Prayer Focus - Leaders
Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
Specifically:
their physical strength and needs
their emotional strength and needs
their mental strength and needs
their spiritual strength and needs
Dear Lord - I pray that you would open my ears to the messages You want to share with me today. I also ask for the strength to obey.
Psalms 31
"I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place." (vs . 7-8)
"My times are in Your hands;" (vs. 15a)
Everything is in God's hands. He has determined the times and places for me so that I would turn and seek Him (Acts 17: 26-27). Nothing is done away from the eyes of God. He has seen everything about my life and has been calling me all along. My times are truly in His hands. When I was 17, I made an ultimatum with God. I had grown up going to church and had gone to a Christian school from 1st through 8th grade. I knew the Bible. I knew what a Christian should be. I had tried at times. I had given my testimony before a large crowd at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes my junior year of high school. I had taught people to pray the prayer. I had tried, but the next year found me at every party I could find, drinking anything I could find. I was a hypocrite and almost everyone else I knew that professed to be a Christian was pretty hypocritical as well. I was done with it.
I went to Europe as a graduation present that year and proceeded to party across the continent. While in utter desperation with my life one night in Paris, I told God that I would give it one more try. I was going to go away to college where no one knew me. I would start over. If I could find people truly being Christians as the Bible said, and if I could actually do it myself and find freedom from the many sins that plagued me, then I would be a Christian and give it my whole heart. If I could not find it, then I would become an atheist. I reasoned that if God was real, He would answer this prayer, although I didn't really believe I would find anything different in San Diego. I would then become an atheist because there was no God and the Bible was false since it offered something that didn't exist. There was no grey area for me. Either God and His word were real and true and really did offer freedom as it said, or it was all a lie and I was going to live my life however I wanted and not worry about it anymore. It would be "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow I die." I prayed that prayer and I finished my trip out unchanged.
I went away to college at UCSD that September and the first night I was there met someone from the church I now attend. What a surprise! My times were in God's hand! I went to church and was amazed, although I did not like it the first time. These people were truly different I was soon to discover. Initially, I had hope that perhaps I could be different, but I was not convinced. I studied the Bible, and although no one particularly thought I would become a Christian, one person from the church stuck it out with me. I remember one particular study, she challenged me about some issues in my life and I became angry with her. I did not even see her out of my apartment. But when she left, I went and took some inappropriate pictures down off my wall. I sat on my bed and looked at the empty wall for quite awhile. I felt a strange emotion. I felt relief and I was surprised. For the first time in a long time, someone had called me on something that was wrong and I was so happy. Not even my parents were willing to ask me why I had these types of photos up, but here was a stranger that cared enough to lay our friendship on the line. It was the beginning of a great change for me.
I was so grateful to become a true Christian not much later. I had called out to God in desperation and He had truly answered me. I knew that finally. God did exist. The Bible was real. God would not let me be put to shame and God has not let me be put to shame all these years. At the precise time that I was most open, God was there. He put me where I needed to be back then so that today, I would be here where I am now. I praise God for never letting go of me. Despite all the years of ups and downs, there is nothing I would trade my life for. There is nothing I would trade my relationship with God for. I have spent all of my adult life trying to do this. Trying to be a disciple of Christ, and I can truly say with the psalmist:
"How great is Your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you,...Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city...The Lord preserves the faithful, ...Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." (vs. 19, 21, & 23-24)
I hope and pray that everyone reading my posts may someday feel the same, if you do not already. Amen.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Thank You for continually reaching out to us. You have placed us exactly where You want us to be so that hopefully we will find You and come to know You. We are so grateful for Your unseen hand. A life with You is truly the best life we could find. We praise You for Your faithfulness. You are good.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How did I become a Christian? Has there been a change in my life? What has it been?
2. Have I experienced God placing me in a particular place so that I might turn to Him and find Him? What happened and how did I become closer to God from this event?
3. How do I feel about God's faithfulness and about the truth of the Bible? What holds me back from trusting completely? What can I do to develop greater trust in both?
