Tag: Rev. Dr. Ken Crawford

Call out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Be glad as you serve the Lord. Come before Him with songs of joy. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His field. Go into His gates giving thanks and into His holy place with praise. Give thanks to Him. Honor His name. For the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. And He is faithful to all people and to all their children-to-come.
– Psalm 100

It can be difficult at times for us to see God’s blessings; the holidays are not always full of good memories. People are forced to deal with tragedies and struggles even on holidays. In difficult times it’s important to remember that “the Lord is God … We are His people and the sheep of his field.” We can be assured of God’s love for us and find comfort in his blessing. In hard times or times of blessing, we are never without thankfulness. We all need an occasional reminder to stop and thank God for his goodness. What better time to remember our blessings than on a holiday that was meant for giving thanks.

Gracious Father in Heaven, thank you for giving us so much. We often complain about things and forget the incredible blessings we enjoy. Forgive our thoughtlessness and help us to share more freely from our depth of resources. May our actions and words be a comfort to someone today who needs a comforting word or an act of kindness. Amen.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
– Psalm 95:1-2 (NIV)

Joy knows no better explanation than laughter and song. We sing to the Lord because we are joyful! Our music is not inhibited or held back, but exuberant and as full of sound as it is of heart. Thanksgiving brings us into the Father’s presence and it is our joy at being saved that leads us to sing.

Most wonderful and glorious God, thank you so much for saving me from sin, death, law, and futility. Thank you for saving me and giving me the assurance, through your Holy Spirit, that I can come before you with exuberant and overflowing joy. Your love and grace have not only given me hope but have made me your child. Hear my heart and be blessed by my songs of praise. In the name of Jesus I pray and will shout your praise forever and ever. Amen.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
– Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV)

I get to choose which sources of information I feed my mind. But this privilege and freedom is also a responsibility. God longs to bless me, but that blessing remains dormant until my heart delights in knowing and doing his will. Sometimes it is very difficult to say no to friends and others who say, “Everyone does this”, but that is not true at all. Satan is the master of lies and he knows human weakness.

Wondrous Creator, just as you fashioned such a beautiful world and put me together in my mother’s womb, I also ask that you create in me a desire to know your truth and an insight in how to live that truth. I know your Holy Spirit is in me to help me in this journey, but I want so much to please you and bless you because of all the ways you have blessed me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
— Hebrews 11:6

And why do we serve God? Fear?
A sense of obligation? Because our parents did?
How about because we want to please God and bring the Father joy?
How about because we believe in what God has done and will do for us?

We believe that God sent his Son Jesus to die for our sins so we can be forgiven, cleansed, and adopted as his children into his forever family. What’s more, we believe that God longs to share his blessings with us and loves to reward those who believe in his grace and love. We believe! So, we earnestly, diligently, and passionately seek him!

Dear Father, thank you for my faith and all those who helped me come to know you and your grace. Please bless me as I seek to share this faith with my family and friends. Thank you for the confidence that my life is secure in your love and victorious because of your power demonstrated in Jesus’ resurrection. And it is in his name, Jesus, that I offer you my thanks, praise, and heart. Amen.

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
— Proverbs 11:4

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:32-33).

Holy God, thank you for valuing what is good, holy, and righteous. I praise you for empowering me through the Holy Spirit to develop those qualities I see in Jesus, have them formed in my character, and invest my life in what matters eternally. I thank you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,
so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
— Hebrews 11:3

Where did it all come from? Where did matter, energy, order, beauty, specificity, diversity, and time come from? How did our universe come to possess complexity and structure when all we know about our existence moves to decay, disorder, and death? By faith, we know it came from the articulated design of our Heavenly Father! Out of chaotic nothingness, God spoke into existence all creation.

We thank you, dear Lord, for the incredible world that you made. Thank you for the principles of order that govern our world and help us understand it. Thank you for the intricacies and beauty that humble us. Our hearts soar at the variety and majesty of your vast and astounding creation. In Jesus’ name, we praise and thank you as we look at what you have done with amazement. Amen.

He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”
— Luke 11:2-4

We approach the Lord as the holy and almighty God to be worshiped in reverence and our Abba Father, whom we approach as loving children. Rather than needing long, ornate, and lofty prayers, God wants us to speak with him about the most basic everyday issues and needs of our lives, trusting that he hears us and responds to our spiritual and physical requests by doing what we need while aligning us to his will and blessing us with his grace.

Dear Father, thank you for being a holy God who is ever near. Please do your will in my life and use me to your glory. Forgive me as I work on forgiving those who have sinned against me. I know that you will bless me in my life with my daily needs. I come to you in Jesus’ name, dear Father, confident that you love us and do what is best for us in your will. Amen.

By God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
— Romans 15:32

Our lives, our futures, and our plans are in God’s hands. This inescapable reality is the basis of our existence. It is also the foundation of our joy and refreshment when we are with each other. Think about it a second: our meetings with each other, and our ministry to each other, are not chance happenings. They are acts of God’s grace that gives us a chance to share in God’s blessing and joy.

Holy Father, thank you for your direct involvement in my life. Thank you for the leading of your Spirit, the guidance of your Word, and the wisdom of older Christians. These have all deepened the meaning of my life and empowered my service to your Kingdom. Please give me a more profound sense of grace and joy when I am able to be with Christians wherever that may be. I know these precious members of your family are not chance acquaintances I make along the way, but are the reminders of your desire to bless me and refresh your children with your presence. In Jesus’ name I thank you. Amen.

[Jesus said,] “So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.'”
— John 3:7 NLT

We sometimes fail to realize that Nicodemus is the ultimate good guy — he is the best of the best. He is a religious leader and teacher. He has come to Jesus out of darkness to find light. He has noticed what Jesus has said and done and believes the only way Jesus could do those things is that he has come from God. But knowing and saying the right things about Jesus are not what makes a person a true follower of Jesus, a disciple, a real Christian. If Nicodemus, the best of the best, has to be “born again,” then so do all the rest of us! Being born again is a great essential, a great “have to,” that we all must experience. So where are you? Have you been “born of water and the Spirit”? Have you been born of God? Have you been born again?

Father, thank you for my “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade”! Thank you for the cleansing power and the new life that comes from the Holy Spirit. I praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen.