TwelveTwelve: The Leader Blog of North Wake Church

How to Pray (Even Sing) Our Laments Read:  Psalm 13 13 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, 4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5 But I have

Read: Psalm 8 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly

A Battle Against God for God Read: Psalm 6 1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,     nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;     heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled.     But you, O Lord—how long? 4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;     save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;     in Sheol who will give you praise?

A Meditation On God’s Love I’m here to write about the love of God.  Believe me, I know that’s an unreasonable goal. The love of God is impossible to comprehend, much less to describe for you in words.  I know my limitations. How do you experience God’s love?  Once in a while a deep, gut-knotting, tear-bringing, awe-inspiring experience of God’s love will wash over me.  If I could share with you how those moments feel or even how they come about, I would, but they seem to be more about the work of the Holy Spirit than anything I do. And they

A Time for Remembering and Reflecting Read:  Romans 16:25-27 25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. We've traversed the vast landscape of the book of Romans for over a year now.  God has revealed His glory, confronted our stubbornness,

Read: Romans 16:17-23 17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with

Read: Romans 16:1-16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ

For Those Who Want More Joy I just finished Noah Joyner’s adult discipleship class in which we explored the subject of joy.  Should you get a chance to take it next semester, I highly recommend it.  Noah’s teaching style and research into the topic are, as always, stellar.  The class led me into a deeper understanding of the need for and our capability for joy. God promises we can have more joy.  Sometimes the road to joy is long and winding, but it IS out there.  And it’s worth the work to find it. Our passage from Romans this week hints at one brand of

The Hope of Jews and Gentiles This week we find ourselves drawing closer to the end of this rich book. Over the past weeks, we have been challenged regarding how we love, care for, confront, and think about one another. As Romans 15 continues, we are challenged again by how the Lord came for all, cares for all, and seeks to be reconciled to all. While researching what to write this week, I found this article very helpful. So, instead of writing something new, I thought it would be helpful to share it with others in our church.  https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/hope-jews-and-gentiles

Read: Romans 15:1-7 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with