Settling In To Eternal Comfort

Psalm 139:7

Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence?

There is no place that we can go to get away from God.  He chases us no matter where we go because He loves us so much.  He pursues us with an undeniable and unlimited fervor because He has so much invested in us.  He created us.  He gave up His Son on our behalf, so that He could derive value from us not only here on earth but in heaven for all eternity.

When we are at our lowest point and it seems that Satan is winning, God just smiles confidently.  He is there with us.  He gives us the strength for another breath and another step.  He sets an unquenchable fire in us for Him.  He knows that the victory is His and ours through Jesus Christ.

Yet He weeps at the same time because He sees us falling short of our potential of who we are in Christ.  He weeps because He sees us allowing our flesh to pull us and tug us in the wrong direction.  All along though, He can smile because He knows His steadfast grasp on our lives will soon enough lead to our surrender to Him.  He is ready to build something enormous in us, something within the depths of our souls that will cause us to rise up and say, "I am not going there anymore for I am a new man in Christ."

Thus through His constant presence and never ending love for us, we will reach a place where we seek Him and Him alone.  The world will become but a distant memory as we settle into our place of eternal comfort in the hands of Our Heavenly Father who has always been there for us.

Let us be inspired by the Holy Spirit to walk in the fullness of our new lives in Christ.  Let us seek the comforting presence of Our Savior at all times in everything we do.  Let us show the world how He changed us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your relentless pursuit of our affection.  We thank You for loving us first so that we could love You.  We bless the name of Your Son, Jesus, who made it possible for us to live in the comfort of Your presence for all eternity.  We pray, Father, that You set the fire in our souls that sends us running to You in full and immediate surrender.  May every breath we take be used to turn our faces toward You and away from the world.  May the world around us know us by Your presence in our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Omni-Present Lord, Jesus Christ.

When It Is Time to Surrender

Matthew 26:42

Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Jesus Christ, the only perfect man to ever walk the this earth, fell on His face, cried out to His Father in heaven and asked to be freed of His upcoming duty.  In the same overwhelming moment, Jesus fully surrendered everything to the will of His Father.  In this same moment, we saw the two wills of Christ, the human and the Divine.   Jesus could not turn from the supernatural plan that His Father had for Him, even though He knew how much it was going to cost Him in the flesh.  Jesus knew He was submitting to God's perfect plan for the salvation of all men.  

It is certain that we will find times in our lives when we are nearly overwhelmed by the thought of what is ahead.  Our flesh will be ready to give in to defeat.  It is precisely at these times that we must fall on our faces before Our Heavenly Father and surrender to His will for our lives.  At these times, there is no resource to us greater than our prayer for strength.  It is in these times that we receive the supernatural blessing that we need to obey God's calling on our lives. 

Our Father in heaven has given us life.  He sustains our lives everyday.  God, Himself, made the ultimate sacrifice by sending His Son to die for our sins, so that He could grant us eternal life with Him.  Our full surrender to the Father is the only appropriate response that we can offer to His calling on our lives.

When the cost to go on seems so high, let us go to the Father in prayer for the strength that we need to surrender to His plan for our lives.  Let us rejoice in knowing that we will receive all that we need.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us life in flesh, sustaining our every breath and granting us eternal supernatural life through the atoning sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus.  We rejoice in knowing that the obedience of the Son to Your will paid the complete price for our salvation.  We pray that we will find all the strength that we need to completely surrender to Your will.  May we bear the fruit of Your will as we walk in obedience every day of our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the One without sin, Jesus Christ.

Trusting in the Mighty One

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

The apostle Paul knew what it was to receive God's grace.  Through his great faith he delighted in his weaknesses, he delighted in the insults that were tossed his way, he delighted in his hardships and he delighted in his persecutions.  Paul knew the secret.  He rested on God's promises to perfect His strength in Paul's weaknesses, in Paul's trials and in Paul's tribulations.  

Our God in heaven is ready to do the same for us.  Our Heavenly Father promises to provide all that we need to overcome every hard thing that we face and to provide all that we need to gain victory over the evil that surrounds us.  He does not promise to take us out of the battle.  Just as He used Paul's thorn to keep him mindful of his needs in Christ, He will allow things in our lives to keep us mindful of how needy we are.

We will find victory when we learn to surrender like Paul did.  We will find peace in all circumstances when we recognize God's grace is sufficient.  We will become stronger than we ever imagined when we allow the grace of God to be manifested and magnified in our lives.

