

Edited by RebeccaAnnCooley

AllRightsReserved

Click here to view today's video on youtube

IT’S BEGINNING TO FEEL LIKE SPRING

(Adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:5; 15:55; Psalms 116:15; 126:6)

Chorus:

It’s beginning to feel like spring,

Beginning to feel like spring

I hear a lot of preachin’ and singin’

About the coming of a king

I don’t wonder why and I don’t have to try,

It’s very clear to me

I can almost smell the heavenly flowers

And it’s beginning to feel like spring

Verse 1:

People are beginning to put their winter cloths away,

Their putting on the garments of praise

The birds don’t stay here when the winter time is near

Sometime your gonna find me gone

But while I’m here I’ll bid you come along

Verse 2:

My great grandma on her dyeing bed

Was still happy as we could see

And though she wasn’t well in body,

She was close to eternity

She said, “Son it’s the middle of December

O but that don’t matter to me

I just felt a warm breeze from heaven

And it’s beginning to feel like spring

© LoveWalkMusic

WordsAndMusic by KentCliffordCooley 

AllRightsReserved

A GLORIOUS AND BOUNTIFUL SPRING / New Life

This is the 1st of 4 devotions with the theme

From 1 Corinthians 13:5

"Love Is Not Self Seeking”

A GLORIOUS AND BOUNTIFUL SPRING
by
Kent Cooley

(Adapted from Zechariah 4:10;  Colossians 1:24-2:7)

Spring is my favorite time of the year.  I would like very much for it to be Spring all year round.  However, Spring would not be Spring if it were not for the other three seasons!

Even if you were to travel north close to the North Pole or south close to the South Pole, you would still see that the seasons exist even though they would not be very distinct.  The same is true concernineng areas near the equator where it would be summer like all year round but the seasons still manifest though not as distinctly.  In climates where each season is very distinct, spring is the most beautiful and bountiful time of the year.  The farmers in Illinois depend on heavy winter snows to provide certain nutrients to the soil for a bountiful end of the summer harvest.

Consider the distinctions of the seasons.  During the summer, it is hot and plant life is thriving and growing fast.  During the fall season trees go into a kind of hibernation.  The leaves lose their green pigment and we see the beautiful fall colors as the energy of the trees begin to focus on the root system.  During the winter months there is no visible demonstration of life but that is the time the energy in the root system of the tree thrives and the roots grow deep and strong. 

The same is true concerning the distinct seasons of our lives.  There are fall and winter-like seasons of our lives that God is working on our root system and there are spring and summer-like seasons of our lives when there is a visible manifestation of life and fruit.

I remember when Rebecca and I spent 3 ½ years developing our root system as we soaked in hours of teaching day and night.  During this time we felt an especially strong unction to fast and pray.  Our fall and winter season ended as we began to write devotions and songs and a "spring season" in our lives began to manifest.

When someone is attending Bible school, God is working on a root system in their life.  When the "school season" or "fall and winter season" of this time of their lives is over, the results of the root system manifest into a wonderful and bountiful "spring season." 

Father, I will not despise the day of small things.  I will not despise the season that you are working on my root system.  I prefer spring and summer but I will embrace fall and winter.  May my roots go deep to fully prepare me for a glorious and bountiful Spring.

©LoveWalkPublishing 

Devotion Authored by Kent Clifford Cooley

All Rights Reserved

Click here to view today's music video on youtube

NEW LIFE

(Adapted from Zechariah 4:10;  Colossians 1:24-2:7)

Verse 1:

How sweet the Spring, after the fall, 

After the winter when the snow thaws

How sweet the Spring, after the fall, 

After the winter when the snow thaws

Chorus:

New life spring forth (4X)

Verse 2:

The tree looks dead, oh but it’s not 

It is alive down deep inside

The winter’s when the roots flourish 

I n preparation of new spring growth 

©LoveWalkMusic 

WordsAndMusic by Kent Clifford Cooley

All Rights Reserved