Devotions - Prayer
It is easy to be frightened by the wickedness we see all around us and to be overwhelmed by the problems we face.
“One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?'” – Acts 19:15
Are you a threat to the kingdom of darkness?
Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
If we truly believe that we war against rulers and principalities that cannot be seen, then we must realize that their mandate is to hinder any believer who is seeking to walk in the fullness of God.
However, “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4b ). WE FIGHT FROM VICTORY NOT FOR VICTORY!
• If you are seeking to fully follow the Lord, you can expect harassment from the enemy.
• God permits temptation because it drives us deeper into the soil of God.
• These times reveal God’s power to keep us and walk us through the temptations.
• Our message becomes fruitful when it is born out of obedience and suffering for His name.
• We face a powerful army whose goal is to defeat Christ’s church. When we believe in Christ, these beings become our enemies, and they try every device to turn us away from Jesus and back to sin.
• Although we are assured of victory we must engage in the struggle until Christ returns, because Satan is constantly battling against all who are on the Lord’s side.
Do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master.
When you begin to feel harassed, chances are you are beginning to affect the kingdom of darkness, and satan doesn’t like this.
Put on the whole Armor of God which is supernatural power to defeat satan . God Has provided this by giving us his Holy Spirit within us and giving us His armor to surround us. (Read Ephesians 6:10-20).
May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us Lord to submit to Your leadership and humble service to one another to build unity in the Body. Amen
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Ps 30:5).
When a measured assault enters our life we often respond in two different ways. The pain caused by the assault drives us to a place of either:
• Embracing the pain or
• We embrace anything that will make us feel better.
That becomes the entry door to a false lover.
All of us are trapped by addiction to a desire for something less than God.
For many women, that something less is relational control. “I will not be hurt again and I will not let people I love be hurt. I’ll see to it that what I fear never happens again.” They therefore live in terror of vulnerably presenting themselves to anyone and instead become determined managers of people. Their true femininity remains safely tucked away behind the walls of relational control.
More common in men is an addiction to non-relational control. “I will experience deep and consuming satisfaction without ever having to relate meaningfully with anyone.” They keep things shallow and safe with family and friends and feel driven to experience a joy they never feel, a joy that only deep relating can provide. Their commitment is twofold: to never risk revealing inadequacy by drawing close to people and, without breaking that commitment, to feel powerful and alive. Power in business and illicit sex are favorite strategies for reaching that goal.
Many times we seek to deal with our pain through various forms of addictions designed to resolve the inner pain we feel.
All addictions represent a counterfeit desire for genuine love and intimacy.
We conclude these lesser desires are legitimate needs instead of band-aids of our fleshly soul.
These addiction lovers become isolation chambers created for ourselves designed to mask our pain.
Every human being has a desire to be loved and needed. When we do not feel loved and needed because of some event in our lives we seek to reconcile this emotional pain.
So, if you are fighting any kind of addiction–over control of people, sex, drugs, alcohol, workaholism, shopping, overeating–you are seeking to fill a void only God can fill.
Pain has a useful purpose in our lives. Facing it, rather than medicating it, allows us to move to a place of discovering a capacity for a different kind of joy. That is the purpose of pain.
We must let inner pain do its work by experiencing it fully. It feels like a contradiction to actually embrace the pain, but it is the only remedy for moving past it so it can yield its purpose in our lives.
Otherwise we will remain unaware of our deeper desire for God and be driven toward a false lover.
Read Isaiah 53:4-6 Lord, Thank you for the pain and suffering You went through which resulted in forgiveness made available to all people. Lord thank you for my past pain which helped me to bring me back into Your fold. Amen
Read MoreWe must realize that the battleground for this invisible war that we’re in is actually between our ears – in our minds.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)
This is why God wants us to be prepared for the spiritual attacks that come our way.
He wants to equip and prepare us in the strength of his power to stand against the enemy’s schemes and defeat him in the specific battles in our life.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Eph 6:14-15)
Notice that to protect ourselves from the evil:
We must do something. We must take action and stand. We’re commanded to consciously and vigorously make a decisive act to stand our ground firmly against the enemy’s assaults.
This means becoming aware of the devil’s schemes and putting on the full armor of God.
The armor of God is a metaphor to help us understand the general thinking of how we’re to prepare ourselves for spiritual battle. READ EPHESIANS 6 FOR TOTAL ARMOR. BELOW IS 2 OF 6 PIECES OF ARMOR.
