Tag: faith

“Let Faith Arise!” Micro-Habits that Build Your Faith. Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:14-30 New American Standard Bible 1995

Parable of the Talents

14 “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five [a]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his [b]master’s money.

19 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [c]master.’

22 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

24 “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Then you ought to have put my money [d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

29 “For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Faith is like a muscle group in our bodies.

We are given all we will ever need at the point of our salvation, but if we don’t often use or exercise that muscle group, it will become weak and ineffective.

Jesus said faith the size of a mustard seed could move mountains (Matthew 17:20).

Matthew 17:20 The Message

20 “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”

Yet, if we want that minuscule-sized faith to move mountain-sized objects or circumstances, we need to exercise it, to strengthen it by using it in the small things so it grows and matures to conquer the big, bigger, and biggest things.

In the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, Jesus said if we are “faithful in a few things” we will be given more (verse 21 NIV).

He also said, “For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have [or, does not use what one has], even what they have will be taken from them” (verse 29).

I believe that applies to our faith as well as our gifts and talents.

As you and I exercise faith in the little things, then we will be in tip-top faith shape for the big, bigger and the biggest things.

If you find your faith is sagging a bit right now from not using or exercising it, it might be time for a full faith lift.

Here are seven small habits which might serve to help you to build your faith.

1. Be Thankful in All Things

If you want to grow your faith, don’t put conditions or parameters around what you are thankful for. Instead, obey 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which commands us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

We all know fair-weathered believers.

They are thankful to God when life is good, but they question their faith when circumstances go in all the directions which serve little or no useful purpose.

It is God’s will for you and me to be thankful in everything because it grows our faith, refines us, and makes us more like Jesus.

Being thankful in every circumstance – even the disappointing, uncomfortable, and painful ones– grows your faith in God’s ability to work all things “for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

You can become light in this darkened and cynical world when you can be thankful in all things, not just the good, comfortable, and pleasant things.

2. Remember the Times God Has Come Through

Psalm 32 New American Standard Bible 1995

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.

32 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c]groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d]vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g]in a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h]songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.

Throughout Scripture, God commanded His people to remember the things He did for them.

He told them to build altars of remembrance to tell their children and those after them the great things that God had done.

God knew we were people prone to forget and then falter in our faith.

So, if we remind ourselves what the Word of God says, remember all He had done, we’d have faith for the next time the challenging circumstances come.

Psalm 103:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995

Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

By picking up your Bible again, remembering what God did in the past, you are strengthening your faith in what God can do in your present and in your future.

3. Record Your Prayer Requests and Answers

Psalm 84:8-12 New American Standard Bible 1995

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.
9 Behold our shield, O God,
And look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold [a]from those who walk [b]uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

The more we talk with God in prayer, the more our faith grows.

And the more we recount what He did with our prayers, the stronger our prayer life and faith muscles become.

Start recording your prayer requests in a journal or on a sheet of paper you keep in your Bible.

Write the date of your request.

Then, highlight those requests that were answered with a yellow pen and record the date they were answered.

Or you may want to leave space for how that request was answered.

Just because God didn’t say “yes” to a request of yours doesn’t mean He didn’t answer it.

Sometimes His “no” or “wait” are blessings in disguise.

Seeing – and recording – how God answered your prayers can build your faith in the only God who promises that “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” (Psalm 84:11).

4. Take Time to Praise God Daily

Psalm 100 New American Standard Bible 1995

All Men Exhorted to Praise God.

A Psalm for [a]Thanksgiving.

100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord [b]Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and [c]not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with [d]thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

This is different than thanking God (as mentioned in #1).

Praise is adoring God for who He is, not just thanking Him for what He has done.

Our gratitude can sometimes be focused on us and what we want, and how God pleased us.

But praise moves us out of the picture and is centered on God’s character and attributes.

There are many ways we can praise God creatively.

For example, praise God through the alphabet by choosing an attribute of His for each of the ABCs:

“God, You are amazing. You are beautiful. You are capable. You are deity. You are everlasting…” Or take one letter a day and praise God with as many words that start with that letter that you can think of. For example: “God you are capable. You are compassionate. You are caring. You are the Comforter.””

As you praise Him alphabetically, and remind yourself of His attributes, you are busy recounting your reasons for having faith in Him.

5. Do Not Be Afraid to Ask Big Things of God

John 14:7-15 New American Standard Bible 1995

Oneness with the Father

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

8 Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. 12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Scripture tells us that we do not have because we do not ask (James 4:2).

I believe God is waiting for the challenge, for us to ask so big and exercise so much faith that we are convinced when He answers that it had to be Him.

Of course, He can provide your sustenance as you pray “Give us this day, our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11) and care for His own when you pray “Please bless my church and the missionaries.”

But ask Him for something specific and something echelons too big for you to accomplish on your own, it will strengthen your faith each time as you witness God come through, and you realize it wasn’t any mere coincidence or a result of your own efforts.

Unleash the wonders of God by asking for what only He can do (not referring to asking that you win the mega lotteries so you can give half of it to your church. Or praying that you are promoted to CEO from the mail room or Janitor at your job so you can buy that multi-million-dollar home you always promised self).

Ask according to God’s will.

Ask in Jesus’ name – which means asking God the Father for something that Jesus, His Son, would ask for.

Ask on behalf of Jesus, so that God will be glorified.

God loves to answer big prayers.

He is the God of the impossible. And without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11). So, please His heart – and build your faith – by asking big.

6. Ask for Divine Appointments.

1 John 5:13-15 New American Standard Bible 1995

This Is Written That You May Know

13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence which we have [a]before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

I believe every day there are God-appointments for us to live out our purpose, impact others eternally. and bring glory to God.

We just need eyes to see these divine appointments and boldness to act upon them.

Over the past two plus decades of walking with God, both seeing and missing divine appointments, I have learned that when I specifically ask for divine appointments to serve someone, make a difference, glorify God, or share the Gospel, God blesses and God provides and God gives them to me every time.

Perhaps by asking for them, I am more on the alert to recognize them when they appear before me.

I’m convinced every time you ask for a divine appointment (or for eyes to see the one already in front of you), He will provide it, too.

That conviction is based on 1 John 5:13-15, which tells us if we ask anything according to His will He hears us and if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we will receive what we’ve asked of Him.

It’s definitely God’s will that we partake in His divine appointments and the “good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB 1995).

Ephesians 2:8-10 New American Standard Bible 1995

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

So, ask for divine appointments – and then act upon them – and it will build your faith. 

7. Do Not Hesitate to Whisper or Shout His Name

Psalm 13 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

There are times we need God, but we just don’t know what to say or where to begin.

Start by saying His name and then speak your heart’s cry.

