Tag: power

What Are These Greater Works That We Will Do?

John 14:12
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Most of us will never set foot on foreign soils in an effort to win souls. Nor will we step to a podium to stir a great revival. So what are these greater works that we will do when we believe in Jesus?

The answer is certainly different for each one of us as God has created each of us with a unique plan for our lives. In our own individual ways we will be called to be laborers in the field bringing light to the world of darkness around us. We may be called to be ushers, parking attendants, babysitters, etc. We may be called to serve the poor. We may be called to lead a bible study. Who knows, we may even be called to a ministry of healing and deliverance. But in all of the various ways that we are called, there will always be one element of our works that will be the same and that is the work of prayer.

Jesus was our role model is this regard. He never attempted any work without going to the Father first in prayer. Prayer was one of His greater works as He went to the Father to have His power and His purpose released. Now that Jesus is with the Father as Our Mediator, one could argue that prayer is the greatest work that we will do as we call on Jesus to go to the Father on our behalf.

Let us call on Jesus to go to the Father to have His power and His purpose for us released in our lives. Let us faithfully seek the greater works that the Lord has set aside for us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for making us vessels for Your perfect Light to be released in the darkness of the world around us. We bless the name of Jesus for showing us the way in which we should approach the purpose for our lives. We rejoice in knowing that we can share in Your good work by accessing through prayer the power and authority of Your Son. We pray, Father, that the greater works of the Son will be released in our lives as we seek You and surrender to Your plan for our lives through our prayers. We ask all these things in the name of the Strength of Our Lives, Jesus Christ.

Exalting the King of Kings Moment by Moment

Psalm 145:21
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

We are stirred up in our hearts to praise God. We praise Him because of His power and His glory. We praise Him for His holiness and His love expressed through the redemptive work of His Son, Jesus.

Our Lord, Jesus, is the fullness of the love and forgiveness that we have been so graciously provided by Our Father in Heaven. Let our every breath be filled for praise for the Father and the Son. May our lives be living testimonies of the Son of God who has come to dwell within us.

Let us praise God out of the faith that He has built in us through His Holy Spirit. Let us praise God with the love and delight that He has placed in our hearts. Let us praise God as we are comforted by His goodness, His grace and His holiness. Let us praise God with the joy of the expectation of life in His eternal kingdom. Let us praise God with the unshakeable confidence that the victory is ours through God’s greatest gift to us, His Son, Jesus. Let us bless the name of His Son forever. Let us praise God for He is worthy.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we exalt Your name above all others for You are worthy. We pray Father that You open our eyes so that we may see Your glory in the tiny things in life as well as the large things. We lift our voices up in high praise for Your precious Lamb, Jesus. We bless His name and proclaim His holiness and His righteousness. We give thanks for His presence in our lives. May our every breath praise Him as we come know just how dear He is to us. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose steadfast love never ceases, Jesus Christ.

Availing Ourselves to Supernatural Solutions

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Whenever the trials arise in our lives, the natural response is for us to focus on the problems or the pain they cause. In doing so, we are taken down a path of looking to our own capabilities to resolve the difficulties of our circumstances. In many cases, we are woefully incapable of handling or resolving our issues alone. Often times our efforts even make matters worse.

As children of God and disciples of Jesus Christ, we have an alternative available to us which is completely different and produces dramatically different results. When we choose to respond in our spirit instead of in our flesh, we focus on the solution, Jesus Christ, instead of our problems. We avail ourselves to a supernatural solution. We avail ourselves to the power and grace of the One who sees the beginning and the end as we surrender ourselves to His will and plan for our lives.

When we recognize that the success that we have is due to the excellency and power of Almighty God, we bring honor and praise to His throne. When others see us testify that our success is not due to our natural abilities, our diligence or the aid that we receive from others, but from the hand of the One who created us, they are drawn to the treasure that we hold within us. And ultimately, we not only bring honor and glory to Almighty God but we also become vessels of His treasures.

Let us seek the supernatural power of Jesus Christ when our troubles arise. Let us turn away from our tendency to solve our troubles through our own capabilities and the capabilities of others around us. Let us honor the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit by the choosing the supernatural path versus the natural path.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the will and plan that You have for our lives. We rejoice in knowing that You delight in using Your power to work out all of the things in our lives that trouble us. We praise You for using each of our trials to shape us into the unique individuals that You created each of us to be. May all the honor and glory be Yours, Father, as we turn to Your Son for all of our needs. We pray that the world around us will be drawn to Your Son, Jesus, as we testify to the power and excellency of His presence in our lives. We ask all these things in the name of Our Strength and Our Power, Jesus Christ.

Fear Not! Our Omnipresent Lord is Always With Us.

Hebrews 13:6
So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

The Lord is our helper. He is our mighty King, but He is also our humble servant because of His promises to us. He is able to help in ways that we cannot imagine. He is our helper when there is no one else there to help. His help is always suitable, seasonable and sufficient.

Jesus promises to be Our Helper, but He also commands that we hold Him to His promises. As written in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

As the Lord commands, do we see Him in all that we do? If we do, there should be no doubt or drudgery in any task. For in every task we should find the power and the joy of Jesus. If we are experiencing a lack of joy in our circumstances, then we are not believing Jesus for His promise to take our burdens. If we are doubting the outcome of our efforts, then we are not believing Jesus for His promise to never forsake us.