First, we need to put on the belt of truth.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
In response, our strategy is to protect our minds from Satan’s lies by knowing and believing what God’s word says is true of us: We’re accepted and deeply loved, bought with a price, part of God’s family, and sealed with the Spirit.
Putting on the belt of truth also means we’re honest with ourselves and with God. We’re open to correction when the Spirit of God speaks to us. We don’t hide or shift blame. We own our stuff.
Second, we need to put on the breastplate of righteousness.
Satan’s second tactic is condemnation. This is not the kind of condemnation we feel when we knowingly do something wrong and feel guilty. This is the kind of guilt that shames.
Satan condemns us by saying things like, “You’re a terrible person!” “God will never use you!” “If anyone knew what you did and found out who you really are!” “You call yourself a Christian!”
By putting on the breastplate of righteousness we can protect our heart against the enemy’s condemnation. What does this look like? It’s the practical application of God’s truth for our lives.
We’re already righteous before God because of Christ. But we need to apply this truth by living it out. This means living uprightly in our lifestyle and character.
When we’re living outside of God’s will, we open ourselves up to demonic attack.
So if God shows us a specific area of our lives that we need to get right, then we need to do what He says.
Jesus thank you for the cross that we Have Victory. Thank You for your Word that we can be ready to stand firm against the attacks of the evil one. Thank you-Thank you-AMEN
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My Soul Thirsts for God
By John Piper
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1–2)
What makes this so beautiful and so crucial for us is that he is not thirsting mainly for relief from his threatening circumstances. He is not thirsting mainly for escape from his enemies or for their destruction.
It’s not wrong to want relief and to pray for it. It is sometimes right to pray for the defeat of enemies. But more important than any of that is God himself.
When we think and feel with God in the Psalms, this is the main result: We come to love God, and we want to see God and be with God and be satisfied in admiring and exulting in God.
A likely translation of the end of verse 2 is: “When will I come and see the face of God?” The final answer to that question was given in John 14:9 and 2 Corinthians 4:4. Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” And Paul said that when we are converted to Christ we see “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
When we see the face of Christ, we see the face of God. And we see the glory of his face when we hear the story of the gospel of his death and resurrection. It is “the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
May the Lord increase your hunger and your thirst to see the face of God. And may he grant your desire through the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
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“Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! (Luke 245-6).
HE IS RISEN—-HE IS RISEN—–HE IS RISEN!
Believing the Truth – John 20:1-18
Nothing more is required for our salvation other than the price Christ already paid.
*Our sin-debt is paid in full, and the empty tomb is our receipt.
The Life of Christ IS the Death of FEAR!
Matthew 28:5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.
The true purpose of our Christian walk is to freely lay down our lives so God’s Love can pour through us to others.
* “Greater love has no one than this; that one lay down His Life for his friends.” John 15:13
Have we allowed our prideful thoughts, wounded emotions and self-centered desires to quench God’s Love in our hearts and separate us from each other?
*”The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.” 1 John 2:9
Can you imagine what our marriage, families, churches, and communities would be like if more of us were walking in God’s unconditional Love?
* “…they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”Acts 2:46-47
*Why are you crying? What is it that has caused you pain or sorrow?
*Who are you looking for? What will make you whole? What will fix the problem?
*When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden by the tomb, she supposed that He was the gardener.
Her heart was heavy and she cried out, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him” (John 20:15).
Some of us don’t know what to do with the “Truth of the Resurrection”!
* For Easter, we sing certain hymns and we have traditions that we do in the service and in meals at home.
But the broader concept of the Resurrection, this is harder to grasp.
*1Corinthians 15:13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
**Without the Resurrection, Jesus is merely a dead and moral martyr who provided great teaching.
John 11:25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.
**Recovering the Resurrection.
This begins with remembering what Jesus said.
In the first occurrence after the crucifixion and resurrection, the angels first say to the disciples at the empty tomb, “Remember what Jesus said” and the disciples remembered.
*So often, we forget what the Bible teaches about the resurrection, about the power and meaning of it.
* Our wonder will grow cold without His Word!
*We also need to repent for forgetting His Word!
*We need to remember that his death and resurrection “Solved the Problem of Sin and Death”!!!!
*Jesus death and resurrection empowers everything that Jesus said.
*What do we do in the midst of our wonder?
*We need to remember that WE are made FOR Jesus, and not the other way around.
*Maybe the important thing that we need to do is to not “do”, but to LIVE in wonder.
*This will lead to the outward expression of how we respond.
