Prayer Focus - Dreams
Day 2
Pray for:
One dream you have for yourself
One dream you have for your family
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 101
"I will be careful to lead a blameless life - when will You come to me?
I will walk in my house with blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing.
The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.
My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me, he whose walk is blameless will minister to me.
No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence." ( vs. 2 - 7 )
What a challenging call this is for us to live differently. It calls us to be careful how we live our lives and to be different from the people around us. Not many people in our society value living carefully anymore. It is almost looked down upon to try to watch what we do. Our society prides itself on being open and free. We want to be free to do and say whatever we want even if it hurts others in some way. Yet God has called us to check ourselves; to deny ourselves and to follow certain guidelines so that we will have something better in the long run. Sin often feels good in the here and now, but it is later that we regret and reap consequences that are not always pleasant. Self-control on the other hand is almost always difficult and uncomfortable in the immediate and yet it produces wonderful results that we look back on with gratitude.
Let's look at a few of the things set out for us to watch out for in the verses of this psalm. First, it mentions walking in our homes with blameless hearts. I think this is especially interesting, because it is in our homes that we most often let our true selves come out. It is here that we are not so guarded and we indulge in behavior that we would never do in public. It is important to think about this and evaluate if we have a double standard in our lives. We should be the same in our homes as we are everywhere else.
Then we are called to not set any vile thing before our eyes. When I read this, it makes me think about the movies and shows we watch and the books and magazines we look at. Are we being righteous in this area or are we trying to be "relevant" by watching what is popular even if it has questionable content? Do we really need to fill our minds with some of the stuff that we do? Once something has entered our mind, it is almost impossible to get those thoughts and pictures out. A good question I ask myself is - "Could I imagine Jesus watching and enjoying this?" Even news can fill us with negative and vile images. I like to look at all the current news stories on the Internet and do so nightly, but even this is not always a productive activity for me. It tends to make me very down and upset. I also waste a lot of time reading these negative articles when I could be doing something more productive like spending time with my girls or getting some sleep.
The next stanza of the psalm talks of staying away from men of perverse heart and from evil in general. It speaks to us of watching the company we keep. This is also not a popular concept in our world today. We tend to want to hang out with whoever we want to. We want to do what we want and become who we want to become. There is often little thought to plans beyond our desires. We are often draw to people with wild lives. Look at the celebrities that we hold up and esteem by buying their albums, watching their movies, or reading about. Our heroes today are more often than not, not people of strong character. They are not people that most of us would want our children to become like.
The issues of slander and pride are also addressed here. God says He will silence those who slander their neighbors, even if it is in secret, and He also states that He will not endure proud hearts and haughty eyes. In another part of the scriptures, it states that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble ( James 4:6 ). This is very concerning as pride and slander are commonplace. We are even considered unusual if we do not talk about others. It is difficult to get through a day with out hearing gossip and often we are immersed in it before we even realize what is going on. Our society also looks up to and admires a certain amount of pride. We strive to be independent and confident. Often this goes over board and we become self righteous and arrogant.
Finally, the passage talks about deceit and lying. It says that we will not be able to dwell with God or stand in His presence if we practice deceit or speak falsely. How can we stay away from doing this, however, when it is almost expected that we will lie in certain situations. People will even ask us to lie for them and we have found many ways to defend our deceit. We are thought to be odd if we say no to others when they ask us to lie for them and we are often ridiculed if we take a stand for honesty; often by friends and family members.
What a high calling this psalm is to us. We are challenged to change and stand out in so many ways. It seems overwhelming just thinking about it. But God promises that His eyes will be on the faithful and that He can and will take care of us. If we lead a blameless life, God will come to us and provide for us. It must be possible or the scriptures would not for call us to do it. We can with Christ. We can if it is important to us. It all comes down to our heart. If our heart is right and we are striving with all we have to obey God, He will make up the difference. He will see our faith and count it as righteousness as He did with Abraham (Galatians 3:6). Let us then sing of God's greatness and be careful to live a blameless life. It is worth it.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We want to lead a blameless life. Help us to put aside all of these sinful ways and embrace You. It will be alright to walk a different road than those around us. It will be worth it. Help us to fear You and not men. You are the one worth following. You are the true one. We praise You and sing of Your love and justice.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I act the same in my home as I do elsewhere? Do I have any double standards? What do I struggle the most with at home? Why? How can I change?
2. Am I careful about what I look at? How are my standards when it comes to movies and TV? How are my standards with what I read and the magazines that I look at? Am I spending too much time on the Internet and am I unproductive/unrighteous in any way with this area? What do I need to change? What is going well?
