Trust in Him to be Who He Says He Is

Psalm 56:11

In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

It is amazing how often we struggle with the issues of the day, wondering how our particular situation is going to get resolved.  How little faith we have in Almighty God through whom all things are possible.  But what may be even more amazing is how we have no faith that Almighty God is interested in the smallest needs in our lives when His Word proclaims that He knows the count of every hair on our heads.  Our smallest concern is as important to Him as our greatest need.

Through the continuous and sometimes onerous trials that we have passed through in life, we should have learned to patiently wait on the Lord to take us from darkness into the light.  Yet we seem to become frustrated by the small stuff and lose patience.  More importantly we lose confidence in an Almighty God who cares for us so much that He bottles all of our tears and observes them with tender love and concern.

May we all come full circle just as David, the Psalmist, did.  May we be in constant recognition of the fact that the Lord is our helper.  May we move forward fearing no man, for man has no power but what God has given him.  Through our trials, may we all praise God knowing that He is faithful to meet our every need.

Let us make David's affirmation of Almighty God's power the foundation for our daily resolve.  Let us rejoice and trust in Him to be who He says He is in all things big and small.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your faithful promises to meet our every need.  We praise You for giving us sufficient grace to get through every trial.  We pray, Lord, that You will grant us the faith to trust in You for everything in our lives.  We ask that Your Holy Spirit teach us to come to You boldly with what seems impossible and also come to You confidently with the smallest things that are troubling us.  May Your grace and power in our lives never be diminished because of our lack of understanding.  We ask all these things in the name of the Son seated at the right hand of power, Jesus Christ.

The Plentiful Showers of Grace

Ezekiel 34:26

And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.

Everything on earth, whether man, beast or plant, is under the hand of Almighty God.  Our all-sufficient Lord sends out everything required for sustenance and growth.  And when the timing is right, He sends showers.  When God is ready to spread His grace, be certain that you will not receive drops or droplets.  You will receive showers, not a shower, but plentiful showers.

He will cause the showers to come down in season.  His showers will fall upon us according to His divine will and timing for our lives.  His showers will refresh us, revive us and make us fruitful unto His own purpose for our lives.  And it will all be a part of His abundant grace which provides peace, rest, pardon, righteousness and eternal life for each of us.

And through His blessings on each of us in the Body of Christ, the world will receive showers of grace.  But first, we must prepare ourselves to be worthy vessels and we must be alert to the onset of our seasons of grace.  When our seasons arrive, we must be obedient to His calling on our lives.  If we have made ourselves ready, we will receive the promised showers of favor on our lives.

Let us prepare ourselves for the God's blessings by spending time with Him and spending dedicated time in His Word.  Let us prepare ourselves through obedience to the urgings of the Holy Spirit.  Let us become cisterns of His anointing showers and fountainheads for dispersing those showers of grace into the lives of others.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we humbly come before You and thank You for Your abundant nature.  We seek the wisdom to learn to wait on Your provision.  We pray for the Holy Spirit to sharpen our awareness of the showers of grace that You pour upon us.  We ask, Father, that You help us to prepare our ground so that we will bear much fruit when the showers arrive.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us in becoming eager conduits of Your grace.  We ask all these things in the name of Our All-Sufficient Lord, Jesus Christ.

Modeling the Servant Life of Our Savior King

Matthew 20:28

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus Christ, The Son of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords came to earth as the Son of Man.  He gave up all of His royal rights to become a servant of every man.  His servanthood was so complete that He gave up His own life and He separated Himself from the Father in order to take on all of our sins so that we might have life with the Father.

Once we claim our eternal inheritance as children of God, we accept that which we do not deserve and could not possibly earn except through the grace and mercy of Our Savior.  When we recognize that Jesus Christ served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness and our sin, we should exhaust ourselves serving all men for His sake.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, should we not follow the model of Our Master?  We should be in constant communion with the Father, just as Jesus was, so that we can determine the will and plan that Our Heavenly Father has for our lives.  We should then be servants to all men in accordance to the will and plan that the Father reveals to us.

Let us model the servant heart of Jesus for the world to see.  Let us draw those around us to the Son of Man through our living testimonies.  Let our modeling of the life of the Son of God be what draws those around us to Our Savior King.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for allowing us to be bond servants in Your kingdom.  We praise the name of Jesus who came as Son of Man to show us the model for living in accordance with Your will.  We come before You to proclaim how unworthy we are of all that You have set aside for us to do in service to Your kingdom.  We bless the name of Jesus who has made us worthy servants through the shedding of His blood.  We pray, Father, that You fill us with the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may pour ourselves out to all men.  May the hearts of those around us be prepared to receive what we have to offer in the name of Our Savior.  We pray all these things in the name of Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Those Frustrating Delays

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Almighty God is omnipotent.  He is able to deliver us from the most extreme trials.  Almighty God is omniscient.  He knows every little detail about us and our troubles.  Almighty God is unchangeable, forever faithful to His promises.  He makes all things work together for those that abide in Him.  So why is it that we are so impatient when it comes to waiting on God?