Let us cast all of our cares upon the Lord.  Let us trust in Him completely.  Let us exalt His name as we confidently wait on our victory. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the all-sufficient grace that You promise us.  We bless the name of Jesus who insured our victory on the Cross.  We rejoice in the presence of the Holy Spirit, who guides us, instructs us and strengthens us through our trials.  We pray, Father, that we will learn to have faith in You as Paul had faith in You.  We ask for the courage to surrender to Your Holy Spirit through all the trials that we face.  We pray that world will see and be drawn to the manifestation and magnification of Your grace in our lives.  We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Mighty in Battle, Jesus Christ.

Power to Overcome Calamities and Catastrophes

Mark 9:29

And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Jesus taught us, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."  He emphasized that this was the greatest commandment.  It is the highest order in the kingdom.  Our number one purpose on earth and in heaven is to love God, to praise Him and to bring glory to His name.  One of the foremost ways that we can meet the requirements of this commandment is through our prayers.

When we are engaged in work that we consider to be the work of the Lord, we can lose sight of the fact that the work is being done out of the loving relationship that we have with Our Lord.  If we let our relationship with God slip, He will withdraw the power that He gives us to do His good work.  He is far more interested in our relationship with Him than He is in the result of our work.  Our relationship with the Father is built and sustained through our prayer life.

We may be able to manipulate some things in the flesh, but all the things that provide real kingdom value will not endure under the burden of broken fellowship with the Father.  Through regular prayer, we build on our relationship with Our Father and we insure that we are empowered to do the greatest works that He has called us to do, even to cast out evil.

Let us take our positions as anointed children of Almighty God.  Let us claim our authority as those who have been set apart to do the work of the Father in heaven.  Let us release our prayers to overcome all calamities, catastrophes and any hidden dangers that would attempt to come against us and our families.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect love in our lives.  We thank You for allowing us the privilege of returning our love, our praise and our worship to You through our prayers.  We bless the name of Jesus, who dwells within us, for making it possible for us to have victory over evil.  Father, we pray that all that we do is born out of the intimacy of our relationship with You.  We humbly ask for the grace to stay in constant fellowship with You through our prayers.  We beseech You to grant us the power over the evil in our lives and the lives of those that surround us.  May it all be for Your glory.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who has has victory over all evil, Jesus Christ.

Be Aware of the Coming Fire

Isaiah 60:2

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

This passage in Isaiah is regarded as prophetic in nature, speaking to the end of times.  It predicts the rise of Christianity out of the darkest of times.  The first part of this passage certainly defines our times and our society across the globe.  Oh, how sweet it will be when the Lord raises up the greatest revival known to mankind as He fulfills the latter portion of this prophecy.

Can things getting any darker?  The ignorance, immorality, idolatry, superstition, false doctrine and false worship that we see everyday are surely forms of a very thick darkness.  It seems as if light is unable to penetrate the darkness that continues to escalate and build around us.  The world has been shaken and people are broken.  We have all become victims of Satan's plans of destruction.

But rejoice, even though the evil one is ramping up his lies and deceiving ways, Our Lord has different plans.  He has promised to bring His glory to be seen by the world.  We will be covered by a consuming fire.  He will baptize us in a Holy Fire and everything will be different.  Even though we will be experiencing darkness around us and tribulation in our lives, we will also witness Almighty God's presence in our lives in the midst of it all.  It is His glorious plan for us to overcome everything that comes against us.  It is His glorious plan that His consuming fire will be a purifying fire.  It will be a fire that cannot be quenched.  It will be a fire without end.  It will overcome darkness in ways that we have not seen in our life times.

Let us be aware of the working of the Holy Spirit in us and around us.  Let us prepare ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ for the greatest revival in history.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the abundant life that You have prepared for us as we surrender to the divine fire of Your Holy Spirit. We lift Your name up above all names as we come before You to seek the consuming fire that You have promised us.  We pray that Your purifying fire will burn the darkness out of our lives.   May our transformed lives bring light to the darkness wherever we go.  May our living testimonies draw many into Your kingdom.  We ask all these things in the name of the Living Flame, Jesus Christ.

Prepared to be Worthy Vessels

John 14:4

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Once we accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within us.  The Lord begins using us as vessels that carry the Living Water.

Before the Living Water can flow, we must be free of those things in our lives which would hinder the flow.  We must get into fellowship with Jesus Himself.  Without His fellowship, we are of no use to God as vessels of salvation.

As we submit to the Lord, we can anticipate that there will be trials in our lives.  Jesus Himself told us that it would be so as we followed Him.  These trials that create brokenness in our lives will also create the cracks in the living vessel so that the Living Water can flow through unhindered.  If but one heart can be saved because of our brokenness, let us thank God for allowing our trials to occur.