Scripture says there is power in the name of Jesus, not only because “Salvation  is found in no one else” (Acts 4:12), but because Jesus responds to His name when His loved ones call to Him.

Psalm 22:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995

A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.

For the choir director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.

22 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
[b]Far from my deliverance are the words of my [c]groaning.
2 O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet You are holy,
O You who [e]are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers trusted;
They trusted and You delivered them.
5 To You they cried out and were delivered;
In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.

The writers of the classics called this type of whispering cry “breath prayers.”

My breath prayers to sense His presence are “Jesus, I need You” or “Jesus, give me a heart for You.”

Calling His name just as often as we breathe is one of the simplest ways to sense His presence or remind ourselves that He is there.

I believe the simplest of cries are the ones that penetrate His heart – and ours – the quickest.

And when we call upon His name and sense His presence, it builds our faith.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 16 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.

A [a]Mikhtam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3 As for the [d]saints who are in the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The [f]sorrows of those who have [g]bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot.
6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my [h]mind instructs me in the night.
8 I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to [i]Sheol;
Nor will You [j]allow Your [k]Holy One to [l]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com

Receiving God’s Word through our Believing and Action. James 2:14-17

James 2:14-17 The Message

Faith in Action

14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Believing and Acting

A wise person has said that we should imagine our faith and actions written up in a feature story splashed across the front page of every known newspaper.

What would that look like?

Myriads and myriads of scandals erupt because high profile Christians don’t behave like the believers they vigorously claim to be.

But the tension between our walk and our talk brings dishonor to our Lord.

There are many times when believers deserve to be called hypocrites.

In those moments, our faith and deeds show a rather severe disconnect.

James speaks bluntly to this contrast between believing and acting.

Our trust relationship with God must show itself in acts of obedience.

Just nodding in agreement to a biblical teaching doesn’t transform the way we treat our next-door neighbor.

What about your faith?

Is it authentic?

Does it show others that you have a living relationship with Christ?

Real faith turns the misunderstood contrast between faith and works into a dynamic combination of genuine faith and real action.

Receiving God’s Word through Action

Faith and action go together.

Understanding and works are tethered—joined together at salvation through the working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

James 2:14-17 asks us,

Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

The poor, orphaned, widowed, and lost don’t just need a word from God.

They need us to act on our beliefs and love and serve selflessly with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Gathering together as believers to worship is just a part of what God intends for us as his children.

If we are to receive all that God has for us, if we are to walk in the abundant life God intends, we must resolve to be doers of the word.

James 1:23-25 gives us a window into the life of a believer who never puts action to his faith.

Scripture says,

23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Your identity as a disciple of Christ undoubtedly comes from relationship with God, but it is meant to be lived out in your deeds.

God longs for you to live a life of good works in response to the unconditional love you’ve been given.

He longs for you to live in selfless humility sharing with others what he’s done in you.

We’ve separated Christianity from the world.

We’ve separated Sunday from Monday, the sacred and secular.

Jesus lived in line with God’s love every minute he was here.

He broke the rules in healing on the Sabbath.

He ministered almost completely outside of the walls of the synagogue.

He brought the good news of God’s grace to all who would believe everywhere he went.

His life was in no way segregated.

Jesus’s turning the water into wine at a party was just as holy and spiritual as his standing up, reading of Isaiah in the temple, proclaiming his fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the Messiah.

His love was put into perfect action through every word, miracle, step, glance, and prayer.

With Jesus as our perfect example, let’s live in accordance with God’s will.

Let’s blur the line between faith and works until the two become one.

Let’s regard meals, conversations, rest, family time, and parties as important and holy as worshipping inside the walls of our churches. Let’s live as Jesus did and reveal His love as an action instead of just an idea we talk about on Sunday. 

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on God’s desire for your faith to produce good works.

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:14-17

2. Ask God where he would have you put faith into action. 

It could be the completely random act of buying flowers for your wife, or your finding a new way to honor your husband, taking your children on a special trip, or offering encouragement to someone around you at meal at work or at school.

Ask the Spirit to give you specific ways in which he desires you live out the love you have received.

3. Ask God for the strength and courage to live out his word. 

Follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit into the good works he has prepared for you today.

The Spirit has an incredible ability and power to guide a willing heart into action for God.

Receiving the knowledge of God’s love for the people around you will open up doors in your own life to better know the fullness of God’s heart.

You will be more deeply blessed by serving others than you could ever be blessed in being served.

God pours his love and grace out on those who minister in line with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

It’s truly an honor to be used by God to further the advance of his kingdom in the earth.

You were made to live out the truth of the gospel.

So choose today to act upon the leading of the Spirit.

Choose to be a doer of the word.

Psalm 100 New American Standard Bible 1995

All Men Exhorted to Praise God.

A Psalm for [a]Thanksgiving.

100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
3 Know that the Lord [b]Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and [c]not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with [d]thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Lord Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, renew my heart, refresh my heart, change and transform my heart so my trust in you becomes a powerful, and active display of your grace and power. Help me to serve you by serving, caring about others. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com

God Speaks in Solitude. Psalm 46:10

Psalm 46:10-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

10 “[a]Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the [b]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

You and I have been given the invaluable gift of communication with God.

From my recent devotionals we learned about the process of making the soil of our hearts soft and more receptive to God.

In our coming devotional efforts we’ll try to learn some different ways to receive the seed of his word. May your communion with God flourish as you engage in continual conversation with your loving, present heavenly Father.

God Speaks in Solitude

Matthew 6:5-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [a]so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Solitude—a time set apart where the rush, the noise, and the anxiety of the world may finally fall mute on the ears and heart of a child of God completely in need of “alone time” with God, lost inside the peace, presence of their Creator.

Solitude is a private time to be spent with your heavenly Father, free from the myriad of distractions which the world offers us at seemingly every moment.

We are made for consistent time spent in solitude.

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory,

“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.”

Most of us have grown accustomed to what truly does amount to being “starved” for solitude.

We never fully realize how great our need is to be alone with our Sustainer.

Let’s take some time today to recognize our need for solitude and then learn how to best practice solitude on a daily basis.

You can know that you need solitude for one reason—Jesus needed it.

All over the New Testament we see examples of Jesus going off on his own to pray.

One example, Mark 1:35, tells us Jesus, “rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark . . . departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” 

Jesus, who practiced perfect communion with his heavenly Father while here on earth still needed to spend time in solitude.

Jesus, who loved parties, loved people, and was God and man simultaneously, knew he still needed time alone.

If he needed it, you and I can be sure we need it.

When God incarnate was up against his hardest task, the Crucifixion, he didn’t just toughen up and get through it – He spent much time alone in the Garden of Gethsemane in a deep tearful heartfelt conversation with his heavenly Father.