3. Do I stay away from people that are a bad influence on me? Why or why not? Am I drawn to people that are not very godly? Why or why not? Who are my heroes? Why? How do I feel about this concept of watching who I associate with?
4. Do I slander others, even if it is just in my mind (in secret)? Do I engage in gossip or listen to it? What harm does this do? How can I change? Am I prideful or arrogant in any ways? Do I look down on anyone? Why? How can I deal with this?
5. Am I deceitful in any way? Why? How do I justify this? Do I lie? Do I feel there is a difference between "big" and "little" lies? Why or why not? How does God feel about this? How can I stop lying and stop being deceitful if this is something I do?
Showing posts with label fearing men. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fearing men. Show all posts
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Daily Devotional - 9/16/15 (11/16/09)
Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 5
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
One thing that is needed in your state/region
One thing that is needed in your city
One thing that is needed in your family
Focus on how the fulfilled need will help impact people's:
spiritual lives
physical lives
emotional lives
mental lives
Day 5
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
One thing that is needed in your state/region
One thing that is needed in your city
One thing that is needed in your family
Focus on how the fulfilled need will help impact people's:
spiritual lives
physical lives
emotional lives
mental lives
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 76
"In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. His tent is in Salem, His dwelling place in Zion...
You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before You when You are angry?...
Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. He breaks the spirit of rulers; He is feared by the kings of the earth." (vs. 1-2, 7, 11-12)
God is known by His people! Think about who you really know and who really knows you. Isn't it our best friends and our closest family members. People we love and trust. We can have a lot of friends but most likely we have very few that have gotten that close. We do not share our hearts with our casual friends or our acquaintances. Yet, God is desiring that His people know Him intimately. He wants a very close relationship with us. He also wants to dwells with us. He wants to be with us day in and day out. He is concerned with even the minute details for our lives. The scriptures state that He knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matt 10:30). How amazing is this! We can know God! He knows us and He still wants to live with us and deal with us! We know we don't deserve this, but praise God, He offers it anyway.
God is love (I John 4:8). His desire to be known by us is proof of His love. His whole being is perfect love. The problem is that we don't always understand what true love really is. We usually like to dwell on the softer aspects of love such as acceptance, trust, and kindness, but there is also the aspect of love that disciplines and the aspect of love that at times has to let go and step back from a situation. Sometimes we have to be strong if we love. If we think of our children, we may have experienced this. When we see or learn that they are doing things that will hurt them, we do not just allow them to do these things. We can't sit by idly because we don't want them to be angry with us. We can not be cowards. We have to be strong at times and set standards. We may be seen as very unloving by them, but this is surely not our hearts. Our hearts are breaking when we have to discipline them because we want a relationship so badly with them but we can not have want we want if they do not change and follow some rules. This too is love.
Our children need to fear and respect us in a healthy way so that they can learn the lessons we need to teach them and so that we can impart the wisdom we have learned through our experiences. After all, we have lived longer than them and this counts for something. I believe it must be similar to this with God. We are His children. He deserves our fear and respect. In fact, He alone is to be feared. We don't like this idea. We will fear just about anything else, but to fear God we often think is just not right. Usually, He is the last thing we fear. It is so easy for us to start fearing men because we can see them and they can speak to us and voice their displeasure with us. Circumstances and the uncertainty of life is also easy to fear because it is so present and often overwhelming. But to fear God is often laughed at or condemned. It is difficult to swim against the current and follow God because more and more this puts us at odds with our society. We struggle with living counter to our culture because we want to look cool and fit in. It is also hard for us to be disliked, talked about, or have enemies because we want so much to be accepted.
We have to come to grips with the fact that we will never be fully accepted by the world if we are truly following God. We may be liked, tolerated, and even respected at times, but we will never be "one of the gang" if we are truly standing up and living by God's standards. We should not even really want to be accepted by the world if we think about what the world stands for. (James 4:4)
We just need to focus on pleasing God. He is the one who created us and the one who will take care of us. Some day what we hold to be true will be real for everyone else as well. Our faith will be sight and even the kings of earth will one day bow before the Creator. God is the true controller of everything and He is the only one that really matters in the long run. We need to remember that and then strive to fulfill our vows to Him. This should be our focus each and every day. When we can say that it is, then we will be truly at peace no matter what comes.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You for allowing us to know You. We want to know You better each and every day. Help us to not waste the time we have with You and help us to walk in Your presence today. We want to fear You. Although fear is not popular, it is what is due You as You are able to give and take away all that we have and are. We praise You for Your goodness and mercy. Without both, we would not be able to stand. None of us are worthy. Help us to fulfill our vows and live lives pleasing to You. Guard our hearts and keep us from pride and arrogance. Help us to walk humbly before You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I know God? How would I describe my relationship with Him? Are we best friends, friends, acquaintances, or strangers? How can I deepen my relationship with Him? Am I focusing on the reality that God wants to dwell with me?
