Devotions - Prayer
GIVE UP ON MEASURING UP!
“No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us”. (Romans 8:37)
The Lord has only one standard. His standard, and it’s a Godly standard. If we compare what we’ve done to others, or what our integrity is, we must measure it to Gods standard. We must always strive to reach Christ’s example. Paul says “follow my example, as I follow Christ’s example.”
“False weights and unequal measures— the LORD detests double standards of every kind”. (Proverbs 20:10)
Let’s be brave enough to share our own experiences of being downcast and wounded. Don’t be afraid. God commands us to love, and anytime we love…we become vulnerable.
* “…so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”2 Corinthians 1:4
Biblical Example ON MEASURING UP!
“The people feared the presence of the Lord . . . and they came and worked on
the house of the Lord of hosts, their God” (Haggai 1:12, 14).
Here in chapter 1 Haggai’s people are unconcerned with God or the things of God. They are wrapped up in Themselves.
*God calls them to repent and put Him first in their lives.
* They choose to heed His call and return to Him.
**How amazing it must have felt to hear the message from the Lord, “I am with you!”. God responded to their obedience. God requires our obedience.
***” Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered”. (Hebrews 5:8).
*Help us Lord to put God first in every area of Our life!!!
*Help us that we will seek to obey not just know God.
After all our hard work, all our
sacrifice and obedience, all our putting God’s interests first, we don’t
measure up!
This is nothing compared to what we once saw. Why struggle, why go
on, when we see so little for all that we’ve done?
A host of God’s people today are “giving up” because they do not think they
will ever “measure up”!
Like the Israelites, they have gone back to God, back to putting Him first, seeking His will, building His house. BUT when they look at their lives, they say,
*I have so little to show for all my struggles!
*I have so little of God’s holiness, so little of His glory in my life.
* Compared to other Christians, I’ll never measure up.
* What’s the use of struggling?
****I’ll never have victory.”
LISTEN to the WORD!
“For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’” (Duet. 20:4).
*God sent His precious and only Son to die on Calvary’s tree for you. God redeemed you.
*More than God bringing you out of a watery grave, He delivered you from eternal damnation into glorious communion with Him forever!
God saved YOU! What more could you possibly want?????
*Are you down in the dumps today?
* Do you feel like the victim of a bad situation?
* Do you feel like God has abandoned you?
*Do You feel you do not measure?
Then write down Deuteronomy 20:4 on a piece of paper and meditate on it until you believe it.(“For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’”).
I am convinced this is why many devoted Christians give up the fight. They Compare themselves to other believers and become discouraged because they feel hopelessly inferior!
“You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom”.
(Galatians 5:7-8)
*** As we continue to run the race that is set before us, am I fueling myself for the hills that lie ahead? Have I filled my inner man with the spiritual food of God’s word, regular fellowship with His people, and the presence of His Spirit within me?
*Have I refrained from spiritual “junk food” that would provide temporary satisfaction but doesn’t really give me the strength and energy I need?
* Am I really committed to doing this God’s way, or mine?
If you will just stay true to the Lord and not try to measure yourself by
anything except “Your own Love for Jesus”, you can be assured that you are
growing—and God promises to be with you!
The Lord’s discipline is designed for one purpose: for us, his children, to REPENT and to put him FIRST in our lives.
Are you feeling the absence of the Holy Spirit in your life?
Prayerfully consider those areas where you are NOT putting Jesus first, and then adjust your priorities accordingly.
Nowhere in the Bible does God condemn people for longing to be happy.
People are condemned for forsaking God and seeking their happiness elsewhere (Jeremiah 2:13). This is the essence of sin. The Bible actually commands us to delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4).
Jesus teaches us to love God more than money because our heart is where our treasure is (Matthew 6:21).
Paul wants us to believe that gaining Christ is worth the loss of everything else (Philippians 3:8) and the author of Hebrews exhorts us to endure suffering, like Jesus, for the joy set before us (Hebrews 12: 1-2). Examine the Scriptures and you’ll see this over and over again.
I will not be confined by my circumstances. Though mountains and giants be before me, God strengthens me. For it is “not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit, says the Lord” that the mountains of my life become plains. I am more than a conqueror through Him (Christ Jesus) who loves us.
Psalms 139:
1 OLORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Lord help me to be more than just someone who knows you, but help me be a person that obeys you. I’ve read your Word and from it I have gained much knowledge about what you desire from me…help me live by and obey what I know. If only I was as good at obeying as I am about knowing. Thank you for being so Patient and Gracious with me. I would have given up on me by now, Your mercy is new every morning. Help me to show you the love you have shown me by a life of obedience and dedication to you. Help me to do the giftings you have given me to glorify You-verses Measuring myself by others giftings. We need the whole Body and help me see my part for Your Glory and my Joy Amen.
“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.” Ephesians 2:10.
(Today read Colossians 2— God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In Jesus lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge-Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking-These worldly rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. )
We are made with a perfect design but we need to walk in it! Each of us been given great gifts that we can use for the great works God has called us to. What are your gifts?
People who seem to “have it all together” are often untouchable, because no one can really identify with them.
Instead of striving to be “flawless”, let’s instead purpose to be REAL and point others to the only One who is Perfect.
“There is only One who is good…”
Matthew 19:17
Our true Identity is defined not by our PAST Actions – BUT by the Savior’s.
*In the past on that Cross–Jesus Purchased US by His Blood and brought us into relationship with God the Father, who Adopted us as His Beloved Children.
*We need to hold our heads high and proclaim the Gospel-the GOOD NEWS!
*The Spirit’s work is always focused on the harvest of souls!
What’s Your testimony of what Jesus has done for You?? People need to hear your story-Plus, I believe YOU need to tell it to Heal. “He(God) comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Cor. 1:4)
2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who Belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
*DO we Trust in what we FEEL or BELIEVE what God SAYS?
*God’s word calls us SAINTS(Ro. 1:7)
*God’s word calls us Disciples (Matt. 28:19)
*God’s word calls us fellow Heirs with Jesus Christ. (Ro. 8:17)
*****God’s Word Says to You and Me:
” All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we ARE united with Christ.
* Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
* God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.
* This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
*So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
*He is so rich in kindness and grace that HE purchased OUR Freedom with the blood of his Son and Forgave OUR sins. *He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding”. (Ephesians 1:3-8)
Let’s be Brave and Transparent enough to share our own experiences of being downcast and wounded.
* Don’t be afraid. God commands us to love, and anytime we love…we become vulnerable. It’s Time to Let Go and let God!
*Here Again “…so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
2 Corinthians 1:4
Let us Move Forward daily.
Life is very much like this. It is often Lived forward, but Understood backward.
It is not until we are down the road a bit that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale and the spiritual deposits He has made in our life as a result.
When you begin to realize some of this, you sit back and breathe a sigh of relief because you Know that God was in control all along.
It didn’t seem like it at the time, but He was there and in control with Your Best interest in mind.
Are you in the midst of a difficult journey that seems almost impossible to continue?
*Be assured that God is providing grace even now to equip you for that journey. There will be a time when you can say, “Wow, look at what God has done because of what I gained through that valley.”
*Trust Him with the outcome of where you find yourself today. Praise Him-Count Your Blessings!
You Are God’s Masterpiece!
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.
*We are made with a perfect design but we need to walk in it! Each of us been given great gifts that we can use for the great works God has called us to. What are your gifts?
“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. ”
(1 John 4:10-13)
“This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” (Col. 1:21:22).
Thank You Heavenly Father that regardless what we have done in our past, You are willing to accept us and work out the necessary changes in us for our own good- Through Your great mercy and compassion, Thank you for extending grace to Us. Help us see how special we are to You. Your perfect absolute Truth in Your word says in
James 1:18 that out of all creation we are Your prize possession. The mountains are so majestic and yet we in Gods eyes are more then even these.
“..And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.(Col. 1:27). Thank You Lord for this knowledge and help us fully understand the implications, we can not be the person we were before. WE are now a representative of God on earth, an ambassador of the Creator. Thank You Jesus for my New Identity to be “IN CHRIST”-which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Amen
*Read all of Colossians 1 Today-Ask
“what is Jesus saying to Me”? You will be blessed!
” Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
*Life is about choices and if you chose to live in the will of God you have to walk in thanksgiving.
*Everyone has a choice: Gratitude even in sorrow or struggle or A lack of gratitude while being blessed.
Lord, please show me any hidden areas in my life today that need to be cleansed and healed. Set me free with a clean, pure heart filled to overflowing with your Agape Love.