Matthew 26:36-46 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Garden of Gethsemane

36 Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. 38 Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41  Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. 45  Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “[a]Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

He needed solitude to accomplish his purpose here on earth and so do you and I.

Solitude is life-giving.

It’s necessary to the Christian spiritual life.

Richard J. Foster said, “Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment.”

Solitude is one of the most important and life-giving spiritual disciplines.

If you want to hear God, you must practice solitude.

If you want fortitude in your life, a steadfastness that surpasses your circumstances, you must practice solitude.

You are designed for time spent in the quiet, simply, exclusively, being with your heavenly Father.

So how can you best practice solitude?

The first step is finding a place where you can spend time with God free from distractions.

Find a place where you know you won’t be interrupted.

If you live with others, find a time when they will not be around or awake.

If you live alone, designate a place and time that you will spend in solitude free from any distractions.

Second, give yourself an amount of time to spend with God just being in solitude.

It could be ten minutes or an hour.

Spend this time free from reading, free from worship or prayer  unless solitude leads you to those things.

Madeleine L’Engle said, “Deepest communion with God is beyond words, on the other side of silence.”

Solitude is a point of deep communion where words aren’t required in light of God’s glorious nearness.

Take some time today to practice the incredible discipline of solitude.

Be patient with yourself.

Be patient with God.

Fill the emptiness of silence with the satisfaction of God’s presence.

Your heavenly Father loves just simply spending time with you, enjoying deep communion with his crown of creation.

You are his beloved child.

Climb into the comforting and sustaining arms of your heavenly Father today as you enter into a time of solitude.        

One More Point: Some Thoughts About Silent Prayer

Psalm 46:10-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

10 “[a]Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the [b]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

Matthew 6:5-6 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [a]so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

We might think of “silent prayer” as communicating with God not by speaking words aloud but by saying them in our minds.

But prayer does not always require words.

In fact, Jesus cautioned that using “many words” in prayer could become like babbling (see Matthew 6:7).

Matthew 6:7 New American Standard Bible 1995

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

Being still, without using words, can help us reflect on the majesty, power, beauty, love, and other characteristics of God.

We need to be clear, though, that this is different from meditation that views silence as a way to empty the mind of thoughts, to connect with one’s “inner self.”

The command to “be still” in Psalm 46 has nothing to do with that—and is ­actually the opposite.

Notice that the words “be still” in verse 10 are immediately followed by the instruction to know God.

Prayer helps us grow in our knowledge of God, and knowing the heart of God is what enables us to be still in his presence.

As Psalm 46 indicates, God is both power­ful and kind.

Our troubled hearts are quieted when we find our refuge in him.

Some Bible versions include the Hebrew word Selah after verses 3, 7, and 11 in Psalm 46, and that may help us understand this point.

Scholars aren’t sure what Selah means, but it seems to signal a pause and also perhaps an unknown period of time of reflection.

Practice being silent in God’s presence.

Quiet reflection intensifies prayer as the mind is filled with thoughts of God.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Guided Prayer:

1. Find a place free from distractions. 

Ask the Spirit to calm your heart and mind and help you to spend time in deep communion with God.

2. Spend a few minutes simply resting with God in solitude.

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35

“Deepest communion with God is beyond words, on the other side of silence.” Madeleine L’Engle

3. Write down how solitude made you feel. 

If you felt uncomfortable or frustrated, that’s alright! Solitude and silence is something most of us have never practiced so have patience with yourself.

Solitude is a practice.

The more you do it the better and more fulfilling it will become.

Once you connect with God’s heart free of words and just look at him face to face, his gaze will become one of the most important parts of your life.

Knowing experientially that your heavenly Father sees you and loves you is meant to be at the foundation of everything you do.

Commit yourself to spend time in solitude with God and learn what it is to be a child simply enjoyed by the Father.

Lord, thank you for enabling me to be still in your presence. You are my strength, and I trust in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I [a]shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside [b]quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com

What Questions are we to ask when we ARE Listening for God’s Voice? Jeremiah 29:12-14

Jeremiah 29:12-14 The Message

12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Jeremiah 29:13 New American Standard Bible 1995

13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

The context for this verse is Jeremiah’s letter to the exiled Jews in Babylon.

This is a promise of restoration after the completion of the time allotted for their discipline.

We should read this as pertaining not only to them but to all God’s Church, even today – this was a specific promise to those Jews in exile, but it captures a basic principle of relating to our God that holds true in every generation of believers.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

God has made himself completely and totally available to those who want him.

He calls to us, but he does not force us to follow.

His mysterious and prevenient grace notwithstanding, it is a crucial element of our relationship and fellowship with him that we’ll actually choose to seek him, come to him and abide with and in him.

Romans 1:20 suggests that everyone, even the unregenerate actually knows this to be true, though they have lied to themselves:

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

For the Christian, it is necessary to wake up to this fact, stop running away, and begin hardcore running toward God, who has made himself apprehend able for the seeker.

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Jeremiah 29:13

#1 “You will seek me,”

Jeremiah prophesied that the Jews, currently then in exile for their failure to follow God, would indeed turn to him at the right time and seek his face.

But more importantly to us, he has reserved his elect Church as those who will at the right time wake up to the truth and at the right time they will seek him.

#2 “and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

The key to finding what we seek when we seek God is to put all our heart into it.

This we will do only when we place our very highest value in our God and in a relationship with him above and beyond echelons more than anything else.

Finding him is like finding a treasure in a field that is worth selling everything we have in order to buy it.

In Luke 18:29-30, it says, “29 ‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.’”

We must leave all behind in respect to what or who has the highest place in our hearts if we would truly find God.

What If You Can’t Find God or Can’t Hear His Voice?

Some of us have had that sour experience of feeling that God is far away and unreachable.

Even some of the psalmists wrote about times when God did not seem to be anywhere near.

In Psalm 22, David cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus himself repeated those words as he hung dying on the cross (Mark 15:34).

So what do you do when you can’t find God?

So what do you do when you can’t hear God’s voice?

Do what the psalmist did, and cry out to God.

Let him know how much you need him.

And read and reread today’s Bible passage, which assures us that when we seek God with all our hearts, we will find him.

God wants to be a part of our everyday lives, just as he showed us when his Son, our Savior was born.

Four Questions to Ask When Listening for God’s Voice

Jeremiah 29:12-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

One of the joys we experience in childhood, although we don’t see as a gift at the time, is that decisions are made for us. 

We love independence, but most of us can at least appreciate the idea of a person telling us which way to turn when the lines get blurry and a world that once seemed very black and white subtly takes on a surprising shade of grey.