Let us rejoice in knowing that the Lord delights in using us as vessels of His Living Water.  Let us endure our trials with joy as they prepare us to be worthy vessels. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for using us as Your vessels of Living Water.  We rejoice in knowing that through shed blood of Your Son, Jesus, and through the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit in our lives that You can use us, the sons of inequity, to be instruments of Your good work.  We pray for the aid of the Holy Spirit to build us up in Christ so that we can endure in faith all of our trials.  We ask, Father, that we may become free flowing vessels of Your redemptive work in those around us.  We ask all these things in the name of the Living Fount, Jesus Christ.

Boldness, Confidence and Joy Gained Under Trial

Romans 5:2

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.

One of the greatest gifts that we receive through faith is the ability to approach our death beds with peace and joy, not with fear and trembling.  Through our faith, we know that what awaits us in heaven is beyond our imagination.  Through our faith, we know that at our death we will be set free of every pain and challenge that life has brought to us.  Through our faith we know that we will spend eternity in the presence of Almighty God and we will be worthy to be there.

This kind of faith is actually worked out in us on this earth.  This kind of faith by its nature must be tried.  This kind of faith is built up through all of the trials that we face seemingly alone.  This kind of faith is built up when we realize we were never alone.  We know we have this kind of faith when we can approach every trial in our lives with boldness, courage and confidence knowing that Jesus is always right beside us to carry us through.

Let us live every day confidently, knowing that we are not alone.  Let us approach every trial with boldness, knowing that Our Strength is always with us.  Let us rejoice, knowing that our place in heaven with Almighty God is prepared for our arrival.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the faith that brought us to receive Your Son, Jesus, as Our Savior.  We thank You for the faith to believe in Your Holy Word and reject all that contradicts it.  We praise the name of Jesus for standing by us as we enjoy all the blessings that You bring us and as we endure all the trials that life throws at us.  We pray, Father, for the grace and the strength to live every day of our lives in the conscious delight of who we are in Christ.  We ask all these things in the name of our joy triumphant, Jesus Christ.

Freeing Ourselves From Being the Fixer

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Our faith comes into play whenever we encounter pain, conflict or disorder in our lives.  Our natural reaction is to try to fix everything ourselves.  All too often, we do not turn to God until we have exhausted all of our own failed initiatives.

God wants us to turn to Him first.  He wants us to grow into a place where we trust Him for everything, whether it be big or small.  We grow into this place through our relationship with Jesus.  The Psalmist David captured the relationship perfectly in Psalm 18:2

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

Let us believe that God is who He says He is.  Let us trust in His promises to reward those who seek Him.  Let our faith draw us near to Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the endless fount of faith that you make available to us through Your Son, Jesus.  We praise Your name for the comfort that we enjoy because of the faith that we have in Your promises.  Lord, we ask for the wisdom to turn to You first in all things.  May You provide the grace for us to free ourselves from the need to try to fix everything ourselves.  We humbly ask that all of our earthly efforts be in obedience to Your will and plan for our lives.  We pray that through the love of Jesus all that we do will be as worship to You.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who is faithful and true, Jesus Christ.

Changed Forever in Character and Conduct

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

By accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are able to do away with all that separates us from our eternal inheritance.  The importance of Jesus taking on all sin is that we can become worthy to stand before the Father in a righteous state.  But before we reach our eternal resting place in heaven, we begin to prepare ourselves for heaven by living in a new manner on earth.  As new creatures in Christ, we live each day by new principles, by new rules, with new brothers and sisters and with new ends in mind.  We become the workmanship of Almighty God, changed forever in character and conduct.

Through the marvelous gift of salvation, all of our sins are gone - nonexistent.  They have been taken away by the One who knew no sin.  The have been washed away by His shed blood.  Each one of us new creatures stand before the Father without blemish.  Each one of us in Christ stands before the Father is in the image of His own Son.  Each one of us is now the essence of everything good and the absence of anything evil.  We are worthy to dwell with the Father for all eternity.

Let us prepare ourselves for our eternal inheritance.  Let us strive to live here on earth in the fullness of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ.  Let us seek to be worthy of all that has been set aside for us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for creating us in Your image, heirs to Your kingdom.  We ask forgiveness for all those things in our lives that make us unacceptable to stand before You and unable to accept our eternal blessings.  We praise the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who took on all of our sin so that we may become righteous in Your eyes.  We pray, Father, that You will provide the grace for us to live in accordance with the renewed hearts given to us by Jesus.  May we live by new principles, new rules, new ends and in new company.  May our outward reformation be living testimony to Your kingdom.  We pray that those around us will seek the One who knew no sin.  We ask all these things in the name of the Lamb without blemish, Jesus Christ.