Tag: Rev. Dr. Ken Crawford

“Kindness is the oil that takes friction out of life.”

Jesus said, “If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you. I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you.”
— John 14:15-16 MESSAGE

Love is shown by the actions that back up a person’s words. We show our love for Jesus by what we do, by obeying what he has taught us. Jesus, however, doesn’t expect this demonstrated love for him to be a one-way street. He shows us his love for us by having the Father send another Friend like himself to us. This Friend, the Holy Spirit, is called the Advocate or Comforter or Helper in other translations. The Father sends this Friend so that we will never be alone. We can be confident that we will always have the presence of God in our lives!

Father, words can’t express my thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I know that even when I am by myself, I am not alone. I know that when earthly friends forsake me, or those close to me betray me, your Presence is my Helper and my Friend. Thank you. Please forgive me for not seeking this Friend’s help and support in times of trouble. Please make the presence of this Friend very clear as I live my daily life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

“The first great gift we can bestow
on others is a good example.”

If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
— Matthew 6:14

As Christians, we live in the environment of forgiveness and grace. As we forgive others, the basis of that forgiveness is the incredible debt that God has already forgiven us (Matthew 18). But at the same time, as God sees that his forgiveness is kept in circulation and passed on to others by us, he joyously pours out more forgiveness on us. As hard as it is to forgive someone when we have been genuinely harmed, Jesus wants us to know that the blessings of doing so far outweigh the costs!

Loving and just God, thank you for cleansing and forgiving me by the atoning sacrifice of your Son Jesus. Thank you for challenging me to forgive others as you have forgiven me. Thank you for demanding that your people be a community of forgiveness. Forgive us, and especially forgive me, when we are reluctant, slow, or suspicious about forgiveness. I ask especially that you will forgive (_____________) for (_______________), and I ask you to bless this person with your love and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“Opportunity may knock only once,
but temptation leans on the doorbell.”

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 God, 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.

“God gave you a gift of 86,400
seconds today. Have you
used one to say ‘thank you?'”

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
— Mark 10:13-14

We humans are always trying to define our place in the “pecking order” of life. Jesus reminds his disciples that they have to throw away the everyday rules of the pecking order if they are to really be part of his Kingdom. In fact, he was quite angry with them because they denied toddlers’ access to him, apparently because these disciples didn’t deem the little ones worthy of their Master’s time, energy, and attention. Jesus, as he so often did, turned their common worldly values upside down and reminded them they needed to pay more attention to the character of toddlers than their own sense of importance if they were ever going to understand God’s Kingdom.

Father, thank you for valuing me as your child. Re-awaken in me the wonder, humility, and awe as I seek to live for you and your Kingdom! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.sts

We don’t follow him in order to be loved, we are loved so we follow him.
— Quote by Neil Anderson

[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.

The golden rule for understanding in spiritual matters is not intellect,
but obedience. — Quote by Oswald Chambers

Jesus said: So in everything,
do to others what you would have them do to you,
for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
— Matthew 7:12

Ah! The “Golden Rule” is so straightforward, isn’t it? Sometimes we make things, especially religious things, far too complicated and complex. I love the Bible because it is so often practical and plain when God deals with our behavior. You want to know how to treat someone? Then do for them what would be a blessing if it was done to you! If it wouldn’t bless, encourage, build up, support, comfort, or help you, then don’t do it to them. If it would hurt, wound, depress, spite, or discourage you, then don’t do it to them. Treat others with the same dignity, kindness, love, respect, and tenderness with which you would like to be treated. Simple to understand; revolutionary to do!

Almighty God, thank you for making some things so simple to understand. Please fill my heart with your love as I try to live the “Golden Rule” in my relationships. In the name of the Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.

Jesus can turn water into wine, but He can’t turn your whining into anything.
— Quote by Mark Steele

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me,
as the Scripture said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
– John 7:37-38 (NIV)

Streams of water — living water for dying hopes, cool water for parched hearts, refreshing water for those tired and weary. This is, of course, much more than a liquid we can drink with our lips. This is the ultimate water of the soul that God longs to give to us, his children. Let’s spend the month of August, refreshing ourselves with the promises of Jesus and trusting that, as we draw close to him, the Spirit will restore our soul.

Loving Father, thank you for sending Jesus to save me and the Holy Spirit to sustain and renew me. Please bless me, especially this month, as I seek to draw closer to my Savior and restore my soul with the refreshing living water of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

The overwhelming majority of our Founding Fathers and early leaders wrote openly, and often about the influence of Christianity, the Bible and Jesus on their lives. We celebrate 250 years of freedom this year and the reality of that freedom comes as a gift from heaven. Wise people still acknowledge this gift. On June 14, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill to insert the phrase “under God” into the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance that children recited every morning in school. Previously, the pledge (originally written in 1892) had contained no reference to religion. On July 30, 1956, by an act of Congress, signed by President Eisenhower, ‘In God We Trust’ became the official U.S. motto. Words such as these convey great power.

“We profess that we know God, but by works we deny Him; for beatitude doth not consist in the knowledge of divine things, but in a divine life, for the devils know them better than man.” – Sir Walter Raleigh

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up,
and he let none of his words fall to the ground.
– 1 Samuel 3:19 (NIV)

Samuel began his ministry at such a young age and was so important in bridging the generations between the period of the Judges and the period of the Kings. During that whole time, God was with him and empowered his ministry, making his words true and effective. Let’s pray that God does the same with his spokespeople today. May God use his servants effectively all their lives and not let any of their words fall to the ground.

Today, O God, I ask you to empower your faithful servants who proclaim your Word all over the world. Please bless them with a season of freedom from satanic attack. Bless them with health, vigor, and passion. Please give them a long life full of useful service empowered by your grace. In “God We Trust” and in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

“If God were small enough to be understood,
He would not be big enough to be worshiped.”
— Evelyn Underhill

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
– Philippians 1:21 (NIV)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…
– 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV)

I am so thankful for Paul’s confidence as he faces his death. He is all but abandoned and is worried about the future of the Church, but he knows two things: he has served the Lord faithfully and the Lord will receive him when he dies! Shouldn’t those two things be our most important goals in life? So if they are our goals, how do we live each day to fulfill them?

Faithful and loving God, you have so richly blessed me with salvation by your grace. Please strengthen me out of the riches of that grace. I am sometimes weak and falter in my faithfulness. I know your grace is lavish, but I don’t want to presume on it or abuse it. Please give me strength and courage to live faithfully and passionately for you until the day I see you face to face and share with you in your glory and victory. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

“The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.”

Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is not wise to ask such questions.
— Ecclesiastes 7:10

The only thing we get by spending our time looking in the rear view mirror is a big disaster in our front windshield! Our best days as Christians are always ahead. Jesus has promised to return and take us home to God — what better future could there be. So let’s not get distracted with nostalgic cynicism. We can thank God for his past blessings, but let’s not waste the present with pessimism. Let’s make a commitment to redeem our time and trust that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead also holds our future in his hands.

Holy God, give me a sense of purpose in each day that you give me life and give me an optimistic outlook on the future and on my Lord who will meet me there. Please help me have a sense of genuine joy knowing that no matter where the road leads me today, I will journey with you. In Jesus’ name I thank you for being my loving God and eternal Father. Amen.