* “Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Thy servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”
Psalm 19:12-13
* “…and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Ephesians 5:2
God desires that we be so convinced of His tender love, so persuaded He is at
work bringing us into HIS best, that we will have continual joy and gladness in
our walk with Him!
Moses warned Israel, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of all things” (Deuteronomy28:47-48).
God is saying to us today, “Be glad and rejoice in what I have already Done
for you!
*It is the will of God that we Serve Him with full of joy and gladness.
If you go around moping, murmuring and complaining, you will forever
be spiritually starved and naked, a prey to your enemies!”
God wants us to so trust in His love for us that we will be testimonies of gladness and good cheer!
*He wants believers who are glad at heart, filled with a gladness that is based on truth.
*His truth produces a wealth of gladness that flows naturally outward from the heart:
*“Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing”. (Psalm 100:2).
*Serving God results in freedom, peace and joy. Serving the enemy results in emptiness and slavery.
* “He brought out His people with joy, His chosen ones with gladness” (Psalm 105:43).
*“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you
righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:11).
*“Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them
rejoice exceedingly” (Psalm 68:3).
You may ask, “How long can I expect to maintain joy in my service to the
Lord?”
Many believe that it lasts only as long as seasons of refreshing come from on high or as long as things go right.
*** No, we are to have joy at all
times!
That is exactly what the Bible says: “Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad ALL our days!” (Psalm 90:14).
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy” (Isaiah 65:18).
We are “the Jerusalem from above”—reborn and living for Him with a spirit of gladness and rejoicing! Trust the Father, believe His Word about Himself, and see His gladness pour forth from your life.
Whenever God takes us through the land of affliction, He will do two things through that affliction:
1) He will bring such healing that we will be able to forget the pain, and
2) He will make us fruitful from the painful experiences.
*God does not waste our afflictions if we allow HIM the freedom to complete the work in us.
*His desire is to create virtue that remains during the times of testing so that He can bring us into the place of fruitfulness in the very area of our testing.
*He has never promised to keep us from entering the valleys of testing, but He has promised to make us fruitful in them.
*He is the God who turns the Valley of Achor (trouble) into a door of hope (see Hos. 2:15).
If you are in the valley of affliction, now is the time to press into Him. When the time comes to bring you out of this valley, He will heal your memories and bring fruit from this very time.
Refuse to allow yourself to get weary while standing in faith, in prayer, or in warfare. Seek the Lord and go into His presence where you can be refreshed and renewed. This is no time to get discouraged. Don’t give up! You are at the point of a significant breakthrough if you will just continue to fight through the opposition. Be strong and resolute and be continually Joyful .
**Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Lord, help me to fully appreciate who You are and to trust you when Your love is evident as well as when Your wrath is prevalent. I pray that the work of the Holy Spirit may appear in converting our hearts, and that the beauty of holiness may be seen in our conduct. Give me good times – Give me much joy even in midst of Pain- Show me that you are real in the midst of Troubles– Show me that you haven’t forgotten me for I know Your Love endures Forever! Thank you Jesus for giving us FAITH. Amen
Read MoreOften Christians fall into error in their early Christian days, thinking that if they “Deny Themselves” in some way God is going to be pleased, and their status in His sight will be advanced.
Mark 7:13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”
The Word of God has power. However, you could lose the value or the effects that the Word has in your life by focusing on excessive rules and standards that fit your thoughts and ideas- thinking–“Deny Myself” in some way God is going to be pleased, and my status in His sight will be advanced.
“Everyone who goes on ahead and does not Remain in the Teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son.” (2 John 1:9)
* We must be careful that we do not take for granted what Christ has done for us and make sure that we Remain Focused on JESUS in ALL Roles in life!!
* If we wander away from the Truth in His Word,( at times it seems our culture has ‘run ahead’ and no longer continues in the teaching of Jesus, but mans teachings) we have cut off our relationship with the Father.
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them, in the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden (1 Timothy 5:24-25).
*** Fraudulent Faith
Read Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:1-5
“They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:3).
** One of the strange marks of religious error I have witnessed and even experienced is that it is so often accompanied by “Ascetic Practices”, that is, “Denial of certain normal, natural human enjoyments”.
***One of them is marriage.
*Marriage Defined- One man and one woman entering a covenant with God in love through marriage.
