Devotions - Prayer
Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” Hebrews 4:16.
You don’t have to be hesitant or shy about coming to God for forgiveness. The Bible says, “Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most”.
At the throne of grace, you will not find scolding, punishment, or rejection. When we come to God with our sin, we receive his mercy, and we find his grace.
What’s the difference between mercy and grace?
- Mercy is forgiveness for all the things you’ve done in the past.
- Grace is the power to change in the future.
You need both.
- You need mercy for all the things you’ve done wrong in the past (forgiveness).
- And you need grace, the power to change, in the future. God says that when you come to him with honesty and humility, you will receive his forgiveness.
Let me tell you how not to get God’s forgiveness.
You don’t beg God. He wants to forgive you more than you want to be forgiven. You don’t have to beg.
You don’t bargain or bribe. “God, I’ll never do it again! I’ll live this kind of life. I’ll tithe 20 percent.” You don’t bargain. You don’t bribe. You don’t beg.
You just believe.
What do you believe? You believe God’s promise in Hebrews 4:16.
How do you do it? You just confess. Confession is not saying, “God, I’ll never do it again.” It’s saying, “You’re right, God. It was wrong. I was wrong.”
The Bible says in Romans 5:1,“Since we have been justified (that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God) by faith, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God … through our Lord Jesus Christ” .
What does it mean to be justified? It means “just as if you’d never sinned.”
Wouldn’t you like to have a heart that’s washed clean? No matter how deep the stain of your sin, God can take it out.
Lord, I confess and repent for not coming to You with all things. You are the way, the truth and the way. Help me daily to be in continuous prayer with you . Amen (see 1 Thes. 5:16-19)
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To walk with Christ is to walk in love.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you…”Ephesians 5:1-2
Obedience To The “Heavenly Vision”
Acts 26:19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.
What is heaven’s mission “It is to spread the Gospel”
John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Today people are non-stop in their daily lives, but are we really LIVING or EXISTING?
Life with each generation seems to become busier than ever, even with technology where we thought it would accomplish more with less, well, we all know where that has taken us!
If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible—not God.
We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. We put down the Word of God and that is our start of backsliding.
If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled.
The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our best for His glory.
Jesus was never to busy.
It is essential that we live and “walk in the light” of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
Personal Ambition and Pride must die.
We learn that we do not live to build up ourselves any longer.
***We live only to be an instrument of the working of Jesus Christ. And we must learn the truth which Jesus taught his own disciples when he was here in the flesh, “Without me you can do nothing…” (John 15:5b).
You can do what? “Nothing!” You may do a lot in the eyes of the world. What you do might be esteemed there.
**But in the eyes of God, without him it is nothing.
Lord, I pray that I will learn the lesson, and that I will be willing to be a person no longer holding onto control of the program myself but quite willing to follow where you lead, and to trust in your life in me to be all that it takes to do all that needs to be done. Yes and may I only boast of you and Your work through it all. Amen
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Men’s hearts are failing them for fear over the things happening on this earth (see Luke 21:26).
Even devout Christians are getting caught up in this wave of fear and anxiety about the future.
*People are afraid the ship is sinking.
*Mankind is yearning for security.
Does it all sound scary? Certainly everything appears to be falling apart, as far as the natural eye can discern.
In his honest moments, even the skeptic must admit that something apocalyptic is taking place in the world.
* How can Christians keep fear out of their hearts?
*How can they face all the news reports and anticipate all the calamities and disasters without being afraid for their homes and children?
*Do they pay off all their bills, salt away some reserves in the bank, then just try to ride it out while hoping that a better day will come?
*Do they buy a farm or a piece of land and flee to the country, hoping they can escape the coming tragedies?
*Do they let their motivation die andsurrender to fear?
*Do they abandon all their dreams and ambitions and become as hermits?
**** God has everything under control.
That is right, everything is under control! You and I, and everything that touches us, are under His control.
No matter how things look in this drunken world, all things are still working together for good to everyone who loves God and are the called according to His purpose (see Romans 8:28).