4. How do I feel about my relationship with God? What is great about it and what could be improved?
5. Have I ever shared with anyone how I became a Christian? If not, why? What would I gain by letting others know about my experiences?
Showing posts with label correction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label correction. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/30/10 (9/30/09)
Prayer Focus - 10's
Pray for:
Ten things you are grateful for
Ten people you are thinking about
Ten places that are important to you
Ten characteristics to grow in
Ten characteristics/habits to work on
Dear Lord - Help me to hear Your voice today and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 30
"Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (vs. 4-5)
" You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever." (vs. 11-12)
The Lord is the perfect Father. He disciplines and trains us so that we may become excellent, like refined gold. I know it is important to train my children. I know it is important to train my students. Sometimes, however, I am not willing to be trained myself. In my head, I know that I need to receive instruction in areas I am weak in, be it at a job or in some life area, and yet I falter. I do not like correction naturally, but I know that in all the areas that I have done well in, I have had a coach. Why do we become so unteachable as we get older? Is it our pride; our confidence in our ability to manage our lives? Sometimes it takes losing everything to show us that we have not yet arrived; that we still need to humble ourselves before the Lord and learn. Then, sometimes, even when I acknowledge my need for training, in day to day living I fail to seek it out or respond to it. Consistency is so hard to come by. I am so glad that God does not give up on training us when we are difficult. He is truly the perfect Father.
I am reminded of Hebrews 12:5-11.
"And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined ( and everyone undergoes discipline ), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
I can't say this any better. Whatever I go through, it is for my training. I want to share in God's holiness so I am glad for it in the long run. Although our children fight our discipline, deep down I believe they are grateful. I know that I experienced the opposite growing up and it profoundly affected me. I was rarely disciplined by my parents and it bothered me. I remember being angry in one situation when I deserved to be disciplined and wasn't. I thought, "Why don't they care about me enough to tell me that I am doing something wrong?" I knew in my heart I had done wrong and I wanted the correction and the love and healing that I thought it would bring to me. I needed their direction and so often it didn't come. This left me feeling all alone in the world and bitter. I felt that I had to do everything by myself and for myself.
Why my parents were so lenient with me is hard to say, but I do know that it has helped me to understand and appreciate the reasoning behind God's discipline. I understand better why He lets me go through hard times in order to help me and strengthen my character. I am God's child. He is telling me that He loves me by not letting everything come easy. I love the story that many I am sure have heard about a man watching a butterfly come out of its cocoon. It goes something like the following. A man saw a butterfly struggling to come out of its cocoon. He felt sorry for the butterfly and so helped it by cutting the cocoon open. The butterfly came out but his wings never fully expanded and the butterfly was unable to fly. The man was confused as to what had happened. Later he learned that the struggle of emerging from the cocoon enables the butterfly's wings to be strengthen as they need to be for flight. In helping the butterfly and making things easier, he had in essence crippled it.
We are those caterpillars that need the struggle we go through in order to emerge from our cocoons a beautiful butterfly. If God did not allow us our struggles and did not discipline us, we would be spiritual and emotional cripples. We would never fly as God intended. I am so grateful God does not give up on us or make things too easy. I will exalt God because of this. I will also exalt God because He doesn't let our struggle go on forever either. In the morning, rejoicing comes. Our wailing and sadness becomes dancing and joy. His discipline and His anger is short lived, but His favor is forever! Amen.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You that You care enough to discipline us and we are grateful also that there is an end to the struggle as well. There truly is a time for everything. Help us to accept Your training and discipline and so be strengthened by it. Help us to not rebel against it as a child might. We long to fly. Grant us the wings we need.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How do I feel about discipline? Am I coachable? Why or why not? How can I become more teachable?
2. Am I being trained in any area right now? What am I learning and who is teaching me? How do I feel about this training?
3. What struggles am I going through presently, and how am I handling them? Am I looking for the easy way out or am I looking for God's way to deal with them? What struggles have I had in the past? How have they helped me? Do I have anything to rejoice about now from them?
4. Am I being trained spiritually in any way? Is anyone coaching me spiritually? Who could I get to mentor me in this area?