Sometime we just need to be still and allow ourselves to be filled by God’s Holy Spirit Inspired Word.
This resurrection wonder will lead to transformed lives, where each Sunday service and each day we live revolves around the Hope of a Risen Savior.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’
(which is to say, Teacher)” (John 20: 16). Jesus knows the names of those who love Him—and He called Mary by her name.
Jesus then told her, “Do not cling to Me” (John 20: 17). Jesus knew Mary was not going to let go of Him. Her heart was crying, “I lost You once, but I’m never going to lose You again!”
It must have taken a lot of courage for Mary to heed Jesus’ words to her.
You see, He told her He was going to be gone for awhile and she should go to the others and “. . . say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father’” (verse 17).
Mary quickly returned to the disciples who had returned home after seeing that Jesus was no longer in the tomb.
These simple fishermen were gathered together in one room, perhaps cleaning their old fishing gear. They were not theologians but they had been trained for three years at the Master’s feet.
It was Mary, however, who had the revelation! These men had to sit and listen to a woman who had heard from Jesus. Can you imagine the scene?
“What did He say? What did He look like?” Mary answered simply, “All I know is, I saw Him. And He told me to come here and tell you something!”
I love to hear devoted men and women of God say the words Mary said: “I’ve
heard from Him and I have something to say!”
Like Mary Magdalene, we should all have a heart so given to the Lord that He gives us His mind and says, “Go tell the brethren!”
Acts 22:15 For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
*Our testimony is simply a personal account of the work that God began in our lives, put to words to share with others.
*Testimonies proclaim God’s faithfulness, power, and glory to all who hear.
* God does wonderful and miraculous things in our lives, which are meant to be shared.
* Your testimony will bring God glory and encourage someone, which may lead them to a relationship with Christ.
*Don’t hide your light under a basket.
Revelation 12:11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
*The only thing that can change the hearts of those around us, is the Holy Spirit.
So when we share our testimony, we share the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives, presenting an opportunity for the Spirit to move in someone else’s life.
*Your Personal Testimony of what Jesus has done for YOU has power!
God’s Love expressed through us is the only thing that will bring our spouses, children, relatives and friends to Christ.
* “…may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men…”Colossians 3:12
Come to the truth of the Lord’s Word in all things. Only in truth can your faith be established and exercised to overcome adversity. The Lord has given you precious promises of Victory and the authority to succeed. It is of vital importance that you control your thoughts and emotions as you put your trust in the Lord. Refuse to allow fear to gain any ground in you.
*2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Bless the Lord by blessing someone less fortunate today through Your……Time, Talent & Treasures.
* “And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness…and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”
Isaiah 58:10-11
Jesus Has Risen! Jesus has Risen Indeed! I pray the world will see the true meaning of Easter and read Isaiah 53 and ask “How could this be predicted 700 years before this all took place?” And know that the Word of God is 100 percent True and Trustworthy and we all have The Faith and Hope of spending Eternity with our Heavenly Father.
Thank You JESUS! You have RISEN Indeed! Amen
Making the Resurrection Real for our family; only days to Easter!
“Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.” Psalm 145:3-5
Often holiday traditions can get mixed in with the real essence of holy days.
*As a child, I wondered what Santa caravanning his reindeer through snowstorms had to do with baby Jesus who was born in Bethlehem.
Wasn’t that in a desert?
*I never did figure out why the Easter Bunny brought me chocolate eggs each year.
Didn’t chickens lay eggs, not rabbits?
Today’s passage from Psalms encourages us to teach our children and future generations of God’s mighty acts.
*******We are to proclaim His power over all the earth. **********
I can’t think of a more powerful act than when God raised His only Son Jesus from the dead, making a way for us to gain access to heaven to live with Him for all eternity.
There are many fun, family-bonding Easter traditions to celebrate with children.
*But this year, why not be intentional to tell the powerful story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in ways that stick in little minds?
*Attend a live passion play put on by a church in your area.
*Read the account of Jesus’ last week of life out loud as a family while enjoying a favorite snack. Read a passage each night beginning in Luke 22:1 through the end of the book of Luke and compare it to Isaiah 53 a prophesy spoken 700 + years before.
*Watch a movie on the life of Jesus.
The Jesus Film by Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) is well done with each scene coming directly from the words of the Bible. Make sure to decide if the child is ready to see a depiction of the crucifixion.
All of these activities help portray the true meaning of this sacred season and point the children to the God who created them, knows them and sent His only Son to die on a cross for them. (Read Psalms 139)
Let’s tell of God’s mighty act of raising Jesus from the dead to the generations that come after us.
