Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 6
Pray for:
One thing that you need to be grateful for but find it difficult to be
One person that you need to apologize to, resolve a conflict with, or forgive
One dream that you need to surrender to God
One challenge that you need to face and deal with
One health issue that you need to deal with
One sin you need to overcome
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear Your voice today and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 98
"Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him. The Lord has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations. He has remembered His love and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." ( vs. 1 - 3 )
We are told again to sing a new song! We are told to be different; to start over. Why is this so important to God? This first verse holds the key. God has done marvelous things; He has brought salvation and not just salvation for the Jewish nation, but for the whole world. The whole Bible is an amazing story written over a long period of time by various authors that tells the story of a loving God seeking to restore a lost relationship with His creation. God has always been after us to give us the chance to start over; to sing a new song. He had so many dreams and desires for a people that would love Him and He has patiently been pursuing the human race and each one of us ever since the fall. He is not satisfied with anyone being lost. He includes story after story of how He feels about each and every person that turns back to Him. He rejoices over the returned souls. What an amazing thought that I am that loved. In another part of the Scriptures it states that even if our mothers and fathers could forget us, God would not be able to. We are etched in His heart and soul. We are His. This is why we are to rejoice. This is why we are to sing a new song; because God has made it possible.
Another wonderful thought I have about this verse is that it shows the universality of a faith in God. It is not limited to one country or group of people. It is for everyone. Sometimes I think that those of us in America, think that Christianity has to look like American Christianity to be real, but this is so far from the truth. The Scriptures do not tell us what our dress should look like or what our songs should be or how each step of our worship service should go. It speaks to the heart. It speaks of loving God and loving others. If I am in another country, true Christianity will look like the people in that country with all their rich heritage loving God and others with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. What is important is our hearts. So if I worship outside in a field or I worship in a grand cathedral, it is all the same. I am worshipping God. I hope that we can open up our eyes to the love of God for all people and all nations. God wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. We should too.
Key verses:
I Timothy 2: 1 - 4
"I urge, then, first of all, that request, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."
Jeremiah 29: 11-13
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.'"
Luke 15:6 - 7
"Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
Isaiah 49:14 - 16
"But Zion said, 'The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.'
'Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.'"
Acts 17: 26 - 27
"From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, thought He is not far from each one of us.
Galatians 3: 26 - 29
"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
You have done amazing miracles. You have worked salvation for the whole world. You have pursued us relentlessly. We have never been loved as we are with You. You love in a perfect manner and all that You bring into our lives is what we need to grow and change. Help us to love as You love. Help us to sing this new song and not be bound up with our traditions. We can truly change the world if we love. We thank You for giving us this task.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What marvelous things have I seen God do in my life? Am I grateful on a regular basis for these things? Why or why not? How can I increase my appreciation for what has God has done for me?
2. Have I experienced a fresh start with God? What was this experience like and when did it take place? What did I leave behind?
3. How do I feel about people that do not share my faith? Am I concerned about them being found by God? Why do I feel this way? Am I helping others to find God? Why or why not? What can I do to be more involved with helping others?
4. How do I feel about people that are different from me? How do I feel about people that worship differently from me? Am I prejudice in any way? How is this unlike God? What can I do to change?
5. Am I holding onto any religious traditions? Do I think people have to worship exactly as I do to be right with God? Why or why not? What can I do to reach out to others that differ from me religiously and show them the love of God?
Showing posts with label serving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label serving. Show all posts
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Daily Devotional - 9/27/15 (1/27/10)
Prayer Focus - Wants
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing you want to understand about God
One characteristic you want to develop that will help you to be more loving towards others
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 87
"The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God. "I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me - Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush - and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.'"
Indeed, of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her." The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: This one was born in Zion." ( vs. 2 - 6 )
In the Old Testament, Zion referred primarily to Jerusalem but was also used to refer to the Temple, and the Jewish nation; the people of God. In the New Testament, Zion usually refers to the spiritual kingdom of God, which could also seen as the church if one does a more thorough study. In Psalm 87, we see how much God cares about His people, whether His original people or those of us that have been grafted in. God loves us. God is desirous for all of us to belong to His kingdom, Zion. He also desires for His kingdom to be glorious and He is committed to establishing and maintaining it.
Imagine, we can be a part of this. We can have our names written in the register of the people and we can have our place of birth be recorded as Zion. This is ultimately the desired end result, isn't it? To have God acknowledge us as His own on that day when we will face Him. For Him to say to everyone, "Yes, this one was born in Zion. This child is mine!". Our national heritage often inspires us. I know when I was just out of college, I contemplated becoming an Australian citizen so that I could further my water polo career there. Even though at that time, I did not think that I cared that much about being an American, when I faced with the idea of having to renounce my citizenship to the United States, I couldn't. It was then that I realized what my country did mean to me. I thought of all my memories of growing up and of all the benefits that I had received, and I realized I loved my country, even with all of its faults. How much more so should we feel about our spiritual heritage and our spiritual country.
If we have been born again, we are citizens of Zion. We have a new kingdom. It is challenging to say to ourselves, "I have been born in Zion". Do we realize what an amazing thing this is? We have a fresh start and a new allegiance. We have all the rights and privileges of citizens of the kingdom of God. But do we live accordingly? I think too often, we take for granted what we have, just as I had taken for granted what I had as an American citizen. We need to make a conscious effort to be grateful and to give back. As John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address in 1961:
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility - I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
Kennedy was calling Americans and the whole world higher. Many responded to his plea. As followers of God and citizens of His country, we should take our duty even more to heart because, besides being citizens of God's kingdom, we have also been called to become His ambassadors. We are representing Him. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." (II Corinthians 5:20) I have been given a job to do in my life. I need to represent God. I need to live in a way that will glorify Him. I can not just do whatever I want anymore. People are watching. People will always watch.
I remember one of the most convicting moments of my high school days. I was supposed to be a Christian. I had been telling my friends about God in my junior year of school, but then in my senior year, I started partying and put aside my faith. One night at a party, I had been drinking and was not behaving in a very Christian manner. One of my friends stopped me in my tracks when they said, "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be a Christian." I didn't know what to say at that point, because they were right. I was supposed to be something but I wasn't living like it. I realized I was as big a hypocrite as the people I was upset with in my church and in my life. I kept partying that night, but that moment in time kept echoing in my head and eventually, I did become a true Christian. But that memory was never forgotten. I can still hear my friend asking me that question, even all these years later and that is okay because it is a good question. I am supposed to be a Christian. So, what does my life say? I hope it says I am. I hope it says that this is what is most important to me. I hope now, I do have integrity.
Looking back, sometimes it is hard for me to believe that I was given a second chance. I know I didn't deserve it. But God gives us all second, and third, and fourth chances. In fact, He is calling us until the day we die. I love the part of this psalm that says, "I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me - Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush - and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.'" (vs. 4) These countries were not friends of God. They were the enemies of the Jews; the ones that enslaved and persecuted them. But it appears that they are given a second chance. They too had the opportunity to become children of Zion. This speaks to me of the extreme love of God, that all of us, no matter how far we have fallen or where we have been, can start over. We can be born again and receive a new country, a new life.
What an exciting thought and what a responsibility as well! Let us rise to the occasion so we can retain our citizenship in Zion and enjoy all of its blessings.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
What a wonderful thought that we have been born in Zion. Help us to remember that we belong to such an awesome kingdom. We are a people now. We have a great heritage. Let us live so that others may see and worship You. Let us be worthy ambassadors for our spiritual homeland. Let us make You proud.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I been born in Zion? Is my name written in the register? How do I know? Are there any questions that I need to resolve about my conversion or any doubts in my mind? How can I clear these up so that I have full confidence in my citizenship?
2. Am I inspired by my spiritual heritage and belonging? Do I think about what an honor this is? How will dwelling on my citizenship in Zion help me to live better in the here and now?
3. Am I being a good ambassador for my spiritual country? What impression will others have of God and the kingdom because of me? Are there things I need to change to serve God better in my role as ambassador?
4. What blessings have I received due to my spiritual birth? What privileges do I enjoy because of this? Am I grateful or do I take advantage of my position in Christ?
5. What is my attitude about God's kingdom and the church. Am I serving my spiritual country or am I looking for what I can receive from it? What can I do to make my spiritual country, and my physical country a better place?
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing you want to understand about God
One characteristic you want to develop that will help you to be more loving towards others
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 87
"The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God. "I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me - Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush - and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.'"
Indeed, of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her." The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: This one was born in Zion." ( vs. 2 - 6 )
In the Old Testament, Zion referred primarily to Jerusalem but was also used to refer to the Temple, and the Jewish nation; the people of God. In the New Testament, Zion usually refers to the spiritual kingdom of God, which could also seen as the church if one does a more thorough study. In Psalm 87, we see how much God cares about His people, whether His original people or those of us that have been grafted in. God loves us. God is desirous for all of us to belong to His kingdom, Zion. He also desires for His kingdom to be glorious and He is committed to establishing and maintaining it.
Imagine, we can be a part of this. We can have our names written in the register of the people and we can have our place of birth be recorded as Zion. This is ultimately the desired end result, isn't it? To have God acknowledge us as His own on that day when we will face Him. For Him to say to everyone, "Yes, this one was born in Zion. This child is mine!". Our national heritage often inspires us. I know when I was just out of college, I contemplated becoming an Australian citizen so that I could further my water polo career there. Even though at that time, I did not think that I cared that much about being an American, when I faced with the idea of having to renounce my citizenship to the United States, I couldn't. It was then that I realized what my country did mean to me. I thought of all my memories of growing up and of all the benefits that I had received, and I realized I loved my country, even with all of its faults. How much more so should we feel about our spiritual heritage and our spiritual country.
If we have been born again, we are citizens of Zion. We have a new kingdom. It is challenging to say to ourselves, "I have been born in Zion". Do we realize what an amazing thing this is? We have a fresh start and a new allegiance. We have all the rights and privileges of citizens of the kingdom of God. But do we live accordingly? I think too often, we take for granted what we have, just as I had taken for granted what I had as an American citizen. We need to make a conscious effort to be grateful and to give back. As John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address in 1961:
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility - I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
Kennedy was calling Americans and the whole world higher. Many responded to his plea. As followers of God and citizens of His country, we should take our duty even more to heart because, besides being citizens of God's kingdom, we have also been called to become His ambassadors. We are representing Him. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." (II Corinthians 5:20) I have been given a job to do in my life. I need to represent God. I need to live in a way that will glorify Him. I can not just do whatever I want anymore. People are watching. People will always watch.
