Month: March 2020

Responding to Your Circumstances

Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

You just found out that your company is planning massive layoffs and your department will be hit hard. Or maybe the school called to let you know that your child is being bullied. Or perhaps you discovered that your family is being ostracized because of your Christian beliefs. How are you responding to your circumstances? Are you depressed? Are you in despair? Are you fearful?

Jesus teaches us that we should expect these types of trials in our lives. To think that we will not have challenges or trials because we are children of God is in direct opposition to what Jesus teaches us. So expect tribulation, but take courage for in all theses things we are more than conquerors through Our Savior.

Do not miss the importance of Jesus teaching us that “in all these things” we will be more than conquerors. Because Jesus Christ has paid the price in full for each of us, we can and will rise up and find joy in the midst of all of our troubles. The undaunted presence of Jesus Christ makes the world’s challenges impotent. No thing nor no power can put a wedge between us and the love of God that provides our resilience. Not only will we overcome, but our faith, our trust in God and our joy will increase through the experience.

Let us stand tall against the enemy. Let us rejoice and have faith for the victory is ours.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for liberating us from our present sufferings by providing the hope that comes from the freedom and glory that has been set aside for us through Your Son, Jesus. We exalt His precious name for making us conquerors over evil and our own flesh. We pray for the courage and the strength to face and defeat every trial that the enemy throws our way. We rejoice in knowing that the victory is ours because it was first won on the Cross. We ask all these things in the name of Our Blessed Hope and Assurance, Jesus Christ.

Asking for Great and Hidden Things

Jeremiah 33:3
Call to me and I’ll answer you, and will tell you about great and hidden things that you don’t know.

The Word of God is very specific. He spoke the words in today’s passage directly to Jeremiah, but His promises are relevant for all men. Wisdom and understanding concerning all matters of life are available to us. All we have to do is ask Our Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can imagine.

Did you notice the little detail in the passage that He will give us answers to things that we do not know? Did you consider this works for things big and small? Need to know how to make a certain household repair that you find challenging, ask Him. Need to know what direction to take your business or your career, ask Him. Need some help in unravelling a complicated family issue, ask Him. He promises to provide answers that have been hidden from us. He will deliver answers for all these things at the time that He knows is perfect for us.

Did you notice that He requires us to call on Him to receive the promised blessing. Our responsibility in receiving this awesome blessing is being persistent in asking for wisdom. If we wait to call on Him when everything comes crashing down on us, we may not be able to handle all that God has ready for us. It is a building process. The Lord knows that we are not able to digest too much information at one time. He will feed us slowly as a baby is fed liquids until it is ready to move on to more solid foods. He will feed us in accordance to His will and plan for our lives. His “new knowledge” for us will be dispensed at the perfect time.

Let us be bold and persistent in asking for “great and hidden things.” Relying on what has been promised to us by Almighty God, in faith, let us give thanks for what is set aside for us before we receive it.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for providing the Holy Spirit to teach us all things, including secret things and inaccessible things. We humbly ask You to provide us the wisdom that we need to get through each day. We ask that each day You will build our understanding of who You are and what Your plan is for our lives. We rejoice in knowing that all things are possible through Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of the One who determines our steps, Jesus Christ.

All That Jesus Holds For Us

Psalm 90:14
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

There is nothing on this earth that satisfies like the love of Our Heavenly Father. He created a void in our hearts that can only be filled by the presence of Jesus in our lives. When we allow Jesus to be our sustenance, there is nothing that the world can offer that measures up.

Living under the fountain of life that is Jesus Christ is to have a future filled with joy. It is to have sufficient balance against all of our griefs and sorrows. It is the enlightenment that steers us away from wasting our precious time pursuing the things of this earth. It is the light that produces good works in us. It is what prepares us for our inheritance in the kingdom of Our Lord.

Unfortunately, too often we chase every type of earthly pleasure in efforts to fill the void in our hearts. We choose to live in darkness instead of in the light of the One who loves us perfectly. May our eyes be opened so that we see what Our Savior has set aside for us. May our hearts be prepared to receive all that Jesus holds for us. The fullness of our joy will never be reached until we turn to Our Savior for completion. He, and He alone, is the one who satisfies every desire of our hearts.

Let us satisfy ourselves in the wondrous presence of Our Savior. Let us rejoice in His perfect love and forgiveness. Let us show the world our joy.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unfailing love. We rejoice in the joy in our hearts that You have provided by allowing us to receive Your Son, Jesus. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will inspire us to fill our days with the sweet presence of Our Savior and that the Holy Spirit will provide us with the wisdom to turn away from the offerings of this world. We ask, Father, that as we receive all that has been set aside of us that the world will be drawn to Your Son by our joyful countenance. We ask all these things in the name of the Joy of the World, Jesus Christ.

Ignore the Carnal Counsel

1 Kings 17:16
The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.

Elijah, in accordance with God’s directive, went to the widow in Zarephath and requested that she make him some bread to eat. She told Elijah that she could not feed him because she only had enough flour and oil to feed her and her son one more meal. She then told Elijah if she fed him that her and her son would die because their food supply would be exhausted. Elijah told the woman if she made his meal first that her supply would never be exhausted. And so it was by the word of the Lord.

When we feel the call of the Lord to fulfill a service or a charity, we should never concern ourselves with what is in our cupboard. The Lord will always supply what we need to fulfill His work. And when the work is done, our cupboard will overflow just as the widow’s did.

It is God’s way and it is to His glory to make use of and put honor upon the weak and foolish things of the world. It makes perfect sense that He would want to use us to do His good work. We certainly fit the bill of the weak and foolish. May we stand ready to proclaim His glory through the work that we do for Him.

Like the poor widow, let us put all of our faith in God. Let us learn to ignore the carnal counsel that comes from the world around us. Let us rejoice as we see our cupboards overflow.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for calling us to be of service to Your kingdom. We rejoice in knowing that You will equip us to do whatever You call us to do. We exalt You as You bless us, knowing we will be a blessing to others. We pray that we will never question our ability or our resources as You raise us up as instruments of Your good work. We pray that all that we do will be praise and glory to You, to Your Son Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the One who calls us to Himself, Jesus Christ.

Living Under His Cover

Psalm 91:1
He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In this world, to live in someone’s shadow is generally thought to be an undesirable place. It is regarded as a place where you cannot live up to the standards of the one who preceded you. In the kingdom of God, quite the opposite is true. Living in the shadow of Almighty God enables us to be more than we could believe to be possible.

Loving faith in Almighty God 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.

But it does not stop there for those that seek to live in His shadow. He invites us to enjoy so much more. There is a special nuance in this passage that must not be overlooked. The blessings spoken of in today’s passage can be greater for those believers who live in ongoing, close fellowship with God. The delightful fullness of these most high blessings are for those who habitually abide in the shadow of Almighty God. Those who stand in continuous communion with God set themselves up to become possessors of rare and special benefits.

Let us seek the grace to be constant refugees in the fortress of Almighty God. Let us enjoy the fullness of His shadow.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the shadow of protection and provision that You place over us when we surrender our lives to You. We bless the name of Jesus who has made it possible for us to come to Your mercy seat. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will guide us and strengthen us as we seek to abide under Your shadow. May our hearts be prepared to seek that secret place of constant communion where we can access the fullness of Your most high blessings. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose mercies never end, Jesus Christ.

Believing Fully in the Promises

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

The apostles spent three years with Jesus. Yet when He was ready to leave them, 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?”

Are we not just like the apostles? Even though we have spent years in prayer, years in the reading of the Word, years in worship and years in serving God, we manage to lose our sense of who Almighty God really is and the certainty of all the promises that He has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Sadly, as if Jesus Christ left the earth and left us to our own wiles, we turn toward the world for answers. We somehow find ourselves overlooking that our all-sufficient Lord provided us with a Wonderful Counselor who stands ready to supply our every need.

Let us be reminded that Jesus promised that His Holy Spirit would be with us and would comfort and guide us. To believe otherwise is to have a complete lack of faith. To believe otherwise is to deny what Jesus said He came to earth to do. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Let us take courage as Jesus commands us. Let us believe fully in the promises of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort and guidance that You provide through Your Holy Spirit. We bless the name of Jesus who came to earth so that we may have peace and we may overcome the tribulations of the world. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will help us to dig deep into our relationship with You. May we dig so deep that we never again turn to the world for counsel without having gone to You first. Help us, Lord, to believe for more than we can imagine is possible through our own efforts. Teach us how to wait on You for Your good and perfect timing in all things. We ask these things in the name of the One that is with us until the end of the age, Jesus Christ.