Tag: Rev. Dr. Ken Crawford

Like the coolness of snow at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the spirit of his masters.
Proverbs 25:13 (NIV)

After the humidity and heat of summer, anything cool and refreshing sounds wonderful.  If you’ve ever worked a harvest and gotten the dust, plant fragments, and sweat up under your shirt, you know how refreshing a cool glass of water is to your parched throat and a shower is for your sticky body. But God says that when we are trustworthy messengers for each other and for him, it is even better refreshment than a cool drink on a hot tiring day. So how have you been doing with the Master’s message lately? Shared his love? Told of his grace? Demonstrated his kindness? Let’s get busy blessing our Lord by refreshing others with his Gospel!

Forgive me, heavenly Father, when I am untrustworthy with your message or ashamed of showing my allegiance to you and your Gospel. Give me wisdom to demonstrate and communicate your love, mercy, grace, and character to those around me. May my words and actions today bring you refreshment and glory! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

[Jesus said,] “All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'”
— John 16:15 NLT

The source of our truth is God. His Spirit of truth will tell us everything he has received from the Son and make it clear to us. John talks about the Spirit as the anointing that teaches us all things about Jesus and helps us know truth from error (1 John 2:18-21). In this context, Jesus emphasized that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. Clearly, God does not just want to convey information, but he is sharing himself in Jesus and in the Holy Spirit so that truth is much more than something we believe; it is something we live out of the very fabric of our relationship to God through the Holy Spirit.

Gracious and holy God, you are both the Almighty and my Abba. Thank you for providing the Holy Spirit to keep us tuned into the truth and aligned with your will, compassion, and holiness. In Jesus’ name, I praise and thank you. Amen.

1. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
   — John 6:68

When Jesus asked his disciples if they would leave him like everyone else had, Peter’s response is powerful and great. He knew where truth originated! He had heard the voice on the Mountain saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; listen to him!” He had seen Jesus’ words change reality and destroy barriers to God’s love and truth. Indeed, he knew that there was no one else who had the words of eternal life! So who are you listening to?

Almighty God, thank you for making Jesus so accessible to me. Jesus helps me see the full extent of your love. Jesus helps me more completely understand your message about wanting to redeem me and make me your own. I want to always come to Jesus for truth, grace, refreshment, and hope. There is no other one that I want to be my Lord except my crucified Savior, Jesus. Today, Father, gently confront me in those areas where I have yet to fully yield to your Son’s lordship in my life. In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.
— Jeremiah 31:25

In the overwhelming, hair-raising, and depressing prophecies of Jeremiah, God repeatedly told his people he would destroy them for their obstinate and hardened hearts. Yet in the middle of these powerful and scorching warnings, God also slips in passages that soar with hope and grace. Can you think of anything more reassuring than God’s promise to “refresh the weary and satisfy the faint”? For seventy years, that’s all Israel had — God’s promise. But when the time came, God made good on his word. I believe he will do the same with us today!

Great Shepherd, I am tired and weary. Please refresh my Spirit and my body. Please help me find satisfaction in the abundance you have already so graciously shared with me. To you belongs all glory, honor, strength and power. I joyously submit myself in faith, waiting for the rest and satisfaction you have promised. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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

Where do you go when you are exhausted and in need of rest? No bed, no vacation, no retreat can give us a truly refreshing rest if that rest doesn’t involve coming to Jesus. 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.

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.

[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.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
— John 4:24

Without the Spirit, we are not children of God. Without the Spirit, the cleansing power of Jesus’ sacrifice would not be fully implemented in us. Without the Spirit, we cannot worship God in the ways he wants because God is Spirit. Our worship must be “Spirit to Spirit” and done in a way that pleases God and that is according to his will.

Holy and Almighty God, I want to be one of your worshipers. I want to worship you “Spirit to Spirit.” I want to honor you by worshiping you according to your will. In all of my life and all of my praise, I want you to be honored. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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.

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