I remember one of the most convicting moments of my high school days. I was supposed to be a Christian. I had been telling my friends about God in my junior year of school, but then in my senior year, I started partying and put aside my faith. One night at a party, I had been drinking and was not behaving in a very Christian manner. One of my friends stopped me in my tracks when they said, "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be a Christian." I didn't know what to say at that point, because they were right. I was supposed to be something but I wasn't living like it. I realized I was as big a hypocrite as the people I was upset with in my church and in my life. I kept partying that night, but that moment in time kept echoing in my head and eventually, I did become a true Christian. But that memory was never forgotten. I can still hear my friend asking me that question, even all these years later and that is okay because it is a good question. I am supposed to be a Christian. So, what does my life say? I hope it says I am. I hope it says that this is what is most important to me. I hope now, I do have integrity.
Looking back, sometimes it is hard for me to believe that I was given a second chance. I know I didn't deserve it. But God gives us all second, and third, and fourth chances. In fact, He is calling us until the day we die. I love the part of this psalm that says, "I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me - Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush - and will say, 'This one was born in Zion.'" (vs. 4) These countries were not friends of God. They were the enemies of the Jews; the ones that enslaved and persecuted them. But it appears that they are given a second chance. They too had the opportunity to become children of Zion. This speaks to me of the extreme love of God, that all of us, no matter how far we have fallen or where we have been, can start over. We can be born again and receive a new country, a new life.
What an exciting thought and what a responsibility as well! Let us rise to the occasion so we can retain our citizenship in Zion and enjoy all of its blessings.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
What a wonderful thought that we have been born in Zion. Help us to remember that we belong to such an awesome kingdom. We are a people now. We have a great heritage. Let us live so that others may see and worship You. Let us be worthy ambassadors for our spiritual homeland. Let us make You proud.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I been born in Zion? Is my name written in the register? How do I know? Are there any questions that I need to resolve about my conversion or any doubts in my mind? How can I clear these up so that I have full confidence in my citizenship?
2. Am I inspired by my spiritual heritage and belonging? Do I think about what an honor this is? How will dwelling on my citizenship in Zion help me to live better in the here and now?
3. Am I being a good ambassador for my spiritual country? What impression will others have of God and the kingdom because of me? Are there things I need to change to serve God better in my role as ambassador?
4. What blessings have I received due to my spiritual birth? What privileges do I enjoy because of this? Am I grateful or do I take advantage of my position in Christ?
5. What is my attitude about God's kingdom and the church. Am I serving my spiritual country or am I looking for what I can receive from it? What can I do to make my spiritual country, and my physical country a better place?
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Daily Devotional - 9/22/15 (1/22/10)
Prayer Focus - Personal Transformation
Day 4
Pray for:
One thing that you want to see improved in your relationship with God - (Love God)
One thing that you want to see improved in the way you relate to others - (with all your heart)
One past hurt that you want to see healed and overcome - (with all your soul)
One skill or topic you want to learn - (with all your mind)
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 82
"How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken" ( vs. 2 - 5 )
The world that we live in is very confused. We can also be very confused. We do not really understand what truly matters anymore. Sometimes we call wrong right, and right wrong. Sometimes we are defending the wrong people and things. I don't know why we do this, but I have seen this struggle in myself. Even in my teaching, sometimes I have caught myself trying to cater to the students who cause trouble in the class instead of the ones who are trying so hard to learn. I often see myself looking at people in a worldly way, thinking about who makes a lot of money or who is more popular and successful in the world. I can be fooled by glitz and glamor. I can be envious of people that have a nice car or house and a lot of money. I can want a life of leisure instead of a life of purpose. Then I become very dissatisfied with my life and all of its blessings.
I often think it would be good if we could go back to a simpler time so that we would not have so many distractions from the pursuit of values and integrity. We would have a completely different perspective, but unfortunately, we can not go back. And, I must remind myself, there have always been problems. But, I do often think about the story of Pandora's Box. Once the box was opened, there was no going back. This is similar to our world now. Everything is out of the box and evil just seems to keep expanding. But despite all of this, we are still called to a better life. We are challenged with our thinking and taught about what is truly life.
This short psalms calls us out. It asks, "How long will we keep valuing what is wrong?" It challenges us with purpose; defend, maintain, rescue, and deliver. It calls on us to change the world; to stop being blind to the truth and to start to understand. The earth is being shaken right now by ignorance and hatred. Horrible things are being done, and evil men are being regarded as good in many parts of the world, but if we look to the scriptures, we are still commanded to focus on what is good and noble, perfect and true (Philippians 4:8).
We are still called to rejoice. Consider this:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God , which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)
We are still called to love. Consider this:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)
We are called to make a difference by being different, and loving in a different way. We are called to look at people from God's perspective and have His priorities in dealing with them.
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!" (II Corinthians 5:16-17)
We tend to look at the outward appearance of others and judge them by our standards of what we like and dislike (I Samuel 16:7). We are doing wrong when we do this. I am definitely glad that God looks at my heart because I know I would never measure up outwardly; yet why do I forget that with others. Often the best people are so far removed from what we would have imagined or picked. We need to take care of everyone that we can because that is what God desires. He has called us to use whatever strength and resources we have to help. We are not to just look at people outwardly, we are to look at need. We are to help the weak and the poor. We are to protect others from evil. We are called and if we are called, we will be equipped.
Let us keep our priorities right and remember we are here to serve and not be served (Matt 20:28). There are so many people who need us. Let us place others above ourselves today and everyday. We can make a difference.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to see people as You do. Help us to focus on the heart and not on the outward appearance. Help us to not be drawn to what society promotes as the "beautiful people". We are all precious to You and so we should all be precious to each other. Help us to not miss out on the joy of serving and help us to help those who need it. Show us the good works You have for us to do and grant us the strength to do them.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How do I view people? Why? How do I see the poor, fatherless, oppressed, weak, and needy? Do I have any stereotypes about others? Why? How can I change this?
2. Do I defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked in any way? Why? How do I feel about doing this? How can I change?
3. How do I deal with spiritually needy people? Am I willing to sacrifice my money to help them mature spiritually or would I rather just meet their physical needs? How can I start giving more to others spiritually? Is there someone I know that I can help today?
4. Do I make time for those in need? Do I defend and protect them in any way? What can I do to change? What can I do to help the poor, weak, needy, oppressed, or fatherless? What opportunities already exist? Is there something I could help begin? Is there someone I know personally that I can help?
5. Do I believe that I can make a difference in the world? Why or why not? What can I study out in the Bible that will remind me that I can? What vision or dream can I develop about impacting the world in a great way?
Day 4
Pray for:
One thing that you want to see improved in your relationship with God - (Love God)
One thing that you want to see improved in the way you relate to others - (with all your heart)
One past hurt that you want to see healed and overcome - (with all your soul)
One skill or topic you want to learn - (with all your mind)
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 82
"How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken" ( vs. 2 - 5 )
The world that we live in is very confused. We can also be very confused. We do not really understand what truly matters anymore. Sometimes we call wrong right, and right wrong. Sometimes we are defending the wrong people and things. I don't know why we do this, but I have seen this struggle in myself. Even in my teaching, sometimes I have caught myself trying to cater to the students who cause trouble in the class instead of the ones who are trying so hard to learn. I often see myself looking at people in a worldly way, thinking about who makes a lot of money or who is more popular and successful in the world. I can be fooled by glitz and glamor. I can be envious of people that have a nice car or house and a lot of money. I can want a life of leisure instead of a life of purpose. Then I become very dissatisfied with my life and all of its blessings.
I often think it would be good if we could go back to a simpler time so that we would not have so many distractions from the pursuit of values and integrity. We would have a completely different perspective, but unfortunately, we can not go back. And, I must remind myself, there have always been problems. But, I do often think about the story of Pandora's Box. Once the box was opened, there was no going back. This is similar to our world now. Everything is out of the box and evil just seems to keep expanding. But despite all of this, we are still called to a better life. We are challenged with our thinking and taught about what is truly life.
This short psalms calls us out. It asks, "How long will we keep valuing what is wrong?" It challenges us with purpose; defend, maintain, rescue, and deliver. It calls on us to change the world; to stop being blind to the truth and to start to understand. The earth is being shaken right now by ignorance and hatred. Horrible things are being done, and evil men are being regarded as good in many parts of the world, but if we look to the scriptures, we are still commanded to focus on what is good and noble, perfect and true (Philippians 4:8).
We are still called to rejoice. Consider this:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God , which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)
We are still called to love. Consider this:
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)
We are called to make a difference by being different, and loving in a different way. We are called to look at people from God's perspective and have His priorities in dealing with them.
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!" (II Corinthians 5:16-17)
We tend to look at the outward appearance of others and judge them by our standards of what we like and dislike (I Samuel 16:7). We are doing wrong when we do this. I am definitely glad that God looks at my heart because I know I would never measure up outwardly; yet why do I forget that with others. Often the best people are so far removed from what we would have imagined or picked. We need to take care of everyone that we can because that is what God desires. He has called us to use whatever strength and resources we have to help. We are not to just look at people outwardly, we are to look at need. We are to help the weak and the poor. We are to protect others from evil. We are called and if we are called, we will be equipped.
Let us keep our priorities right and remember we are here to serve and not be served (Matt 20:28). There are so many people who need us. Let us place others above ourselves today and everyday. We can make a difference.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to see people as You do. Help us to focus on the heart and not on the outward appearance. Help us to not be drawn to what society promotes as the "beautiful people". We are all precious to You and so we should all be precious to each other. Help us to not miss out on the joy of serving and help us to help those who need it. Show us the good works You have for us to do and grant us the strength to do them.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How do I view people? Why? How do I see the poor, fatherless, oppressed, weak, and needy? Do I have any stereotypes about others? Why? How can I change this?
2. Do I defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked in any way? Why? How do I feel about doing this? How can I change?
3. How do I deal with spiritually needy people? Am I willing to sacrifice my money to help them mature spiritually or would I rather just meet their physical needs? How can I start giving more to others spiritually? Is there someone I know that I can help today?
4. Do I make time for those in need? Do I defend and protect them in any way? What can I do to change? What can I do to help the poor, weak, needy, oppressed, or fatherless? What opportunities already exist? Is there something I could help begin? Is there someone I know personally that I can help?
5. Do I believe that I can make a difference in the world? Why or why not? What can I study out in the Bible that will remind me that I can? What vision or dream can I develop about impacting the world in a great way?
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Daily Devotional - 8/23/15 (10/23/09)
Prayer Focus - Enemies
Day 2
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
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 53
"God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread and who do not call on God? There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread."
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad." ( vs. 2 - 5a, 6)
When we think about our lives and the lives of those around us, we see a lot of failure. Even the best of us, those of us who are really trying to be good, fail; sometimes miserably. What is interesting, however, is that, although the Bible speaks of the universality of sin, it also differentiates between those who sin. The psalms consistently speak of a difference between people. There are the "evildoers" and there are the "righteous". Yet we all have turned away and become corrupt this passage says. This seems contradictory but the psalmist in this psalm outlines two ways that we can become what is referred to as "evildoers".