Fun traditions can be OK, so long as we don’t miss the real meaning of this Christian Holy Day.
Dear Lord, help me to tell of Your wondrous power and mighty acts to those generations that come after me. May I not let the season pass by without pondering, reading the Bible and sharing this Awesome news on the real meaning of Easter. Help me to direct people to Your Word to see and live in light of Your Truth rather than what we perceive to be true through our limited earthly knowledge. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
(Col. 2:2-4 & JN 14:6 & Psalms 119:160 & Hosea 6:4 & 1 JN 1:5-10 & JN 3:16-17)
Read More“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16a NIV).
Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.
The Bible says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”(James 5:16a NIV). So let me ask you: Do you want to be forgiven? That’s the first step. Do you want to be emotionally healed? That’s something different.
If you just want to be forgiven, you just confess your sin to God. But if you want to get over this and get on with your life, you need emotional healing. That means you need to tell somebody else.
You say, “Why? Why do we do this? Why does God want me to drag somebody else into this?” I’ll tell you why. Because God knows that the root of our problem is relational. We don’t even realize that. Our messed-up relationships with other people are the root of our problems.
When we don’t have one person in our lives that we’re completely honest with, we wear masks. We pretend and we fake it and we’re dishonest with each other and we play games and we’re hypocrites. We pretend that we have it all together, when everybody knows we don’t. We act like it’s all right when it’s not.
What does that do?
- It isolates you from other people.
- It prevents intimacy.
- And it keeps you from the deepest level of love.
- You cannot love fully with guilt in your heart.
You are only as sick as your secrets. The fact is, the more you hide, the sicker you get. On the other hand, revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.
There’s something about telling another person that uncorks the pressure valve. When you let the boogeyman out of the closet, all of a sudden, the boogeyman isn’t so big any more.
If you want healing, you’ve got to stop concealing. The very thing that you don’t want anybody to know about, that’s the area where God wants to give you the most grace, mercy, and healing.
Lord, give me the Grace to move forward in my healing. Amen
Read MoreWhen Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit. —John 19:30
- The cross was the goal of Jesus from the very beginning.
- His birth was so there would be His death.
- The incarnation was for our atonement.
- He was born to die so that we might live.
- And when He had accomplished the purpose He had come to fulfill, He summed it up with a single word: “finished.”
So what was finished? Finished and completed were the horrendous sufferings of Christ.
- Never again would He experience pain at the hand of wicked men.
- Never again would He have to bear the sins of the world.
- Never again would He, even for a moment, be forsaken of God. That was completed. That was taken care of.
Also finished was Satan’s stronghold on humanity.
Jesus came to deal a decisive blow against the devil and his demons at the cross of Calvary.
Hebrews 2:14 says, “Only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who hadthe power of death.” This means that you no longer have to be under the power of sin. Because of Jesus’ accomplishment at the cross, finished was the stronghold of Satan on humanity.
And lastly, finished was our salvation. It is completed. It is done. All of our sins were transferred to Jesus when He hung on the cross. His righteousness was transferred to our account.
So Jesus cried out the words, “It is finished!” It was God’s deliberate and well-thought-out plan. It is finished—so rejoice!
Thank you Jesus for dying for my sins that I may be set free to choice You as my Lord and Savior. Amen
Read MoreAlmost every Christian at some time in his life has had to face the problem of unanswered prayer.
*A prayer goes unanswered for weeks and months—even years.
*An unexpected illness or tragedy claims a loved one.
*Things happen that have no rhyme or reason and then faith begins to falter.
But the Word makes it very clear that a wavering person will never receive anything from God.
Jesus understood this tendency in His children to hold grudges against heaven when mountains are not moved on schedule.
*Jesus warned Peter not to ask anything when standing in God’s presence lest he be unforgiving in some matter.
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25).
I believe Jesus is saying, Don’t stand in God’s presence asking for
mountains to be removed or for forgiveness of your sins, if you have a secret grudge in your heart against a brother or sister in Christ.
*Get it out! Let the Spirit of forgiveness flow through you.
*Cry out to your faithful Father. He has not failed. He will answer. He will supply.
*Submit yourself and ask Him to forgive you for allowing these doubts to spring up.
The most difficult thing in all the world for Christians to do is forgive.
Even the best Christians find it hard to forgive those who injure their pride.
Nothing infuriates us more than to discover someone has lied to us.