Is there anything that we have learned to hate more than waiting?  What is it about traffic lights, check-out lines, internet downloads, etc. that create such angst?  Has patience disappeared completely in our lives?  Is there anything that frustrates us more than lack of success when something we are working on is in stall mode? Even when we know we are doing everything right and in the right way, the results become more important to us than the process.  When did we lose sight of the fact that God is in control of everything? 

The frustration of waiting for something to happen and the pain of waiting on success both stem from the same issue.  We are focusing on self gratification and not focusing on the plans that God has for our lives and His perfect will for our lives.  In our impatience, we foolishly rush ahead of God in our efforts to make things happen on our timetable.  

Let us reach out to the Holy Spirit for guidance and instruction when we are so anxious to move before God moves.  Let us learn to trust in God's timing.  Let us rejoice as we reap the unimaginable rewards of waiting on God's divine will for our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the good plan for our lives that You promise us in Your Holy Word.  We praise You for Your Holy Spirit who guides us and strengthens us so that we can overcome the desires of our flesh that are not in accordance with Your plans.  We pray, Father, that You renew our minds so that we will know Your will for our lives.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us to learn to be still and wait on the all sufficient grace and provision that You promise us.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Pouring Out All That We Have

Mark 14:6

But Jesus replied, "Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?

When Jesus was dining with a group at Simon's home, a woman with an alabaster jar full of very expensive perfume came up to Jesus, broke the jar open and poured it's costly contents on Him.  She was criticized by the group at the table for such an extravagant gesture.  Jesus quickly scolded the group for not seeing the value of what she was doing.

When we become broken vessels and pour out everything we have to glorify Our Savior, we can be assured that the world will demean us for our efforts.  We can find comfort in knowing that Our Lord is greatly pleased and glorified by our expressions of love.  He will honor us and commend us for our efforts just as He did for the woman.

We should pour out unto Him all the best of our adorations.  We should love Him with all our heart, never fearful of how our zeal and affection will be misunderstood.  After all, Jesus poured out all that He had for us.  Is there anything too precious for us to give to Him?  Surely there is not.

Let us make a love offering to Our Savior.  Let us surrender to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King all that we are and all that we have.  Let us rejoice in knowing that our love offering will be an eternal offering made day after day without end.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Son who poured out all that He had for us.  We exalt the name of Jesus for spilling His blood on our behalf.  We come before You to bring all of our love, our praises and our blessings to bestow them upon Your Son, Jesus.  We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to pour out all that we are, all that we will ever be, all that we have and all that we will ever have in joyous thanksgiving for all that Our Savior has done for us.  May we never hold back a single thing in expressing our love for Jesus.  We pray all these things in the name of our precious Deliverer, Jesus Christ.

Perfect Leadership

John 14:31

But I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let's be going.

What an succinct invitation that Jesus offered to His disciples, "Come let's be going."   He offers us the same invitation to join Him in doing the work of the Father.  

We cannot possibly find a better model for life, nor a better partner for our work, than the only man who lived without sin.  And what was it that this man without sin did?  He loved His Father and He did what His Father asked of Him.  Then He asked others to join Him in His work.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are asked to be obedient to the Father as He was.  We are asked to share the Gospel as He did.  We are asked to suffer for the sake of the kingdom as He did.  We are asked to fully surrender to the will of the Father as He did.  We are asked to find others who will join in the work of the kingdom, just as the Son of Man did.  In doing so, we join Jesus in doing the work that the Father called Him to do.

Let us be obedient to the call of Jesus.  Let us join the Son of God in doing the Father's work.  Let us show the Father and the Son how much we love them by joining them in their good work.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so that we are empowered to show the world how much we love You.  We bless the name of Jesus for surrendering His life to You so that we can surrender to You.  We thank You, Father, for the privilege of joining Your Son, Jesus, in His work.  We pray, Lord, that You will raise us up as instruments of Your good work.   We ask that You use us as vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  We seek the wisdom, grace and the strength to be able to gather others to unite with us in union with Our Savior.  We ask all these things in the holy name of One who invites us to join Him, Jesus Christ.

