Ken Crawford

“It’s no good to sit up and take notice
if we just keep on sitting.”
– Author Unknown

But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.
“Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

To do what I want, not necessarily what is best or most expedient for those around me or for the good of the Kingdom. I don’t like to hear that God told Paul that he had asked enough about deliverance from his problem. Instead, Paul needed to learn that God’s gracious strength and mercy were enough to sustain him even in trial. While I know I need to learn this same lesson, it is daunting. I want God to keep things nice and tidy for me. But then I remember I am a follower of Christ. If I am to become like my Savior, then I have to let go of my requirements on God’s answers and open up to God’s work to redeem others through me, no matter the personal cost. Only then can I truly know that his grace is sufficient for me!

Patient and loving Shepherd,
guard my heart from discouragement
in tough times and guard it
from arrogance in good times.
I know that without you
I have nothing that is permanent.
Thanks for giving me a permanent,
steadfast hope of heaven with you,
because of your grace and
strength shared with me.
In the name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.

 

 

You know that when
you were still unbelievers,
you were led astray
and swept along in
worshiping speechless idols.
So I want you to know
that no one speaking
by the Spirit of God
will curse Jesus,
and no one can
say Jesus is Lord,
except by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:2-3 NLT

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit spoke through human writers to give us some absolute truths. When the Holy Spirit lives inside people, they are not going to curse Jesus. Instead, the Holy Spirit impels them to confess Jesus as Lord and Master — not only as the Lord and Master of all creation but also as the Lord and Master to whom they yield their hearts! Because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the Holy Spirit declared the Lord Jesus Christ as the powerful Son of God (Romans 1:4). Do people see Jesus in your words and deeds?

Almighty God,
I confess that I believe
that Jesus Christ is your Son,
my Lord and Savior.
I yield my heart to Jesus
and pray that my life reflects
his character and compassion.
May the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
always be guided by your Holy Spirit
and lead me to confess the
glory and grace that I have found
in my Lord and Master,
Jesus Christ,
in whose name I pray.
Amen.

“Nothing is too great
and nothing is too small
to commit into the hands of the Lord.”
– A. W. Pink

Stop trusting in man,
who has but a breath
in his nostrils.
Of what account is he?
Isaiah 2:22  NIV

How many times have you been disappointed by someone for whom you voted, betrayed by a friend, been abandoned by a loved one, or let down by a church leader? While we love others and care about them, every other person in our world is just like us — a flawed human being who breathes the same air and walks the same ground as we do. Only God is worthy of our ultimate trust. He showed us by sacrificing what was most precious to him so we could know his love. Let’s not put our hope in other mere mortals; only God can safeguard our trust. Let’s put our hope in him!

Father, you know the broken places
in my heart that were caused by
the failure of people in my life.
I confess that I have sometimes
become disillusioned with your way
because of the failures and
inconsistencies in your people.
Deep down I know, dear Father,
that their failures do not
mean your failure,
but it is hard for it
not to feel that way.
Call me close to you.
Give me a more gracious heart
toward those who fail me.
Establish my faith,
strong and firm in you, O LORD.
In you I put my trust.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit, whom he called the Comforter (Counselor or Advocate depending on the translation), would come and lead us into all truth (John 16:13). The Spirit, who inspired the writing of the Scriptures (2 Tim. 2:16-17), is alive in us and helps us discern, know, and understand God’s truth (1 Cor. 2:10-16). The Spirit of the Living God lives in us and is at work in us — in me! So each of us needs to ask our self if we are inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives to help us discern, know, and understand God’s truth. Am I yielding to the Spirit and am I in the word of God seeking to be informed and transformed by the Holy Spirit? Am I asking the Holy Spirit to filter, correct, challenge, and redeem what I think, read, hear, and see? Rather than succumbing to the lie that all truth is subjective, let’s subject what we think, read, hear, and see to the Spirit of truth!

O Father,
I join my heart with the words
of your servant David, who said:
“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Please transform my thinking
and my living by your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 

Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
Psalm 98:1 (NIV)

“It is the acknowledgment of our humanity and our frailness that places us in a position to have a personal encounter with the living God.” (Os Hillman) Songs can stir us up or they can bring us comfort. Songs can take us back to a special time, or songs can give us hope for things to come. Unfortunately, we usually leave the words and the music of our songs only for someone else to write, never taking time to write our own “new song.” But today, why not make up your own new song of praise and thanks to God. It doesn’t have to be great, just heartfelt and offered to the Father from whom all joyful songs come.

