Standing On Watch Against Sin

Mark 14:34
And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”

Through Jesus, we receive the exchanged life of joy for the old life of sin and its miserable consequences.  Jesus paid a great price for our redemption.  He suffered physically, mentally and emotionally to go to the Cross for us.  He knew in advance the bodily torments, the agonizing death and the inconceivable burden of the weight of the sins of all men that He would suffer.  To secure our redemption, He chose the only path that fulfilled God’s plan for our salvation.

Ultimately, we must choose to take up the Cross of Jesus Christ.  We must die to sin.  If we choose the way of Jesus Christ, God’s life lives in us and sin dies.  If choose the way of sin, then God’s life cannot live in us.  This is an impossible decision for our flesh to make on its own.  We must recognize that the power that we receive to overcome sin comes from the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit prepares our hearts to receive Our Savior.  Once we accept Jesus, then the Holy Spirit dwells within us.  The Holy Spirit remains on watch with us as we struggle with our sorrows and our sins.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die for our sins.  We praise the name of Jesus who chose to take all the sorrow and grief that He endured on our behalf.  We thank You for the Holy Spirit who guided us in choosing to accept Jesus as Our Savior, so that we might overcome the sin in our lives that separates us from You.  We pray for wisdom to always seek the strength and the counsel available to us through the Holy Spirit that stands on watch against sin with us.

Judging Others

Matthew 7:2
For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

We can be certain that if we have very judgmental natures that we have much to be concerned about in our own lives.  We must be careful not to look upon those around us in judgement.  We must avoid seeking to see the stains of sin in the lives of others so that we might judge them.  

Instead, we must look for the blood of Jesus to cover them so that they may be without the stain of sin before the Father.  As we seek to find Jesus in every relationship, the judgmental nature will leave us.  Our judgmental spirits will be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb that we seek for others.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that our sins have been forgiven and washed away by the sacrificial blood of Your Son.  We praise You for the mercy that You have extended to us through Your Son.  We pray that You will shield us from the desire to judge others when You have kept judgment for Yourself.  May we not seek to find sin in the lives of others, but only seek to help others find the forgiveness that is in the name of Jesus.  May we all be judged through the marvelous atonement of Jesus Christ.

Taking Our Place in the Royal Priesthood

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once we received our salvation, we were called out of the darkness offered by the world.  We were placed into the living light of Jesus Christ.  We were called to become priests to spread His light to the world around us.  We were called to intercede on the behalf of others so that they may be taken out of the darkness into the light.

In Numbers, we read that the Lord instructed Moses to have the priests, Aaron and his sons, to bless the people in the following way:  “May the Lord bless you and protect you.  May the Lord smile upon you.  May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.”

These are the blessings that we should desire for those around us when we have accepted our calling into the royal priesthood.  As we abide in Jesus, these are the blessings that we should take before the Lord without stopping in intercession for those around us that are in need.  We should prayerfully seek nothing but the best of what God has to offer for all of the people in our lives.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for taking us out of the darkness of the world and making us part of Your royal priesthood.  We praise the name of Jesus, the Light of the World, who guides us in our priestly duties.  May we learn to bless the people in our lives through our prayers and through our living testimony.   

Overcoming Our Battles

Job 42:10
And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

The Bible records that Job was blameless and upright.  He had a great family and much wealth.  It was written that he was the greatest of all the people in the east.  And then it all changed.  God allowed Satan to take it all away from Job.

From this point on in the story of Job’s life, we see Job in his anguish.  He not only has lost everything, but he is mocked by his friends and even his wife tells him, “Why don’t you curse God and die.”  Job assumes that God is persecuting him and hiding from him.  He lashes out at God in pain. 

No one goes through life without hardship, heartaches, and headaches. Most of us have learned to face the reality that life is difficult. But still it can feel almost intolerable for us to accept and cope with what’s seems so unfair at times.  Like Job, our relief will come when we turn our focus away from our pain and on to the wondrous majesty and mercy of Our Creator.  When we do this, our concern will be more for others than for ourselves.  At this point, we will receive all that the Lord has prepared for us.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we lift Your name above all names.  There is no name above Yours.  You are Our Creator and Our Sustainer.  You have given us life and granted us eternal life through Your Son.  We give thanks for the unmerited grace that You pour upon us.  We pray Lord that You strengthen us for the battles that we face in life.  We ask for the divine inspiration to keep our focus on You always. May our days be spent in service to You, free of any anguish that the world tries to bring us.

Serving with Eagerness

1 Peter 5:2
shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;

When we were children, we joined our parents in the work that needed to be done around the house.  We joined them in obedience to their request for help. If we served them because we loved them and wanted to honor them, our work was done eagerly and with joy.  If we served them for any other reason – to earn allowance or perhaps avoid punishment – our work probably became tedious quickly.

We may find a similar experience when we seek to serve humanity.  No matter how fulfilling the service may be at first, the humanitarian cause will become exhausting if the root of our service is not our love for Our Savior.  The secret of our joy in service will be our devotion to Jesus Christ.  

Jesus was the perfect model of service.  Jesus was able to carry through on His service to mankind all the way to the end because He was driven by His love for His Father first.  Honoring His Father with His obedience was His calling. The service that He provided for mankind was the result of His love for His Father.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to express our love to You through our service to those around us.  We pray that You strengthen us, Lord, for our work by helping us to grow in our relationship with Your Son.  May all that we do to serve Your kingdom be done out of our love and passion for You and Your Son.