2. Do I fear God? How do I feel about that concept? Do I shy away from it? Why do I feel as I do? Why do I need to fear God? How will that improve my relationship with Him and my obedience to His word?
3. What do I fear the most? Do I ever fear man or circumstances? How does my life show this? Am I happy about how I am living? Am I standing up for what I believe in or do I feel like I am a coward?
4. What vows have I made to God? Am I fulfilling them? Why or why not? What do I need to start doing to fulfill them?
4. Do I believe that everyone will bow before God someday? What is my views of other religions? Do I see them all the same or do I see the difference in Christianity? Do I see everyone as needing a relationship with God? Why or why not?
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Daily Devotional - 8/26/15 (10/26/09)
Prayer Focus - Enemies
Day 5
Pray for:
One person who was mean to you when you were a child
One person who has given you a lot of trouble recently
One person from your family (immediate or extended) that has given you trouble
One person from work or a social circle that has given you trouble
One person that you feel is a danger to your wellbeing even though you have never met
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Your ability to offer complete forgiveness from your heart
Your ability to let go of the hurts and move on whether they will ever apologize or not
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 56
"When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" ( vs. 3 - 4)
"Record my lament; list my tears on Your scroll - are they not in Your record?" (vs. 8)
When I am afraid, I will trust in God. When I am afraid about Joelle's health, in God I will trust. When I am afraid about my husband's health, in God I will trust. I will praise God in place of worry. When I am tempted, I will praise instead. I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me? What bad can happen to me if I have God. Nothing. God knows all the tears I have cried. He says He has recorded each one on His scroll, in His record. What an amazing thought.
"I am under vows to You, O God; I will present thank offerings to You. For You have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life." (vs. 12-13)
I have a responsibility to God. I said that I would follow Him. I need to fulfill my vows, and they are not burdensome. I just need to follow. Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden light. God's way should not be burdensome. It should be paved with gratitude for what He has done for us. He has delivered us and brought us out to freedom and light. I will walk in the light of life, because Jesus provides the life and the light. Death is dark. My old way of life was dark but thanks be to God, that way is gone and I am now walking with Him. Let us not turn back. Let us fulfill our vows. Let us be thankful.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are often afraid, but You are with us. Help us to feel Your continual presence in a greater way each day. There are many things that worry us and occupy our minds but You are what they should be fixed on. Guide our thoughts and turn us back to You. You know our struggles and our tears. How amazing that You have recorded each and every tear. You do care. We want to walk in gratitude and in the light of Your presence, the light of Your life. We turn away from our lives of darkness and death and want to live in the light. Help us to rid all darkness from our life so that we can fulfill our vows and have true joy and life. We love You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What fears do I have? Am I turning to God with them?
2. What vows have I made to God? Am I fulfilling them?
3. What has God delivered me from? What was my life like before I was a Christian?
4. What do I have to be thankful about? What can I praise God for?
5. Am I walking in the light? Is there anything that is hidden in the darkness about my life? Do I have people that I can discuss anything with? Do I have a platform to be open and to get help? Where could I go for that?
Day 5
Pray for:
One person who was mean to you when you were a child
One person who has given you a lot of trouble recently
One person from your family (immediate or extended) that has given you trouble
One person from work or a social circle that has given you trouble
One person that you feel is a danger to your wellbeing even though you have never met
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Your ability to offer complete forgiveness from your heart
Your ability to let go of the hurts and move on whether they will ever apologize or not
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 56
"When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" ( vs. 3 - 4)
"Record my lament; list my tears on Your scroll - are they not in Your record?" (vs. 8)
When I am afraid, I will trust in God. When I am afraid about Joelle's health, in God I will trust. When I am afraid about my husband's health, in God I will trust. I will praise God in place of worry. When I am tempted, I will praise instead. I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me? What bad can happen to me if I have God. Nothing. God knows all the tears I have cried. He says He has recorded each one on His scroll, in His record. What an amazing thought.