The future looks evil and foreboding, but David said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” Psalms 23:4).
The message for believers today is that the future is under His control, so we need not fear.
The best defense against the devil is to be so “God-centered” that we give no place to Satan.
David said, “If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (Ps. 139:8). Any time Satan’s oppression is there, God’s presence is present too (Heb. 13:5)!
It’s just a matter of which one we focus on. Focusing on the devil is a trick of the devil.
Our total ability in the Christian life is found in Christ. It is not our ability that makes us strong, but our availability to Christ that enables us.
Paul said, “For when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10). He was saying that when he recognized his inability and, therefore, relied on the Lord, then the Lord’s strength flowed through him. We can do all things THROUGH CHRIST.
Colossians 2: 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Father, I know You want me to share the love I have found in You. Forgive me for the many times I have been too busy to see the needs around me. Break my heart for those who are in pain and feel hopeless. Encourage them through me, Lord. Fill my heart with Your love so that I can give it away. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Read MoreWhen our lives get so busy that we are not listening or responding to His gentle touch, He must take more aggressive measures to get our attention.
The soul is a “neutral” territory that can either be governed by our own thoughts, emotions, and desires, or else given over to the Lordship of Christ.
“For the one who sows to his own flesh shall form the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.”Galatians 6:8
How and Where God Speaks
“The hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, ‘Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you.'” Ezekiel 3:22
When God wants to speak a very important word directly to us without interruption from the noise of our busy lives, he will take us “into the plain.”
The plain is a place of no distractions and no other persons. It is a place of silence. It can be a place of great need as it often fails to have the normal provisions we are accustomed to.
In modern times, it often means a separation from our normal activities such as jobs or families.
The plain can also be a place where we discover afresh that God’s hand has been on us all the time.
When we are so busy with life, we sometimes forget that God’s hand is still there, gently leading our path.
When our lives get so busy that we are not listening or responding to His gentle touch, He must take more aggressive measures to get our attention.
Thus, the plain is one of those appointed times of one-on-one communication with our heavenly Father.
Each day God calls us to our own mini-plain in order to speak to us through His Word and for us to hear.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:12).
David is also asking for help.
“Lord, give me this willing spirit,” he says, and God immediately gives it. Then it must be acted on.
That is the point. Do not wait for a feeling to come that you are forgiven. God has said you are forgiven. Do not wait for a feeling of power to possess you.
God has declared He has already given you the power. As you believe Him (and that is what faith is), you can do what you need to do and what God wants you to do.
A VISION WITHOUT ACTION IS ONLY A DELUSION!
Lord, thank You for giving me all that I need for both forgiveness and power through the Lord Jesus. Thank you for Your Voice and speaking to me. Amen.
Read MoreDon’t Get Burned Out on Too Much Activity.
“Works of the flesh” are things we do without God’s power flowing through us. They are difficult, they drain us, and they produce no joy or fulfillment. They are often good things, but not ‘God things.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
God will show you what you need to do if you ask Him, and He will never give you too much.
**Be occupied with God, not burdened.
There is nothing inherently spiritual about busy-ness. Christ reserved some of his strongest rebukes for the Pharisees — the spiritual workaholics of his day.
The Pharisees were so busy working for God that they had forgotten to follow Jesus.
Nor is there anything inherently sinful about “unproductive” moments — if they are used to “Refresh and Energize YOU For Renewed Service”.
*Even the Creator of the universe set aside his labors for a day of rest.
The beauty of it all IS—While you are at rest, God is at work!
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.” – Jeremiah 17:7
The prophet Jeremiah describes a situation in which the temptation to solve a financial problem can become so great that we trust in man’s way to solve it.
Read (Jeremiah 17:5-8).
Jeremiah drew a sharp comparison between the man who trusts in his own effort to solve his problem and the man who trusts in God when he cannot see the outcome.
The man who trusts in God bears fruit despite the circumstances in his life.
Proverbs 14:12…”There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death.”