The first way to become an "evildoers" is to use others ("Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread"). We eat bread. We use it to stay alive. So someone who is devouring people in this way must be using them to get what they need. I know in the past I have used people. I am not proud of this but I think it is probably more widespread than we would like to admit. How often do we call someone only when we need something from them. Isn't that a form of using them? We are not thinking of them or of how they are doing. We are only thinking of what we need. How about in our conversations? Are they all about us and what we are going through? Do we use others as a dumping ground and then leave after we feel better? Isn't that using others? I am sure that we could come up with even more ideas of how we do this. Take for example our involvement in church, our work, or even our citizenship. Are we focused more on what we are getting out of our church services or our small groups rather than what we are giving to them? At our work, are we known to be someone who gets involved and gives their best or are we just getting a paycheck. How about as citizens of our country? Are we just taking the benefits and not getting involved to help others and make the world a better place to live in? We need to stop being takers and users and start being givers if we do not want to become "evildoers". I know I do. Righteous people give. There are so many passages in the Bible about giving. This is one of the key differences that we have to pay attention to. We are by nature selfish so we need to deal with this daily. It is not something that will just go away once we make a commitment to God.
The second way to become an "evildoers" mentioned in this passage is to not acknowledge and turn to God (and who do not call on God). This little phrase is so easy to just read over and not pay that much attention too. It doesn't seem that serious. We can tell ourselves we are okay with God because we don't do any of the "BIG" sins like murder or adultery but here is this seemingly insignificant thing listed instead. Not calling on God or paying attention to Him is actually the root from which all the other sins grow out of. Because we do not value God, we do not care what we do to others or what we engage in. When we value God and are turning to Him on a regular basis, we do not want to do wrong. It is so easy to not call on God though. It is easy to not pray or listen to God. Often, no one even knows. Rarely do people ask us how we are doing spiritually these days. It is just not the focus of our society. If we are being selfish, someone usually is affected by it and we tend to feel worse about being mean but not calling on God is all within us. We can cover it up for quite awhile, perhaps even a whole lifetime.
But using people and not calling on God does have consequences. In eternity, there will be consequences, but here on earth right now as we live, we will also suffer. I believe these things cause dread. They cause an unsettled feeling to stay with us. Almost as if we are always looking over our shoulder; always worried about what people know or will find out. So when we are stressed out and feeling a nameless sense of dread about life, it is a good idea for us to look for these two qualities in our lives. There will not always be one of these issues at the root of our feelings but sometimes there will be a connection. I know when I make a deeper inspection of myself when I am feeling uneasy, I usually find some sin, selfishness, or abandonment of God occurring. Once I turn back to Him, and draw near again, the sense of dread disappears. Sin does make us feel guilty. Our consciences and the feelings of guilt we have sometimes were put in us by God and they help us to come back to Him. We need to stop searing our consciences and accept that they are there and that they are there for a good reason. Thank God we can change and deal with our lives and our characters. I am grateful that God can enable us to overcome our sinful natures and that He can transform us. We will feel peace when we walk with God. He is a God of peace. Salvation will come out of Zion. He can and will do it and we will feel joy.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We do not want to be evildoers. As we look at the attitudes of our hearts and our actions, we pray that they will be those of a giver and not of a taker. We do not want to use people, even if it is advantageous to us. Help us to not think like the world does because to the world this is normal behavior. Help us to rise above and strive each and every day to be like Jesus. Although He was a part of You, He did not claim equality with You but made Himself nothing and became a servant to us all. He went the ultimate distance in dying for us and He calls us to do the same. Help us to rise to the challenge.
We also ask Your forgiveness for all of the times that we have not called on You. We get tired, weak, or lazy at times and neglect You, our ultimate power source. Help us to remember that it is all about You and not about us. We want to pray more. We want to commune with You and walk each day with You. Help us to not be so distracted. Our flesh is so weak. We are tired of walking around in dread. There is nothing to dread. There is no virus, no foreign government, no debt, not problem bigger than You. There is nothing to dread and here we are dreading. Forgive us and help us to turn away from this faithlessness and sin. You are here. You have always been here. Help us to see You in all that we do. You are surely woven into life. We pray for peace.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I used people in the past? What can I do to make amends? Can I see any situations where I am using people presently? Why do I do this? How can I stop?
2. Am I a giver or a taker in my relationships? Am I a giver or taker in my church, work, and social environment? What evidence is there for what I think I am? What can I do to become more of a giver?
3. Am I calling on God on a regular basis? How is my prayer life? Do I go to God first, or my friends? What can I do to improve my reliance on God?
4. Am I at peace or am I consistently in a state of dread? Do I have reason to dread? What am I fearing? Is God able to handle it?
5. Is there something I need to clear up/ resolve or repent of to eliminate the sense of dread that I am experiencing? What will I do to deal with this? When will I deal with it? If there is not an issue, how can I turn to God and trust Him more?
Day 2
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
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 53
"God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread and who do not call on God? There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread."
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad." ( vs. 2 - 5a, 6)
When we think about our lives and the lives of those around us, we see a lot of failure. Even the best of us, those of us who are really trying to be good, fail; sometimes miserably. What is interesting, however, is that, although the Bible speaks of the universality of sin, it also differentiates between those who sin. The psalms consistently speak of a difference between people. There are the "evildoers" and there are the "righteous". Yet we all have turned away and become corrupt this passage says. This seems contradictory but the psalmist in this psalm outlines two ways that we can become what is referred to as "evildoers".
The first way to become an "evildoers" is to use others ("Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread"). We eat bread. We use it to stay alive. So someone who is devouring people in this way must be using them to get what they need. I know in the past I have used people. I am not proud of this but I think it is probably more widespread than we would like to admit. How often do we call someone only when we need something from them. Isn't that a form of using them? We are not thinking of them or of how they are doing. We are only thinking of what we need. How about in our conversations? Are they all about us and what we are going through? Do we use others as a dumping ground and then leave after we feel better? Isn't that using others? I am sure that we could come up with even more ideas of how we do this. Take for example our involvement in church, our work, or even our citizenship. Are we focused more on what we are getting out of our church services or our small groups rather than what we are giving to them? At our work, are we known to be someone who gets involved and gives their best or are we just getting a paycheck. How about as citizens of our country? Are we just taking the benefits and not getting involved to help others and make the world a better place to live in? We need to stop being takers and users and start being givers if we do not want to become "evildoers". I know I do. Righteous people give. There are so many passages in the Bible about giving. This is one of the key differences that we have to pay attention to. We are by nature selfish so we need to deal with this daily. It is not something that will just go away once we make a commitment to God.
The second way to become an "evildoers" mentioned in this passage is to not acknowledge and turn to God (and who do not call on God). This little phrase is so easy to just read over and not pay that much attention too. It doesn't seem that serious. We can tell ourselves we are okay with God because we don't do any of the "BIG" sins like murder or adultery but here is this seemingly insignificant thing listed instead. Not calling on God or paying attention to Him is actually the root from which all the other sins grow out of. Because we do not value God, we do not care what we do to others or what we engage in. When we value God and are turning to Him on a regular basis, we do not want to do wrong. It is so easy to not call on God though. It is easy to not pray or listen to God. Often, no one even knows. Rarely do people ask us how we are doing spiritually these days. It is just not the focus of our society. If we are being selfish, someone usually is affected by it and we tend to feel worse about being mean but not calling on God is all within us. We can cover it up for quite awhile, perhaps even a whole lifetime.
But using people and not calling on God does have consequences. In eternity, there will be consequences, but here on earth right now as we live, we will also suffer. I believe these things cause dread. They cause an unsettled feeling to stay with us. Almost as if we are always looking over our shoulder; always worried about what people know or will find out. So when we are stressed out and feeling a nameless sense of dread about life, it is a good idea for us to look for these two qualities in our lives. There will not always be one of these issues at the root of our feelings but sometimes there will be a connection. I know when I make a deeper inspection of myself when I am feeling uneasy, I usually find some sin, selfishness, or abandonment of God occurring. Once I turn back to Him, and draw near again, the sense of dread disappears. Sin does make us feel guilty. Our consciences and the feelings of guilt we have sometimes were put in us by God and they help us to come back to Him. We need to stop searing our consciences and accept that they are there and that they are there for a good reason. Thank God we can change and deal with our lives and our characters. I am grateful that God can enable us to overcome our sinful natures and that He can transform us. We will feel peace when we walk with God. He is a God of peace. Salvation will come out of Zion. He can and will do it and we will feel joy.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We do not want to be evildoers. As we look at the attitudes of our hearts and our actions, we pray that they will be those of a giver and not of a taker. We do not want to use people, even if it is advantageous to us. Help us to not think like the world does because to the world this is normal behavior. Help us to rise above and strive each and every day to be like Jesus. Although He was a part of You, He did not claim equality with You but made Himself nothing and became a servant to us all. He went the ultimate distance in dying for us and He calls us to do the same. Help us to rise to the challenge.
We also ask Your forgiveness for all of the times that we have not called on You. We get tired, weak, or lazy at times and neglect You, our ultimate power source. Help us to remember that it is all about You and not about us. We want to pray more. We want to commune with You and walk each day with You. Help us to not be so distracted. Our flesh is so weak. We are tired of walking around in dread. There is nothing to dread. There is no virus, no foreign government, no debt, not problem bigger than You. There is nothing to dread and here we are dreading. Forgive us and help us to turn away from this faithlessness and sin. You are here. You have always been here. Help us to see You in all that we do. You are surely woven into life. We pray for peace.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I used people in the past? What can I do to make amends? Can I see any situations where I am using people presently? Why do I do this? How can I stop?
2. Am I a giver or a taker in my relationships? Am I a giver or taker in my church, work, and social environment? What evidence is there for what I think I am? What can I do to become more of a giver?
3. Am I calling on God on a regular basis? How is my prayer life? Do I go to God first, or my friends? What can I do to improve my reliance on God?
4. Am I at peace or am I consistently in a state of dread? Do I have reason to dread? What am I fearing? Is God able to handle it?
5. Is there something I need to clear up/ resolve or repent of to eliminate the sense of dread that I am experiencing? What will I do to deal with this? When will I deal with it? If there is not an issue, how can I turn to God and trust Him more?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Daily Devotional - 9/15/10 (10/15/09)
Prayer Focus - Friends
Day 1
Pray for:
One friend that you feel close to
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 45
"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." (vs. 7)
I believe we all want to be great and make a difference in this world. If you ask any child what they want to be when they grow up, they have great dreams. They don't plan on having a life of failure and mediocrity. It is only as we age and face failure and difficulties that we start to lose our dreams of making a difference. Even God, Himself has great dreams for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29: 11). So if it really is okay to have grand dreams of world impact, how will we accomplish it?