"I am under vows to You, O God; I will present thank offerings to You. For You have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life." (vs. 12-13)
I have a responsibility to God. I said that I would follow Him. I need to fulfill my vows, and they are not burdensome. I just need to follow. Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden light. God's way should not be burdensome. It should be paved with gratitude for what He has done for us. He has delivered us and brought us out to freedom and light. I will walk in the light of life, because Jesus provides the life and the light. Death is dark. My old way of life was dark but thanks be to God, that way is gone and I am now walking with Him. Let us not turn back. Let us fulfill our vows. Let us be thankful.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are often afraid, but You are with us. Help us to feel Your continual presence in a greater way each day. There are many things that worry us and occupy our minds but You are what they should be fixed on. Guide our thoughts and turn us back to You. You know our struggles and our tears. How amazing that You have recorded each and every tear. You do care. We want to walk in gratitude and in the light of Your presence, the light of Your life. We turn away from our lives of darkness and death and want to live in the light. Help us to rid all darkness from our life so that we can fulfill our vows and have true joy and life. We love You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What fears do I have? Am I turning to God with them?
2. What vows have I made to God? Am I fulfilling them?
3. What has God delivered me from? What was my life like before I was a Christian?
4. What do I have to be thankful about? What can I praise God for?
5. Am I walking in the light? Is there anything that is hidden in the darkness about my life? Do I have people that I can discuss anything with? Do I have a platform to be open and to get help? Where could I go for that?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/19/10 (9/19/09)
Focus Letter - S
Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for that begin with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begin with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Please help me to hear Your everpresent voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 19
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (vs. 14)
If I can please anyone in this world, if anyone is going to be happy with my life, I want that person/being to be God. I know I can't please everyone, and sometimes even pleasing those closest to me seems impossible. I used to worry about this quite a bit and compromise myself trying to make everyone happy. I wanted everyone to like me but in striving for this, I became someone even I didn't like. I came to the conclusion that I couldn't worry about it anymore. I had to live with myself and my conscience, and so I had to have integrity. I needed to be true to the one who matters the most - God.
Now I want everything about me to be pleasing to Him. How can I have this in my life? How can my words and even the thoughts of my heart be good and be pleasing to God? I fail so much in this area and I know that I only see the tip of the iceberg. As I mature as a Christian, I continue to see how far away I am and it seems impossible, but it is not.
"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me." (vs. 12-13)
God knows we fall short. He can see all of it. I think He is so kind to us in letting us see only what we can handle. If we could see the complete depth of our sin and depravity all at once, I think that would be the end of us. Thankfully, He has mercy. But we do need to deal with our sins if we want to be pleasing to God.
In the verses written above, the author points out two types of wrongdoings that must be forgiven and dealt with. First he mentions our hidden faults. I equate this to what is often referred to as iniquity. These are those character issues and predispositions; those deeper controlling factors that lead to our outward sins. Often they can stem from family issues and perhaps even biological factors. A deeper study of this might be of interest. I know there have been times that I have done things and then wondered why on earth I did them. There was no conscious reason but there was a driving force hidden somewhere in me. We need these forgiven. We need to pray to be transformed and to have the deep core iniquities uprooted.
Next there are the willful sins. The psalmists asks God to keep him from them. The willful sins fall into two categories - sins of omission and sins of commission. Sins of commission are those things we do that we know we shouldn't. Basically, they consist of doing something wrong. They are spelled out by God in the Bible, so it is important we find out what they are. There are several lists of these types of sins in the New Testament. I have posted two of them below. One list consists of the "major sins"; the ones most people probably think deep down are wrong even if they are still doing them. The other is more intense as it lists the sins of the heart. Disobedience to our parents is on this list as is ingratitude and being a lover of ourselves. This list may surprise some as our society takes pride in many of them. The sins of omission are the second type. These are all of those things we know we should do and don't. This one is particularly frightening to me because I am excellent at having "good intentions". I always remember with trepidation the saying my mother used to tell me, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
So how can we deal with the sin in our lives so that we may be continually pleasing to our God? The first step is to turn to Him. The beginning of the psalm declares the awesome power of the Lord and the beauty of His creation. It reads as follows:
"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (vs. 1-4)
When we turn our eyes to Him and His ultimate authority and strength, it makes more sense for us to obey and turn from our sins. Often we continue doing wrong because we do not realize the greatness of God and how He can fulfill us. We turn to sin to fulfill us and it cannot. We worry because we forget God. We turn to love in the wrong ways because we forget God has this love for us. We are mean and selfish because we forget God can take care of us. The root of all sin begins with us forgetting God and His power (Romans 1:18-32). So in order to deal with our lives, we need to remember God. We don't need the sins, we only need God.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." (vs. 7-8)
Next, we need to turn to His words which give us the directions for life. They tell us what to do and not to do. God was gracious enough to spell it out. He is not a God of confusion. He is the ultimate God of peace and order. He shows us the way. We need, then, to obey if we want to be free from sin. It is not enough to just look at the Word, we must do what it says (James 1:22-25).