***”Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Father, I am weary and I feel a great burden, so I am coming to you. Please give me rest. Please give me your peace. Please provide for me and my family. Please give me rest for my soul. I need you. I am desperate for your provision. Please provide for my family Spiritually, Relationally and Financially. Please, Father, give me rest and provision for Your Glory and my Joy.
Thank You for sending Jesus your Son! Christ died for us because God loved us soooo Much. Amen
You cannot have lasting joy if your heart is not healed.
Have you put away the Old Person and are you living fully as a NEW person in Christ?
Colossians 3:3 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life-even though invisible to spectators-is with Christ in God. He is your life.
Our PAST is JUST our testimony and nothing more. In God we are NEW, we are walking as the inner man (Holy Spirit) and no longer by flesh.
Eph. 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
“And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.” – Joshua 5:8
God requires each of us to be circumcised in heart( Paul’s words in Romans 2:29 and 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 – ‘real circumcision is a matter of the heart’) before we are allowed to enter and receive the blessings that await each believer in the Promised Land.
This circumcision can often be very painful.
*Circumcision requires losing our OLD way of life.
*The process of spiritual circumcision may mean a loss in areas that have been a part of our lives in order to DRAW us to the Savior and away from self.
****God understands this. Consequently, like the people of Israel, we must WAIT until WE ARE Healed from the past before we begin to be effective in our calling.
Loving God the way He wants us to love Him is not an emotion or feeling. It simply means Choosing to set “self” aside in ALL areas-not some!
Hebrews 5: 8 Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do.
John 12: 24 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.
Dear Lord, I’ve sinned and I let it distance me from You. My faith is not about my strength, but living in Your love and strength. Restore the joy of my salvation. Fill me up with Your love. Cleanse my heart and draw me close as I reach for You. Heal me Daily Lord to better serve You. Oh how Great to Live a life with You Lord within me, then living in the World without You. Thank You for your unconditional Love!!! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read MoreOnce we receive the revelation of God’s glory, we cannot continue in our old ways of treating others. That must all change.
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
God is telling us through Paul, “You have seen My glory, and you know My nature and character—that I am gracious, ready to forgive. Now, I want you to express to others who I am!”
“Be merciful to others, even as HE has been merciful to you.”
Sometimes we think it’s all about us. It has to be all about Jesus in order for us to fulfill what is in His heart and mind for His overall plan for His Kingdom. He doesn’t need us, but Jesus has chosen to use us.
God has an agenda for planet earth. He has chosen you and me as the primary instrument for accomplishing His plan.
*Are you willing to be his faithful priest and king to do what is in His heart and mind? Why not say “yes” to His agenda.
Eph. 5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children 2 and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the ministry of reconciliation, (2 Corinthians 5:19 RSV).
You may feel burdened about the mistakes, the wrong things you have done, or the hurt you have caused.
*To you this wondrous word of forgiveness and reconciliation is directed.
**All that is needed is to confess your sinfulness and believe that God himself has borne your sins:
***Your iniquity is pardoned, you have received from the Lord the doubling for all your sins.
Thank you, Father for the comfort of your forgiveness that is offered to me through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
Read More John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
*If we take the Bible to be true and believe that it is truly God’s word, then we should also believe that the only way to get to God is through Jesus Himself.
***Christ alone is the way of salvation.
Trusting God is relying upon His ability to accomplish His Will no matter how we feel, what we think, or how bad the circumstances may appear.
Hold on to truth. God’s truth. It will keep you, protect you & hide you from the grasp of the enemy.
John 13:35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
** This is Love IN Action!
*Love is Truth and Grace all in one. God is Love!
According to Jesus, true freedom comes from knowing and believing the truth (John 8:32). Which means we must believe Him, because He is the truth (John 16:6).
And that means we need to trust Him with all our heart and “not lean on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
That, in a nutshell, is the life of faith.
And the life of faith is a fight (1 Timothy 6:12) because right thinking is very hard.
The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to glorify Jesus. If your life, decisions, choices, etc glorify Jesus you are living in step with the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 12:23 and see what happens if we try take the glory ourselves)
*The apostles were beaten for speaking about Jesus. They rejoiced because they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus.