One of the most common questions we have all heard asked is, “I wish I knew what God wanted me to do…how do I listen for Him or know I hear from Him?” 

I would like to suggest four questions we should consider when seeking the voice of God:

1. Am I willing to hear what He might say?

Do you believe His voice will flow out of His great love for you, even if it’s not the message you wanted to hear?

If we aren’t willing to receive what He says, we really cannot proceed.

If that scares you, and I fervently pray it does, remember that a God who loves us enough to sacrifice His own Son, who promises to never leave us, and who is gentle enough to wipe away our tears ( Revelation 21:4). His will is vastly good.

Are you willing to hear more?

2. What does scripture say?

The Bible is God-breathed, so it is here where we begin.

We might not be able to flip to the concordance and search “how to know if I should stay in this dating relationship…” or “how to respond when my co-worker says something cruel…”, however, if we develop a disciplined habit of reading, studying, praying, abiding in the Word of God, we will know His heart.

And when we get serious enough to know his Heart, we will recognize His voice.

In the hardcore quest for God’s voice, let the first most critical stop be scripture.

The more familiar we are with the heart of God, the more familiar we will be with His voice.

3. What do the people who love you say?

Before we were married, during one particular coffee date I had with her, we discussed about unhealthy dating relationships.

I asked her what her family, close friends, and spiritual mentors had to say about “unhealthy dating relationships.”

Would the people closest to her, who loved her and wanted the best for her, all warn her that staying in any relationship was dangerous and if they advised her to end it – would she, or I be honest enough with ourselves to be able to discuss.

Would we talk about the reasons behind their concerns for any length of time, when she looked at me through teary eyes and said, “I try to hear them, know what they want me to do…now, I just wish I knew what God wanted me to do.”

The people who love you…the people you trust and respect…what do they say?

Have you asked them?

Obviously, everyone should not be within your circle for wise counsel.

Ask people who have made decisions that you respect, and who love you enough to want what is best for you.

Allow their voices to enter the conversation and examine how their input is compatible with scripture and what you know to be true about the heart of God.

The Lord frequently uses the voices of others to echo what He is speaking to our hearts.

4. What does the “still, small voice” say?

You know that whisper?

That sense of what God is calling us to?

In his book, Hearing God, Dallas Willard refers to this as the “still, small voice”.

For a deeper discussion about what it means to have a “conversational relationship” with God, as Willard describes it, jump into this thought-0provoking piece of writing.

I cannot do justice to the understanding he brings to the subject.

I will say this though – it’s hard to imagine hearing the “still, small voice” of God if we don’t make listening a priority.

Our lives produce a shocking amount of noise.

Our days seem to fill themselves with appointments and activities before we even have a chance to say otherwise.

Repeatedly in scripture, Jesus left the noise. 

He got up earlier than everyone else, went away from the chaos, and was alone with His Father.

He prayed and they talked, a habit which scripture tells us He did often.

Are you positioning yourself to hear the still, small voice of a great God who wants so badly to talk with you?

These are our beacons. 

If we are in the business of seeking direction, these questions may or may not lead us to a specific answer, but hopefully they will begin the process, to help us listen more carefully discern God’s small voice in the midst of so many others.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Works and the Word of God.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be [e]blameless,
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

My Savior Jesus, Giver of peace, I find myself so easily distracted by the voices of the world when I’m trying to focus and hear your Holy Spirit. Help me to quiet my mind in the middle of my busy life. Help me to just pause and to make space to listen to the most important voice of all. Empower me to be a good listener to the gentle whispers of your Spirit. Help me better follow the example of Jesus, who would slip away in the evening or the early morning to be alone with you. Teach me to abide in you. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com

Habits of Faith: God’s Desire for Me is to be Getting to Know God Better. Ephesians 1:16-17

Ephesians 1:15-21 New American Standard Bible 1995

15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and [a]your love for all the [b]saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the [c]knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart [d]may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the [e]saints,  19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

God’s Desire for Me

Ephesians 1:16-17 GOD’S WORD Translation

16 I never stop thanking God for you. I always remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the glorious Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Christ better.

First and foremost on Paul’s spirit is this – To Never stop thanking God!

Second is this – to Never stop praying to God for wisdom and revelation!

Third is this – to Never stop praying to God for His saints, for their faith or their lack of faith, or for their troubled faith to gain a spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Our own growing in wisdom is about cultivating a character that is Christlike.

If we desire that much to be growing and maturing into that spirit of wisdom, then the words of Ephesians 1:16-17 are a great discovery and encouragement.

What is striking about these verses is how they tell us we don’t have to figure this all out on our own. It’s not a project for which God gives us a textbook and tests us with a final exam at the end of life. God is not a “hands off” teacher.

In Ephesians 1:16-17 Paul explains that he prays for people to have wisdom, he prays, God to be involved in the process—because that is what God promises.

Apostle Paul goes on to mention “the Spirit of wisdom,” and he isn’t asking only for the Spirit to help us; Paul asks that the Spirit of wisdom be given to us.

Why? So that our desire is that we may each come to know God better.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, this matter of gaining wisdom is not just about learning some Christian way of living.

Try to fathom this miracle: it is about an interactive God who wants to live in us, make His home in us and be part of our faith growth by becoming part of us.

We can simplify all that to this: God wants us to have wisdom.

So we can each make this incredible prayer our own, saying to God, “I want to have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation because I want to know God better.”

Getting to Know God Better

The Apostle Paul has been teaching the great facts underlying the Christian faith in Ephesians 1, and we turn now to his prayer.

This is a helpful revelation of the place of prayer in the Christian experience, especially in believers who are maturing, and in relationship to the study of Scripture – the revelation that this brings prayer and the Scriptures together.

Having finished a great passage in which he has set forth what the three-fold God is doing for us, now adds these words addressed to the Ephesian Christians.

That is really the major objective of a Christian life — is to know God better.

We need to ask ourselves, 

Is this happening with us?

Are we really getting to know God better?

There is a principle in the Scripture that is very important for us to understand.

We are all familiar with the phrase that says we are made in the image of God, which means in some way that humanity reflects God.

But this fact means that we cannot learn who we are until we begin to know and learn who God is.

It is the revelation and understanding of the nature of God that will tell us what we are like.

I believe that this is one of the major reasons why many people today never seem to discover who they are.

They never learn what they can do, what possibilities lie within, and what potential is theirs because they have never discovered who God is.

We reflect Him, and therefore it is extremely important that we come to know God better.

Remember that Jesus said this in his great prayer to the Father: 

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

John 17:1-5 The Message

Jesus’ Prayer for His Followers

17 1-5 Jesus said these things. Then, raising his eyes in prayer, he said:

Father, it’s time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his care.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.
And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor,
The very splendor I had in your presence
Before there was a world.