In His teaching on prayer Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:11-12).
Lord, my prayer is that the entire Body of Christ (the Church) will go to You in prayer and work out our differences and not suppress the truth, but renew our minds on the Truths and Promises You give us through Your word on the Spirit of Forgiveness. Take the Pride from our hearts and minds, helping us see clearly that we are all on the same team and will be spending Eternity Together. Amen
“For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2
Let go of everything that is beyond your ability to control.
There will be things that will not work out the way you desired or intended, but the Lord’s ways are higher than your ways.
The Lord knows the beginning from the end, and He is giving you opportunities to align yourself with His purposes for your life.
Move with the flow of His Spirit to come into divine order so that His purposes will be established in, around, and through you. Do not be afraid.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Refuse to be drawn away from that which is vitally important to your spiritual well-being. Even as many things demand your attention and resources, you must continually guard your heart.
Maintain integrity and be true to yourself.
Psalms 26:11 But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me.
*God’s Giving is an overflow of His character(Matthew 5:3-12 Beatitudes) and an example of how He calls us to share what we have with others.(Testimonies of what Jesus has done for us—The Cross, the Gospel)
*God gives lovingly. (Exodus 34:6)
*God gives freely. (James 1:17)
*God gives abundantly. (Psalm 132:15)
*God gives wisely. (Romans 16:27)
#3 of 8 Truths to Master Life. (You can get all 8 at):
www.movingforwardwithhope.com
I sincerely ask the Holy Spirit to show me what I need to do and empower me to follow through in obedience.
Result: I am released from my need to control everything.
I am “Free.”
*The reason for this is that I now trust God, Who knows all, and He has promised those who are meek, that they will inherit the earth. Faith is God has freed one from the burden of trying to push, manipulate or force, in order to get one’s way.
Jeremiah 9:23,24. “This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Lord, help me daily to release my need to control everything. Help me come to you for direction in all my ways and thoughts—for Your Glory. Amen
Read Moreby John Piper
Even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:5)
The great missionary hope is that when the gospel is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, God himself does what man cannot do: he creates the faith that saves. The call of God does what the call of man can’t. It raises the dead. It creates spiritual life. It is like the call of Jesus to Lazarus in the tomb, “Come out!” (John 11:43).
We can waken someone from sleep with our call, but God’s call can summon into being things that are not (Romans 4:17). God’s call is irresistible in the sense that it can overcome all resistance. It is infallibly effective according to God’s purpose — so much so that Paul can say, “Those whom [God] called he also justified” (Romans 8:30).
In other words, God’s call is so effectual that it infallibly creates the faith through which a person is justified. All the called are justified. But none is justified without faith (Romans 5:1). So the call of God cannot fail in its intended effect. It irresistibly secures the faith that justifies.
This is what man cannot do. It is impossible.
- Only God can take out the heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26).
- Only God can draw people to the Son (John 6:44, 65).
- Only God can open the heart so that it gives heed to the gospel (Acts 16:14).
- Only the Good Shepherd knows his sheep by name.
He calls them and they follow (John 10:3–4, 14). The sovereign grace of God, doing the humanly impossible, is the great missionary hope.
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“Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19).
At times we may have been discouraged to the point of despair and felt totally abandoned by a God we know that loves us.
And yet in the midst of all of our despair we can find comfort in Jeremiah’s words in Lamentations 3. ( I challenge you to read each day for a week and see what the Lord has to say to you about “who can I trust and why).
“He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed He has turned His hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and my flesh grow old… Even when I call out or cry for help He shuts out my prayer… I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, “my splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” I remember my affliction and my wandering… I well remember them and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassion NEVER fails. They are new every morning; GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'” (emphasis mine).
If you are at the point of despair, do what Jeremiah did and pour out your heart to God. And then call to your mind the fact that GREAT is God’s faithfulness.
- God has not abandoned you and He loves you.
- Don’t allow Satan to deceive you to think anything else. God will be faithful in your life.
But Job is an example for us of how we must break through our natural view of life so that we begin to see things in a different light. This book of Job is here to teach us that God sometimes has to translate theology into painful experience before we really begin to grasp what He is trying to say to us.
Father, thank You that You have sent Your Son, who has endured more suffering than I. Grant me the strength to endure whatever You allow into my life. Amen
Christ is actively working within you to shape your character and empower your obedience.
John 15:26 “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
We need to leave our failures behind and he keep moving forward.
Two wonderful absolutes.