In dealing with sin, the guidance given in I John 1:5-10 is a good place to start. It states that we need to get things out into the light. We need to confess our sins to someone. The power of this is so incredible. I think that is why Satan does whatever he can to prevent us from doing so. We fear that if people really knew us, they wouldn't like us. The exact opposite is true. We think nothing will change even if we are open. How wrong that is. Even modern psychology acknowledges the benefit of openness, which is what therapy is all about. It works because it is God's principle. He really does know.
Secondly, we need to accept God's forgiveness. We need to let it go and move on. If we continue to dwell on something, the likelihood of it repeating itself increases. If God, who is perfect can forgive us, who are we to not. Thirdly, we need to fill ourselves up with good things, the fruits of the Spirit. It is not enough to just empty ourselves of evil because then we leave ourselves open for more evil and sin to come right back in. We need to stuff ourselves so full of God and His good benefits that there is no more room for the sin and iniquity in our lives. (Luke 11:24-26)
There is great reward in keeping God's word. The sins and iniquities that plague us can be things of the past. I love I Cor 6:9-11 because it mentions some of the more serious sins that can plague us (and I was guilty of some on the list) and then it says - That is what some of you were! It is true. Our sins and iniquities can be in the past. They can be what we were, not what we are now. What an awesome truth this is. I know. It is worth it to please Him. Let us strive to do so!
Verses for reference:
Isaiah 53:5-6
"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His words we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
II Timothy 3: 1-5
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than overs of God -having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
James 4:17
"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins"
Galatians 5: 19-25
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
I Cor 6:9-11
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are so grateful that You deal with our lives. We want to change but are unable to on our own. We are so grateful for the promises in Your word about how we can be transformed into Your likeness more and more each day. We want to please You. Help us to recognize and turn from our iniquities and willful sins so that we can say that the meditations of our hearts and the words of our mouths are pleasing to You. We commit ourselves to You today.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Who am I striving to please? How do I know? Do my actions and words support this?
2. What sins do I need to deal with right now in my life? What are my sins of commission and omission?
3. What might be the iniquities in my life? How can I start to deal with them?
4. Am I being open about my life? Who am I open with? If I am not being open, is there someone I could open up to?
5. Am I accepting God's forgiveness? Is there anything in my life that I have not accepted forgiveness for? Is there anyone that I need forgiveness from? When will I ask them? If I am not ready to do so, how can I get myself in the place to do so? Do I need to forgive anyone? When will I do this?
Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for that begin with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begin with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Please help me to hear Your everpresent voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 19
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (vs. 14)
If I can please anyone in this world, if anyone is going to be happy with my life, I want that person/being to be God. I know I can't please everyone, and sometimes even pleasing those closest to me seems impossible. I used to worry about this quite a bit and compromise myself trying to make everyone happy. I wanted everyone to like me but in striving for this, I became someone even I didn't like. I came to the conclusion that I couldn't worry about it anymore. I had to live with myself and my conscience, and so I had to have integrity. I needed to be true to the one who matters the most - God.
Now I want everything about me to be pleasing to Him. How can I have this in my life? How can my words and even the thoughts of my heart be good and be pleasing to God? I fail so much in this area and I know that I only see the tip of the iceberg. As I mature as a Christian, I continue to see how far away I am and it seems impossible, but it is not.
"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me." (vs. 12-13)
God knows we fall short. He can see all of it. I think He is so kind to us in letting us see only what we can handle. If we could see the complete depth of our sin and depravity all at once, I think that would be the end of us. Thankfully, He has mercy. But we do need to deal with our sins if we want to be pleasing to God.
In the verses written above, the author points out two types of wrongdoings that must be forgiven and dealt with. First he mentions our hidden faults. I equate this to what is often referred to as iniquity. These are those character issues and predispositions; those deeper controlling factors that lead to our outward sins. Often they can stem from family issues and perhaps even biological factors. A deeper study of this might be of interest. I know there have been times that I have done things and then wondered why on earth I did them. There was no conscious reason but there was a driving force hidden somewhere in me. We need these forgiven. We need to pray to be transformed and to have the deep core iniquities uprooted.