The marriage share Oneness with commitment, accountability, and safety of Marriage.
A number of groups have historically forbidden marriage to their adherents with the idea that SEX is unclean, and those who indulge in sex are certainly less dedicated than those who refrain.
(Our picking and choosing what is moral or not with the husband and wife in one union relationship).
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: (Hebrews 13:4).
*Sex is not a nasty things made allowable by marriage. It’s a beautiful thing that is designed for marriage. Genesis 2:24 – 25
** Am I honoring my marriage? I need to make sure that in my thoughts, words, and actions I am honoring my wife! It is such a great privilege to be married now I have the opportunity to honor my wife.
*Don’t bring the past soul-ties into Your Godly marriage which God is in charge. *Self-Denial of certain things don’t make past mistakes forgiven (it’s like a works mentality).
**You are forgiven when you Confess them to Jesus!!
* The sin is no longer held against you-the sin is washed away by the blood of Jesus.
*When sex is not spouse focused, it’s purely about self gratification.
*Trust in His word.(He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalms 103:12)
Foods come under this heading too. I do not mean to imply at all that there is anything wrong with diets. It is obvious that some people need dieting(ME!). There is nothing wrong with studies on nutrition and proper eating.
Nevertheless, through the course of human history there has been a strange affinity between food restrictions and fads and religious error.
The reason is that at the heart of asceticism is a conviction that. “self-denial” somehow pleases God.
Self-denial can be very earnest, very sincere.
***Often us Christians fall into this error in their early Christian days, thinking that if they Deny Themselves in some way God is going to be pleased, and their status in His sight will be advanced.
For example that is why some Christians love to get up early in the morning for Scripture reading or memorize hundreds of verses of Scripture or pray on their knees for long periods of time.
*These practices, which in themselves are not wrong, nevertheless become wrong because their Motive (that of gaining God’s favor by self-denial) is wrong.
This is a good example of the subtlety by which error begins.
*When a deviation enters a stream of truth, at the first point of deviation, error looks like truth; it is very hard to see it as error. (Romans 1:18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who Suppress the Truth by their wickedness.).
This is what has misled so many people. *They never recognize error until they become engrossed in it.
Down the line they begin to suspect that it is error, but by that time they are already hooked.(Addicted to Sin).
There is a difference between self-denial and denying self. Jesus said,
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). That is denying self!
**But that is easily confused with Self-Denial, which says,
“I will give up this thing or that thing. I want to gain a special mark of favor before God, and I want to influence God to do something for me in return.”
***When our motivation ultimately is to achieve something for ourselves by our actions, we are no longer denying self but practicing self-denial.
How subtle the differences are!
** Self-denial is an attempt to “earn favor apart from faith” in the gift of righteousness which makes us wholly acceptable before God right at the very beginning of our Christian life.
***Denying self is a Refusal to heed those silken arguments of the inner ego that appeal to us to show how good we are by giving up something.
I ask myself ” What am I giving up trying to get something in turn from God”??
Your happiness is not something you pursue; it’s something that ensues from efforts that transcend yourself.
The hardest time to focus on your relationships is when you’re frustrated with that person or group.
I know that. I know you’d rather turn inward. But if you do, you’ll narrow your existence. You’ll close yourself in. You’ll shield your pain (to some extent), but you’ll also turn your back on your only hope.
You’ve got to turn and face the darkness in your life. And I don’t mean face it for
a couple of weeks and then give up because “it didn’t work.”
The key to most circumstances is ENDURANCE. If it took you years to get yourself into this mess, it’s going to take more than a couple of weeks to get yourself out of it.
Only after we have “put off” the old man and “put on” the new are we truly set free to praise the Lord with a whole heart.
* “Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones; Praise is becoming to the upright.”Psalm 33:1
Dear Lord thank you for giving me a wonderful wife, help me to honor Laura in everything. May we have your blessing on our marriage with YOU being number One. May we let Your will be done in work and ministry to give You the Glory.
Lord, thank You for Your concern for Your church body, for what You have envisioned it to be and for what You are ready to make it as men and women willingly obey You, and walk in the power of Your Spirit. Lord, thank You that I can enjoy the things You have created. Teach me the difference between self-denial and denying self in all areas of life, for Your Glory and my joy.
In Jesus Name, Amen
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