When Troubles Seem Overwhelming

1 Kings 19:5

Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

Elijah was on the run from his troubles.  He was so depressed that he asked God to take his life.  Then he fell asleep.  God sent an angel to pull him out of his despair.

It is very common for all of us to want to go into a shell when troubles seem overwhelming.  We do not always have the faith that we need when things are not going our way.  At times, we may feel like we should just give up.  This, however, is the messaging that we are receiving from our enemy.

God knows everything about us.  He designed us.  He knows our daily work and he knows our daily trials.  He has promised that if we have faith in Him, His grace will be sufficient for us to overcome the attacks of the enemy.

It is amazing how simple acts of love or service can lift us out of the darkness of depression or despair that we may be experiencing.  The angel instructed Elijah to get up and eat.  Through his simple act of obedience, Elijah was quickly on his road to recovery.  He was back to a place where he once again trusted in the care that God promises all of us.

When we are feeling down, a quick look around to find others who are in need may be our way out from the darkness to the light.  A simple gesture of kindness to the person in need could be all that we need to get us going again.  

Let us learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in our times of need.  Let us be aware of His calls for our obedience even in very small matters.  Let us consider being angels of mercy to those around us.  

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Holy Spirit is always with us to lift us up in our times of struggle.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will urge us to inquire how we can serve You when we feel so needy.  Inspire us, Lord, to do the simple acts of obedience that You set before us.  May we learn to comfort the world around us with the comfort that You provide us in our times of trouble.  We ask that You use us as your angels of mercy in our times of overwhelming trouble.  We ask all these things in the name of the Angel of Mercy, Jesus Christ.

The Word of God Promises Exceedingly More

Luke 5:5

And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

It is important to realize that there is power for us in the Word of God.  The power that we can access is held in the promises that are revealed to us in the Holy Bible.  The promises are the keys to our victory over all the forces of this earth and all the forces of evil that might try to come against us.  No matter what we think the promises of this world hold in store for us, the Word of God promises exceedingly more.

Peter exhibited faith in the spoken words of His Master, Jesus.  Even though his instincts told him that it was highly questionable to expect a worthwhile catch, he dropped his nets.  He had faith that Jesus’ words were more powerful than the forces of nature that he knew were unlikely to deliver a decent catch at this place and time of day.  His faith was rewarded.  His nets were filled beyond the point of bursting.

Whether we are toiling in a ministry that is not fruitful, laboring in a vocation that is not productive or simply struggling with the issues of life, we should look toward the promises in God’s Holy Word and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Our victory is guaranteed and is waiting upon us if we have faith in the Lord.

Let us dig into the Holy Word of God and find those scriptures that best fit our time of need.  If we are diligent in our search, we will find the promises that will provide the power that we will need to overcome what the world has laid upon us.  Let us rejoice in knowing that His Word is more powerful than anything that the evil one or this world can bring against us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Holy Word to teach us the things that we are promised as inheritors of Your kingdom.  We pray that the Holy Spirit shows us how to live our lives in accordance with Your Word and in reliance upon Your promises.  We ask that the Holy Spirit strengthen us to stand against everything that comes against us, knowing that through Our Savior we have victory over every circumstance.  We ask all these things in the name of the One who gave us victory over all things when He died on the Cross, Jesus Christ.

Walking in Light Even Though Darkness Abounds

John 12:46

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

Each and every one of us was born into darkness.  We were born with an unregenerate spirit and a spirit of unbelief.  We were born with a darkness in our nature that makes us totally unacceptable to Almighty God. 

This did not catch God by surprise.  Through His loving kindness, His mercy and His grace, He provided a plan by which each of us could remove the darkness from our lives so that we would be able to stand in His presence one day and serve Him according to His eternal will for our lives.  As part of His gracious plan, the Holy Spirit was instructed to reveal to each of us that upon believing in Jesus Christ as Our Savior, Our Heavenly Father provides us with the way in which we can become acceptable to Him.

Unfortunately, because our sin nature remains with us as long we are in our earthly bodies, we will continue to make choices that are according the world’s standards and not Our Lord's.  Thus we will bring darkness back into our lives.  Our compassionate Creator had a plan for this weakness as well.  In our new lives in Christ, we are able to see and understand the darkness that the world is offering us.  We are able to overcome our natural ignorance about sin and take our victory over sin.  Through Jesus Christ who strengthens us, we are able to walk in the light of truth, faith and holiness.  We are able to walk this path of enlightenment on this earth until the day we die and until our day of living in Christ's eternal light is upon us.