The world has one idea. There is the dog eat dog business model - the feeding with the sharks mentality where it is survival of the fittest and each man is out for himself. Then there is God's way. When Jesus' disciples were arguing over who would be greatest, Jesus' did not get mad at them for the question, but rather He pointed out their lack of righteous perspective on the matter. He told them they needed to become like little children to be great and they needed to become servants in order to lead. He told them the first would be last and the last would be first and that to truly be first, one would have to be the slave of all ( Matt 18:1-4 & Matt 20:20-28). Leadership and greatness for one who follows God comes in a completely different manner than it does for those in the world. Yet this is what it will truly make the greatest impact in the long run and the legacy that this type of leadership leaves will follow us into eternity. Jesus made a difference. He stood out. He changed the whole world. The original disciples turned the whole world upside down as well. It is okay to make a difference and want to be great as long as we go about it God's way and become servants.
In this psalm, we learn two more of the keys to greatness. They are to love righteousness and hate wickedness. We need to get our focus aligned with God and love what He loves and hate what He hates. We need to go beyond thinking that it would be nice to be a good person and beyond disliking when people are irritating and rude. We need to love and hate. We need to get passionate about life. I, personally, am such a middle of the road kind of person. I don't like to make waves but yet this is very unChristlike. He wasn't a mild mannered guy. He loved and hated. He laughed and cried. He was fully alive. We need to open up ourselves to this and stop being afraid to live if we want to experience true greatness and purpose.
When we are finally willing to fully embrace this philosophy, then God will set us apart from our companions. He will set us apart and above them by anointing us with the oil of joy. Joy comes when we do right. Joy comes from stepping out and doing something. We need to stop worrying about whether it will be right or wrong, and just jump into the fray of life and saying, "I am here. I am here. I will do something. I will speak. I will serve. I will get in and get dirty. I am getting off the sidelines and I am living." Joy will come bursting forth. Jesus came to give life and life to the fullest. We need to embrace this. We need to leave the past. Stop looking back and build a life anew with what we have, with our spouses and children. We can do all things with Christ. We truly can.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You for giving us the desire to make a difference. We want our lives to count for something and we ask You to help us to see how we can achieve that. Focus our eyes and our hearts on Your way. You and Your Son have had the greatest impact on the world and we are called to do even greater things than what Jesus has done. It seems impossible, but if we really start living and doing and feeling, You will be able to work through us. Free us from all that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance. Let us be clear channels for Your power to flow through. Allow us to love righteousness and hate wickedness. Help us to overcome our fear and do this so that we may receive the anointing of joy. You are the truth and the way and the life. We know. We desire to do Your will; increase our desire. We are letting go of the past and starting anew, today and everyday, we pray this. Father, hear our prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What were my dreams when I was young? Have I given up on them? Do I have new dreams to make a difference?
2. Do I love righteousness? What part of righteousness is the most difficult for me to embrace and love?
3. Do I hate wickedness? What is the hardest for me to hate about wickedness? Is there some sin that I accept, tolerate, or even like? What should I do about this?
4. What is my idea about how to become great? What is my idea about leadership? Am I a servant of others?
5. How is my joy level? Could renewing my dreams and embracing life increase it?
Day 1
Pray for:
One friend that you feel close to
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 45
"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." (vs. 7)
I believe we all want to be great and make a difference in this world. If you ask any child what they want to be when they grow up, they have great dreams. They don't plan on having a life of failure and mediocrity. It is only as we age and face failure and difficulties that we start to lose our dreams of making a difference. Even God, Himself has great dreams for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29: 11). So if it really is okay to have grand dreams of world impact, how will we accomplish it?
The world has one idea. There is the dog eat dog business model - the feeding with the sharks mentality where it is survival of the fittest and each man is out for himself. Then there is God's way. When Jesus' disciples were arguing over who would be greatest, Jesus' did not get mad at them for the question, but rather He pointed out their lack of righteous perspective on the matter. He told them they needed to become like little children to be great and they needed to become servants in order to lead. He told them the first would be last and the last would be first and that to truly be first, one would have to be the slave of all ( Matt 18:1-4 & Matt 20:20-28). Leadership and greatness for one who follows God comes in a completely different manner than it does for those in the world. Yet this is what it will truly make the greatest impact in the long run and the legacy that this type of leadership leaves will follow us into eternity. Jesus made a difference. He stood out. He changed the whole world. The original disciples turned the whole world upside down as well. It is okay to make a difference and want to be great as long as we go about it God's way and become servants.
In this psalm, we learn two more of the keys to greatness. They are to love righteousness and hate wickedness. We need to get our focus aligned with God and love what He loves and hate what He hates. We need to go beyond thinking that it would be nice to be a good person and beyond disliking when people are irritating and rude. We need to love and hate. We need to get passionate about life. I, personally, am such a middle of the road kind of person. I don't like to make waves but yet this is very unChristlike. He wasn't a mild mannered guy. He loved and hated. He laughed and cried. He was fully alive. We need to open up ourselves to this and stop being afraid to live if we want to experience true greatness and purpose.
When we are finally willing to fully embrace this philosophy, then God will set us apart from our companions. He will set us apart and above them by anointing us with the oil of joy. Joy comes when we do right. Joy comes from stepping out and doing something. We need to stop worrying about whether it will be right or wrong, and just jump into the fray of life and saying, "I am here. I am here. I will do something. I will speak. I will serve. I will get in and get dirty. I am getting off the sidelines and I am living." Joy will come bursting forth. Jesus came to give life and life to the fullest. We need to embrace this. We need to leave the past. Stop looking back and build a life anew with what we have, with our spouses and children. We can do all things with Christ. We truly can.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You for giving us the desire to make a difference. We want our lives to count for something and we ask You to help us to see how we can achieve that. Focus our eyes and our hearts on Your way. You and Your Son have had the greatest impact on the world and we are called to do even greater things than what Jesus has done. It seems impossible, but if we really start living and doing and feeling, You will be able to work through us. Free us from all that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance. Let us be clear channels for Your power to flow through. Allow us to love righteousness and hate wickedness. Help us to overcome our fear and do this so that we may receive the anointing of joy. You are the truth and the way and the life. We know. We desire to do Your will; increase our desire. We are letting go of the past and starting anew, today and everyday, we pray this. Father, hear our prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What were my dreams when I was young? Have I given up on them? Do I have new dreams to make a difference?
2. Do I love righteousness? What part of righteousness is the most difficult for me to embrace and love?
3. Do I hate wickedness? What is the hardest for me to hate about wickedness? Is there some sin that I accept, tolerate, or even like? What should I do about this?
4. What is my idea about how to become great? What is my idea about leadership? Am I a servant of others?
5. How is my joy level? Could renewing my dreams and embracing life increase it?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Daily Devotional - 9/11/10 (10/11/09)
Prayer Focus - Family
Day 4
Pray for:
One family member that you feel close to
One family member that you are not close to
One family member that lives far away from you
One family member that lives near you
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 41
"Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; He will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness." (vs. 1-3)
We need to have regard for the weak. When I tend to think of "the weak", I tend to think of the elderly or those who are down and out, perhaps those who I might consider to be "struggling" in some manner. As I consider this passage though and go a bit deeper, I am forced to look at what my stereotypes and prejudices are. Who is weak really? Lately, I would have to admit that it is me. I am the one who is "struggling". I am the one who is having trouble with so many things. I do not like to admit that I am weak. I think many of us do not like this. All of our lives we have been building up our walls to protect and guard ourselves so that we will be strong. Often, if we have been terrorized as children, we have built up very high walls so that no one will ever think we are weak again. We feel that our weakness will be used against us because it was in the past. We even begin to look down on anyone we consider open or vulnerable and we feel that displays of emotion are a sign of weakness as well and we dislike them immensely. Because we have been robbed of this ourselves, we resent it in others and it angers us. We become rocks and islands because as Simon and Garfunkel so eloquently put it, "a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries."
But once again, this is not God's way. First of all, we are to rejoice in our sufferings and weaknesses because they allow God to work fully through us (Romans 5:1-5, II Cor 12:8-10). Then we are to see that it is our pride that makes us want to appear strong. God just wants us to be ourselves and He views us as His children. Our children are obviously not as strong as we are. They are weak. God knows we are weak and He wants to take care of us. He even carries us when we can go on no further. I love the story of the footprints that so vividly expresses that sediment of Him carrying us through our most difficult times in life. Finally, God wants us to depend on Him in everything. Then, when we have been strengthened, we are to turn back and help others to be strengthened and comforted as well (Luke 22:31-32).
So I will admit that I am weak and that I also need to have regard for where I am at. I need to get myself strengthened, so that I can in turn strengthen those who need me. That would be my children, my husband, and my students. In many ways, these people are weak and I must view them differently than I have been doing. My children are weak because they are young. I expect so much out of them and often get frustrated by their misbehavior. Much of this is my fault, as I need to be more consistent in my discipline and training of them, but I must also remember that they are children. I must remember the proverb (Proverbs 22:15) that states that "folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drives it far from them."
It is not strange that my children are foolish and morally weak right now. That is a natural part of being a child. I must not take it so personally, and I must also see, therefore, how important it is for me to train and instruct them so that I can help them to out grow it. If I do nothing to help them get rid of the inherent folly in their souls, then I am truly leading them down a path of destruction. As a teacher, I have seen many children that have never been lead away from their natural folly. They fail and fail miserably, even if they are brilliant. Folly must be removed through love and consistent training. I must have regard for these, my children, and help them. I must not get mad but I must train. Both are imperative.
Then there is my husband. He is weak right now because of his illness. I must have regard for him and be there for him more than I ever have. Sometimes it is exhausting to be a caregiver and I am glad for the times when my husband is not that sick. Some people get no respite and it is easy to get overwhelmed and angry at the one who is ill. We must remember if we find ourselves in this position to have regard for the weak. We must find the refreshing and strength we need so that we may be able to go back and give the proper care to our loved ones in the way that will be most beneficial to them.
Finally, I have my students. Many are educationally disadvantaged and many of them have difficult home lives as well that might make them emotionally weak. God has placed me in these students' lives for a reason. I have much to give to them. I have educational skills and learning and most importantly, I have a relationship with God I can share in some way. I need to have regard for each of these children placed in my classes and give them whatever I can to help them grow academically and as individuals as well. They look to me to set them an example and to give them hope in an often hopeless world. Many times I might be the only one believing in them. I must have regard for them and give them my best. I am responsible.
It seems overwhelming when I contemplate all of this, but I love the promises that come with that small statement to have regard for the weak. God will delivers us. The Lord will protect and preserve our lives. God will fill us up so that we can pour out blessings to others (II Cor 9:6-11). The Lord will bless us in the land and will not give us up to our enemies. God will even help our health to be better. So many wonderful promises await us if we can just have regard for the weak. We will in turn be made strong. We can do it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). We need to be confident in this and we can be, if we have integrity. Our integrity and obedience to the will of God will enable us. We can be sure of that because God is faithful.
