Category: living by faith

Actions speak louder than words.

Be careful not to do your “acts of righteousness” before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 
– Matthew 6:1 (NIV)

Why do we do the things we do? What is the motivation for our behavior? It’s so easy to fall into the trap of doing religious things so we will look good to others. This is true even when culture reacts negatively to our faith. Those around us who know about our faith and the Christians around us become the target of our behavior. While we do want to have the right kind of influence on everyone around us, we must never make our decisions about spiritual service on the basis of being seen by others to be honored because of it. Our goal must be to honor God and bless others!

Almighty God, please purify my heart of any false motivation and help me serve others based on their need and my desire to honor you in helping them. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Ready for a Respite?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

Where do you go when you are exhausted and in need of rest? When we are at the point of collapse from fatigue, foolish decisions and harmful choices will make things even worse. True rest does not come from our own volition or by own own might. No bed, no vacation, no retreat can give us a truly refreshing rest if that rest doesn’t involve coming to Jesus. He is available 24/7/365 and waiting for you seek Him. So what are you waiting for? Come to Jesus and and enjoy the blessings of his presence, his love, his forgiveness, his grace, and his rest!

Almighty God, your Son Jesus is my strength and hope. I look forward to the day when he returns in triumph for me and all of your children. But Father, I want to know him better and to live for him with an undivided heart. I want to find rest in his presence, meaning in his service, and significance in his acceptance. Please bless me as I journey toward a deeper relationship with you and as I gain a more profound knowledge of your Son. In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord, I pray. Amen.

The Source of Strength

Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.
– 2 Timothy 1:14 nlt

We are not left to guard the truth trusted to us on our own strength. We have the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The Spirit is our anointing to help us know the truth. The Spirit is our Advocate-Comforter-Counselor-Helper to lead us into all truth and help us know truth from error. The Spirit’s work within us allows us to understand the spiritual messages of God through the Biblical writers, and those who truthfully proclaim Jesus. So rather than relying on our insight, wisdom, intellect, and study alone, we are called to seek the Spirit as we open the Bible, listen to the word proclaimed, seek to apply God’s truth to our lives, and commit to guard the truth of God that has been deposited into our hearts.

Father God, please send your Spirit to be at work in my heart as I seek to live for you and reflect the character and compassion of Jesus, my Lord, in whose name I pray. Amen.

 

One of those days?

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. – Romans 8:26 ESV

Nearly all of us have been at this desperate place. Our souls are brittle and dry. All our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling. They fall lifelessly to the ground and come to rest at our feet as bitter reminders of our failure and spiritual impotence. Like every other great blessing from God, prayer has its origin and power in the Father’s grace. Thankfully, the power of our prayers is not dependent upon our feelings, our perceptions, or our choice of words. The power of our prayers rests in the hands of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit — as the Helper, Advocate, and Comforter — intercedes for us with our Father. Our Comforter articulates what we cannot say and captures the emotions we cannot verbalize. Our Advocate takes our prayers before the Father after his work of perfecting our words and emotions. He then intercedes for us according to the Father’s will. Prayer, then, is not just a spiritual discipline, but also an incredible gift of our Father’s grace. The Spirit assures us that we will always be heard and that our deepest longings will always be understood by the Father who loves us and always longs to hear the cry of our hearts.

Father, I praise you. Because of the intercession of the Holy Spirit in this very moment, I know that you hear more than what my words say. You know what’s on my heart. You know my doubts, my insecurities, my secret sins, and my frustrating struggles. And, dear Father, you know my deep desire to have these things redeemed and transformed by your grace so that I live for your glory. I thank you for your grace, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

He did this for you and me.

The wisdom we speak of
is the mystery of God —
his plan that was previously hidden,
even though he made it
for our ultimate glory
before the world began.
But the rulers of this world
have not understood it;
if they had, they would not have
crucified our glorious Lord …
But people who aren’t spiritual
can’t receive these truths
from God’s Spirit.
It all sounds foolish to them
and they can’t understand it,
for only those who are spiritual
can understand what the Spirit means.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8, 14 nlt

The Holy Spirit lives in the follower of Christ. Without the Spirit living in us, we don’t belong to Christ and cannot live for God. Without the Spirit, we will not be transformed to become like Christ. What’s more, real prayer happens only because of the Spirit’s work in our hearts. Now, this verse goes one step beyond what we’ve seen to this point: we cannot truly understand the message of God — the Scriptures of God, the Word of God — without the Holy Spirit within us. Not only did the Holy Spirit inspire God’s message (2 Tim. 3:16-17), but the Spirit helps us understand this message and apply it to our lives. We cannot follow Christ without the Spirit of Christ alive in us!