Next there are the willful sins. The psalmists asks God to keep him from them. The willful sins fall into two categories - sins of omission and sins of commission. Sins of commission are those things we do that we know we shouldn't. Basically, they consist of doing something wrong. They are spelled out by God in the Bible, so it is important we find out what they are. There are several lists of these types of sins in the New Testament. I have posted two of them below. One list consists of the "major sins"; the ones most people probably think deep down are wrong even if they are still doing them. The other is more intense as it lists the sins of the heart. Disobedience to our parents is on this list as is ingratitude and being a lover of ourselves. This list may surprise some as our society takes pride in many of them. The sins of omission are the second type. These are all of those things we know we should do and don't. This one is particularly frightening to me because I am excellent at having "good intentions". I always remember with trepidation the saying my mother used to tell me, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
So how can we deal with the sin in our lives so that we may be continually pleasing to our God? The first step is to turn to Him. The beginning of the psalm declares the awesome power of the Lord and the beauty of His creation. It reads as follows:
"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (vs. 1-4)
When we turn our eyes to Him and His ultimate authority and strength, it makes more sense for us to obey and turn from our sins. Often we continue doing wrong because we do not realize the greatness of God and how He can fulfill us. We turn to sin to fulfill us and it cannot. We worry because we forget God. We turn to love in the wrong ways because we forget God has this love for us. We are mean and selfish because we forget God can take care of us. The root of all sin begins with us forgetting God and His power (Romans 1:18-32). So in order to deal with our lives, we need to remember God. We don't need the sins, we only need God.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." (vs. 7-8)
Next, we need to turn to His words which give us the directions for life. They tell us what to do and not to do. God was gracious enough to spell it out. He is not a God of confusion. He is the ultimate God of peace and order. He shows us the way. We need, then, to obey if we want to be free from sin. It is not enough to just look at the Word, we must do what it says (James 1:22-25).
In dealing with sin, the guidance given in I John 1:5-10 is a good place to start. It states that we need to get things out into the light. We need to confess our sins to someone. The power of this is so incredible. I think that is why Satan does whatever he can to prevent us from doing so. We fear that if people really knew us, they wouldn't like us. The exact opposite is true. We think nothing will change even if we are open. How wrong that is. Even modern psychology acknowledges the benefit of openness, which is what therapy is all about. It works because it is God's principle. He really does know.
Secondly, we need to accept God's forgiveness. We need to let it go and move on. If we continue to dwell on something, the likelihood of it repeating itself increases. If God, who is perfect can forgive us, who are we to not. Thirdly, we need to fill ourselves up with good things, the fruits of the Spirit. It is not enough to just empty ourselves of evil because then we leave ourselves open for more evil and sin to come right back in. We need to stuff ourselves so full of God and His good benefits that there is no more room for the sin and iniquity in our lives. (Luke 11:24-26)
There is great reward in keeping God's word. The sins and iniquities that plague us can be things of the past. I love I Cor 6:9-11 because it mentions some of the more serious sins that can plague us (and I was guilty of some on the list) and then it says - That is what some of you were! It is true. Our sins and iniquities can be in the past. They can be what we were, not what we are now. What an awesome truth this is. I know. It is worth it to please Him. Let us strive to do so!
Verses for reference:
Isaiah 53:5-6
"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His words we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
II Timothy 3: 1-5
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than overs of God -having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
James 4:17
"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins"
Galatians 5: 19-25
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
I Cor 6:9-11
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are so grateful that You deal with our lives. We want to change but are unable to on our own. We are so grateful for the promises in Your word about how we can be transformed into Your likeness more and more each day. We want to please You. Help us to recognize and turn from our iniquities and willful sins so that we can say that the meditations of our hearts and the words of our mouths are pleasing to You. We commit ourselves to You today.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Who am I striving to please? How do I know? Do my actions and words support this?
2. What sins do I need to deal with right now in my life? What are my sins of commission and omission?
3. What might be the iniquities in my life? How can I start to deal with them?
4. Am I being open about my life? Who am I open with? If I am not being open, is there someone I could open up to?
5. Am I accepting God's forgiveness? Is there anything in my life that I have not accepted forgiveness for? Is there anyone that I need forgiveness from? When will I ask them? If I am not ready to do so, how can I get myself in the place to do so? Do I need to forgive anyone? When will I do this?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/2/10 (9/2/09)
Prayer Focus - Letter B
(See yesterday's note for more background on this)
Pray for:
Five things that I am grateful for that starts with the letter
Five people whose first or last name starts with the letter
One place - city, state, or country- that begins with the letter
One character trait I would like to see my family and I grow in
Dear Lord, please let me hear your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalm 2
"The One enthroned in Heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them." (vs 2)
God is not afraid of people or nations or events. He is in control even if we can't see how or why. He has a plan even behind letting bad things happen. That sure is good to know because I can get so worried about current events, politics, and life in general. Often it just seems it is one crisis and tragedy after another almost to the breaking point but it is not. God is not afraid of all of this. He knows. He sees.
"Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." (vs. 11)
I just need to serve God. I just need to fear Him rather than what is going on in the world. If He is the ultimate authority, then He is the one to worry about and strive to please. We tend to not like to think about fearing God and would rather focus on the loving nature of God. Even translating 'fear' as respect is not totally accurate. We do fear in our lives and often this is good. There is a place for fear because it can keep us out of danger and lead to wise planning.
I am not afraid to say "Fear God" anymore. I do not care what society says. We should fear God because He does have the ultimate authority. He has the power to create and destroy our souls. No one else on this earth can do what God can. People can only destroy our bodies. They can not destroy our souls. Only God has control over the destiny of our souls. Someone with this authority deserves my respect, awe, and yes, even fear.
Thank God, however, that He is a good God. We should fear, but not in the way we fear evil or evil people. We are to fear Him as we would a loving father who is willing to instruct and discipline us as we need, yet always loves us. Very few of us were blessed with fathers like this, but I can imagine what it would be like and come close to the feeling I believe I should have towards God. This is the same feeling I had towards a teacher that I really liked and respected. There was fear there, as well as respect, and this kept me from getting in trouble. I knew that if I did do something wrong, I would be disciplined, but it would not be unwarranted and it would not be unreasonable.
As the psalm ends, it brings to the blessings of God again. Although it speaks about the anger of God and the destruction of evil, it ends with...
"Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." (vs. 12b).
It is as if God knows that the talk of fear and destruction can be hard for many of us to understand so He comforts us by saying - 'Hey just take refuge in me. That will please me and I will bless you. Come here and let me protect you. Work with me, do what I ask of you because it is for your own good.' God is the perfect father, the one who will protect us, discipline us, and in the end lead us to victory, success, and true life. He knows the way to get us there so that is why He is so serious about us doing it His way and about righteousness and obedience.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are so grateful that You are in control of the world. It is too much for us. We are overwhelmed when we are honest with ourselves, because we know that we can do nothing really on our own power. Help us to put the affairs of the world in Your hands. Help us to fear You alone. You are great and You are loving. We praise You for all that You are. Help us to take refuge in You and live a life pleasing to You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How is my attitude about world affairs? Do I let them overwhelm me and discourage me? Do I offer them up in prayer? How can I change my perspective and trust in God's ability to deal with world matters?
2. How do I feel about the concept of fearing God? Does this bother me? Why? What do I think of when I think of fearing something. Is it always negative? When has fear been helpful to me? How can I transfer this to God?
3. Who am I more afraid of - God or people? How do I know? How do I see myself fearing people? How would my life be different if I was more afraid of God?
4. Is there a person I have 'feared' in a good way? What was that person like? How is God better than this person? How did I act around this person? How can I transfer this to God? If I have never feared anyone in a good way, why?
5. Am I taking refuge in God? To what degree? How can I start doing this or do it more? How will I be blessed?
(See yesterday's note for more background on this)
Pray for:
Five things that I am grateful for that starts with the letter
Five people whose first or last name starts with the letter
One place - city, state, or country- that begins with the letter
One character trait I would like to see my family and I grow in
Dear Lord, please let me hear your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalm 2
"The One enthroned in Heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them." (vs 2)
God is not afraid of people or nations or events. He is in control even if we can't see how or why. He has a plan even behind letting bad things happen. That sure is good to know because I can get so worried about current events, politics, and life in general. Often it just seems it is one crisis and tragedy after another almost to the breaking point but it is not. God is not afraid of all of this. He knows. He sees.
"Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling." (vs. 11)
I just need to serve God. I just need to fear Him rather than what is going on in the world. If He is the ultimate authority, then He is the one to worry about and strive to please. We tend to not like to think about fearing God and would rather focus on the loving nature of God. Even translating 'fear' as respect is not totally accurate. We do fear in our lives and often this is good. There is a place for fear because it can keep us out of danger and lead to wise planning.
I am not afraid to say "Fear God" anymore. I do not care what society says. We should fear God because He does have the ultimate authority. He has the power to create and destroy our souls. No one else on this earth can do what God can. People can only destroy our bodies. They can not destroy our souls. Only God has control over the destiny of our souls. Someone with this authority deserves my respect, awe, and yes, even fear.