This is the reason that we exist — that we may know God better.

I both hope and pray this is happening to you, young and old alike.

You never get to the end of knowing more about God.

He is such a fantastic being that revelations about his character and nature keep coming to us, keep being revealed unto us, we truly discover that as we all come know him better, we suddenly blink our eyes, realize what our God is revealing is that we’ve come to a place in our spirits where we know ourselves better too.

So Paul prays for these people.

He doesn’t know their circumstances – he can’t pray for their daily problems and pressures as you can when you know somebody personally – but he can pray, does pray, they may know God better. That will take care of everything.

Will you make it your top priority to know God better?

Will you pray to this end on a daily basis?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 100 The Message

100 1-2 On your feet now—applaud God!
    Bring a gift of laughter,
    sing yourselves into his presence.

3 Know this: God is God, and God, God.
    He made us; we didn’t make him.
    We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
    Thank him. Worship him.

5 For God is sheer beauty,
    all-generous in love,
    loyal always and ever.

Heavenly Father, please give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Open the eyes of my heart to know the hope and power by which you want me to live. Open my souls eyes, Lord, so that I may see more of who you are. For my Jesus; sake, Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com

Habits of Faith: Grace that is Greater than all of our Sins; when we’re at the end of all our resources. Romans 7:15

Romans 7:14-20 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Conflict of Two Natures

14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold [a]into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.  18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

“Perhaps God brings us to the end of our resources so we can discover the vastness of His.”

Have you ever felt this way?

“At the end of your resources?”

Have you ever seen or watched a zealous, eager young Christian or older Christian desperately trying to do something for God and ending up after a while so completely discouraged and defeated that they just want to quit?

In fact, they probably do and are on the very brink of making that decision.

But that is a very hopeful stage.

Jesus said that those who are poor in spirit and have come to the end of their own resources are blessed (Matthew 5:3).

Why? That is the time when God can give you something.

When you have come to the end of your own resources, then he can give you his.

That is why the Old Covenant is, 

“Nothing coming from God, everything coming from me, while the New Covenant is, Everything coming from God, nothing coming from me.”

You only have to look at yourself in the mirror for a relatively short period of time to see how much of your life is lived, invested into that Old Covenant.

You expect success by virtue of something resident in you: your ancestry, your training, your personality, character, your good looks or something like that.

This attitude produces the kind of person that reckons upon his own resources: that is they’ll keep repeating to self that “I’ve got what it takes, I can do that.” 

Now they may be very modest in their language.

We learn all kinds of little subtle tricks to hide this kind of egoism.

We say, I have never really had any special training for that, but I have had some experience in it, and I will do my best. 

Thus we are subtly saying to people, I have got what it takes. 

Or we look at the demands, the specific problem, the situation we are asked to enter into or perform, and we say, 

“I don’t have what it takes. I can’t do that. Don’t ask me to do a thing like that. I am just one of those select people that was behind the door when the gifts were passed out, and I just can’t do anything like that. I am not confident enough.” 

But who are you looking at when you say something like that?

You are only looking at Yourself!

You are reckoning on your steadfast belief in your own un-resources but your eye is fixed on the same person, yourself.

So both responses are wrong.

One view focuses on our power, our abilities, our willingness, our experience, our over drive to succeed, while the other view focuses on our un-resources, our inabilities, our inexperience — but both fix the focus only upon ourselves.

Why can we not just Overcome Ourselves?

In his letter to the Roman church, the apostle Paul wrote,

“for what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate… For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” (Romans 7:15, Romans 7:19-20)

Sound familiar?

Like Paul, many Christians find themselves in a similar spiritual battle.

We want to do what is right but struggle to overcome our rebellious, sinful nature.

We fail, we falter, we do the very things we hate and know are wrong, and when we mess up, we can often grow weary, so disheartened and even overwhelmed.

We ask ourselves:

Why is following in the footsteps of Jesus so hard?
Why do we do the things we know are wrong?
Why do we continue to sin when we’re supposed to be redeemed, new creations in Christ Jesus?

Paul attempted to address these many questions, describing the battle between sin and righteousness, the all-important, life-changing power of God’s grace.

What Does ‘What I Want to Do I Do Not Do, but What I Hate I Do’ Mean?

Amazingly, even a Christian as mature as Paul understood that just because we love the Lord and delight in His ways (Isaiah 58:2), it does not mean that we are perfect or will always obey Him.

Paul went so far as to call himself the “chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) and a “wretched man” (Romans 7:24), recognizing though God’s way is spiritual, he was not (Romans 7:14).

Even redeemed, Christians make mistakes because we are at constant war with our old, sinful nature, which is continuously fighting to reclaim its true place of influence in our lives.

When we sin, our sinful intrudes again into our nature and climbs back into the driver’s seat, dumping us straight into the backseat, steering us away from God.

This is why Paul wrote,

“if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” (Romans 7:16-17)

And how do we know we have sinned and are being steered away from God?

God’s word, the Bible, which Paul refers to as the law of God (Romans 7:22).

The law of God is what exposes sin and shows us where we have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Unfortunately, when we examine our lives by this law, we see just how warped, cracked, and imperfect we still are (Romans 3:23).

And next to the law, no one is righteous, not even one (Romans 3:9-11).

This is why, in Romans 7, Paul places such prominence on the doctrine of grace.

Under grace, Paul argued, believers are free from the law’s condemnation.

This doesn’t mean that the law is useless or obsolete, or that Christians have the freedom to keep sinning and doing whatever they want (Galatians 5:13).

As Matthew Henry writes in his commentary,

“the law may discover sin, and convince of sin, but it cannot conquer and subdue sin.” Forgiveness, redemption, and the power to actually overcome sin in one’s life can only come through the power and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, which is freely offered to those who come to Christ through faith (Hebrews 9:14).

As a man who desired holiness, Paul hated his many sins because he longed to be more like Christ.

His sin was a reminder that no amount of spiritual knowledge, willpower, or hard work can save a person.

Only God can transform and redeem a stubborn, rebellious heart, and only Christ can conquer sin in one’s life.

“Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Paul asked, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25)

Saved once and for all (Hebrews 10:10), we are each being transformed into the perfect, holy image of Christ over time. 

How Can I Apply Romans 7:15 Today?

As Christians, our old, sinful nature likes to rear its ugly head and drag us down, hold us back, or keep us from the righteousness of God.

We will sin, make mistakes, fall down, sink, turn back, and otherwise surrender to our sinful nature because we are still works in progress (Ephesians 2:8-10), being changed, and transformed, and fashioned into the likeness of Jesus Christ each and every day (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Like Paul, we will often hate the things we do and regret the mistakes we make because we long to live lives that are holy and pleasing to God.

