Month: February 2014

Our Wonderful Counselor

John 16:31
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

After all the time that Jesus spent with the apostles, He had to take a lengthy amount of time explaining to them who He was.  When He completed His explanation, He posed a question to them, “Do you now believe?”

Somehow as we pray, read the Word, worship and serve God, we manage to lose our sense of who He really is and the certainty of all the promises that He has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  We turn toward the world for answers when our all-sufficient Lord has provided us with a Wonderful Counselor who can supply our every need.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us to dig deep into our relationship with You.  Help us to dig so deep that we never again turn to the world for counsel without having gone to You first.  Help us to believe for more than we believe is possible through our own efforts.  Teach us how to wait on You for Your good and perfect timing in all things.

Under the Shadow of Almighty God

Psalm 91:1

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Loving faith on our part will always be met by faithful love, protection and provision on God’s part.  His covering of us is much greater than we can imagine.  If we are abiding in Him, there is no limit to His shadow that is over us.  He protects us at all times from natural and supernatural enemies.  He makes our homes secure.  He is our refuge in every storm.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the shadow of protection and provision that You place over us when we surrender our lives to You.  Draw us into Your cover by the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Prepare us to help others who need to learn to how to access Your grace.

Trusting in God for Everything

John 4:11

“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.

It is amazing how often we struggle, wondering how our particular situation is going to get resolved.  How little faith we have in Almighty God through whom all things are possible.  But what may be even more amazing is how we have no faith that Almighty God is interested in the smallest needs in our lives when His Word proclaims that He knows the count of every hair on our heads.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, grant us the faith to trust in You for everything in our lives.  Teach us to come to You boldly with what seems impossible and also come to You confidently with the smallest things that are troubling us.  May Your grace and power never be diminished because of our lack of understanding.

Awaiting God’s Showers

Ezekiel 34:26

And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.

Everything on earth, whether man, beast or plant, is under the hand of God.  Our all sufficient Lord sends out everything required for sustenance and growth.  And when the timing is right, He sends showers.  When God is ready to spread His grace, be certain that you will not receive drops or droplets.  You will receive showers, not a shower, but plentiful showers.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are our all sufficient Lord. We come humbly before You to praise You for Your abundant nature.  Help us to learn to wait on Your provision.  Help us to learn to wait on the showers of grace that You have already set aside for us.  Help us to prepare our ground so that we will bear much fruit when the showers arrive.

Serving All Men for His Sake

Matthew 20:28

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

The Son of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords came to earth as the Son of Man.  He gave up all of His royal rights to become a servant of every man.  His servanthood was so complete that He gave up His own life and He separated Himself from the Father in order to take on all of our sins so that we might have life with the Father.

Once we claim our eternal inheritance as children of God, we accept that which we do not deserve and could not possibly earn except through the grace and mercy of Our Savior.  When we recognize that Jesus Christ served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness and our sin, we should exhaust ourselves serving all men for His sake.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before You to proclaim how unworthy we are of all that You have bestowed on us through Your Son, Jesus.  We do not deserve the inheritance that You have set aside.  We could never earn what You have provided.  Fill us with the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may pour ourselves to all men.  We rejoice in knowing that we will be in Your service for all eternity.

Releasing It All for Our Savior

Mark 14:6

But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?

When Jesus was dining with a group at Simon’s home, a woman with an alabaster jar full of very expensive perfume came up to Jesus, broke the jar open and poured it’s costly contents on Him.  She was criticized by the group at the table for such an extravagant gesture.  Jesus quickly scolded the group for not seeing the value of what she was doing.  

When we become broken vessels and pour out everything we have to glorify Our Savior, we can be assured that the world will demean us for our efforts.  We can find comfort in knowing that Our Lord is greatly pleased and glorified by our expressions of love.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before You to bring all of our love, our praises and our blessings to bestow them upon Your Son, Jesus.  Teach us how to release all that we are, all that we will ever be, all that we have and all that we will ever have in surrender to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.  

Let’s Get Going

John 14:31
but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.

We cannot possibly find a better model for life than the only man who lived without sin.  And what was it that this man without sin did?  He loved His Father and He did what His Father asked of Him.  Then He asked others to join Him in His work.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we love You.  We surrender to You.  Raise us as instruments of Your good work.   Use us as vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness.  Teach us how to gather others to unite with us in Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Our King and Our Savior. 

Overcoming Depression

1 Kings 19:5

Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

Elijah was on the run from his troubles.  He was so depressed that he asked God to take his life.  Then he fell asleep.

It is very common for all of us to want to go into a shell when troubles seem overwhelming.  It is amazing how simple acts of love or service can lift us out of the darkness of depression or despair.  The angel instructed Elijah to get up and eat.  Through his simple act of obedience, Elijah was quickly on his road to recovery.  He was back to a place where he once again trusted in the care that God promises all of us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Holy Spirit is always with us to lift us up in our times of struggle.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will urge us to inquire how we can serve You when we feel so needy.  Inspire us, Lord, to do the simple acts of obedience that You set before us.  May we learn to comfort the world around us with the comfort that You provide us in our times of trouble.

When Our Nets Are Empty

Luke 5:5
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
Peter exhibited faith in the spoken words of His Master, Jesus.  Even though his instincts told him that it was highly questionable to expect a worthwhile catch, he dropped his nets.  He had faith that Jesus’ words were more powerful than the forces of nature that he knew were unlikely to deliver a decent catch at this place and time of day.  His faith was rewarded.  His nets were filled beyond the point of bursting.

It is important to realize that there is power in the Word of God.  If there is a promise in the Holy Bible, it holds victory over all the forces of this earth and all the forces of evil that might try to come against it.  No matter what we think the limits of this world hold in store for us, the Word of God promises exceedingly more.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Holy Word to teach us the things that we are promised as inheritors of Your kingdom.  Show us how to live our lives in accordance with Your Word and in reliance upon Your promises.  Strengthen us to stand against everything that comes against us, knowing that through Our Savior we have victory over every circumstance.

The Light of the World in Us

John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
When we receive Our Savior into our lives, the darkness of our sin is washed away.  But due to our sin nature, we are certain to make choices that are according the world’s standards and not Our Lord’s.  Thus we invite darkness to come back into our lives.  Fortunately, darkness cannot exist in the fullness of light.  With the Light of the World present in us, we are guaranteed a complete victory over darkness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we pray that You bless us with the wisdom, understanding and counsel that we need to rely daily on Your Son, who came as the Light of the World.  May we be set free from the darkness of sin, whether it be by ignorance or error.  May Your grace allow us to live in the light rather than in the misery of the darkness.  May we become broken vessels that allow Your light to shine through to those around us who are still living in darkness.