In my integrity, You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever." (vs. 12)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to have regard for the weak. We know that at times we are weak and at times we do not want to admit it. Help us to see ourselves correctly and to turn to You for strengthening. We need Your strength so that we can go out and in turn strengthen others. We fail and we are so weak but You are strong. You say that Your power is made perfect in our weakness. Allow Your power to be fully developed in us and help us to have regard for the other people in our lives who are weak in some way. Help us to remember our children and their weaknesses. Help us to be kind and loving despite their failures and help us to train our children so that it will go well for them. They are so precious and such a great responsibility. Help us to keep them a priority in our lives so that we can give them the best we have to offer.
Help us to have regard for our spouses in their weakness and our family members. If any of them are sick, help us to be there for them completely. Often those we should love the most are the most difficult for us. Grant us the strength to do all we ask. Only You can provide us what we need to do what You ask. We run to You, for You can do it. In our integrity, You uphold us. Increase our integrity and our obedience. Help us Lord to have regard for the weak.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I weak or strong right now? How do I know?
2. Who are the weak in my life? Am I having regard for them? What would that look like?
3. How am I doing with my children? Am I training them for the future? Am I teaching them about God and His ways beyond taking them to church?
4. How is my relationship with my spouse? Am I having regard for him or her? What are they weak in right now? How can I support them?
5. Am I a person of integrity? Why or why not? What does this mean to me? How can I change so that I will have more integrity?
Day 4
Pray for:
One family member that you feel close to
One family member that you are not close to
One family member that lives far away from you
One family member that lives near you
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 41
"Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; He will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness." (vs. 1-3)
We need to have regard for the weak. When I tend to think of "the weak", I tend to think of the elderly or those who are down and out, perhaps those who I might consider to be "struggling" in some manner. As I consider this passage though and go a bit deeper, I am forced to look at what my stereotypes and prejudices are. Who is weak really? Lately, I would have to admit that it is me. I am the one who is "struggling". I am the one who is having trouble with so many things. I do not like to admit that I am weak. I think many of us do not like this. All of our lives we have been building up our walls to protect and guard ourselves so that we will be strong. Often, if we have been terrorized as children, we have built up very high walls so that no one will ever think we are weak again. We feel that our weakness will be used against us because it was in the past. We even begin to look down on anyone we consider open or vulnerable and we feel that displays of emotion are a sign of weakness as well and we dislike them immensely. Because we have been robbed of this ourselves, we resent it in others and it angers us. We become rocks and islands because as Simon and Garfunkel so eloquently put it, "a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries."
But once again, this is not God's way. First of all, we are to rejoice in our sufferings and weaknesses because they allow God to work fully through us (Romans 5:1-5, II Cor 12:8-10). Then we are to see that it is our pride that makes us want to appear strong. God just wants us to be ourselves and He views us as His children. Our children are obviously not as strong as we are. They are weak. God knows we are weak and He wants to take care of us. He even carries us when we can go on no further. I love the story of the footprints that so vividly expresses that sediment of Him carrying us through our most difficult times in life. Finally, God wants us to depend on Him in everything. Then, when we have been strengthened, we are to turn back and help others to be strengthened and comforted as well (Luke 22:31-32).
So I will admit that I am weak and that I also need to have regard for where I am at. I need to get myself strengthened, so that I can in turn strengthen those who need me. That would be my children, my husband, and my students. In many ways, these people are weak and I must view them differently than I have been doing. My children are weak because they are young. I expect so much out of them and often get frustrated by their misbehavior. Much of this is my fault, as I need to be more consistent in my discipline and training of them, but I must also remember that they are children. I must remember the proverb (Proverbs 22:15) that states that "folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drives it far from them."
It is not strange that my children are foolish and morally weak right now. That is a natural part of being a child. I must not take it so personally, and I must also see, therefore, how important it is for me to train and instruct them so that I can help them to out grow it. If I do nothing to help them get rid of the inherent folly in their souls, then I am truly leading them down a path of destruction. As a teacher, I have seen many children that have never been lead away from their natural folly. They fail and fail miserably, even if they are brilliant. Folly must be removed through love and consistent training. I must have regard for these, my children, and help them. I must not get mad but I must train. Both are imperative.
Then there is my husband. He is weak right now because of his illness. I must have regard for him and be there for him more than I ever have. Sometimes it is exhausting to be a caregiver and I am glad for the times when my husband is not that sick. Some people get no respite and it is easy to get overwhelmed and angry at the one who is ill. We must remember if we find ourselves in this position to have regard for the weak. We must find the refreshing and strength we need so that we may be able to go back and give the proper care to our loved ones in the way that will be most beneficial to them.
Finally, I have my students. Many are educationally disadvantaged and many of them have difficult home lives as well that might make them emotionally weak. God has placed me in these students' lives for a reason. I have much to give to them. I have educational skills and learning and most importantly, I have a relationship with God I can share in some way. I need to have regard for each of these children placed in my classes and give them whatever I can to help them grow academically and as individuals as well. They look to me to set them an example and to give them hope in an often hopeless world. Many times I might be the only one believing in them. I must have regard for them and give them my best. I am responsible.
It seems overwhelming when I contemplate all of this, but I love the promises that come with that small statement to have regard for the weak. God will delivers us. The Lord will protect and preserve our lives. God will fill us up so that we can pour out blessings to others (II Cor 9:6-11). The Lord will bless us in the land and will not give us up to our enemies. God will even help our health to be better. So many wonderful promises await us if we can just have regard for the weak. We will in turn be made strong. We can do it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). We need to be confident in this and we can be, if we have integrity. Our integrity and obedience to the will of God will enable us. We can be sure of that because God is faithful.
In my integrity, You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever." (vs. 12)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
Help us to have regard for the weak. We know that at times we are weak and at times we do not want to admit it. Help us to see ourselves correctly and to turn to You for strengthening. We need Your strength so that we can go out and in turn strengthen others. We fail and we are so weak but You are strong. You say that Your power is made perfect in our weakness. Allow Your power to be fully developed in us and help us to have regard for the other people in our lives who are weak in some way. Help us to remember our children and their weaknesses. Help us to be kind and loving despite their failures and help us to train our children so that it will go well for them. They are so precious and such a great responsibility. Help us to keep them a priority in our lives so that we can give them the best we have to offer.
Help us to have regard for our spouses in their weakness and our family members. If any of them are sick, help us to be there for them completely. Often those we should love the most are the most difficult for us. Grant us the strength to do all we ask. Only You can provide us what we need to do what You ask. We run to You, for You can do it. In our integrity, You uphold us. Increase our integrity and our obedience. Help us Lord to have regard for the weak.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I weak or strong right now? How do I know?
2. Who are the weak in my life? Am I having regard for them? What would that look like?
3. How am I doing with my children? Am I training them for the future? Am I teaching them about God and His ways beyond taking them to church?
4. How is my relationship with my spouse? Am I having regard for him or her? What are they weak in right now? How can I support them?
5. Am I a person of integrity? Why or why not? What does this mean to me? How can I change so that I will have more integrity?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Daily Devotional - 8/26/10 (9/26/09)
Focus Letter - Z
Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for that begin with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins 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 - Help me to hear Your voice and grant me the strength to obey it.
Psalms 26
"Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering." (vs. 1)
I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. What an incredible statement to make. I wish I could say it. I wish I could say I have led a blameless life as well. Perhaps if I followed the psalmists advice I would be closer to this ideal.
"Your love is ever before me" (vs. 2a)
I need to keep God's love before me. This will help me to stop worrying. Even yesterday, I was worrying about the swine flu and my youngest daughter's asthma. I was wondering what would I do if my husband dies, or if my daughter should die. Morbid thoughts and worry. I had to remember that God is here even in a swine flu epidemic or in some other great crisis. Thinking about God's love will help me to stop wavering because I will remember that He is in control. I can't do anything to fight disease; to make someone's body work right. Also keeping God's love before me will keep me from becoming bitter and trying to take vengeance. It will help me to stay righteous. I think of one of my favorite verses, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near (Phil 4:4-5)." I can be gentle if I remember the Lord is near. If I forget that, I try to take everything into my own hands.
"and I walk continually in Your truth." (vs. 2b)
I need to follow God's word next. If I am not being very successful, perhaps it is because either I do not know what God says in His word, or I am not obeying it. Sometimes I don't obey because I think it is too hard, or perhaps I think it is not that important, or else I think I am too busy. Lots of reasons but none will hold up. I need to continually walk in the truth, not just when I feel like it.
"I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked." (vs. 4)
I need to have deep convictions about who I hang around with and what I am doing. I will be influenced by others, including books, movies, and TV shows. It is impossible to not be. I need to guard my heart and I need to take a stand in a spiritual way. I do not need to be self-righteous, but I need to be training myself to be godly. I need to get around people who can help me make it to heaven. I need others. It can be difficult for me to accept that, as I tend to be a very independent person, but that is not God's way. He is all about one another relationships. I need to avoid bad relationships and I need to avoid no relationships. I can not be serving God and be a loner at the same time.
"I wash my hands in innocence and go about Your altar, O Lord," (vs. 6)
I need to not be ashamed to be innocent. The world tends to look down on innocent people, almost as if they are stupid, but I need to see that God calls us to be innocent as doves yet shrewd as snakes (Matt 10:16). It is beautiful in the eyes of God to be innocent and not jaded; to have the wide eyed excitement about life that a child has. I need to treasure my innocence and that of my children and guard it by monitoring what we take in. Then I need to be busy about God's altar. I need to be out there serving Him. I have to be about my purpose. This is what will help me to be blameless and unwavering. I will not have time to worry about myself anymore or to get into sinful pursuits. David got into some terrible sin when he failed to go out to battle as he should have (II Sam 11 & 12). Who am I to think I will be any different? I must remember Philemon 1:6, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."
"My feet stand on level ground;" (vs. 12a)
Finally, I need to stop going where I shouldn't. I need to stand on the level ground that God has provided. I need to seek out His will and His direction and I need to travel on it. I need to straighten myself out so I can travel on the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8-10). I need to strengthen my feeble arms and weak knees and I need to walk on the level paths so that the weak may be healed, including myself (Hebrews 12:12-13). I need to get strong!
"In the great assembly I will praise the Lord." (vs. 12b)
And in the end, I need to praise the Lord. I will turn to Him and express all that I have to be grateful for and I will be closer to my goal. I will be closer to saying, "I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. I have led a blameless life."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We long to say that we have trusted in You without wavering. We want to live a blameless life. Help us where we fall short. Help us to keep Your love before us and walk in Your truth. Keep us from the negative influences that would bring us down. Grant us wisdom and strength so that we may be successful. We do praise You and love Your house. Guard us and keep us.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How can I keep God's love ever before me? When is this most difficult for me? Why?