This longing reveals that the word of the God and Holy Spirit are alive and active, steering us towards God.

The beauty of God’s and grace, however, is that we are no longer judged or condemned for each and every sin or shortcoming.

We are no longer slaves to sin but new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).

And though our salvation comes through Christ’s death and resurrection, the process of becoming more like Him, is ongoing.

So just remember, on your worst day, God’s grace is sufficient for you.

Your greatest victory has already been won.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 New American Standard Bible 1995

Purpose of the Preacher

9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs.  10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like [a]well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the [b]writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Today, and every moment of everyday, give yourself grace, take it easy, God is always at work in your life, slowly but purposefully making you more like Him.

So be kind to self, patient in His perfect process, and trust in His perfect timing.

His best for you is done, being done, and is still to come.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 13 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next.

– The Serenity Prayer, by Reinhold Neibuhr

https://translate.google.com

Tilling the Soil of the Heart: Through the Scriptures. Psalm 1

Psalm 1 New American Standard Bible 1995

BOOK 1

The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a]path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, he prospers.

4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [e]knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

The book of Psalms opens with a wonderful truth – that the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.

Godly living which results in blessings from above, contentment within, and hope for the future, stands in stark contrast to the practice of ungodliness and compromise – which produces the fruit of sorrow and destruction and ends in a man’s ruin and death.

The first verse of this opening Psalm gives a precise statement between the two choices every man is given in life.

He can choose God’s way and take the path of righteousness and peace-with-God, OR he can follow the downward road of the wicked, the sinners, the scoffers, and those that rebel against the Lord – he can choose life or death:

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

The man who is identified here is someone who is living in the world but is not enticed by the things of the world.

Such a man is not influenced by the mindset of worldly men who live in defiant rebellion against God and hold His anointed Son in contempt.

The man in this opening verse of the Psalms is a godly man – a redeemed man who walks in spirit and in truth and he does not habitually wander into those unwholesome places or involve himself in the worldly exploits of evildoers.

Such a man first seeks His counsel from the Lord, reads, studies, pays attention to the messages of God’s written Word, keeps his eyes firmly fixed on JESUS.

Such a person is wise in his routines and circumspect in his conversation.

Such a one walks in the light of God’s truth, prioritizes, hearkens to the godly counsel of the indwelling Holy Spirit, removes himself from those places of ill repute, submits to the voice of his Lord, and sits at the feet of Jesus, day by day.

Such a man turns his back to the world and its dark and darkened message, delights in the law of the Lord, he takes the time to study the Word of truth.

His only true delight is in the law of the Lord, he goes to his quiet places, he meditates on the things of God day and night, and rejoices in God his Savior.

Such a person holds lightly the things of this worldly system and dies to his fleshly desires while trusting in the living Word of the Father of all mercies.

Psalm 1 New King James Version

BOOK ONE

Psalms 1–41

The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly

1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he [b]meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the [c]rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

In one short Psalm, we see how rapidly a godly man or woman can slide into ungodly ways.

Instead of continuing to walk in spirit and truth, they begin to follow the advice of the evil men and slowly become ensnared in the world, the flesh, the devil.

Once a believer takes their eyes off Jesus and allows their ears to be tickled by human wisdom, their spiritual fervor is dampened and they are tempted to loiter in the way of the ungodly until they are willing to stand firm in the company of evil men instead of standing firm on the truth of God’s Word.

The longer a believer remains in the company of ungodly men and women, the more rapidly his conscience begins to be seared, the attitude of scoffing sinners taints the real truths of the gospel until the Holy Spirit is quenched and grieved.

Tilling the Soil of the Heart: Through the Scriptures

2 Timothy 3:12-17 New American Standard Bible 1995

12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is [a]inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for [b]training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

One of the most powerful tools in tilling the soil of our hearts is Scripture.

Each time you open the Bible, you’re looking at a miracle. 

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” 

When you’re reading the Bible, you’re reading the very word of God, breathed out by him and powerful in its ability to reveal both the character of God and your identity. 

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” 

When you renew your mind through Scripture, you allow the Bible to transform your heart into fertile soil that bears everlasting fruit.

So let’s look today at a few ways we can use Scripture to renew our minds and allow it to mold and shape us into disciples who are in tune with and receptive to the love and leading of God.

There is a wealth of power and wisdom within God’s word as it reveals his love and faithfulness to his people.

Stories of God’s deliverance and provision to an ungrateful people demonstrate not only God’s faithfulness then, but also the greatest lengths he will go to for those ransomed into his family now by the blood of Christ.

The story of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins is both heart-wrenching and life-giving -that he would willingly endure one of the most heinous, tortuous methods ever created assures us of the love God has for us.

That he would experience separation from his heavenly Father for the sin of the entire world points to the depth of his love for us.

Reading stories like these and meditating on their meaning and application will make us receptive to the presence and will of God.

They can empower us to live in grateful obedience to his plans and purposes.

As Paul wrote in Second Timothy, the Bible is also a useful tool for life-giving correction.

Correction from God is an important and wonderful part of being his son or daughter.

His correction resembles a skilled gardener pulling the weeds out of soil, making room for seeds he has planted to receive nourishment and thereby flourish into fruit.

You see, God doesn’t correct out of anger or frustration, but rather out of his rich love, patience, and desire for us to walk in the abundant life he’s prepared for us. 

Proverbs 3:12 states, “The Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” 

So, opening our hearts to Scripture like Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear,” is 100% incredibly powerful.

Pulling out the weeds and the tares of corrupting or negative talk will create space in the soil of our hearts for the nourishment of God’s Spirit, yielding the fruit of speech that does indeed “give grace.”

John 14:22-27 New American Standard Bible 1995

22 Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

By the admonition of the Word of the Lord revealed in John 14:23 – Open your whole heart today to the power of God’s Word in tilling the soil of your heart.

By the promise of God revealed through John 14:25-26, Allow the Holy Spirit to come, teach you by speaking directly into your life using the words of Scripture.

By the power of the Holy Spirit of God, may your time in guided prayer be marked by the inner voice of the Spirit and the transformation of the heart.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Guided Prayer:

1. Ask the Spirit to reveal an area in which you need correction.

Think about something in your life that is hurting your ability to develop good soil and, thereby, good fruit.

Where are you not experiencing the abundant life Jesus died to give you?

“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

2. Now search for Scripture to use for meditation on the subject. 

If you feel that negative speech is hindering you, a verse like Ephesians 4:29 that we read earlier is a great start. If you feel like lust or another sin is hindering you, search for Scriptures addressing the sin you struggle with.

