Month: March 2015

As Our Beloved Increases

John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John the Baptist had the perfect understanding of His relationship with Jesus Christ.  He knew that he was a sinful man who was created, prepared and sent to show the way to the One from Above who was coming to save the world.  He understood that he had no power.  All the power belonged to Jesus.
From John the Baptist we learn a great model for bringing others to salvation.  It is our job to bring others to Christ.  It is not our job to save them.  The saving work of the Cross will be done by Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We also learn from the words of John the Baptist the model for our spiritual maturation.  We must increase our life in Christ as we allow our life in the flesh to decrease.  We must allow our new man to rise and our old man to die.  We do not lay down what we are called to do in the flesh, but instead come in complete harmony with the beloved One who dwells within us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Holy Word which lays out the models for our lives through the lives of Your servants.  Help us, Lord, to understand the depth of the teachings that come from each of Your precious servants.  Open our eyes, Lord, so that we may surrender our lives completely to Your Son, Jesus.  Help us, Lord, to live our lives in such a way that others are drawn to Your Son.  As we give up our lives for a lives in Christ, may the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of the King of kings, Jesus Christ.  We ask all of these things in the name of Our Divine Lord,  Jesus.

Let Us Exalt His Name

Psalm 34:3
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! 
Throughout the Psalms, we read David’s prayers of praise.  He praised God to help overcome his fears and to call on his all-sufficient Lord.  David recognized God’s faithfulness in meeting his needs and he also recognized that God was bigger than any problem or fear that he had.
We will spend all eternity praising Our Heavenly Father.  Why not practice our imperfect praise here on earth in preparation for the unspeakable joy we will receive from our perfect praise forever? 

It is time for us to magnify God in our lives.  He is much bigger than we allow Him to be.  We need to downsize our problems, upsize our view of who God is and rightsize our relationship with Him.  We can gain much by joining Paul in exalting the name of Our Lord.  Let us proclaim the glorious perfection of Our Father in heaven.  May we all join together in bringing glory to the Most High God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the privilege of exalting Your name here on earth and in heaven for all eternity.  We lift You up above all others.  There is not a single name that approaches the majesty and power of who You are.  Teach us, Lord, to have the faith of the Virgin Mary who said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,” as she prepared to receive something that she did not believe to be possible.  May Your grace cover us, Lord, so that we may live in reverent awe of who You are.  May our hearts pour out praise to You each day.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

The Fire That is the Living Word

Luke 24:32
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Two men walking on the road to Emmaus were met by Jesus, who accompanied them on the journey and joined them in their discussions about the recent events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. They did not recognize Him, but marveled in His knowledge of the events.  Later Jesus revealed Himself to the men, resulting in their realization of how stirring that His words had been earlier.

The Scriptures can be a sealed book.  The very identity of Jesus Christ and His salvation message can be hidden from us.  The power and the truth are unveiled only through Jesus Christ.  With Christ as Our Savior, we receive the words in Scripture as if Christ Himself is speaking them to us.

 To aid us in our study of the Bible, we are joined in each reading by the Holy Spirit who directs us to focus on Jesus.  The Holy Spirit whispers gentle urgings into our hearts as He reveals the truths and promises given to us through Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit directs us to abide in Christ so that we may follow the path of salvation and sanctification that the Word of God provides us.  If we are obedient in following the urgings of the Holy Spirit our hearts will burn with a fervent love for Our Savior and we will live in the fullness of His presence.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us the Living Word, Your Son, Jesus Christ.  We thank You for inspiring the writers of the Bible who made the Living Word readily available to us for reading and study.  We rejoice in knowing that the Holy Spirit joins us as we seek to make Your Word the fire that fuels our love for Your Son.  May our fire be so strong and so bright that others will be drawn to surrender their lives to Our Lord, Our Master and Our King, Jesus Christ.  We ask all these things in His precious and holy name.

His Endless and Unconditional Love

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
May we rejoice today in the endless, unconditional love that Jesus Christ has for us.  May we celebrate the proof of His love that He gave His life for us to have a new life free from death and sin.

When we accept Jesus Christ as Our Savior, we go beyond the knowledge of Jesus and all of His teachings.  We go beyond adhering to the commandments that He gave us.  We give up our rights to our old life in exchange for a renewed life lived in faith through the Son of God.
Our faith is no longer our own faith.  Our faith is the faith that the Son of God has in the Father.  Whatever faith we had before in the flesh was destined to die at some point.  It was burdened by the death sentence associated with all sin.  With the acceptance of our salvation, it died on the Cross with Jesus Christ.  It was replaced by Christ’s living spirit within us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the lives that You have given us.  We embrace each day and live it for Your honor and Your glory.  We thank You for providing Your Son so that we may be freed from the death sentence assigned to our flesh.  We bless the name of Your Son, Jesus, as we rejoice in our new eternal life in Him.  May we live each day in the fullness of His Spirit within us.  May we live in obedience to You just as Your Son lives in obedience to You.  We ask all these things in the precious name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Seeking Him in Our Prayers

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
One of the things that we cling to is our privilege to be able to go to the Throne Room of God with our prayers.  We learn quickly to seek His hand of provision and protection.  If only we would use these occasions to seek His face as well.
God gave us prayer that we might communicate with Him without ceasing.  It was not His intention that we merely run to Him for our needs.  In fact, He teaches us that He knows our needs and has a plan for providing them without us asking.  So why do we put so much energy in our solicitations and not so much in our ongoing communication with Our Heavenly Father.  Our own earthly fathers likely grew weary of the “I wants” when they were not mixed with the “I thank yous” and “I love yous.”  It is the same with God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unconditional love and Your forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus.  We ask forgiveness for coming to You so often with our needs alone accompanied by a stark absence of our professed love for You and our expression of our sincere thanks for all that You provide.  Teach us, Lord, how to seek Your presence in our lives.  Teach us how to seek You throughout each and every day.  Teach us how to use our prayer life to build our relationship with You.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Our Journey of Faith

Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Abraham went out in obedience toward a land that he did not know and could not see.  In obedience, he left his country, he left his father, he left his relations and he left his friends.  He went out in absolute faith that he would receive blessings that he did not fully understand.  Because of his faith, his name was changed from Abram to Abraham, the father of all nations.  

