Category: living by faith

Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.
Psalm 105:4 (NIV)

Most people would admit that life is full of stress and that there is never enough time for the things we enjoy. Our vocations, families and hobbies consume so much of our daily schedule. We must prioritize and actively think about the most important tasks at hand. A form of triage becomes so necessary so we may faithfully follow a routine of activities in order to get through each day in an organized and productive manner. When we honestly evaluate where we use our time, how we spend our money, what we think about most often, and where we put forth our best efforts, what do we find? Is God our consuming passion? Is he our first love?

O mighty Lord, it is hard not to be able to see your face, yet I know my imperfection makes that impossible in light of your awesome holiness. Until that Day I see you face to face in heaven, please make your presence known in my life as I seek you with all of my heart. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Look to the LORD
and his strength;
seek his face always.
Psalm 105:4 NIV

Most people would admit that life is full of stress and that there is never enough time for the things we enjoy. Our vocations, families and hobbies consume so much of our daily schedule. We must prioritize and actively think about the most important tasks at hand. A form of triage becomes so necessary so we may faithfully follow a routine of activities in order to get through each day in an organized and productive manner. When we honestly evaluate where we use our time, how we spend our money, what we think about most often, and where we put forth our best efforts, what do we find? Is God our consuming passion? Is he our first love?

Mighty Lord, it is hard not to be able to see your face, yet I know my imperfection makes that impossible in light of your awesome holiness. Until that Day I see you face to face in heaven, please make your presence known in my life as I seek you with all of my heart. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

But Jesus said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
Luke 4:43 NIV

The need for the gospel is greater than ever in our broken world. When you think about the large cities of our modern world, what do you think about? Jesus sees them, and passionately yearns for the lost people in those great cities to be saved!

Most holy and loving God, revive in us, your Church, a passion to reach the lost people of the world’s great cities with the gospel and grace of your Son. In the name of the world’s only true Lord and Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen.

For by God’s grace, I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.
Romans 15:15b-17 NLT

There are moments when we recognize that we are in the center of God’s will, doing what God would have us do, exactly when the Father wants us to be there. Paul is at that place when he writes this. Yet underneath his confidence in what he is doing is an even greater confidence — confidence that the Holy Spirit will take his offering of people and make it holy and acceptable to God. As we live our lives and as our lives bump into and influence other people, let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will make them a holy and acceptable offering to God. Let’s also pray that we can live in such a way that our words, actions, and influence invite others closer to Jesus!

Father God, thank you for the influence you have given me. Please forgive me for the times I have squandered that influence or used it wrongly. Jesus, help me as I seek to lead people closer to you. O Holy Spirit, please present my efforts and the people I influence as a holy and acceptable offering to God. I ask all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 (NIV)

While we may have goals and a sense of mission about our lives, our lives are not really ours to plan. Every day must be greeted as a gift from God. Every goal must ultimately be pursued to his glory. Every true sense of direction is a gift to us from our Father’s Word or his Spirit.

Wise and loving Father, lead me by your Holy Spirit. Fill me with your holy wisdom. Guide me into a more complete understanding of your will for my life. Please give me the wisdom to live each day with character and holy grace. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

The fear of the LORD
is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the
Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)

We look for wisdom in so many worthless and futile places. But ultimate wisdom is found only when we intentionally humble ourselves before our incredible God, giving him the reverence and worship he deserves.

Magnificent and awesome God, the great expanse of space and the incredible intricacies of the things in your creation that are so small humble me to silence. Please forgive my lapses into ignorant arrogance and lead me in the way of your wisdom. In Jesus name. Amen.

I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you… that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according Scriptures.
– 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

The story of the Gospel is simple. The grace of the Gospel is glorious. The sacrifice of the Gospel is incomprehensible. The victory of the Gospel is eternal. The core of the Gospel is Christ.

Almighty Lord, thank you for the empty tomb and Jesus’ victory over the grave. Just as Jesus’ death pardoned my sin, his resurrection assures my future. Thank you for grace and glory. May my life be lived each day by the power of the resurrection. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
– Romans 3:23-24

“I blew it!” Come to think of it, we’ve all blown it! We don’t measure up. We’re not divine. We might be decent, but decent won’t save us. Only the divine, the truly righteous, make it past the grave and into glory. Thank God grace is freely given and the price for our sin was paid by Jesus. While I “blew it,” he renewed it!

Kind and Loving Father, thank you for being so generous with your grace. May I be as passionate for your righteousness as you were in redeeming me from my sin. Through Jesus I ask this. Amen.

Jesus said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
– Luke 9:23-24

“I’ve just got to find myself.” Won’t ever happen. We do not “find ourselves” or “find our life” by pursuing it. We find it by losing it in something, or someone, greater than ourselves. We find our life by losing it to Jesus and the work of his Kingdom.

Master and Maker of all that lives and breathes, take my life and every breath and use it for your glory. May my words and actions this day be pleasing to you. Through Jesus I offer you this prayer and praise. Amen.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
– 1 Peter 2:24

He bore our sins. He didn’t just carry them; he suffered the penalty we deserved. His anguish was our healing. His suffering was our righteousness. How can we ever think of going back to sin after he suffered so much to bear its penalty?

Holy God, how you could stand to see your precious Son under the weight of my sin, all sin, I will never understand. Thank you for such great a love and for being so great a God. There is none who can be compared to you, O God. Your greatness is beyond imagining and your love beyond my dreams. I will live today to your glory through Jesus who bore my sin so I could be your child. In the precious name of your Son I pray. Amen.