Let us repent of the darkness in our lives.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us all of the areas in our lives that reflect anything but the perfect Light of Jesus Christ.  Let us show the world how living in the fullness of Our Savior overcomes the pervading darkness.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus, so that we can have victory over the darkness in our lives.  We bless the name of Jesus and pray for the wisdom, understanding and counsel that we need to rely daily on Your Son, who came as the Light of the World.  May we be set free from the darkness of sin, whether it be by ignorance or error.  May Your grace allow us to live in the light rather than in the misery of the darkness. May we become broken vessels that allow Your light to shine through to those around us who are still living in darkness.  We ask all these things in the name of the Eternal Light, Jesus Christ.

The Unimaginable Provision

2 Kings 25:30

Day by day the king gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived.

During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, God punished the Jews because of their disobedience and falling away.  He allowed the Jews to be overcome by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar exiled the Jews from their land and imprisoned their king, Jehoiachin.  When Nebuchadnezzar died, his son Evil-merodach became king of Babylon.  Because God loved His children so much, He placed favor for the Jews in the heart of the new Babylonian king.  King Jehoiachin of Judah, who had been imprisoned for 37 years, was given a seat of honor in Evil-merodach's house.  Jehoiachin dined regularly with the Babylonian king and was provided an allowance for all his daily needs as long as he lived.

Because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, they were exiled from the land where they walked with Almighty God and each of us that followed them was also exiled by sin to a life outside the presence of Almighty God.  But because God loved us so much, He provided His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross to atone for the sins that separated us from Our Creator. 

Like Jehoiachin, we received unmerited favor.  But while Jehoiachin received a seat of honor at the king's table, we were provided unlimited access to the throne of the King of Kings.  While Jehoiachin was provided an allowance for his daily needs, we received a royal inheritance of all of the unlimited treasures of Our Heavenly King.  While Jehoiachin's privileges ended at his death, we were given the fullness of God's blessings for all eternity.

Let us be mindful of the eternal treasures that have been prepared for us.  Let us rejoice in knowing the seat of honor that awaits us.  Let us give thanks for the daily provision that we receive on earth and the unimaginable provision that we will receive, day after day without end, in the eternal kingdom of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You loved us so much that You gave us Your Son, Jesus, to atone for our sins.  We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to join You in Your heavenly kingdom.  May the Holy Spirit guide us to Your throne to receive the fullness of Your blessings and the ongoing provision for our needs.  May our cups overflow with Your love and Your grace.  May all the unmerited favor that we receive be poured out on the world around us.  We ask all these things in the matchless name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Poured Out for Christ

Romans 14:7

For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.

To live for ourselves alone is evidence that we are strangers to Jesus Christ.  If it is our main purpose to gratify our flesh, to gain material things and to become the center of our social activities, it is evidence that we are not living according to the Good News of the Gospel. 

The church is called the Body of Christ because we are all one in Christ.  Each one of us is inseparable from the other.  Each one of us is inseparable from Our Savior.  We are all different in our strengths, our capabilities and our practices.  Yet we all are one in union with the Lord.  We should all be looking to serve and prove ourselves as witnesses to Him.  The spiritual health of others should be as important to us as our own spiritual health.  The Body of Christ depends on our acceptance of our responsibility to be poured out for Christ.

No one who has given his or her life to Christ is a self-seeker.  The true purpose of our lives is to please God not ourselves.  Through the grace of God, we are able to identify fully with both the life and the death of Jesus Christ, Our Savior.  

Let us search our own lives to insure that we are approving ourselves to Christ in service to all mankind.  Let our lives be living testimonies to our thanks for all that Jesus has done for us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace that You provide that we may not live for ourselves but that we may live for Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We bless the name of Jesus who died for us so that we may live for Him and serve Him in the Body of Christ.  Lord, we pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to be responsible members of the Body of Christ.  We ask, dear Jesus, that You help us to understand that our sufficiency is in You and not in ourselves.  Guide us to the strengths, the capacities and the processes that You have set aside for us to serve You.  Allow our lives as Your servants to be our proclamation of thanksgiving for all that You have provided.  We ask all these things in the Righteous and Holy Name of Jesus Christ.

Living Fearlessly Through God's Power

Psalm 56:11

In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

It is amazing how often we struggle with the issues of the day, wondering how our particular situation is going to get resolved.  How little faith we have in Almighty God through whom all things are possible.  But what may be even more amazing is how we have no faith that Almighty God is interested in the smallest needs in our lives when His Word proclaims that He knows the count of every hair on our heads.  Our smallest concern is as important to Him as our greatest need.

