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Finding strength to do the impossible…

“‘Difficulty’ is not a word to be found in the dictionary of heaven. Nothing can be impossible with God.”

— Charles H. Spurgeon

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
— Isaiah 40:29

Even the most pumped up and positive ones of us find ourselves broken and weary at some point in our life. It isn’t so hard to believe and follow Jesus when we are soaring on the wings of eagles or running and not getting weary in our walk with God. Often the toughest time to keep our faith vibrant is when we are trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other while not fainting. In those moments of absolute powerlessness, weakness, and brokenness the Lord is often most real, most powerful, and most present.

Thank you, God, for sustaining me and keeping my faith alive when I have been under attack from the Evil One and have grown weary with the challenges and hardships of life. Please give those I love, and mention now by name, the strength to press on even though they are weary and weak. Please be real in their lives and let them know that you are coming with grace to help and redeem as their Great Deliverer. In Jesus’ name I ask it. Amen.

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Have you prayed about it?

Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
Psalm 86:6-7 (NIV)

Sometimes there are no immediate answers for the troubling events in life. We have prayed and cried and tried and gone sleepless and mourned and shouted. Still there are no answers. The days roll by in an agonizing parade of pain. Still there are no answers we can identify. What do we do? We can go to the Psalms. We allow let them raise up our heart’s cry. We are honest with the God of the entire universe and yet we can still anticipate mercy from him. We are convinced that in our troubles, he will not only hear us, but he will also care about what is happening in our lives.

Almighty God,
the only true Healer
of disease and Mender
of broken hearts,
please hear the cry today
of those I love who are
in such desperate situations.
May your will be done
in every one of their lives
with tenderness, grace,
and a sense of your presence.
And Lord, please be near me,
and help me see your
answer to my prayers.
Forever yours in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

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Forgiveness!

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.  And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” – Jeremiah 31:33-34 NLT

Jeremiah is God’s voice, speaking about the promise of the LORD’s new covenant that he will make with his people. Of course, knowledge of God’s “instructions” started with the prophets and others who spoke for God in Biblical times and starts with the Bible and people who speak for God now. However, knowledge is not nearly enough. We need to be empowered and transformed by the Holy Spirit of the living God who will place God’s instructions on our hearts and make them a part of us. As important as the scriptures are, the Spirit who inspired them is also the one who is essential for us to understand and live the intent of scripture. The Holy Spirit will inform, transform, and conform God’s people to be like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). This promise of a new covenant also runs throughout the New Testament, but the work of the Spirit in this covenant is especially emphasized in John chapters 14-16 as Jesus promises the Comforter or Counselor or Advocate or Helper or Friend (depending on your translation). It is also emphasized powerfully in 2 Corinthians 3, which is probably a spiritual reflection about the fulfillment of God’s promise recorded by Jeremiah. Read 2 Corinthians 3 after reading today’s verses from Jeremiah. Rejoice that we have this promised time of grace and divine presence available to us in the Holy Spirit!

Almighty God, I rejoice in the sacrifice of Jesus and the work of your Holy Spirit to bring your promise of a new covenant alive in our day. I ask that the Spirit’s power, his force, his grace, be at work in me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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This World Needs Jesus.

My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation is on the way,
and my arm will bring justice to the nations.
The islands will look to me
and wait in hope for my arm.
Isaiah 51:5 (NIV)

God’s promises stand through the ages. He has fulfilled them in many different ways. He has punished evil nations, he has redeemed Israel according to his promises, and he has sent Jesus as Savior and redeemer. But most importantly of all, Jesus stands at the edge of history waiting to return and bring full redemption for God’s people and salvation for those everywhere who long for his return.

Sovereign Lord,
I see so much injustice in the world
and I long for truth, righteousness,
and justice to triumph.
While I long for the return of Jesus,
my heart also breaks for the many
that do not know Jesus
and for those who are
in rebellion to your will.
I don’t know what to ask
other than that your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven
and may the triumph
of your will begin with me.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.

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Taking a bite out of sin…

A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples.
John 13:34-35

How do you recognize Jesus’ followers? How do you find Christians? Jesus said they love each other just as he loved the disciples. In the immediate context this means he is willing to give sacrificially and extravagantly by dying for them at the cross, and he is also willing to love selflessly and practically by washing their feet. His ministry reveals he will do almost anything in between extravagant and practical. Imagine if we all read the Gospels and committed to love each other in the same way Jesus showed his love to his disciples!

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Romans 5:5

It’s hard to believe that there is an endless supply of anything! But the promise of this passage, even in its context of suffering and difficulty, is that we have an endless supply of love as the Holy Spirit fills our hearts with love. This love is as big as God and is supplied by the Holy Spirit’s living inside us as followers of Jesus. We can receive and be blessed by God’s love, and we have the power to love others out of God’s deep reservoir of love.