3. Meditate on the Scripture that you’ve found. 

Hebrews 4:12 New American Standard Bible 1995

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged  sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Allow God to apply Scripture directly to your life.

When we align ourselves with God’s word, we lose the burden of living life apart from the anointing and filling of his Spirit.

Giving up things like negative speech, lust, greed, and other sins creates space for that which brings life and abundance.

Today, give over anything you feel is crowding your spiritual life, and allow God to fill you with the grace to live according to his word.

His word is the perfect guide through every situation, useful for any occasion.

Allow the Spirit to speak to you both through the Bible and directly. Till the soils of your heart to be receptive to all that God would do in and through you today.

Loving Father, it is my desire that I too walk in Your ways and keep from foolish compromise with the world system. By the truths revealed through Holy Scriptures keep my heart set on the Lord Jesus so that my thoughts are not influenced by the mindset of this current age. May I be like the man planted by Your many rivers of grace and love, joy and peace. May Your mercy and compassion flow through me to those around me, in the place where you have planted me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com

Habits of Faith: The Business of Tilling Those Soils of Our Hearts. Matthew 13:22-23

Matthew 13:22-23 New American Standard Bible 1995

22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the [a]world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Sower, Seeds, Soils

Jesus begins this Parable of the Sower with a farmer scattering seed.

The seed is good seed, the message of the kingdom of heaven.

The seed falls into many different soils: pathway soil, rocky soil, thorn-infested soil, and good soil.

Though Jesus carefully explains this parable to his disciples, we still wonder about many things.

What exactly does it look like when the seed, the message, falls on good soil and produces a crop, “yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”?

The reader, the listener, wants to know if they are the good soil, they are then working the other soils and so producing the bountiful harvest Jesus describes.

Throughout his ministry Jesus gives many clues on what a life that produces a significant harvest might look like, but we can also consider the mission Jesus claims in Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the ­prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.”

Because we are called to be like Jesus, his mission is our mission and the Holy Spirit has been given to us, so we are called to go out to work and do the same.

Tilling the Soil of the Heart

Today, we’ll look at a vital spiritual practice to all those seeking to grow in God: tilling the soil of the heart.

Jesus spoke in Matthew 13 of two different types of soil—hard and soft.

God longs for us to till the soil of our hearts that we might be receptive to the seed of his Word and bear fruit.

Today, may our heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God as we learn a bit more cultivating good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 13:22-23 Amplified Bible

22 And the one on whom seed was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the worries and distractions of the world and the deceitfulness [the superficial pleasures and delight] of riches choke the word, and it yields no fruit. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands and grasps it; he indeed bears fruit and yields, some a hundred times [as much as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty.”

The concept of good and bad soil is something Jesus’s listeners would have easily understood well.

Planting in good or bad soil meant having food or going hungry. It meant having money or not. For their agrarian culture it was a matter of survival.

While Jesus’s parable might not have as direct a correlation to us, its principle remains just as relevant.

We all have spiritual soil.

Through our mindsets and postures of the heart we can receive the seed of God’s Word which will in turn yield life-giving fruit.

Or, we can allow the soil of our hearts to become hardened by the messages of the sinful world to make us unreceptive to the powerful work God in our lives.

It’s incredibly important for us to understand God never forces his desires on us, but that He waits patiently—beckoning us to open our hearts fully to him.

He gently shows us his love, whispers his perfect plans to us, and waits for us to trust and surrender and with the grace of God, we can till the soil of our hearts, living receptively and surrendered to his loving kindness and perfect will.

If we will work, if we will look inward and acknowledge before God a hardened heart, to cultivate a willing heart, God will mold and shape us into children free from the cares of the world and empowered to live Christ-like, fruitful lives.

The question though always remains: Take time today to assess our own lives?

What parts of your heart are hard to God?

Where do you feel unreceptive to his goodness?

Where do you need to say yes to God today in a fresh, transformative way?

The season of Lent is just around the corner, God is calling you to a lifestyle of trust and surrender that He might lead you to green pastures and still waters.

There is abundant life for you in store in these days as you cultivate good soil.

“Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord!” May the Holy Spirit help you look honestly at the true postures of your heart today as you enter into a time of guided prayer.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Guided Prayer:

1. Take some time to receive God’s presence.

Open your heart to feel the peace and rest that comes from encountering him.

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you ways in which you aren’t fully open to God.

How are you not fully saying yes to God?

In what ways are we living our life apart from the leadership, presence of God?

Where don’t you fully trust him?

Where aren’t you bearing the fruit of the Spirit?

“But the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

3. Confess those things to God. 

Receive His love and forgiveness as you repent and turn away from hardness of heart and spend time resting in God’s presence and experiencing the new found peace that comes from having your heart more surrendered, receptive to God.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Tilling our hearts into good soil is an important daily exercise.

The more often you do it, the more you’ll realize the need to have good soil.

Having our hearts fully open to God takes the mundane and makes it wonderful.

It takes sunsets, conversations, prayers, work, and church and fills them with life, value, beauty, and joy.

Take what you’ve learned today and continue to put it into practice.

Choose to live a life positioned to receive all that God has in store for you.

May your day and your days ahead be marked by the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, thank you for your Word! Thank you for your Spirit! I pray that my life will produce an abundant harvest for you, and that I may serve in your name. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Habits of Faith: Tilling the Soils of our Hearts With our Thankfulness. Psalm 107:1

Psalm 107:1-3 New American Standard Bible 1995

BOOK 5

The Lord Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.

107 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
3 And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the [a]south.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Beauty Lost and Restored

One way for us to understand the beauty that God created is to understand its opposite: the ugliness, sorrow which comes from being separated from God.

Because of our sin, this world is not the way it ought to be.

Sin has brought hardship and ugliness into our lives and into this world, though God designed it all to be beautiful.

We know that God has restoration in mind because we don’t feel “at home” in a world broken because of sin.

We are homesick for a world of peace and beauty.

We are homesick to be with God.

When we’re stuck in brokenness and facing the ugliness of this world of sin, we feel homesick for God’s world of goodness and beauty.

Psalm 107 points out the sorrow and longing of this homesickness.

The world can feel like a wasteland, providing no place where people can rest, no place where they can settle and be at peace.

But the Lord, whose “love endures forever,” (verse 1) offers redemption.

The Lord hears his people cry out in their trouble caused by sin, and he delivers them from distress.

God brings them to a place where they can settle and live in peace.

“He satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry with good things.”

Psalm 107:7-9 New American Standard Bible 1995

7 He led them also by a [a]straight way,
To go to [b]an inhabited city.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His [c]wonders to the sons of men!
9 For He has satisfied the [d]thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

From throughout the Psalms, ultimately we know that all of life’s goodness and beauty will be restored when Jesus comes again, and, all of our thanks be unto God, the new life he provides us even now gives us hope for eternity with God.