Through the continuous and sometimes onerous trials that we have passed through in life, we should have learned to patiently wait on the Lord to take us from darkness into the light.  Yet we seem to become frustrated by the small stuff and lose patience.  More importantly we lose confidence in an Almighty God who cares for us so much that He bottles all of our tears and observes them with tender love and concern.

May we all come full circle just as David, the Psalmist, did.  May we be in constant recognition of the fact that the Lord is our helper.  May we move forward fearing no man, for man has no power but what God has given him.  Through our trials, may we all praise God knowing that He is faithful to meet our every need.

Let us make David's affirmation of Almighty God's power the foundation for our daily resolve.  Let us rejoice and trust in Him to be who He says He is in all things big and small.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your faithful promises to meet our every need.  We praise You for giving us sufficient grace to get through every trial.  We pray, Lord, that You will grant us the faith to trust in You for everything in our lives.  We ask that Your Holy Spirit teach us to come to You boldly with what seems impossible and also come to You confidently with the smallest things that are troubling us.  May Your grace and power in our lives never be diminished because of our lack of understanding.  We ask all these things in the name of the Son seated at the right hand of power, Jesus Christ.

The Remembrance of the Bread of Life

John 6:33

For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

The Jews were accustomed to the idea that bread could come down from heaven.  But the bread that they were familiar with came only to supply their natural needs.  The manna that they had received came down from the lower heavens.  John was writing to them about a new bread that would come to them from the upper heavens.  John was teaching them about a new bread that was not for sustaining natural life, but for the giving of spiritual and eternal life.  John was revealing to them the bread of God, Jesus Christ.  John was confirming that God was still in the business of provision, but He was extending His giving from beyond the natural to the supernatural.  In His excellency, Almighty God was offering the Jews a bread that was infinitely superior to the manna of old.

Give us this day our daily bread.  How many times have we prayed this and thought only of our fleshly provision?  Have we forgotten what Jesus Himself said?  The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Christ taught that He is the true Bread. He wanted His disciples to understand that He is supernaturally to the spirit what bread is naturally to the flesh.  As our bodies are nourished by grain, Jesus nourishes and supports our spiritual life. He is the Bread of God.  

Let us remember both the natural and supernatural provision that our precious Lord provides us when we ask for our daily bread.  Let us seek both that which strengthens us physically and that which strengthens us by the supernatural power of the One who was crucified for our sins.  Let us give thanks for our eternal sustenance.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing both our physical and spiritual nourishment.  We exalt Your name for the harvest that You bring into our lives to be the natural provision for our bodies.  We praise You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be the supernatural nourishment and eternal sustenance that we need for our spirit-filled lives.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will prepare our hearts so that we will receive a full portion of the nourishment of Jesus Christ for our souls.  May everything we do be in remembrance of Our Savior and what He did for us.  As You nourish us with Your True Bread, Father, may we provide nourishment to those who are in need of the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord of all provision, Jesus Christ.

The Fullness of Our Redemption

Luke 4:18

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"

The words in this passage were spoken by Jesus himself in the synagogue.  He was confirming all the things that the Scripture said that He was anointed to do on earth.  Later, before He left them, Jesus told the disciples that they would be able to do and should do more than He did.  He let them know that where they were weak in the flesh that He would send the Holy Spirit to perfect His strength in their weaknesses.  As Jesus instructed His disciples, He was also instructing us.  All these things have been set aside for us as well.

How shortsighted we are when we accept Our Savior’s invitation for salvation, but do not believe in the fullness of our redemption.  Not only did Our Lord come to redeem us from our sins, but He also came in His power and grace to free us from all the bondages of this world.  Though we may currently suffer in the flesh, He released us into the world with freedom and joy in the spirit so that the world may know Him through our living testimonies.

The fullness of our redemption is not just for our own benefit.  We have each been anointed in different ways to do all the things that Jesus Himself was called to do as the Son of Man.  

Let us boldly seek the Holy Spirit to guide us in joining Jesus in carrying out His work for the Father.  Let us experience the fullness of our redemption.  Let us allow the world see the love and power of Jesus through our daily lives. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for anointing us to do Your good work.  We bless the name of Jesus who made it possible for us to receive our anointing.  We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit dwells within us to insure that where we are weak in our flesh, we will be made strong in Christ.  We pray, Lord, that You show us how to take claim of the fullness of our redemption.  Whatever our current situation may be, may we take on the joy and comfort of Your completed promises.  May we find peace knowing that Your power is working in us.  May the world see the anointing that is upon us because Our Savior is within us.  We pray all these things in the name of our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Are We Looking for Our Own Moses?

Exodus 20:19

Then they said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die."