Father of Compassion and God of all grace, I thank you for teaching me to love
through the example of Jesus. Thank you for your powerful grace that is given to me through your Spirit and enables me both to receive your love and to love others as Jesus did. May my life reflect this powerful gift in both good times and hard times. May my words and actions reflect his love toward your people today, tomorrow, and until you bring us all home to you. In the name of Christ, my Great Example, I pray. Amen.

 

Message Confirmed

So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

— Hebrews 2:3-4 NLT

Think About It

Some things are simply more important than others. And the most important things of all are Jesus and our response to him. The message of salvation through Jesus was announced by Spirit-inspired messengers thousands of years before his coming. This message was confirmed by powerful demonstrations of God’s presence through the Holy Spirit. This message continues as we use our gifts and our lives to proclaim the truth of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit. We must not ignore, take for granted, or downplay the great message of God’s grace in Jesus or our ability to spread the message by the power of the Spirit!

Today’s Prayer

Loving Father, thank you for testifying powerfully to the truth about your Son. May my life be part of an ongoing and living testimony to Jesus. As the Spirit opens doors for me to share my faith, give me the courage and kindness to share this truth with urgency and passion so others can know this most important message of all! In Jesus’ name, I request this grace. Amen.

Time Passes Quickly…

“I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love.”
— Henry Ward Beecher

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.”
 — Ecclesiastes 12:1

When we are young and have so many things to do, many things can distract us from what is important. We must let the Lord gather our passions under his grace in those early days of excitement and frenetic joy so we can be used for God’s greater good. For most of us, age brings a crescendo of limitations of one kind or another. This doesn’t mean life has to be bad, just that we had better put our priorities in order. Hopefully we learned the lessons of faith in our youth so that we have the maturity and wisdom to be mentors, examples, and counselors for those who come after us on the path.

Holy God, I pray for the youth of your Church. Give them passion and joy as they find you and follow Jesus. May their faith be real, vibrant, joyous, and triumphant! Give them a sense of your glory. Sustain them through their later years with a deep assurance of your presence, victory, and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Best Ever!

Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
– Psalm 51:11

This desperate cry is from King David to God in his deep sorrow for his sin with Bathsheba and his cry for God’s forgiveness. The king before David, Saul, had blatantly disobeyed God and sought to rationalize his sin. God took his Holy Spirit from Saul. So David’s cry is understandable: in the Old Testament, God’s Spirit didn’t come to dwell in his people permanently.

However, I believe that the New Testament teaches that when the Holy Spirit comes into a person at his or her conversion, this gift of the Spirit is permanent. They can grieve, quench, resist, and ignore the Spirit’s influence, but God doesn’t take the Spirit away from them. Jesus promised that the gift of the Spirit would be with us forever (John 14:14-16). Paul talks about nothing separating us from the love of God in Christ Jesus in the context of a chapter focusing upon the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:37-39).

We shouldn’t have the concern David voices as followers of Jesus in whom the Holy Spirit lives. Instead, when we hear David’s heart-wrenching cry, we need to be reminded of two things. First, we need to be thankful for this precious gift of God’s presence within us to be with us until we return home to the Father (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 2:2). Second, we need to be reminded of the hurtfulness of sin to the Spirit of God living within us and commit to honor God with what we do, think, and say (Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 6:19-20).

Father God, I cannot fully comprehend the wonder of you coming to live inside me through your Holy Spirit. I commit to live my live more aware that every breath, every thought, every action is part of my worship to you as the Temple in which you live by the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 

Gate for the Sheep

Light to See
“If I didn’t have spiritual faith, I would be a pessimist. But I’m an optimist. I’ve read the last page in the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right.”
— Billy Graham

Read About It
[Jesus explained his statements about the gate and the sheep:] “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.”
— John 10:7-8 NLT

Look It Up
Ezekiel 34:7-10  
Mark 10:42-45
Matthew 24:24

Think About It
People were constantly looking for a messiah, and many false messiahs had come and gone. Many religious leaders were ready to claim the role of messiah. But only one was sent by God. Only one did the will of God completely. Only one was willing to lay down his life for the sheep of God. This kind of shepherd not only entered through the gate but he was also willing to lay down his own body to be the gate in the pens set up in the open fields to protect the sheep and to calm their restlessness and fears. Jesus was not seeking his own good or glory; he came to serve God’s sheep – including us. Why? He did it because of his love for us and because that is what God wanted him to do and that is what a real shepherd does!

