Category: finding peace

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
–  Galatians 2:20

When we were baptized into Christ, we shared in his crucifixion and we were raised up to be a new person. Christ is alive in us. The real challenge is for us to be Christ alive in our world! Our motivation? Not to earn salvation, which has already been given us by grace, but to honor him who sacrificed all to save us. (See Romans 6:1-14)

Thank you, God, for loving me and sending Jesus to redeem me from my sin. I commit to you today that I will live by faith in your Son who gave himself so I can spend eternity with you. I ask that by your Spirit, you help Jesus’ life be seen in me. Through him I pray. Amen.

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. – Psalm 90:2,4

So many things about our life are uncertain. This one thing, however, is sure: no matter where, when, or how long, God will be there and will be with us and for us. When we are young we cannot wait to grow up and days and weeks seem so long. However, as we age the time we look back seems like only yesterday. God holds all of our days, yesterday, today, and tomorrow in his immediate presence… we are never alone.

Everlasting Father, I find great comfort in knowing that I cannot be in a place or time where you are not. Stir my courage through your Spirit that I may be more bold, by your power and presence, to share the Gospel of Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

We constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
– 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (NIV)

Paul prays for God to be active in the lives of these new Christians — to maximize the good they intend to do as well as fully bless every good deed they do out of their commitment of faith. What new Christian do you need to pray this for?

Strong and mighty Father, please bless several new Christians who are on my heart today. Help them recognize your presence in their lives. Please maximize the good in every effort they make and every intention they have to honor you and bless your people. Protect them from the evil one. In Jesus’ name I ask this blessing. Amen.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and he carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
– Isaiah 53:3-4

Jesus was everything and became nothing for us. Yet most of the people who were on earth that he came to save didn’t know him or accept him. The crowds just assumed he deserved what he got. Most did not repent. But there was something about that sacrificial story that has grabbed hearts over the years and called God’s lost children home. In our journey home, we find him to not only be a Savior, but a servant for our salvation as well.

God Almighty, your plan to redeem me takes my breath away. Why you chose to take your precious son and expose him to such public disgrace while he was on earth I will never comprehend. But this I do know: you love me with an everlasting love and I will serve you with all of my strength in thanks for his great sacrifice. Thank you for your love. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen.

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
– Matthew 12:18 NIV

Matthew is quoting a prophecy from Isaiah 42, applying it to Jesus in a time of rising conflict. In spite of the conflict, Jesus refuses to stop ministering even though he is under intense scrutiny and faced fierce opposition. Instead, he takes his closest followers and teaches them his will and shares his healing grace with those who are in need. With God’s approval and the power of the Holy Spirit upon him, he cares for the broken in the face of hostility and shares grace in the face of criticism. Through kindness, compassion, integrity, and passion, Jesus accomplishes what only Immanuel can do — he brings God’s grace and social justice to all nations — and he does it even under unfair scrutiny because the Father has empowered him through the Holy Spirit!

Father, we confess that we sometimes give in to fear. We fear aging and illness. We fear the crazy swings in the economy. We fear the legal opposition to practicing our faith openly in our schools, at work, or online. We confess that when we fear these things, we forget that you are still at work in our world and in us. Give us courage and tenderness through the work of your Spirit within us so that we will minister as Jesus did, including in times of opposition and hardship. In Jesus’ name, we request this grace. Amen.

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
– Matthew 12:18 NIV

Matthew is quoting a prophecy from Isaiah 42, applying it to Jesus in a time of rising conflict. In spite of the conflict, Jesus refuses to stop ministering even though he is under intense scrutiny and faced fierce opposition. Instead, he takes his closest followers and teaches them his will and shares his healing grace with those who are in need. With God’s approval and the power of the Holy Spirit upon him, he cares for the broken in the face of hostility and shares grace in the face of criticism. Through kindness, compassion, integrity, and passion, Jesus accomplishes what only Immanuel can do — he brings God’s grace and social justice to all nations — and he does it even under unfair scrutiny because the Father has empowered him through the Holy Spirit!

Father, we confess that we sometimes give in to fear. We fear aging and illness. We fear the crazy swings in the economy. We fear the legal opposition to practicing our faith openly in our schools, at work, or online. We confess that when we fear these things, we forget that you are still at work in our world and in us. Give us courage and tenderness through the work of your Spirit within us so that we will minister as Jesus did, including in times of opposition and hardship. In Jesus’ name, we request this grace. Amen.

When the foundations
are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
Psalm 11:3

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today
to ask Your forgiveness
and to seek Your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says,
“Woe to those who call evil good,”
but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium
and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor
and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness
and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn
and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists
and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline
our children and called it
building self-esteem.

We have abused power
and called it politics.

We have coveted our
neighbor’s possessions
and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air
with profanity and pornography
and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored
values of our forefathers
and called it enlightenment.

​With the Lord’s help,
may this prayer sweep over our nation
and wholeheartedly become
our desire so that we
once again can be called
“One nation under God!”

Search us, Oh God,
and know our hearts today;
cleanse us from sin
and Set us free.
Amen!

Prayer written by Billy Graham
July 2016

Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. 
– Ecclesiastes 7:12 NIV

We can try to insure our future through many things. Wisdom, however, is always a better investment than finances because it not only shelters us from our uncertain future, but Godly wisdom can also keep us out of the unnecessary consequences for dumb and ungodly behaviors. Most of all, God’s wisdom teaches us that there’s no solid future without our lives centered on God.

Father God, I want to be wise in your ways and innocent in the ways of evil. Forgive my foolish and sometimes rebellious behaviors. Lead me with your Spirit in the ways of truth, justice, and righteousness. In the name of the Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
– 1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)

The reward of delayed gratification! If there were ever a verse that did NOT match the whims of our “modern” society, this would have to be it! Prepare… be self-controlled… focus your hopes on the future… none of those is an advertising slogan, but they all are the sustaining truths of the great souls who have gone before us!

Eternal God, please help me have the patience and faithfulness to let you fully form in me the character and the wisdom that my world so much lacks and I so much need. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breast-piece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD.
– Exodus 28:29 (NIV)

In a symbolic way, the Priest had all the people of Israel “on his heart when he entered the Holy place.” Jesus, our ultimate Priest, had our sins on his back and our forgiveness on his heart when he went to the Cross for us! The physical act of sanctification that is offered through Christ is a timeless act of grace for all people past, present, and future who seek salvation in Christ. We do not find the Holy place of God at any particular physical location nor through any human leader in the church… we find Him in our hearts.

Worthy and Holy Lamb of God, I know you love me because of the great price you paid to redeem me from my sins. Thank you for having me on your heart despite my sometimes rebellious and unfaithful ways. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.