5. What type of disciplinarians were my parents? How has this affected the way I teach/train others such as my children? How has this affected the way I respond to teaching/training?
Pray for:
Ten things you are grateful for
Ten people you are thinking about
Ten places that are important to you
Ten characteristics to grow in
Ten characteristics/habits to work on
Dear Lord - Help me to hear Your voice today and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 30
"Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (vs. 4-5)
" You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever." (vs. 11-12)
The Lord is the perfect Father. He disciplines and trains us so that we may become excellent, like refined gold. I know it is important to train my children. I know it is important to train my students. Sometimes, however, I am not willing to be trained myself. In my head, I know that I need to receive instruction in areas I am weak in, be it at a job or in some life area, and yet I falter. I do not like correction naturally, but I know that in all the areas that I have done well in, I have had a coach. Why do we become so unteachable as we get older? Is it our pride; our confidence in our ability to manage our lives? Sometimes it takes losing everything to show us that we have not yet arrived; that we still need to humble ourselves before the Lord and learn. Then, sometimes, even when I acknowledge my need for training, in day to day living I fail to seek it out or respond to it. Consistency is so hard to come by. I am so glad that God does not give up on training us when we are difficult. He is truly the perfect Father.
I am reminded of Hebrews 12:5-11.
"And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined ( and everyone undergoes discipline ), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
I can't say this any better. Whatever I go through, it is for my training. I want to share in God's holiness so I am glad for it in the long run. Although our children fight our discipline, deep down I believe they are grateful. I know that I experienced the opposite growing up and it profoundly affected me. I was rarely disciplined by my parents and it bothered me. I remember being angry in one situation when I deserved to be disciplined and wasn't. I thought, "Why don't they care about me enough to tell me that I am doing something wrong?" I knew in my heart I had done wrong and I wanted the correction and the love and healing that I thought it would bring to me. I needed their direction and so often it didn't come. This left me feeling all alone in the world and bitter. I felt that I had to do everything by myself and for myself.
Why my parents were so lenient with me is hard to say, but I do know that it has helped me to understand and appreciate the reasoning behind God's discipline. I understand better why He lets me go through hard times in order to help me and strengthen my character. I am God's child. He is telling me that He loves me by not letting everything come easy. I love the story that many I am sure have heard about a man watching a butterfly come out of its cocoon. It goes something like the following. A man saw a butterfly struggling to come out of its cocoon. He felt sorry for the butterfly and so helped it by cutting the cocoon open. The butterfly came out but his wings never fully expanded and the butterfly was unable to fly. The man was confused as to what had happened. Later he learned that the struggle of emerging from the cocoon enables the butterfly's wings to be strengthen as they need to be for flight. In helping the butterfly and making things easier, he had in essence crippled it.
We are those caterpillars that need the struggle we go through in order to emerge from our cocoons a beautiful butterfly. If God did not allow us our struggles and did not discipline us, we would be spiritual and emotional cripples. We would never fly as God intended. I am so grateful God does not give up on us or make things too easy. I will exalt God because of this. I will also exalt God because He doesn't let our struggle go on forever either. In the morning, rejoicing comes. Our wailing and sadness becomes dancing and joy. His discipline and His anger is short lived, but His favor is forever! Amen.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You that You care enough to discipline us and we are grateful also that there is an end to the struggle as well. There truly is a time for everything. Help us to accept Your training and discipline and so be strengthened by it. Help us to not rebel against it as a child might. We long to fly. Grant us the wings we need.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How do I feel about discipline? Am I coachable? Why or why not? How can I become more teachable?
2. Am I being trained in any area right now? What am I learning and who is teaching me? How do I feel about this training?
3. What struggles am I going through presently, and how am I handling them? Am I looking for the easy way out or am I looking for God's way to deal with them? What struggles have I had in the past? How have they helped me? Do I have anything to rejoice about now from them?
4. Am I being trained spiritually in any way? Is anyone coaching me spiritually? Who could I get to mentor me in this area?
5. What type of disciplinarians were my parents? How has this affected the way I teach/train others such as my children? How has this affected the way I respond to teaching/training?
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