The Jewish people were not accustomed to going directly to God.  They only approached God through their high priest mediators.  They were quite comfortable in allowing Moses to declare to them what God had spoken to him.  They committed to doing whatever Moses revealed to them.   They were certain that they would be consumed by fire if they were to be in direct communication with the living God.

What an awesome privilege that we have to be able to go directly to the throne room of Almighty God.  What an unspeakable blessing that we have been provided by Our Mediator, Jesus Christ, who opened the doors of heaven for us.

Yet we often delight in and rely on the spoken and written words of men rather than digging into God's Holy Word ourselves.  We tend to look for our own Moses.  We find that the words of men lean toward messages that are meant to comfort us and not to convict us.  They also tend to require less work to digest.

By shying away from God's Holy Word, we seek to avoid the discomfort that comes with having our weaknesses brought to light by the revelation of the Holy Spirit.  Even more so, we shy away from a personal relationship with Our Creator.  Unlike the early Jewish people, we may not fear being consumed by fire, but we may fear having to let go of the things of this world.  In doing so, we delay the sanctifying work that prepares us for a life of eternal comfort with Our Savior and we miss out on having an intimate relationship with Him here on earth.

Let us be more earnest in our reading of the Scriptures.  Let us seek the Holy Spirit to open our minds to receive all that has been prepared for us in God's Holy Word.  Let us seek and experience the joys of an intimate relationship with Our Savior.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for speaking to us through Your Holy Spirit and Your Holy Word.  We rejoice in knowing that we can hear Your voice if we dig deeply into Your Word.  We pray, Lord, that we will be set on fire by Your Holy Word.  We ask, Father, that You strengthen us to close our ears to the messages of leniency that the world espouses and to open our hearts to Your Holy Word so that we may bring our lives into alignment with Your laws.  We ask that the Holy Spirit teach us how to listen to You.  May we seek and find an intimate relationship with You through Your Son.  We pray all these things through Our Great Mediator, Jesus Christ.

Experience the Fullness of Heaven on Earth

Ephesians 1:10

And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.

This passage teaches that all that was lost with the fall of man will be restored.  Jesus Christ will be the Restorer.  He will renew the former state, bringing together under His authority all of heaven and earth.

While Our Father has blessed us with the capacity to enjoy all that He has created, He leaves a void in our hearts that can only be filled by His Son.  Only when we fill the void with Our Savior are we able to fully experience the abundant life that we have been created for.  When we become one with Christ, we inherit everything in heaven and on earth.

When we become one with Christ, we see His glory in every sunrise, every sunset, every full moon, every star, every mountain, every valley, every ocean, every lake, every river, every stream, every tree, every flower, every blade of grass, every grain of sand, every animal, every bird, every fish and in every man and woman.  When we surrender to the authority of Jesus Christ, we are in position to experience the fullness of heaven and earth as God intended it before the fall of man.

Let us prepare ourselves to receive all that has been set aside for us. Let us share our joy so that others will come to live under the glorious rule and reign of Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us a part of Your creation plan.  We bless the name of Jesus, through whom we are able to experience the fullness of Your creation.  We long for Jesus to make His home in our hearts.  We pray that we may have the wisdom to understand the depths of His love.  We ask that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to trust in Him completely.  We pray for the humility to surrender totally to His authority.  May we experience the joy of being one with Christ in heaven and on earth.  We pray these things in the name of Our precious Savior and Restorer, Jesus Christ.

Setting a Place in Our Lives for Our Creator

Isaiah 40:26

Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of His great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

The prophet Isaiah wrote these words to the people of his time because they had turned their attention to idols.  Isaiah was redirecting their focus from their man-made idols to the Creator of all things.  He was testing them.  He wanted them to use their imaginations to find the might, the power and the presence of God Almighty in everything in nature that surrounded them.

Jesus has authority over all creatures and all created things on this earth.  Through the prophet, Isaiah, we were directed to use our senses to consider who created everything and give honor to Him.  We should test ourselves.  Have we replaced God Almighty with our own idols - ourselves, our work, our avocations, our idle time?

Let us lift our eyes to the the heavens above.  Let us seek to understand what a glorious being our God must be.  Let us consider what power He must possess.  Let us imagine the brilliance of His majestic presence.  Let us know for certain how He infinitely exceeds any other being.  Having done these things, let us set His place in our lives where it should be - first and foremost.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for directing our imaginations toward You.  We pray that the Holy Spirit show us how to get past the busyness of our lives so that we can enjoy Your presence in all that we do.  We ask that You teach us how to praise You in every breath, exalt You in every provision and worship You in every activity.  May we find the essence of who You are in our every high thought.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Most High God and Creator, Jesus Christ.