Pray About It
Lord God, help me not to listen to the false voices of self-appointed religious leaders who are unwilling to sacrifice for your sheep and instead want to fleece them for their own benefit. Thank you, Jesus, for being the one real shepherd that I can follow. By the authority of your name, I offer my prayer and thanksgiving. Amen.  

His Master’s Voice

Light to See
“An idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand.”
— A. W. Tozer

Read About It
He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant, … — John 10:3-6 NLT

Look It Up
John 20:24-28
1 Peter 2:25
2 Corinthians 11:2

Think About It
RCA Victor once used an old recording logo that showed a dog listening at a megaphone-type speaker with the words, “His Master’s Voice.”® In the same way, we – as the sheep in today’s verses – should know the voice of the true shepherd. We should train ourselves to recognize him and trust him so much because of his love for us that we will not follow anyone who does not sound like our shepherd. Jesus is our shepherd. He speaks, and we hear the Master’s voice. We follow him as Lord, and him alone.

Pray About It
Please God, give me a heart to follow only Jesus and an ear to recognize any impostor that might seek to steal away my heart from my Lord. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

God Has Not Gone Missing…

Then [the Lord’s people] remembered the old days, the days of Moses, God’s servant: “Where is he who brought the shepherds of his flock up and out of the sea? And what happened to the One who set his Holy Spirit within them?” — Isaiah 63:11 MESSAGE

In their rebellion against God, the Lord’s people forgot that they were the ones who had left him rather than him abandoning them. They wondered why the power and influence of the Holy Spirit weren’t present in the life of their community and in their nation when they, in fact, had grieved and opposed the Spirit of the Living God. God’s Spirit will not abandon us, but we can grieve the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30), quench his influence and presence (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20), and resist his influence and teaching (Acts 7:51). The yearning we feel for God’s presence in us through the Holy Spirit is a good thing. That longing reminds us of our need to return to God!

Loving Father, the holy and Almighty God, my soul yearns for your presence. I need your guidance. And I recognize that when I have been unwilling to listen for your voice, I have separated myself from the influence of your presence and have only caused myself grief. Please forgive me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Spirit Driven Ministry

“Pray, and let God worry.”

— Martin Luther

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. — Isaiah 61:1 NIV

God’s servants in every era, including now, are empowered by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit produces holy fruit in their lives (Galatians 5:22-23), shapes their hearts, and guides their efforts toward ministry that conforms to the heart of God: He sends them to bind up the broken, bring freedom to those in captivity, and proclaim release from darkness for those imprisoned. We can get an idea of the way we are yielding to the Spirit’s leading when we see what resonates in our hearts and what our hands find to do as ministry!

Almighty God, make my heart yearn for what you long to happen. Guide my hands to do the work that you want to be done. Open my eyes to see those who need to receive your mercy. Move in me powerfully with your Spirit to conform me — heart, soul, mind, and strength — to your holy and compassionate will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Proof Is in the Person

Light to See
“The long dull monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the Devil.” — C. S. Lewis

Read About It
When Jesus heard [that the man he had healed was thrown out of the synagogue], he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus. — John 9:35-38 NLT

Look It Up
James 2:14-20
2 Timothy 2:11-13
Matthew 11:27-30

Think About It
Jesus shows by his actions that he is who he claims to be. When everyone else abandons and casts out the healed man, Jesus goes and finds him. The man shows he is a true God-seeker because when Jesus shares with him his identity, the man worships him. Let’s show who we are by our actions and trust that Jesus will do so as well!

Pray About It
Dear God, thank you that Jesus does not abandon me when everyone else does. Thank you for your steadfast faithfulness toward me even when no one else believes in me. Help me form my character so that I will be steadfast and faithful as you are. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

A Heavier Judgment on Teachers and Leaders!

Light to See
“The church exists by mission, as fire exists by burning.” — Emil Brunner

Read About It
“You were born a total sinner!” [the Jewish leaders answered to the man who had been healed of his blindness and who said Jesus had to be from God]. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
— John 9:34 NLT

Look It Up
James 3:1
Matthew 23:27-36
John 7:16-17

Think About It
God despises the abuse of power. He repeatedly warned against it in Old Testament times, [1] and he warns those who teach and lead in his Kingdom that they had better do so honorably or they will stand under harsher judgment. When these religious authorities cannot discount the truth of the healed man’s statements and they cannot discredit Jesus, they resort to shaming the man and expelling him from their society. In other words, they want to get rid of the witness and the evidence. Such behavior is damnable. If we are leaders – and we are all influencing someone, let’s be warned of how awful such behavior is and how God abhors it. [1] For example, Isaiah 10:1-2.

Pray About It
Almighty and holy Father, please give me the courage to always look for truth. Help me never be so self-deceived that I resort to such deplorable actions as these religious leaders in today’s verse. Give me a teachable heart that yearns for your truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.