Thank God, however, that He is a good God. We should fear, but not in the way we fear evil or evil people. We are to fear Him as we would a loving father who is willing to instruct and discipline us as we need, yet always loves us. Very few of us were blessed with fathers like this, but I can imagine what it would be like and come close to the feeling I believe I should have towards God. This is the same feeling I had towards a teacher that I really liked and respected. There was fear there, as well as respect, and this kept me from getting in trouble. I knew that if I did do something wrong, I would be disciplined, but it would not be unwarranted and it would not be unreasonable.
As the psalm ends, it brings to the blessings of God again. Although it speaks about the anger of God and the destruction of evil, it ends with...
"Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." (vs. 12b).
It is as if God knows that the talk of fear and destruction can be hard for many of us to understand so He comforts us by saying - 'Hey just take refuge in me. That will please me and I will bless you. Come here and let me protect you. Work with me, do what I ask of you because it is for your own good.' God is the perfect father, the one who will protect us, discipline us, and in the end lead us to victory, success, and true life. He knows the way to get us there so that is why He is so serious about us doing it His way and about righteousness and obedience.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are so grateful that You are in control of the world. It is too much for us. We are overwhelmed when we are honest with ourselves, because we know that we can do nothing really on our own power. Help us to put the affairs of the world in Your hands. Help us to fear You alone. You are great and You are loving. We praise You for all that You are. Help us to take refuge in You and live a life pleasing to You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How is my attitude about world affairs? Do I let them overwhelm me and discourage me? Do I offer them up in prayer? How can I change my perspective and trust in God's ability to deal with world matters?
2. How do I feel about the concept of fearing God? Does this bother me? Why? What do I think of when I think of fearing something. Is it always negative? When has fear been helpful to me? How can I transfer this to God?
3. Who am I more afraid of - God or people? How do I know? How do I see myself fearing people? How would my life be different if I was more afraid of God?
4. Is there a person I have 'feared' in a good way? What was that person like? How is God better than this person? How did I act around this person? How can I transfer this to God? If I have never feared anyone in a good way, why?
5. Am I taking refuge in God? To what degree? How can I start doing this or do it more? How will I be blessed?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Daily Devotional - 11/16
Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 5
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
One thing that is needed in your state/region
One thing that is needed in your city
One thing that is needed in your family
Pray about:
How it will help those concerned with their spiritual life
How it will help those concerned with their physical life
How it will help those concerned with their emotional life
How it will help those concerned with their mental life
Day 5
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
One thing that is needed in your state/region
One thing that is needed in your city
One thing that is needed in your family
Pray about:
How it will help those concerned with their spiritual life
How it will help those concerned with their physical life
How it will help those concerned with their emotional life
How it will help those concerned with their mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 76
"In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. His tent is in Salem, His dwelling place in Zion...You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before You when You are angry?...Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. He breaks the spirit of rulers; He is feared by the kings of the earth." (vs. 1-2, 7, 11-12)
God is known by His people. He dwells with us. What an awesome thought that we can know God and have Him live with us and deal with us. We know we don't deserve it. He alone is to be feared. It is easy for us to start fearing men because we can see them and they can speak to us and voice their displeasure. It is difficult to swim against the current or to have enemies when we want to be accepted. We have to come to grips with the fact that we will not be accepted by the world if we are truly following God. We should not even really want to, if we think about it. We need to focus on pleasing God. He alone is to be feared. Even the kings of earth will one day bow before Him. He is the true controller of everything. We need to remember that and then strive to fulfill our vows to Him. This should be our focus each and every day, and when it is, then we will be truly at peace no matter what comes.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You for allowing us to know You. We want to know You better each and every day Help us to not waste the time we have with You and help us to walk in Your presence today. We want to fear You. Although fear is not popular, it is what is due You as You are able to give and take away all that we have and are. We praise You for Your goodness and mercy. Without both, we would not be able to stand. None of us are worthy. Help us to fulfill our vows and live lives pleasing to You. Guard our hearts and keep us from pride and arrogance. Help us to walk humbly before You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Do I know God? Who would I describe my relationship with Him? Are we best friends, friends, acquaintances, or strangers? How can I deepen my relationship with Him?
2. Do I fear God? How do I feel about that concept? Do I shy away from it? Why do I feel as I do? Why do I need to fear God? How will that improve my relationship with Him and my obedience to His word?
3. What vows have I made to God? Am I fulfilling them? Why or why not? What do I need to start doing to fulfill them? Can I finish something I started and then forgot about?
4. Do I believe that everyone will bow before God someday? What is my views of other religions? Do I see them all the same or do I see the difference in Christianity? Do I see everyone as needing a relationship with God? Why or why not?
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