*Stephen spoke the truth and was stoned for it. He even asked God to forgive the people who were killing him with his last words.
*Paul and Silas spoke the truth and were stripped, beaten and thrown into prison. They endured all of his and yet sang hymns and prayed while they had their feet clamped in stocks.
Don’t be ashamed of the Name of Jesus. Speak the truth in love. Share the sufferings of the men and women of God. Share the fate of those who have endured to the end throughout history.
Father God, please bring to mind those I have not forgiven, those who I harbor resentment toward. I pray Lord that I will resemble Christ more and more each day. That as I go through life here that I don’t let myself become bitter or angry by holding onto resentment. In Jesus name Amen.
Read MoreProverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the unfaithful destroys them.
*Doing the right thing takes place over anything else.
*When doing the right thing and following the rules don’t comply, we still need to do what is morally right.
To lower your Stress–Do the right thing.
*Righteous Men and Women Hate sin.
*Righteous Men and Women follow the word of God.
Proverbs 10:9 The one who conducts himself in integrity will live securely, but the one who behaves perversely will be found out.
*Integrity is when people can trust you to do something when they are not around.
This skill helps you with friendships . Also it is very good for every day life. God tells us to be do what is right no matter if any one is watching.(God IS)
*Integrity is the state or quality over being complete, and it is freedom from corrupting influences and or motives.
*Integrity is equated with words such as honesty, completeness, and incorruptibility.
So integrity is rooted in your private world (where private thoughts are held).
*Integrity is cultivated in the private life that we develop alone with God.
*Integrity is reflected in our relationship with others.
*Integrity is also revealed in public life.
What is done in the dark will come to the light.
*Live a life that is filled with integrity and honor!
Habakkuk 2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion,but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.
**Those who walk side ways with the devil will get their reward. Every action or behavior has a certain out come whether good or bad we will get the out come of our actions.
Luke 16:10 “The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Lord, help me have integrity each and every day. I pray Psalms 139:23-24 Amen
Read MoreJOHN 18:23 Jesus answered him, “If I have said anything wrong, tell everyone here what it was. But if I am right in what I have said, why do you hit me?”
God’s kind of love is not self-serving or self-seeking. Agape love will cause a person to lay down his life for another (Jn. 15:13), because he has literally forgotten himself.
Many times when hero’s are asked why they put themselves in jeopardy to save someone else, they reply that they didn’t even think about themselves.
*All they thought of was the danger to the other person. That’s God’s kind of love.
1. God’s type of love involves emotions many times, but it is not an emotion.
God’s Love is an act of the will.
*We can choose to love even when we don’t feel like it and we can always conduct ourselves in a godly manner, when we feel God’s kind of love.
**God’s kind of love is a choice.
2. God’s kind of love is also the antidote to selfishness and pride.
*We cannot conquer self by focusing on self. The only way to win over self is to fall in love with God more than with ourselves.
*It is in discovering God’s love that we lose self love.
Jesus is the ultimate example of God’s kind of love.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 –(The Love Chapter) Paul’s words on love gives us insight into the heart of God, and God’s love for us. As God has loved us, may we love one another…
God is love.(1 JN 4:8) God’s Love is the only solid foundation upon which human love can be built. If “feelings” have diminished or died within a relationship, only Agape can rekindle the flame.
“…the things impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:27
Thank You God for true love, endless love. We love because You FIRST loved us. Amen
Read More“Make Room for Jesus” Let Jesus be your “Centerpiece”!
The Good News is:
Jesus came to first proclaim good news to the spiritually hurting, that is to preach good news to US!!!
- Jesus came to Heal the broken-hearted.
- Jesus came to set people free who are bound by sin.
- Jesus came to open our spiritual eyes to our spiritual need.
- Jesus came to lift up those who are crushed by life.
- Jesus came to give us abundant life.