Let us be strong and courageous. Let us make Jesus Christ our foundation. Let us learn to trust in and call on all the promises that God has revealed to us. Let us rejoice in knowing without doubt that He is working out all things for our eternal good. Let us find peace and comfort in the victory that is promised to us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so much that You promise never to leave us or forget about us. We rejoice in knowing that You know every single thing that is going on in our lives and that You are working out all the details necessary for us to experience the fullness of joy through our relationship with Your Son. Teach us, Lord, how to rely on the Holy Spirit to be our helper in every element of our lives. Through our reliance on Your promises, may we find joy and find victory in our roles as grandparents, parents, children, citizens, employees, friends and neighbors. Through all these things may we celebrate serving You. Through all these things may we be light to the world around us. We ask all these things in the name of the One who is faithful and true, Jesus Christ.

Be Fearless for Christ

John 20:21
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

In one brief statement, Jesus gave the disciples the peace that they needed to overcome the fear that had them gathered in a hiding place and the power and authority that they needed to be successful in their calling. So it is for us.

It is so easy to be overwhelmed by all that the world throws at us. It is so easy to become discouraged, even fearful of the outcome ahead of us. It is so easy to withdraw to a hiding place where doing nothing seems comfortable. Yet the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you,” are just as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago.

Are we giving back to the Lord as He has given to us? He has given us the peace, the power and the authority to do what He has called us to do. Much has been given to us. Are we doing all we can do with what we have been given? Surely we will not leave on the table the feast that He has set before us.

Let us set aside all fear and uncertainty. Let us claim the power and authority that has been promised to us. Let us go out boldly and proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing all that we need to be good and faithful servants. We rejoice in knowing that there is nothing in the world that can stop us from bringing to harvest the seeds that You have given us to plant. Father, we pray that You give us the wisdom to see the bounty that You have planned for us. We ask for the grace and the strength that we need to thrive under the power and authority that we have through our relationship with Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask all these things in the precious, holy and mighty name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Fearful of What’s Ahead – Peace be with You

John 20:21
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

In one brief statement, Jesus gave the disciples the peace that they needed to overcome the fear that had them gathered in a hiding place and the power and authority that they needed to be successful in their calling. So it is for us.

It is so easy to be overwhelmed by all that the world throws at us. It is so easy to become discouraged, even fearful of the outcome ahead of us. It is so easy to withdraw to a hiding place where doing nothing seems comfortable. Yet the words of Jesus, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you,” are just as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago.

Are we giving back to the Lord as He has given to us? He has given us the peace, the power and the authority to do what He has called us to do. Much has been given to us. Are we doing all we can do with what we have been given? Surely we will not leave on the table the feast that He has set before us.

Let us set aside all fear and uncertainty. Let us claim the power and authority that has been promised to us. Let us go out boldly and proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing all that we need to be good and faithful servants. We rejoice in knowing that there is nothing in the world that can stop us from bringing to harvest the seeds that You have given us to plant. Father, we pray that You give us the wisdom to see the bounty that You have planned for us. We ask for the grace and the strength that we need to thrive under the power and authority that we have through our relationship with Your Son, Jesus Christ. We ask all these things in the precious, holy and mighty name of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Fruitful Place of Abiding in Jesus

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? Are we challenged by our trials? Are we frozen by our fears? 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, strength and peace 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!!

On the other hand, if we are leaning on the world or on our own natural abilities, we soon find out how fearful and impotent we are. Just as the passage suggests, we are destined to experience a withering away when we separate ourselves from the True Vine. We are sure to enter into a poor, fruitless condition. Why would we ever consider living in any other way except fully dependent on the True Vine?

Let us bring our fears to the Lord and let Him deal with them. Let us vanquish the giants in our lives in the name of the Lord. Let us bow in awe and wonder before Almighty God, acknowledging His great power and might. Let us become the mighty warriors that He has created us to be.

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 Savior. May we always seek the grace, nourishment and strength that we need from our all-sufficient source, Jesus Christ. We ask all these things in His precious, holy and mighty name.

Be Careful Not to Call Our Victories Our Own

Luke 10:20
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, they all came back with stories of victory against the enemy. Jesus had to forewarn them not to be overcome by their success.

When following the Lord’s calling on our lives, the blessing and power of Jesus Christ will be ours to use to overcome the enemy in our lives and the lives of those that we serve. We must be alert to the fact that victory over the enemy and any type of fruitful service for the kingdom of God can be quite intoxicating. We must be careful not to call our victories our own for all the glory is for Our Savior. If our pride allows us to claim the glory, our fall is certain.

Further, we must not let ourselves take a commercial view of the things that we do for Jesus. That is, we cannot measure ourselves by the results of our work. Our work for the Lord is not about success. It is about the deepening relationship that we are forming with Him as His disciples. It is about the deepening relationship that we are forming with the Father. It is about our preparation to join Our Savior in His heavenly kingdom. As we rightly relate to our success in serving God, we shall become more useful in our service for Him.

Let us grab hold of the power given to us by Our Savior to overcome the enemy who attacks us and our loved ones. Let us give all the glory to the One who made the power available to us, Jesus Christ. Let us rejoice in knowing that our eternal resting places in heaven have been secured for us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the power and blessings that You release in our lives through our relationship with Your Son, Jesus. We ask You, Lord Jesus, to show us how to become Your true disciples. We ask You to give us the power to overcome the enemy in our lives and in the lives of those to whom we bring the salvation message. We ask that You open the eyes of those around us that they may see and seek Your Spirit that lives within us. May we all be prepared for the time that we stand before You to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” We ask all these things in the name of the One whose kingdom and power and glory are forever, Jesus Christ.