2. Am I walking continually in God's truth? What am I disregarding? Why?
3. How do I feel about being innocent? Am I striving for this or embarrassed by it? Why? Do I avoid evil and evil influences?
4. Am I working at the Lord's altar and am I walking on His level ways? Am I busy or a busybody?
5. Do I praise God on a regular basis or am I negatively focused? How can I get a more positive and God centered focus in my life?
Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for that begin with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begins 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 - Help me to hear Your voice and grant me the strength to obey it.
Psalms 26
"Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering." (vs. 1)
I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. What an incredible statement to make. I wish I could say it. I wish I could say I have led a blameless life as well. Perhaps if I followed the psalmists advice I would be closer to this ideal.
"Your love is ever before me" (vs. 2a)
I need to keep God's love before me. This will help me to stop worrying. Even yesterday, I was worrying about the swine flu and my youngest daughter's asthma. I was wondering what would I do if my husband dies, or if my daughter should die. Morbid thoughts and worry. I had to remember that God is here even in a swine flu epidemic or in some other great crisis. Thinking about God's love will help me to stop wavering because I will remember that He is in control. I can't do anything to fight disease; to make someone's body work right. Also keeping God's love before me will keep me from becoming bitter and trying to take vengeance. It will help me to stay righteous. I think of one of my favorite verses, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near (Phil 4:4-5)." I can be gentle if I remember the Lord is near. If I forget that, I try to take everything into my own hands.
"and I walk continually in Your truth." (vs. 2b)
I need to follow God's word next. If I am not being very successful, perhaps it is because either I do not know what God says in His word, or I am not obeying it. Sometimes I don't obey because I think it is too hard, or perhaps I think it is not that important, or else I think I am too busy. Lots of reasons but none will hold up. I need to continually walk in the truth, not just when I feel like it.
"I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites; I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked." (vs. 4)
I need to have deep convictions about who I hang around with and what I am doing. I will be influenced by others, including books, movies, and TV shows. It is impossible to not be. I need to guard my heart and I need to take a stand in a spiritual way. I do not need to be self-righteous, but I need to be training myself to be godly. I need to get around people who can help me make it to heaven. I need others. It can be difficult for me to accept that, as I tend to be a very independent person, but that is not God's way. He is all about one another relationships. I need to avoid bad relationships and I need to avoid no relationships. I can not be serving God and be a loner at the same time.
"I wash my hands in innocence and go about Your altar, O Lord," (vs. 6)
I need to not be ashamed to be innocent. The world tends to look down on innocent people, almost as if they are stupid, but I need to see that God calls us to be innocent as doves yet shrewd as snakes (Matt 10:16). It is beautiful in the eyes of God to be innocent and not jaded; to have the wide eyed excitement about life that a child has. I need to treasure my innocence and that of my children and guard it by monitoring what we take in. Then I need to be busy about God's altar. I need to be out there serving Him. I have to be about my purpose. This is what will help me to be blameless and unwavering. I will not have time to worry about myself anymore or to get into sinful pursuits. David got into some terrible sin when he failed to go out to battle as he should have (II Sam 11 & 12). Who am I to think I will be any different? I must remember Philemon 1:6, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."
"My feet stand on level ground;" (vs. 12a)
Finally, I need to stop going where I shouldn't. I need to stand on the level ground that God has provided. I need to seek out His will and His direction and I need to travel on it. I need to straighten myself out so I can travel on the Way of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8-10). I need to strengthen my feeble arms and weak knees and I need to walk on the level paths so that the weak may be healed, including myself (Hebrews 12:12-13). I need to get strong!
"In the great assembly I will praise the Lord." (vs. 12b)
And in the end, I need to praise the Lord. I will turn to Him and express all that I have to be grateful for and I will be closer to my goal. I will be closer to saying, "I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. I have led a blameless life."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We long to say that we have trusted in You without wavering. We want to live a blameless life. Help us where we fall short. Help us to keep Your love before us and walk in Your truth. Keep us from the negative influences that would bring us down. Grant us wisdom and strength so that we may be successful. We do praise You and love Your house. Guard us and keep us.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How can I keep God's love ever before me? When is this most difficult for me? Why?
2. Am I walking continually in God's truth? What am I disregarding? Why?
3. How do I feel about being innocent? Am I striving for this or embarrassed by it? Why? Do I avoid evil and evil influences?
4. Am I working at the Lord's altar and am I walking on His level ways? Am I busy or a busybody?
5. Do I praise God on a regular basis or am I negatively focused? How can I get a more positive and God centered focus in my life?
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Daily Devotional - 1/27
Prayer Focus - Wants
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing you want to understand about God
One characteristic you want to develop that will help you to be more loving towards others
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 87
"The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: This one was born in Zion." ( vs. 6)
This is the desired end result - to have God write in the register of all the peoples - this one was born in Zion. Our national heritage often inspires us; how much more so should our spiritual heritage. I have been born in Zion. All of us who have truly become Christians have been born in Zion. Do we realize this? Do we live accordingly? We are citizens of God's kingdom and His ambassadors. We are representing Him.
What an exciting thought and what a responsibility as well! Let us rise to the occasion so we can retain our citizenship and enjoy all of its blessings.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
What a wonderful thought that we have been born in Zion. Help us to remember that we belong to such an awesome kingdom. We are a people now. We have a great heritage. Let us live so that others may see and worship You. Let us be worthy ambassadors for our spiritual homeland. Let us make You proud.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I been born in Zion? Is my name written in the register? How do I know? Are there any questions I need to resolve about my conversion or any doubts in my mind? How can I clear these up so that I have full confidence in my citizenship?
2. Am I inspired by my spiritual heritage and belonging? Do I think about what an honor this is? How will dwelling on my citizenship in Zion help me live better in the here and now?
3. Am I being a good ambassador for my spiritual country? What impression will others have of God and the kingdom because of me? Are there things I need to change to serve God better in my role as ambassador?
4. What blessings have I received due to my spiritual birth? What privileges do I enjoy because of this? Am I grateful or do I take advantage of my position in Christ?
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing you want to understand about God
One characteristic you want to develop that will help you to be more loving towards others
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to Your ever present voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 87
"The Lord will write in the register of the peoples: This one was born in Zion." ( vs. 6)
This is the desired end result - to have God write in the register of all the peoples - this one was born in Zion. Our national heritage often inspires us; how much more so should our spiritual heritage. I have been born in Zion. All of us who have truly become Christians have been born in Zion. Do we realize this? Do we live accordingly? We are citizens of God's kingdom and His ambassadors. We are representing Him.
What an exciting thought and what a responsibility as well! Let us rise to the occasion so we can retain our citizenship and enjoy all of its blessings.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
What a wonderful thought that we have been born in Zion. Help us to remember that we belong to such an awesome kingdom. We are a people now. We have a great heritage. Let us live so that others may see and worship You. Let us be worthy ambassadors for our spiritual homeland. Let us make You proud.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I been born in Zion? Is my name written in the register? How do I know? Are there any questions I need to resolve about my conversion or any doubts in my mind? How can I clear these up so that I have full confidence in my citizenship?
2. Am I inspired by my spiritual heritage and belonging? Do I think about what an honor this is? How will dwelling on my citizenship in Zion help me live better in the here and now?
3. Am I being a good ambassador for my spiritual country? What impression will others have of God and the kingdom because of me? Are there things I need to change to serve God better in my role as ambassador?
4. What blessings have I received due to my spiritual birth? What privileges do I enjoy because of this? Am I grateful or do I take advantage of my position in Christ?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Daily Devotional - 11/13
Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
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 73
"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." ( vs. 1-2)
"This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning...When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when You arise, O Lord, You will despise them as fantasies." (vs. 13-14, 16-20)
"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You. Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (vs. 21-26)
Day 2
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
One thing that is needed in your country
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 73
"Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked." ( vs. 1-2)
"This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning...When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when You arise, O Lord, You will despise them as fantasies." (vs. 13-14, 16-20)
"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You. Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (vs. 21-26)
It is easy to lose sight of what is important. When we look around at others and compare ourselves with others, especially those not following God, we can end up dissatisfied with our lot. Those who are chasing after what the world offers can achieve quite a bit and I believe that Satan rewards them to help lead others astray. We can look at their schedules, which often have more free time and leisure activities, and begin to envy them. We can also envy their financial success as they often use unethical methods to get ahead. We can look at their fancy houses, clothes, and the like and then wonder why we are struggling and trying to do things God's way. But God does not promise wealth and success. God promises spiritual rewards.
If we lose sight of this we can easily slip. It is not hard to get to this point and we become like brute beasts when we start envying. We lose all of our dignity and integrity. This is not what we want nor is it what God wants for us. We need to get back to God and enter His sanctuary. We need to remember what will happen to all those who do not know Him. They will not endure. Whatever they are enjoying is for this life only. When we die, we take nothing with us. Naked we came and naked we go. Without God, they will leave it all here and enter eternity impoverished. They will be like a dream that is despised in the morning. ]
I don't want to be a bad dream to God. I want to be a good memory, and not even a memory, a good and faithful servant always with Him, serving Him for eternity. The amazing thing is, that with God, this is possible. God is still with us, even when we are faltering. He is holding our hand and guiding us in the way that we should go. Everything may fail but God will not. God is our strength forever.
"But as for me, it is good to be near God." (vs. 28a)
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We know You are good. We have always known this in our souls, yet we slip so easily. We are like Peter who took his eyes off you when he was walking on the water. We sink. We begin to look at those around us and begin to envy their prosperity and ease. Help us to enter into Your sanctuary on a daily basis so that we will remember their final destiny. Help us to remember what life is all about and that the eternal is what truly matters. We ask to not be like brute beasts but like those that have integrity and uprightness. We do not want to be a bad dream to You. We do not want to be despised when You awake. We do not want to be swept away by terrors or cast down to ruin. Help us to live for eternity and to live clearly and simply. You are here guiding us. Help us to not fight Your guidance, but to embrace it. We thank You for being our strength and our portion forever. You are all we have. There is nothing better than You. We desire nothing else than to please You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What things cause me to envy the most? What circumstances and people cause me the most trouble? How can I combat this?
2. Do I ever feel that I am trying so hard and yet it is all in vain? Do I feel this way when I am forgetting all the good things that God has done for me? How can I rekindle my gratitude?
3. How can I enter into the sanctuary of God on a daily basis? What places and settings help me to remember my spiritual perspective and get back to being grounded in what is important again? How can I incorporate these things into my daily life?