Keeping Our Eyes on Our Finisher

Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

When Peter first stepped out of the boat, all He saw was Jesus.  He saw nothing but the one he desired to be with.  His focus was on His Lord and His Lord alone.  With His focus only on His Lord, he walked on water.  But then Peter let his focus shift to his surroundings and down he went.

It is a bit difficult for us to relate to walking on water, but we can all relate to the runner.  The runner must keep his eyes on the finish line.  He must keep his goal in view.  He cannot be distracted by the runners around him or he will lose ground.

So it is with us in our race of life.  We must keep our eyes on Our Finisher, Jesus Christ.  With our focus on Jesus, two important things happen.  1) The things that are around us to scare us or hinder us become insignificant.  2) The vision of what we are running for and where we are running to become crystal clear.

Through Jesus, we are able to see clearly the path that God has set aside for us before we were even born.  Through Jesus, we find the strength to keep up the good race when the world distracts us.  Through Jesus, we are able to complete the course that ends in our eternal resting place with Almighty God.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for creating each of us with a unique purpose through which we serve You and bring honor and glory to Your Name.  We rejoice in knowing that we can fulfill our purposes here on earth as well as in Your eternal kingdom.  We exalt the name of Our Savior, Jesus, who walks along side us to insure that we have the strength to overcome the torments of our flesh and the attacks of the enemy.  May we keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus so we are not distracted or hindered by the things which are trying to pull us away from our purposes.   May we stand before You one day and hear the words, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”  

No Greater Love Than This

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

The moment that we accepted the salvation that Jesus made possible when He laid down His life for us, we were given the power and the calling to lay down our lives day after day for the people around us.  This sacrificial calling is contrary to our human nature.  Our flesh will fight us on every occasion, be it large or small, that we seek to express Jesus’ love for us in our service to others.  And certainly, Satan will do his part to discourage us too.

Yet we can and will overcome the urges of Satan and our flesh, if we learn to rely on the urgings of the Holy Spirit.   For we were not only given the calling to serve, we were also given the power to serve.  We were given the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ to dwell within us.  All we have to do is let the Spirit within us flow out of us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing Your Son Jesus to die for us so that we would not remain separated from You for all eternity because of our sins.  We praise Your Name for extending Your mercy so that we could accept the salvation that we did not earn and do not deserve.  We pray, Father God, that the fullness of Your Holy Spirit will flow from us each day.  May we learn to lay down our lives each day so that others may see the way, the truth and the life that is in Your Son, Jesus.

Releasing God’s Power in Our Lives

2 Chronicles 27:6
King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the LORD his God.

Moses was prohibited from entering the promised land because of his disobedience.  Instead of calling water from the rock as God had asked of Him, Moses struck the rock twice.  Moses probably spoke to the rock and reacted out of anger when nothing happened immediately.  It would seem to be a small act of disobedience, but in God’s eyes every tiny detail is important.

On the other hand, Jotham became king at the age of 28.  He was obedient in all things.  Because of his faithfulness, he was given victory in all of his battles and a resting place of honor when he died.

We can miss out on the promises of God in our lives simply by not complying to the small things of life that the Holy Spirit may place on our hearts.  How many times have we passed up the opportunity to assist a grumpy co-worker, lend a helping hand to a stranger or give a loving hug to a disobedient child?  Each time we passed on one of these or numerous other Holy Spirit led opportunities, we deprived God of His glory and we halted or limited the release of His power in our lives.

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us the opportunity to bring honor and glory to Your Name when we allow the marvel of Your grace to be exhibited in our lives.  Teach us, Father, to recognize You and Your love in the simplest of tasks that are performed in service to others.  Lord, we pray that You release the fullness of Your power in our lives as we learn to share Your perfect love and forgiveness with the world around us.

Praying for Our Children

Jeremiah 31:16–17
Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.” 

As mothers and fathers, we must be diligent in praying a hedge of protection around our children.  Satan is viciously consistent in his efforts to destroy our families and in his efforts to destroy the lives of our children.  As parents, we have the power of protecting them through our prayers.

No matter what circumstances that our children may be in, we must not believe the lies of Satan.  He will try to get us to give up on our children.  He will do all that he can do to discourage our efforts to pray for them because he knows the power that is in our prayers.

We must fight the good fight on the behalf of our children.  We must continously pray a hedge of protection around them.  The Lord promises us that He will reward us for our efforts.  He will return our children to us.  Most importantly, He will return our children to Himself.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for hearing our prayers of protection for our children.  Thank you for providing a way for us to shield our children from the enemy who is set on destroying them.  Strengthen us, Lord, that we may never falter in covering our children with our prayers.  We rejoice in knowing that You will reward us for our diligent, prayerful efforts on behalf of our children.  We cling to Your promise to return our children to the land that You have set aside for them. 

Finding Joy in Our Troubles

John 15:4
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Where do we find ourselves today?  Are we happy with our circumstances?  These questions are irrelevant if we are abiding in Jesus.

If we follow His command to, “Abide in Me.”, we will not have a care about where we are, what we are doing or what is going on around us.  In this place of abiding, we will find our lives filled with the perfect joy of the Lord.  Whatever we find ourselves doing will be completely satisfying and will bear much fruit.  What freedom and power we find when we abide in Our Savior!!

Prayer,
Heavenly Father, we bow in awe and wonder before You.  We acknowledge and thank You for the fullness of the joy and the power that we receive when we abide in Your Son.  We pray for the strength to place all of our fears and worries at Your feet.  We ask for the courage to move forward knowing that all things are possible when we place our trust in Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.