- Jesus came to lift us from physical realm of the senses to the spiritual realm to show us that there is more to life. Jesus came to give us His life for us(Mark 10:45)
Colossians 2: 2 I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.
*Christmas is about the love of God. God was willing to come down from heaven to die for us, it was the ultimate sacrifice.
Luke 2:7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
There was no room for the Lord who was born to die for us so that we might have full and complete forgiveness of sins through Him. He was wrapped in swaddling cloths which were used to bury the dead. It is sad that even still today people are still saying to HIM “No Room!”.
Christmas Choice
“Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.'” Luke 2:13-14.
Keeping “Christ” in Christmas is more than just a cliché. It is an intentional act of worship. It requires a heart of adoration, much like the angels had.
It’s Christmas——-the most wonderful time of the year to celebrate – The Christ Child who brought beauty into our broken world, light into our darkness, and peace for each day.
MERRRY CHRISTMAS! REMEMBER GOD’S AMAZING LOVE SHOWN THROUGH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST!
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Acts 6, the newfound church had exploded into existence and discovered their first problem: they had a great deal of money!
All of its members were selling their land and possessions to give to the needs of others, but some of the widows in dire circumstances were being overlooked.
The Holy Spirit moved the apostles’ hearts to choose seven men to solve the problem.
That job seems easy enough, doesn’t it? If I were one of the apostles, I would have called for the accountants in the church, the financiers, the treasurers, the bookkeepers – those who had experience with handling and dispersing funds. That would seem the logical choice, wouldn’t it?
But the apostles had different criteria. In Acts 6:3 we find the qualifications: “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.”
Wow! The implication here is that the men who were selected were men devoid of themselves, having been filled with the Holy Spirit.
*They were wise because they were surrendered to God, and because of this, God chose them for the task. Can you guess what happened next?
The matter was settled and the widows were taken care of from that day forth.
God doesn’t need the best-of-the-best to change the world; He can do it all by Himself.-–Yet, in His mercy and love, He has decided to allow us the opportunity to leave a mark on our sphere of influence for His glory.
*So be encouraged, friend; you don’t have to be the best-looking, the smartest, or the most talented person in the world to gain God’s approval.
READ: Acts 6:1-7
Here in this scripture we find that not just anyone was set as a leader, also the choosing of a leader wasn’t based on human standards but by Gods standards.
Amongst all the leaders they chose only the individuals which were the most filled with the Holy Spirit.
Wait!! If there is only one Holy Spirit, how can one have more than the other?
*Well the reason why one has more than the other is based on how far into God is the individuals heart.
*See how can a person that strives everyday to seek God & another that is unstable & can not stay committed be considered equal in the Spirit?
*They cant because the unstable person isn’t sure of who they are or there identity.
So if they are unstable the Holy Spirit can not be in them because they don’t believe.
**But on the other hand the individual that seeks God knows who they are, they know their identity, they will not be knocked over to easily.
**They surrender their entire heart to God, the door to their heart is wide open for the Holy Spirit to come & dwell in them & work thru them! Lets say they had Godly Values. Do we?
That is why they were chosen! So let there be no envy if one is not ordained, for it is not ones duty or time. It is not up to us but up to the Holy Spirit- it is His decision.
Let The Lord lead and guide you in the workplace and at home as a great leader and rely on him. Keep your identity in Jesus. Let Him direct you. Amen
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JOHN 17: Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
God the Father had the plan of salvation worked out before He even created the world.
*Most of us would not have created the world and man if we knew the heartache and terrible sacrifice it would cost.
*But God is not man. In His judgment (which is the correct judgment) the prize was worth the cost.
We were chosen in Christ before the world began. (see Psalms 139)
The Lord did not choose us by our merit, but solely by our acceptance of Christ which His foreknowledge allowed Him to do before the foundation of the world.
Acts 16:31 Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.
In the strictest sense, we were not personally chosen, but Christ was chosen and all those who are “in Christ” partake of His being chosen by His Father.
Just as we are the beneficiaries of the covenant between God the Father and His Son Jesus, so we are chosen because we chose God’s chosen, i.e. Christ.