4. How is God guiding me? Am I receptive to His leading through His word, others, and my inner conscience? How can I become more receptive? Am I being still so that I can remember that God is God and allow myself to hear His voice?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Daily Devotional - 11/12
Prayer Focus - Needs
Day 1
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
Focus on how this need being fulfilled will help those concerned's
spiritual life
physical life
emotional life
mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 72
"He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more...For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death." ( vs. 6-7, 12-13)
This psalm states at the beginning that it was written about Solomon. What a wonderful portrait of what a person could become. I would like this to be able to be said about me someday. I would like to be like rain on a mown field. That dewy freshness and revitalization that comes from a needed watering. I would like to be a protector of the weak and helpless. I would like to make a difference.
We often have great desires to do something. The problem is in our actions. God is able, but are we truly willing? Are we taking steps to do something? Perhaps we do not know what to do. I feel this way quite a bit and my problem is that when I don't know what to do, I don't do anything. I need to start doing something, anything, as long as it gets me moving in some direction. God can take care of the rest but if I do nothing, I receive nothing. I impact nothing. We must start and let God take care of the rest. Let tomorrow be the first day of the rest of our lives and let us dream of that beautiful field in the rain.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We have dreams to make a difference, and You have dreams to save the world. Help us to see that our dreams are possible, if they are in line with Yours. Help us to start moving in some direction because it is easier to move or redirect an object once it is moving than when it is at a complete stop. Help us to not be frozen with insecurity and indecision. You know what You have planned for our lives and the good works that You have prepared in advance for us to do. You are able to complete them if we are willing to act. You have put things on our heart for a reason. There are people that only we can reach and help. Help us to stop focusing on ourselves and help us to start making a difference for You. With You we will be able. Grant us strength.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I refreshing to others or a burden to them? Why? How can I become someone who refreshing, or become more like this if I already am?
2. Are the righteous flourishing because of me? Who am I helping or inspiring to be more godly? How am I helping them? What more could I do or how could I start doing this if I am not now?
3. Am I helping the needy and afflicted? How am I doing this? What more could I do or what could I start doing?
4. What is my dream or vision for my life? What good works do I feel I am equipped to do? What has been on my heart lately? What can I start doing? How can I begin or continue to make this dream/vision happen? Am I praying about my dream becoming what God's dream is for my life?
Day 1
Pray for:
One thing that is needed in the world
Focus on how this need being fulfilled will help those concerned's
spiritual life
physical life
emotional life
mental life
Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 72
"He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more...For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death." ( vs. 6-7, 12-13)
This psalm states at the beginning that it was written about Solomon. What a wonderful portrait of what a person could become. I would like this to be able to be said about me someday. I would like to be like rain on a mown field. That dewy freshness and revitalization that comes from a needed watering. I would like to be a protector of the weak and helpless. I would like to make a difference.
We often have great desires to do something. The problem is in our actions. God is able, but are we truly willing? Are we taking steps to do something? Perhaps we do not know what to do. I feel this way quite a bit and my problem is that when I don't know what to do, I don't do anything. I need to start doing something, anything, as long as it gets me moving in some direction. God can take care of the rest but if I do nothing, I receive nothing. I impact nothing. We must start and let God take care of the rest. Let tomorrow be the first day of the rest of our lives and let us dream of that beautiful field in the rain.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We have dreams to make a difference, and You have dreams to save the world. Help us to see that our dreams are possible, if they are in line with Yours. Help us to start moving in some direction because it is easier to move or redirect an object once it is moving than when it is at a complete stop. Help us to not be frozen with insecurity and indecision. You know what You have planned for our lives and the good works that You have prepared in advance for us to do. You are able to complete them if we are willing to act. You have put things on our heart for a reason. There are people that only we can reach and help. Help us to stop focusing on ourselves and help us to start making a difference for You. With You we will be able. Grant us strength.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Am I refreshing to others or a burden to them? Why? How can I become someone who refreshing, or become more like this if I already am?
2. Are the righteous flourishing because of me? Who am I helping or inspiring to be more godly? How am I helping them? What more could I do or how could I start doing this if I am not now?
3. Am I helping the needy and afflicted? How am I doing this? What more could I do or what could I start doing?
4. What is my dream or vision for my life? What good works do I feel I am equipped to do? What has been on my heart lately? What can I start doing? How can I begin or continue to make this dream/vision happen? Am I praying about my dream becoming what God's dream is for my life?
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Daily Devotional - 10/24
Prayer Focus - Enemies
Day 3
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 at some point in time
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 54
"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me....I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes." ( vs 4 & 6-7)
God is my help. I have to repeat this to myself daily, hourly, and moment by moment. God is my help. He is the one who sustains me. There is so much to be done in my life. I must learn to separate the urgent from the important. I must learn to prioritize. And I must learn to rely more and more on the Lord who sustains me. I am learning to look at the worst that could happen and then look at it through God's eyes. For example, if my daughter should get sick with H1N1, which happens to be something on my mind on a regular basis right now, what would be the worst that could happen? Having asthma, she could get very sick. She could even die. I have had to think of this before. If this worst case scenario would happen, she would be in heaven. She would be happy and at peace forever. Since she is only five, she would be with God and would be spared all the heart ache that we face living on earth. I would be heartbroken, on the other hand, but at least I would know that she was safe and no longer had to suffer. I would not have to worry about whether or not she would grow up to know God. She would be there waiting for me. This tends to help me face the uncertainty of today. Even the worst would not be that bad when looked at in an eternal perspective.
So I will sacrifice a freewill offering to God. I will freely come and bring Him whatever I have to offer. I will not be forced to follow. I am so grateful that I am even allowed to participate. I would have nothing without God and I look forward to seeing how He will deliver me from all of my present troubles. He has amazed me up until now with how He has gotten me out of my past troubles. I am certain that I will look in triumph on my foes someday. And what a great day that will be!
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We look forward to the day that we will be able to look with triumph on our foes. You have delivered us so far and You will continue to deliver us. You are good, always good and we praise You. You are our help. You do sustain us. You get us up and put us to bed. You keep our hearts beating and our lungs pulling in oxygen. You are great and You deserve all the freewill offerings I can bring. Help us to not be like horses or mules that have to be pulled along. Help us to come willingly and eagerly to serve You. Forgive us in our failures to please You. We need You and praise You for Your mercy. Continue to walk with us and carry us when we are weak. We worship You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How often do I think about God actually being with me in each present moment? Do I turn to Him for help in the moment or do I forget He is there?
2. Am I allowing God to prioritize my day and my time? Do I let Him get involved with the mundane areas of my life like house work or do I feel that God is only interested in the "big issues"?
3. How can I bring a freewill offering to God? Is my service and worship a joy or burden to me? What can I change to improve my attitude of joy when I am serving or worshiping God?
4. What are the foes in my life? What am I doing to conquer them? How will I feel when I am delivered and can look at them in triumph?
Day 3
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 at some point in time
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 54
"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me....I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes." ( vs 4 & 6-7)
God is my help. I have to repeat this to myself daily, hourly, and moment by moment. God is my help. He is the one who sustains me. There is so much to be done in my life. I must learn to separate the urgent from the important. I must learn to prioritize. And I must learn to rely more and more on the Lord who sustains me. I am learning to look at the worst that could happen and then look at it through God's eyes. For example, if my daughter should get sick with H1N1, which happens to be something on my mind on a regular basis right now, what would be the worst that could happen? Having asthma, she could get very sick. She could even die. I have had to think of this before. If this worst case scenario would happen, she would be in heaven. She would be happy and at peace forever. Since she is only five, she would be with God and would be spared all the heart ache that we face living on earth. I would be heartbroken, on the other hand, but at least I would know that she was safe and no longer had to suffer. I would not have to worry about whether or not she would grow up to know God. She would be there waiting for me. This tends to help me face the uncertainty of today. Even the worst would not be that bad when looked at in an eternal perspective.
So I will sacrifice a freewill offering to God. I will freely come and bring Him whatever I have to offer. I will not be forced to follow. I am so grateful that I am even allowed to participate. I would have nothing without God and I look forward to seeing how He will deliver me from all of my present troubles. He has amazed me up until now with how He has gotten me out of my past troubles. I am certain that I will look in triumph on my foes someday. And what a great day that will be!
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We look forward to the day that we will be able to look with triumph on our foes. You have delivered us so far and You will continue to deliver us. You are good, always good and we praise You. You are our help. You do sustain us. You get us up and put us to bed. You keep our hearts beating and our lungs pulling in oxygen. You are great and You deserve all the freewill offerings I can bring. Help us to not be like horses or mules that have to be pulled along. Help us to come willingly and eagerly to serve You. Forgive us in our failures to please You. We need You and praise You for Your mercy. Continue to walk with us and carry us when we are weak. We worship You.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. How often do I think about God actually being with me in each present moment? Do I turn to Him for help in the moment or do I forget He is there?
2. Am I allowing God to prioritize my day and my time? Do I let Him get involved with the mundane areas of my life like house work or do I feel that God is only interested in the "big issues"?
3. How can I bring a freewill offering to God? Is my service and worship a joy or burden to me? What can I change to improve my attitude of joy when I am serving or worshiping God?
4. What are the foes in my life? What am I doing to conquer them? How will I feel when I am delivered and can look at them in triumph?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Daily Devotional - 10/23
Prayer Focus - Enemies
Day 2
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
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 53
"Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread and who do not call on God? There they were overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread." ( vs 4-5a)
This psalm outlines two ways that we can become evildoers and the consequences of these actions or any sinful behavior on our part really. The first qualification for being an evildoers is being someone who uses others. We eat bread. We use it to stay alive, so someone who is devouring people in this way must be using them to get what they need. I know in the past I have used people. I am not proud of this but I think it is probably more widespread than we would like to admit. How often do we just call someone when we need something from them. Isn't that a form of using them. We are not thinking of them and how they are doing, just what we need. How about in our conversations? Are they all about us and what we are going through? Do we use others as a dumping ground and then after we feel better, leave? Isn't that using others. I am sure that we could come up with more as well; times when we are using those around us in some manner. This can even go as far as our involvement in church, our work, and our country. Are we focused on what we are getting out of the service or small group rather than what we are giving? At our work, are we known to be someone who gets involved and gives their best or are we just getting a paycheck. How about in our country? Are we just taking the benefits and not being willing to get involved and change it for the better or fight for some cause we believe in. We need to stop being takers and users and start being givers. I know I do. We are by nature selfish. Thank God that He has overcome our sinful natures and can transform us.