Faith is believing that which we cannot see today will be ours one day in accordance with God’s promises.  Faith is taking hold of our blessings even though we have not received them yet.  Faith is overcoming the terror of our circumstances in exchange for the comfort that only God can bring to us.  Faith is following paths that we do not understand yet.  Faith is allowing ourselves to fully accept the what Jesus has to offer when our flesh wants to take it piece by logical piece.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the grace that we need to receive in faith all that You have set aside for us through the sacrifice of the Precious Lamb, Jesus Christ.  We pray that You show us the path of obedience that we need to follow to submit to Your Son as Our Lord, Our Master and Our King.  May Your Holy Spirit aid us in our journey of discovery.  May we leave not a crumb on the table that You have set for us.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

Living Sober, Righteous and Holy Lives

2 Corinthians 7:1

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
When we accepted Jesus into our lives, it is likely that we were in bondage to one or more things that were of the world and not entirely pleasing to God.  Once we received the Holy Spirit, we began the process of shedding those things that the Lord found unworthy.
We will not change all things in our lives instantly, nor completely.  But we can begin the process of shedding our fleshly bonds one at a time as the Holy Spirit convicts and strengthens us.  We can enter into the perfecting process that is guided by the Holy Spirit.  We cannot on our own live a life of holiness without sin, but strengthened by the Holy Spirit we can live a life marked by our desire to be righteous and holy to the end of our days.  
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing Your wisdom so that we may understand Your ways and learn to live in awesome reverence of who You are.  We pray that You will open our eyes so that we can see all the ways in our lives that displease You.  Convict us of our sinful nature.  Prepare a path for us to walk in the process of sanctification aided by the power of Your Holy Spirit.  Lord, may we learn to lean on the Holy Spirit so that we may live soberly, righteously and holy.  By Your grace, Father, and by the strength of Christ and the assistance of the Holy Spirit may we be delivered from our sinful lives.  May the world know us by the fullness of Jesus Christ within us.  We ask all these things in His mighty name.

Waiting Patiently on the Promises

Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
There is all-sufficient fullness in Our Savior.  He is able to meet every single need of each and everyone of us. As He pours Himself out to us, His storehouse remains full of loving kindness, mercy and grace.  His fount is always open to those who wait on His promises.

God sets everything according to His time.  We must learn to confidently expect His grace and mercy.  We should never doubt His power and His faithfulness.  According to His promises, we will share in His eternal glory and His happiness.  Why then would we choose to run ahead of Him?  Why would we choose to turn to a deteriorating world that is always in short supply when it comes to meeting our real needs?  Why? Why? Why?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the all-sufficient Savior that You have given us through Your perfect love and forgiveness.  Our souls wait for You, longing for Your gifts of grace and the evidence of Your power working in our lives.  Strengthen us Lord through our trials and afflictions. We look forward to Your deliverance in accordance with Your good and perfect plans for our lives.  We pray, Father, that the Holy Spirit may help us to wait patiently and quietly until we see the fruit of Your immutable promises.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Our Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

Citizens on Earth or Heirs to the Kingdom

Psalm 119:19
I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me.
God has given us His commandments and He has given us His inerrant Holy Word to confirm His guidelines for our lives.   Yet we have allowed our fellow man to take the laws of Almighty God and hide them from us by replacing them with the laws of fallible men.
The laws of fallible men invariably turn toward tolerance of things that are not pleasing to God and these same laws are used to pressure one another into accepting wrongful behavior as truth.  We must guard against becoming citizens of this earth and foreigners in God’s kingdom.  In this day and time, we must dare to be strangers in our own land.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is revealed to us in Your Holy Word.  We bless the name of Jesus who is the Word made flesh.  Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit may direct us to repent of the things in our lives that are not pleasing to You.  We ask for the strength to turn away from these displeasing things and the grace to turn toward all that is pleasing to You.  We beseech You that all of our faith will be in Jesus Christ and not in the world.  As we surrender to Your will, equip us, Lord, to reveal Your kingdom to those around us.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Grace that is All Sufficient

2 Timothy 2:1
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote the words in this passage to his helper, Timothy, to prepare him for everything that the world was going to throw at him.  Paul alerted him that there would be many trials that he would endure.  He encouraged him by reminding him that he would be strengthened by the One who sent them out to preach to the people.  Paul exhorted Timothy to rely completely on the grace of God and not to turn to his own ways to find his strength.
As we find ourselves challenged by life, we can be comforted by Paul’s instruction to Timothy.  Jesus Christ will never leaves us.  When we turn to Him for our direction and our strength, our path is secure.  By the fullness of His grace we are enabled to fulfill our ministries, bear all trials and afflictions and stand against all persecution.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the grace that we receive through our relationship with Your Son, Jesus.  We exalt the name of Jesus, who provides the strength that we need to overcome all of the issues in our lives.  We ask, Lord, that the Holy Spirit teach us how to rely solely on the fullness of the grace available to us through our relationship with Our Savior.  We pray that our firm reliance on Your Son will release His power and His Spirit into our lives and our ministries.  We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, the fount of endless grace.