The Father would no more reject us than He would reject Jesus because we are accepted by the Father through Christ.
None of us can claim that we are without blame in the sight of men because man looks on the outward appearance (1 Sam. 16:7) and all of us have sinned (Rom. 3:23).
But the Lord looks on our born-again spirit which has been regenerated in Christ and He sees us holy and without blame.
*If you look at any color through a red glass, that color becomes red.
*The same thing would happen if you looked through a green glass. Everything would become green.
In a similar way:
* God looks at us through Christ and everything in our life becomes covered by the blood of Jesus.
*We are holy and without blame before God because of His love expressed through His Son Jesus.
Thank You Jesus for the kind of gladness I have for being satisfied with all that God is for me in YOU! Amen
Read MoreI praise You because You made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What You have done is wonderful. I know this very well. You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother’s body. When I was put together there, You saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me were written in Your book before I was one day old (Psalm 139:14-16).
We tend to find our identity and worth in the fact that we are chosen by someone.
The knowledge that I am chosen frees me to serve Him whole-heartedly and boldly without bowing to the unrealistic expectations imposed by others.
The knowledge that He created me allows me to embrace the gifts He has given me and encourages me to strain every choice, every decision through the filter of God’s perfect plan for my life.
Knowing whose I am draws my attention away from both the critics and the cheerleaders in life, and fixes my gaze on the only one I have to please … God.
We come to Jesus alone. There are no “group rates” when it comes to knowing God. It’s always one-on-one and very personal.
Just think of it! God Himself supervised our formation. We were created in love – for love – with a specific and holy purpose in mind.
We can rejoice with the Psalmist who wrote, “Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to Him; we are His people, the sheep He tends” (Psalm 100:3 ).
Knowing whose we are settles our souls and directs our steps toward the path God intended when He shaped us. You and I were created as a living, fleshed out representation of God’s love.
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God(That holy religion which God has sent from heaven) is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness(Pardon of sin, and holiness of heart and life) peace(in the soul, from a sense of God’s mercy; peace regulating, ruling, and harmonizing the heart.)and joy in the Holy Spirit(In a word, it is happiness brought into the soul by the Holy Spirit, and maintained there by the same influence).
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life(The salvation purchased by Christ, and given to them who believe): that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Father, I want to know You and find Your plan for my life. I choose to see myself through Your eyes of love, forgiveness and grace. I want to be the person You created me to be. Thank You for loving me. Help me to walk each day in the knowledge that I am Your child. Amen.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God”(Philippians 1:9-11 NIV).
Think of somebody who irritates you — maybe somebody you’ve got a strained relationship with or who just rubs you the wrong way. Two questions for you:
- One, do you pray for that person?
- Or do you just complain and grumble and nag and nitpick?
If you prayed more, you’d have a lot less to grumble, complain, nag, an$d nitpick about. It’s your decision.
Does nagging work? No. Does prayer work? Yes.
So why do you do more of the thing that doesn’t work than the one that does?
Pastor Friend of mine always says: “It is better to Bless others then Blast them”.
Paul says in Philippians 1:4,“Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy”.
Paul didn’t just pray for people in his life. He prayed with joy!
- Positive praying is more effective than positive thinking. All the positive thinking in the world isn’t going to change your husband or your wife or your child or your friend or your situation.
- Positive thinking can change you, but it won’t change somebody else. But positive prayer can make a difference in someone else.
Do you want to know the quickest way to change a bad relationship to a good one? Start praying blessings for the other person! It will change you, and it can change the other person.
Paul even told us how to pray for others: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).
From these verses, we can learn to pray for the people in our lives in four ways:
- Pray that they will grow in love:“This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.”
- Pray that they will make wise choices: “… so that you may be able to discern what is best …”
- Pray that they will live with integrity: “… and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ …”
- Pray that they will become like Jesus: “… filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.”
Pray these for yourself and anyone else in your life, and watch how God turns around the relationship you thought was hopeless. Nothing is impossible with God! Amen
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