The second qualification for becoming an evildoers is to not call on God. That is more frightening to me. It is so easy to not pray and to not turn to God. Often, no one even knows. If we are being selfish, someone usually is affected by it and we tend to feel worse about this so we try and curb it. Not calling on God is all within us and we can cover it up for quite awhile. Eventually it will come out in a number of ways such as the dread mentioned in the next verse. When we are stressed out and feeling a nameless sense of dread about life, it would be a good idea for us to look at these two qualifications and see if we are wandering into the evil doer zone. I know I have felt dread often and sometimes there is no real reason for it. On deeper inspection, I usually find some sin, selfishness, or abandonment of God occurring. Once I turn back to God, start calling on Him, and drawing near to Him, the sense of dread disappears. Sin does make us feel guilty. Guilt and our consciences were put in us by God and help us to come back to Him. We need to stop searing them and accept that they are there and are there for a good reason. We will feel peace when we walk with God. He is a God of peace. He will do it.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We do not want to be evildoers. As we look at the attitudes of our hearts and our actions, we pray that they will be those of a giver and not of a taker. We do not want to use people, even if it is advantageous to us. Help us to not think like the world does because to the world this is normal behavior. Help us to rise above and strive each and every day to be like Jesus. Although He was a part of You, He did not claim equality with You but made Himself nothing and became a servant to us all. He went the ultimate distance in dying for us and He calls us to do the same. Help us to rise to the challenge.
We also ask Your forgiveness for all of the times that we have not called on You. We get tired, weak, or lazy at times and neglect You, our ultimate power source. Help us to remember that it is all about You and not about us. We want to pray more. We want to commune with You and walk each day with You. Help us to not be so distracted. Our flesh is so weak. We are tired of walking around in dread. There is nothing to dread. There is no virus, no foreign government, no debt, not problem bigger than You. There is nothing to dread and here we are dreading. Forgive us and help us to turn away from this faithlessness and sin. You are here. You have always been here. Help us to see You in all that we do. You are surely woven into life. We pray for peace.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I used people in the past? Can I see any situations where I am using people presently? Why do I do this?
2. Am I a giver or a taker in my relationships? Am I a giver or taker in my church, work, and social environment? What can I do to become more of a giver?
3. Am I calling on God on a regular basis? How is my prayer life? Do I go to God first, or my friends? What can I do to improve my reliance on God?
4. Am I at peace or am I consistently in a state of dread? Do I have reason to dread? What am I fearing? Is God able to handle it? Is there something I need to clear up/ resolve or repent of to eliminate the sense of dread that I am experiencing? If not, how can I turn to God and trust Him more?
Day 2
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
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 53
"Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as bread and who do not call on God? There they were overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread." ( vs 4-5a)
This psalm outlines two ways that we can become evildoers and the consequences of these actions or any sinful behavior on our part really. The first qualification for being an evildoers is being someone who uses others. We eat bread. We use it to stay alive, so someone who is devouring people in this way must be using them to get what they need. I know in the past I have used people. I am not proud of this but I think it is probably more widespread than we would like to admit. How often do we just call someone when we need something from them. Isn't that a form of using them. We are not thinking of them and how they are doing, just what we need. How about in our conversations? Are they all about us and what we are going through? Do we use others as a dumping ground and then after we feel better, leave? Isn't that using others. I am sure that we could come up with more as well; times when we are using those around us in some manner. This can even go as far as our involvement in church, our work, and our country. Are we focused on what we are getting out of the service or small group rather than what we are giving? At our work, are we known to be someone who gets involved and gives their best or are we just getting a paycheck. How about in our country? Are we just taking the benefits and not being willing to get involved and change it for the better or fight for some cause we believe in. We need to stop being takers and users and start being givers. I know I do. We are by nature selfish. Thank God that He has overcome our sinful natures and can transform us.
The second qualification for becoming an evildoers is to not call on God. That is more frightening to me. It is so easy to not pray and to not turn to God. Often, no one even knows. If we are being selfish, someone usually is affected by it and we tend to feel worse about this so we try and curb it. Not calling on God is all within us and we can cover it up for quite awhile. Eventually it will come out in a number of ways such as the dread mentioned in the next verse. When we are stressed out and feeling a nameless sense of dread about life, it would be a good idea for us to look at these two qualifications and see if we are wandering into the evil doer zone. I know I have felt dread often and sometimes there is no real reason for it. On deeper inspection, I usually find some sin, selfishness, or abandonment of God occurring. Once I turn back to God, start calling on Him, and drawing near to Him, the sense of dread disappears. Sin does make us feel guilty. Guilt and our consciences were put in us by God and help us to come back to Him. We need to stop searing them and accept that they are there and are there for a good reason. We will feel peace when we walk with God. He is a God of peace. He will do it.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We do not want to be evildoers. As we look at the attitudes of our hearts and our actions, we pray that they will be those of a giver and not of a taker. We do not want to use people, even if it is advantageous to us. Help us to not think like the world does because to the world this is normal behavior. Help us to rise above and strive each and every day to be like Jesus. Although He was a part of You, He did not claim equality with You but made Himself nothing and became a servant to us all. He went the ultimate distance in dying for us and He calls us to do the same. Help us to rise to the challenge.
We also ask Your forgiveness for all of the times that we have not called on You. We get tired, weak, or lazy at times and neglect You, our ultimate power source. Help us to remember that it is all about You and not about us. We want to pray more. We want to commune with You and walk each day with You. Help us to not be so distracted. Our flesh is so weak. We are tired of walking around in dread. There is nothing to dread. There is no virus, no foreign government, no debt, not problem bigger than You. There is nothing to dread and here we are dreading. Forgive us and help us to turn away from this faithlessness and sin. You are here. You have always been here. Help us to see You in all that we do. You are surely woven into life. We pray for peace.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Have I used people in the past? Can I see any situations where I am using people presently? Why do I do this?
2. Am I a giver or a taker in my relationships? Am I a giver or taker in my church, work, and social environment? What can I do to become more of a giver?
3. Am I calling on God on a regular basis? How is my prayer life? Do I go to God first, or my friends? What can I do to improve my reliance on God?
4. Am I at peace or am I consistently in a state of dread? Do I have reason to dread? What am I fearing? Is God able to handle it? Is there something I need to clear up/ resolve or repent of to eliminate the sense of dread that I am experiencing? If not, how can I turn to God and trust Him more?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Daily Devotional - 10/15
Prayer Focus - Friends
Day 1
Pray for:
One friend that you feel close to
Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Dear Lord - Help me to listen to You each and every day and please grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 45
"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." (vs. 7)
I believe we all want to be great and make a difference in this world. If you ask any child what they want to be when they grow up, they have great dreams. They don't plan on having a life of failure and mediocrity. It is only as we age and face failure and difficulties do we start to lose our dreams of making a difference. Even God, Himself has great dreams for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29: 11). So if it really is okay to have grand dreams of world impact, how will we accomplish it?
The world has one idea. There is the dog eat dog business model - the feeding with the sharks mentality where it is survival of the fittest and each man is out for himself. Then there is God's way. When Jesus' disciples were arguing over who would be greatest, Jesus' did not get mad at them for the question, but rather He pointed out their lack of righteous perspective on the matter. He told them they needed to become like little children to be great and they needed to become servants in order to lead. He told them the first would be last and the last would be first and that to truly be first, one would have to be the slave of all ( Matt 18:1-4 & Matt 20:20-28). Leadership and greatness for one who follows God is completely different from the world and yet it is what will truly make the greatest impact on the world in the long run and the legacy it leaves will follow us into eternity. Jesus made a difference. He stood out. He changed the whole world. The original disciples turned the whole world upside down as well. It is okay to make a difference and want to be great as long as we go about it God's way.
In this psalm, we learn two more of the keys to greatness. They are to love righteousness and hate wickedness. We need to get our focus aligned with God and love what He loves and hate what He hates. We need to go beyond thinking that it would be nice to be a good person and beyond disliking when people are irritating and rude. We need to love and hate. We need to get passionate about life. I, personally, am such a middle of the road kind of person. I don't like to make waves but yet this is very unChristlike. He wasn't a mild mannered guy. He loved and hated. He laughed and cried. He was fully alive. We need to open up ourselves to this and stop being afraid to live if we want to experience true greatness and purpose.
When we are finally willing to fully embrace this philosophy, then God will set us apart from our companions. He will set us apart and above them by anointing us with the oil of joy. Joy comes when we do right. Joy comes from stepping out and doing something. We need to stop worrying about whether it will be right or wrong, and just jump into the fray of life and saying, "I am here. I am here. I will do something. I will speak. I will serve. I will get in and get dirty. I am getting off the sidelines and I am living." Joy will come bursting forth. Jesus came to give life and life to the fullest. We need to embrace this. We need to leave the past. Stop looking back and build a life anew with what we have, with our spouses and children. We can do all things with Christ. We truly can.
In this psalm, we learn two more of the keys to greatness. They are to love righteousness and hate wickedness. We need to get our focus aligned with God and love what He loves and hate what He hates. We need to go beyond thinking that it would be nice to be a good person and beyond disliking when people are irritating and rude. We need to love and hate. We need to get passionate about life. I, personally, am such a middle of the road kind of person. I don't like to make waves but yet this is very unChristlike. He wasn't a mild mannered guy. He loved and hated. He laughed and cried. He was fully alive. We need to open up ourselves to this and stop being afraid to live if we want to experience true greatness and purpose.
When we are finally willing to fully embrace this philosophy, then God will set us apart from our companions. He will set us apart and above them by anointing us with the oil of joy. Joy comes when we do right. Joy comes from stepping out and doing something. We need to stop worrying about whether it will be right or wrong, and just jump into the fray of life and saying, "I am here. I am here. I will do something. I will speak. I will serve. I will get in and get dirty. I am getting off the sidelines and I am living." Joy will come bursting forth. Jesus came to give life and life to the fullest. We need to embrace this. We need to leave the past. Stop looking back and build a life anew with what we have, with our spouses and children. We can do all things with Christ. We truly can.
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We praise You for giving us the desire to make a difference. We want our lives to count for something and we ask You to help us to see how we can achieve that. Focus our eyes and our hearts on Your way. You and Your Son have had the greatest impact on the world and we are called to do even greater things than what Jesus has done. It seems impossible, but if we really start living and doing and feeling, You will be able to work through us. Free us from all that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run with perseverance. Let us be clear channels for Your power to flow through. Allow us to love righteousness and hate wickedness. Help us to overcome our fear and do this so that we may receive the anointing of joy. You are the truth and the way and the life. We know. We desire to do Your will; increase our desire. We are letting go of the past and starting anew, today and everyday, we pray this. Father, hear our prayer.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. What were my dreams when I was young? Have I given up on them? Do I have new dreams to make a difference? How is my joy level? Could renewing my dreams and embracing life increase it?
2. Do I love righteousness? What part of righteousness is the most difficult for me to embrace and love?
3. Do I hate wickedness? What is the hardest for me to hate about wickedness? Is there some sin that I accept, tolerate, or even like? What should I do about this?
4. What is my idea about how to become great? What is my idea about leadership? Am I a servant of others?
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