1. The first absolute: GOD REALLY LOVES ME.
*God is not in the business of condemning His children, failures or not. He is a loving Father, wanting only to lift us out of our weaknesses.
*Sometimes we recognize His great love only when we hit bottom. You will have won a great victory if you can be convinced God loves you even in your wounded, crippled condition.
*Our strength is renewed by His everlasting love.
*Just rest in that wonderful love. Don’t panic. Deliverance will come.
2. The second absolute: IT IS MY FAITH THAT PLEASES HIM THE MOST!
“Without faith, it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6).
*God counts our trust as righteousness. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness”. (Romans 4:3).
I may not understand why He sometimes seems to take a long time to intervene, but I know He will keep His word to me.
*God is not in the business of condemning His children, failures or not. He is a loving Father, wanting only to lift us out of our weaknesses.(Read Romans 8).
*Sometimes we recognize His great love only when we hit bottom. You will have won a great victory if you can be convinced God loves you even in your wounded, crippled condition.
*Our strength is renewed by His everlasting love.
*Just rest in that wonderful love. Don’t panic. Deliverance will come.
*When Adam sinned, he tried to hide from God.
*When Jonah refused to preach to Nineveh, his fear drove him into the ocean to flee from the presence of the Lord.
*When Peter denied Christ, he was afraid to face Him.
God has shown us a truth: Something much worse than failure is the fear that goes with it.
**Adam, Jonah and Peter ran away from God not because they had lost their love for Him, but because they were afraid He was too angry with them to understand.
Satan uses such fear to make people think there is no use trying.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Jesus, Help me see your Character in people as well as myself—-Knowing we all are Your Masterpieces. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Read MoreGod Has A Greater Plan for Me—Since this is true — since nothing happens outside God’s will and plan(Read Ecclesiastes 7:14) — then my daily challenges are under his sovereign control, too.
*God knows about my tantrums, Sickness, and the everyday-stress of getting through each day.
*He is not surprised—All the events of our lives that feel out of our control are actually in God’s control.
Lamentations 3:37–38 says, “Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?”
*God is in control of every circumstance and every event of our lives, and he uses them, often in some mysterious way, to change us more into the likeness of Christ.
When my days are long and everything seems to go wrong, I know it has all happened for a reason. (Romans 8:28–29).
This is what God is about. He is not in the business of making my life comfortable and free of any stress. He has something greater planned for me: my holiness.
In the midst of the chaos, I see Jesus and how much I need the gospel each and every moment.
The God of grace who saved me from sin is the God of grace who will help me have patience.
Every challenging situation becomes an opportunity for me to trust him — to obey, to learn, to grow, to rely more on his grace.
So when the air condition breaks and I get a flat tire, instead of despair there is hope. Life doesn’t feel out of control if we know “Who is in control”.
We can trust and rest in God’s sovereignty, knowing that he is using our every stress for our transformation and his glory.
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13b-1
Lord, help me Focus on encouraging love in one another, not pointing out their faults. Let love cover my mistakes because Jesus forgives all mistakes and sins– that is why Jesus died for us. Thank You Jesus! Amen
Read MoreGod is our friend, and He always will tell us the truth. Not only that, but He wants to reveal His secrets to us.
In Psalms 25:14 we read, “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him. . . .” God wants to speak to us.
In fact, Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).
Here Jesus compares us to sheep is not a compliment, by the way. Sheep are among the dumbest of all creatures.
Most animals, in many cases, will survive if released into the wild. They will learn to fend for themselves and make it. But a sheep released into the wild cannot survive.
- Sheep have no survival skills whatsoever.
- They are totally dependent upon the shepherd – just like we are.
- The sheep come to know that when the shepherd speaks they should follow because his plan for them is better than their plan for themselves.
It may be that one of the reasons we don’t know the will of God in certain areas is because we have not applied what is clearly the will of God for all areas.
Obedience to revealed truth guarantees guidance in matters unrevealed.
Establish yourself in strong faith by believing in Jesus and believing that He will reward those who seek Him.
Every difficult situation that you encounter has the potential to strengthen your faith and provide a firm foundation for victory.
Know that the Lord is with you to give you wisdom and bring you through. Only believe!
When you walk in the Lord’s My ways, you will set an example that others can follow if they want to live in peace and blessing. Those that live and walk in the Spirit are able to access everything that is available to them through faith. It is worth it to make the changes necessary to live in righteousness and always do good.
Psalms 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Amen
See Colossians 2:2-3 for what is the mystery of God.
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