Father God,
thank you for the gift of song.
Please receive my song of thanks
and praise from a heart you
have filled with your delight.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus,
because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit of life
set me free from the law
of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)

We are set free in Jesus from the most important bondage of all, our fear of God’s judgment. We are liberated from law, which convicts and leads to death. We are set free by the Spirit to not only fulfill what the Law intended, but also to be delivered from the penalty of death that the Law required. In Jesus, and by the power of his Spirit, we are set free to be God’s children… for forever! God loved the world so much he sent his son and for the love of God, Jesus died for our sins.

Compassion is the strongest of human emotions and “compassion will cure more sins than condemnation.” (Henry Ward Beecher) Are there rules and regulations that are robbing your joy in the Lord? Let God set you free…today!

Father God,
thank you for your deliverance.
I know you paid a
very high price to give it to me.
Forgive me for not letting that deliverance
make my heart soar with confident joy.
Lead me by the power of your Spirit
so that I can experience
the freedom and joy of your salvation
not just at the end of my days,
but in the moments of today.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

“Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant
before receiving a meal.
It’s a way to live.”
– Jackie Windspear

Learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)

We are fragile creatures that can easily be crushed by rejection and defamation of character. This can trigger both defensive and offensive actions to protect our name. We seem to have even more courage however, to be incensed when wrong is done to a friend. We are ready to fight injustice when someone we love has been wronged. However, God reminds us that our worship means little if we do not also protect those who are weak, marginalized, oppressed, and forgotten. It’s not just our friends who need our help; it’s also those who have no friends who need us. “To do right” doesn’t just mean being a good person and avoiding evil in our sanctified little enclaves; it also means to care, comfort, and encourage those no one else wants to notice. Our circle of caring and comfort is often far too small… it is time to change!

Forgive me please, dear Father,
for being selfish
with your love and grace.
I confess that I often find it
easy to stay near
those who are like me —
who look like me,
think like me,
and dress like me.
I know that there are so many
in the world around me
that do not have a friend,
much less a defender.
Open my eyes, dear LORD,
to see those in my world
that you would have me protect,
encourage, and bless.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

“The good neighbor looks beyond
the external accidents and discerns
those inner qualities that
make all men human and,
therefore, brothers.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

You will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes upon you
and you will be my witnesses,
telling people about me everywhere.
Acts 1:8 NLT

When we open the book of Acts, we hear Jesus promise to send the Holy Spirit to empower the early disciples as they go to all nations to share the good news of Jesus. In addition, we see the Holy Spirit at work to break down every barrier — geographical, cultural, racial, economic, political, and social — to make the people who come to Jesus into one new people.

Make every effort
to keep yourselves united
in the Spirit,
binding yourselves
together with peace.
Ephesians 4:3 NLT

As Paul reflects on the great grace of God he has talked about in Ephesians chapters 1-3, he now challenges Jesus’ followers to make every effort to keep what the Holy Spirit and the grace of God had worked to create: a people united by the Holy Spirit and held together with the bond of peace. He wanted them to “wage peace”! He wanted them to be peace-makers, and not just “peace-wanters.” This can happen only when we allow the Spirit to control our hearts and we earnestly and diligently strive to be united through the Spirit as God’s children.

Father,
The prayer for peace must
begin with each individual heart.
Please forgive me.
I’ve been selfish, impatient, and harsh
to some of your children.
I haven’t been committed to “waging peace”
with the same passion as I have sought to
get my own way and protect my own position.
Please help me as I try to mend relationships
and re-establish fellowship with others
that I’ve alienated. Please help me
as I seek to have your Spirit take
control of my heart and exert more effort
to live in peace with your children.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up
in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him
because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)

In a universe so incomparably vast, in a world so marvelously diverse, we can be paralyzed by our insignificance and impotence in the face of such staggering enormity. But in moments of simple faith, we can be calmed by our reverence and dependence upon the Creator and Sustainer of such wonders and find great comfort that our lives are in his hands. Christians and the church must engage in the business of sharing Christ so souls can be rescued. As long as we are silent and passive, the ways of the world prevail. Some are timid because evangelism seems so dangerous… belonging to Christ has always been so.

“The people of the world
will hate you because
you belong to me,
for they don’t know God
who sent me.”
John 15:21 NLT

Almighty and wondrous God, thank you for knowing me even though I can’t begin to comprehend your glory. I need your love, care, protection, blessing, grace, forgiveness, and presence. Without you, I have nothing of lasting significance. Help me to share his message of faith with someone today. Please be near. In Jesus’ name I humbly ask.  Amen.