Enlightened, Encouraged, Strengthened, Prepared

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

Once we are washed clean by the blood of Our Savior, the Holy Spirit dwells within us to assist us in our journey toward complete sanctification.  We will never reach complete sanctification in this life.  Our full transformation is reserved for the time when we stand in the presence of God in His throne of glory and hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant".

Until that time, the Holy Spirit will take us through an intense narrowing of our interests.  Less and less will the things of the world call us.  More and more we will hear the voice of Our Savior as we press toward complete holiness.

Through it all, we are sure to fail from time to time.  But we can be confident by virtue of the faith and promises given to us by Our Creator that He will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  He will provide an ever flowing fountain of grace that will enlighten us, encourage us, strengthen us and prepare us to stand before Him without spot or wrinkle.

Let us yield to all that God is doing to lead us into rich encounters with His Son.  Let us ask the Holy Spirit's help in ushering us into a new season in which we seek a new brokenness and a deeper dependence upon Him in all that we do.  Let us learn to put the heart of Jesus on the top of every agenda that we have.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us blameless and holy in Your sight.  We bless the name of Jesus who washes away all of our sins.  We live our lives full of thanksgiving for the constant presence of the Holy Spirit.  We pray for the grace to walk in the holiness that has been given to us through Our Savior.  May we learn to ignore the world's agenda and to surrender completely to the way, the truth and the life that is Your Son, Jesus.  May we leave the green grass of earth to rest forever in the pasture of the Lamb.  We ask all this things in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ.

Drawing Strength From the One Who Never Tires

Isaiah 40:28
Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.

If we find ourselves knee deep in doubt about our service to God or find ourselves overwhelmed by our circumstances, it would be good for us to listen to Isaiah.  Isaiah reminds us that we serve an everlasting God who created all things, who possesses depths of understanding that exceeds anything that we can imagine and who is never weak nor weary when it comes to meeting our needs.

Whenever we do the work of the Lord, we are like broken bread and poured out wine.  We are providing nourishment to those around us.  It does not matter what we are doing.  We may be serving.  We may be giving.  We may be praying.  Whatever it is that we are doing for others can drain us to the point of exhaustion. When the body is physically or emotionally drained, the spirit can also be exhausted.  To keep up our strength, we must insure that we are seeking our power from the One who never wearies.  Our affections must be with Him and not with the world.

Whenever we draw on His strength to carry us through our trials, we are privileged to draw on His infinite wisdom.  He is never at a loss to provide the perfect counsel to carry us through to a place of comfort.  Our focus must be on Him and not on our problems.

No matter how we may be serving Him, no matter how challenged we may be in our service or in life in general, we should always be inspired and filled with confidence that we rest in His hands.  There is not a single need that we have that escapes His attention.  He is never weary in attending to the countless needs of His children.

Let us gather our strength from the One who never tires.  Let us draw our wisdom from the One with a depth of understanding that is incomprehensible to us.  Let us seek the One who created us and is our ever sufficient supply. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that our every need is known to You and that You never weary in hearing and responding to our pleas.  We rejoice in knowing that Your response to our needs is always perfect and always perfectly timed for our good and for the good of Your kingdom.  We pray, Father, for the grace to never lose faith in Your faithfulness as Our Provider.  We ask that you show us how to draw on the endless reservoir of the Holy Spirit within us to provide our strength.  May our ears be opened so that we hear the urgings of the Holy Spirit as we humbly submit to the process of overcoming our unbelief, our pride and our self-confidence.  We ask all these things in the name of our Wonderful Counselor, Jesus Christ.

Relying on Almighty God to Settle Our Issues

Luke 24:21
But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.

For the two men on the road to Emmaus, dejection had set in.  They had heard the reports that Jesus had risen from the grave and was alive, but they were perplexed as to why Israel had not been redeemed.  Their expectation was of a redemption of a temporal kind - a redemption that would free Israel from bondage to Rome.  Jesus reproved them for the weakness in their faith and their lack of understanding of the prophetic Scripture.

For all of us that have grown up in an era where instant gratification has become the norm, waiting on the Lord to answer our prayers is one of the most difficult challenges that we face.  We often feel dejected, perhaps even feel rejected, when we have not seen our prayers answered quickly or in a manner that we wished for.  We suffer the same weakness as the men on the road to Emmaus.  We are weak in our faith and we lack understanding of how God intends to rule and reign in our lives.  We tend to seek things from the hand of God without fully seeking the presence of God in our lives.