Most Holy God,
I cannot help but fall to my knees
in humble thanks that the two things
most necessary for me to be
saved and to live for you
were provided to me by your grace.
I thank you for the gift of your Son,
who died for my sins
and was raised from death
to ensure my salvation.
I thank you for your Holy Spirit,
who makes my life as a
follower of Jesus possible.
Please accept my heart’s
deepest appreciation for providing
what I could never achieve or deserve,
because of your love for me.
In Jesus’ name I offer you my thanks.
Amen.

Strong in the Lord

Do you not know that your bodies
are temples of the Holy Spirit,
who is in you, whom you
have received from God?
You are not your own;
you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:10-20 NIV

When this was written, temples were the places where the gods were thought to live. More than places of worship, these were places of presence. So when Paul reminds us that we are temples of God’s presence through the Holy Spirit, he is saying something quite profound. God lives in us! We are the places of God’s dwelling. We are holy temples, not because we cleansed ourselves or made ourselves into some incredible dwelling place but because God bought us and sanctified us with the price of Jesus’ life. We are his purchased prime real estate so that his glorious presence can be seen in the world in which we live. As the place where God lives by his Spirit, we are challenged to honor and glorify God with our bodies, his temples. No matter how you may look at your physical appearance, remember this: You are holy, precious, and glorious because the King of Glory has made his home in you through the Holy Spirit. Is it time to clean house?

O Father God, today’s passage reminds me of your incredible nearness to me, even within me. Forgive me when I have not realized your presence in me through the Holy Spirit. Forgive me when I have devalued myself and my body as a temple of your holy presence. Please be glorified in who I am, what I say, how I live, and what I think. To you be glory, in Jesus’ name and through your Spirit’s presence.  Amen.

Are You Headed in the Right Direction?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  — Proverbs 3:5-6

Everything that we know is subject to change without notice. Our values are tested in tough times and times of distress. It is vital to stay on course and move forward in the most difficult of circumstances. What do you use for your life’s compass? No matter how insightful, wise, experienced, or knowledgeable we may be, only God can guide our steps properly. God asks us to trust him and his wisdom even when we can’t immediately see the rationale behind it. He wants us to recognize his presence, guidance, and grace in all we do. As we trust and as we acknowledge his presence, we suddenly realize that our paths are a lot straighter and our destinations are a lot a closer.

Father in heaven, please give me courage to not lean on my own understanding. I know my thinking can be flawed and what I intend for good can blow up in my face. Please bless me with wisdom and insight as I seek to live for you in today’s confusing and immoral world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Something that never changes.

But you must remain faithful
to the things you have been taught.
You know they are true,
for you know you can trust
those who taught you.
You have been taught
the holy Scriptures from childhood,
and they have given you the wisdom
to receive the salvation that comes
by trusting in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful to teach us what is true
and to make us realize
what is wrong in our lives.
It corrects us when we are wrong
and teaches us to do what is right.
God uses it to prepare and equip
his people to do every good work.  
2 Timothy 3:14-17 NLT

I love Paul’s challenge to Timothy to be faithful to what he had been taught and to remember why he could trust what he had been taught. Paul reminded Timothy that Scripture can make us wise, give us faith, correct us, teach us, prepare us, and equip us in two important ways: First, through a Spirit-filled mentor or parent, and second, through the Scriptures themselves, which he describes as holy and inspired (God-breathed or Spirit-inspired). The Scriptures’ power lies in the words the Spirit inspired and the people who show the transforming influence of the Spirit at work in their lives. Why wouldn’t we be eager to let the “sword of the Spirit” (God’s word, Ephesians 6:17) be at work in our lives?

Almighty God, thank you
for speaking to us in words.
As I place myself under the guidance
of the words of Scripture,
dear Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit
uses them to form me into a person
who is increasingly more
like Jesus each day.
In the name of the Lord Jesus, I pray.
Amen.

So Much More Than Words

Pray in the Spirit at all times
and on every occasion.
Stay alert and be persistent
in your prayers for
all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18 NLT

“Pray in the Spirit” Paul is asking believers to pray consciously recognizing that the Spirit given them when they came to Christ (Ephesians 1:13) gives them direct access to God. That access allows them to pray what is on their hearts (Ephesians 2:18; cf. Romans 8:26-27) and to ask for knowledge, power, and boldness for others (Ephesians 1:17; Ephesians 3:16; Ephesians 6:18-20). In other words, the Spirit lives inside us and empowers our prayers, interceding directly to the heart of God and enabling our prayers to have powerful results! Our prayers are so much more than the words we say. We pray, consciously, alertly, and persistently, speaking to the Creator of the universe, assured we are heard, knowing that God will respond with power and grace in the lives of those for whom we pray!

Father God,
thank you for your incredible
gift of the Holy Spirit
who makes my prayers
much more than my words.
Thank you that I can
pray in the Spirit,
speaking to you spirit to Spirit,
knowing that I am heard
and understood and that the Spirit
conforms my prayers to your will.
Thank you that such intentional praying
brings powerful blessings
for those for whom I pray.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.