Let us learn from the men on the way to Emmaus.  Let us refuse to have our hopes dashed because God's work in our lives does not meet our expectations of immediate gratification.  Let us separate ourselves from our old ways of living in the flesh and not in the spirit.  Let us learn to move away from dealing with the issues of our day through our own strength alone.  Let us move to higher ground where we rely on Almighty God to settle our issues.  Let us graduate to the highest ground where we seek the continual presence and impact of Our Savior in our lives and we experience the anointing of living in the Spirit and not in the flesh. 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to live among us so that we could learn about who You are.  We praise the name of Jesus for making it possible for us to enter into Your presence here on earth and forever in Your eternal kingdom.  We pray, Father, that You open our eyes so that we can see You in all the commonplace things that surround us.  We call upon Your Holy Spirit to give us the strength to overcome the depression and oppression that we find in our world.  May we always be mindful of all that is promised to us because of the price that was paid by Your Son, Jesus.  May the world see our joy as we live in Your constant presence.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Our King, Jesus Christ.

Victors in Life or Death

Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Paul knew and appreciated something that all Christians should hold dear.  We are in a win-win situation.  Having been washed clean by the blood of Our Savior, when we die we will be delivered from all the tribulations of life.  We will be free of all diseases and free from any concerns about worldly things.  We will leave behind forever all sin, all unbelief, all doubts and all fears.  We will be absolutely free from the temptations of Satan.  More importantly, the benefit of what we gain will be far greater than what we are freed from.  We will be in the presence of Almighty God.  We will experience continuous communion with Our Savior.  We will receive eternal places of rest in the Kingdom of God.  We will live in constant light, love, joy, peace and comfort.  We will be surrounded by endless pleasure.

If we continue in life, we can confidently meet every affliction, every disappointment, every oppression and every persecution in joy because we are certain of our glorious victory over death.  Our certainty of our victory over death will also allow us to enjoy our time on earth without the shadow of death haunting us.  While the world struggles when facing death, the followers of Jesus are able to face their death beds with an exuberance that the world cannot understand.  We know that Our Savior is waiting to receive us and that He has prepared a place for us that is free from all misery and weakness.

Let us live with the fullness of Christ in our lives.  Let each one of our remaining days on earth serve as living testimony to Our Eternal King.  Let us proclaim to the world all that He promises us here on earth and in heaven.  Let our joy be the reason that those around us seek a relationship with Our Redeemer.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the eternal inheritance that You have set aside for us.  We praise the name of Jesus who secured our place with You for all eternity.  We rejoice in knowing that only a wisp of time separates us from claiming all the rights of the heirs of Your kingdom.  As we wait for that time of glory, we pray that You equip us to be Your laborers in these end days.  We ask that You arm us against the attacks of the enemy as we help bring the church to completion.  May we show the world the living Christ that is within us.  We pray these things in the name of our waiting Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Expects Us to Take Up His Work

John 21:17

He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you." Jesus said, "Then feed my sheep".

If Jesus had asked any of us the same question that He asked Peter,  surely our response would have been similar.  "Of course, I love You Jesus," is a refrain that each of us would speak very easily and we would believe fully in our sincerity.  Yet aren't we all a bit like Peter?  Our spoken proclamation of love does not necessarily measure up to our proven love.

Peter, believing his love for Jesus was obvious to Jesus, became frustrated.  So Peter challenged Jesus, saying, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you."  Jesus' response to Peter's challenge was essentially, "Prove it."

Jesus challenges each of us as well to feed His sheep.  He calls us to provide appropriate nourishment to the young lambs and encouragement to the mature members of the flock.  He calls us to go after any that leave the flock until they are found and brought back under the protection of the Good Shepherd.

Jesus calls on each of us who love Him to go out and do the work that He was doing.  He tended to all of the needs of the people, all the way to the Cross, because of His love for His Father.  Jesus expects us to take up His work, to take up our cross, because of our love for Him.

Let us go out into the world and join Jesus in the work that He would be doing for His Father in heaven if He were still on earth.  Let us allow Him to do His work through us.  Let us show the world His love as we respond to His question, "Do you love Me?"

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to tend to our every need, especially our need to be freed from the sin that separates us from You.  In response to Your loving kindness, mercy and grace, we surrender our lives to You.  We ask that You show us the cross that You have prepared for us.  We pray, Lord, that You instruct us in the way that we should go as we join Your Son in His work.  May Your Holy Spirit guide us and strengthen us for the journey.  Father, we pray that You release Your power through us so that others may discover the Way of the Cross.  We ask all these things in the name of the one who went to the Cross and shed His blood for us, Jesus Christ.