Psalm 23 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd,
I [a]shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside [b]quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He guides me in the [c]paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the [d]valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no [e]evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [f]have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6 [g]Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will [h]dwell in the house of the Lord [i]forever.

Tilling the Soils of Our Hearts: Thankfulness

Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools in making our hearts both soft to the seed of God’s word and filled with abundant joy.

Thanksgiving aligns our thoughts and emotions with the reality of God’s goodness in a world wrought with lies about the character of God.

It breeds joy and trust rather than entitlement and negativity.

With each declaration of thankfulness you dig a shovel into the hard, rocky soil of your heart and churn it over until it becomes receptive to the fullness of God and filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

The Bible is laden with commands to be thankful. 

Ephesians 5:20 tells us to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by  prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” 

But my favorite command on thankfulness is Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

You see, it’s important to understand that the Bible doesn’t suggest that we give thanks, but rather commands us to always be thankful.

And in God’s command he reveals his heart.

We learn in Psalm 107 that our thankfulness is meant to be a response to the steadfast love of our heavenly Father.

Thankfulness is meant to be the overflow of remembering, encountering and mulling over how our God is abundantly faithful and filled with unconditional love for us.

I used to read Scripture commanding me to be thankful and think,

“Sorry God, I know I need to be more thankful. I know I’m so provided for and loved. I’m sorry for not thanking you more.”

But after meditating on Psalm 107:1, I realized that my lack of thankfulness is a symptom of not spending enough time encountering God’s wonderful character rather than a core issue in and of itself.

Tilling the soil of my heart through thankfulness requires that I set aside time to simply experience God’s goodness and love. Because everything he does is by grace, my natural response to his character will always be one of thanksgiving.

Take time today to reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father. Allow his goodness to cause great thankfulness to well up within you.

May your time in guided prayer be filled with truly transformational encounters with God, may they cultivate good soil that bears the fruit of an abundant life.  

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.      

 Guided Prayer:

1. Reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:28

“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5

2. Now respond to God’s character with thankfulness.

Take Scripture and thank God for who he is.

Look at your life and thank God for any good gifts he’s given you. Allow his goodness to stir up thankfulness within you.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

3. What changed in your heart as you engaged in thanksgiving? 

Journal about the power of thankfulness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see how God is at work in your life today and offer thanksgiving in response.

If you start to feel your heart begin to harden because of something that happens today, simply reflect on the goodness of God and give thanks.

Negativity and sin have an incredibly harmful effect on our hearts.

Decide to put away any form of slander, impurity and anything negative at all, and instead focus on the goodness of what God is doing.

Choose to love today and align your thoughts and emotions with faith and trust in who God is.

To walk in relationship with God is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times.

If you get off track for a bit, simply ask the Spirit to lead you back to the perspective and posture of heart he desires for you!

God’s grace is abounding and powerful.

He longs to walk in relationship with you all day today.

May your day be filled with peace, joy and a passionate pursuit of bringing his kingdom to earth all around you.

Lord, we feel alone and homesick for you and for your peace when we struggle with the hurt and brokenness of this world. Pray! Bring us all near to you, we pray. Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Habits of Faith: Now it is Time for us to Start Confessing all ‘Good Things’ About Ourselves! Philemon 1:6

Philemon 4-7 New American Standard Bible 1995

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the [a]saints; 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective [b]through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you [c]for Christ’s sake. 7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the [d]hearts of the [e]saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Time for a little pep talk from the Lord through the sharpest two edged sword in all existence, which is His Word for His Children – God has heard enough of us!

Why are we so hard on ourselves, why are we so hyper critical and so dramatic?

What kind of things do you say about yourself?

Do you speak well of yourself, or are you so hyper-critical of your appearance, your weight, your intelligence, your talents, your skills, your finances and your education level, car you drive, every other aspect of who you are as a person?

I used to be so hyper-critical of myself that one day the Holy Spirit spoke to me;

“How dare you continually talk so badly about yourself after the good work I’ve done inside you. Don’t you know you are fearfully and wonderfully made, how marvelously I created you to be in Jesus Christ? Quit speaking so negatively of yourself, for God’s sake, start acknowledging every good thing that is in you.”

I didn’t realize how badly I was speaking of myself until the Holy Spirit brought it to my attention.

But after He spoke to me, I started noticing every time something evil slipped out of my mouth about myself, I was stunned to see how many times I did it!

I became painfully aware my own mouth had become one of my worst enemies.

I became acutely aware that my own thoughts were hard at work against me.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, I made a decision to quit speaking such foul things and to start aligning my mouth with what God’s Word declared me to be.

Paul said we need to speak good things about ourselves!

In Philemon 1:6, he said,

“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

Today I want to especially draw your attention to the part of the verse that says,

“…May become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

Even though God has done great things in you and has planned a powerful future for you, it is up to you to activate His blessings in your life!

This is why Paul says,

“That the communication of your faith may become effectual.…”

The word “effectual” is the Greek word energeo.

It is where we get the word energy.

However, in this verse, the word energeo carries the idea of something that has suddenly become energized or activated.

Paul’s words could actually be rendered, “That the communication of your faith may become energized and activated.…“

Let me give you an example to help you understand what this word energeo  means in the con­text of this verse.

An vehicle may be filled with enough fuel to drive a long distance, but it won’t go anywhere until someone puts the key into the ignition, then turns the key.

The moment that key is turned, the spark plugs are sparked, which fires up the engine.

Once the engine has been acti­vated, the potential in that car is ready to be unleashed – all we need to do is back it out of our driveway, step on the gas!

The car always has the capability of moving, but if it is never activated, it sits silent in the drive­way.

No matter how much fuel is in the tank or how much horsepower that car possesses, its power and potential will never be realized until someone turns the key in the ignition and decides they are going to actually drive it away.

Now let’s apply this to you. 

In Philemon 1:6, the apostle Paul writes that “every good thing” has been placed in you by Jesus Christ.

Think of it – He saved you, healed you, redeemed you, and pro­tected you.

He has given you a sound mind; He has given you the mind of Christ; He has imparted gifts and talents to you; and He has planned a future for your life that is simply echelons beyond glorious.

You are loaded with phenomenal potential that is just waiting to be activated!

You may say,

“Yes, well, I know that the Bible says I’ve been given all those good things, but I don’t feel like any of that is true about me! I feel like such a defeat. Even though the Word says I’m healed, the reality is that I feel sick. Even though God’s Word says I have a sound mind, I continu­ally feel like I do not have any control of my thought life. And in spite of the fact the Bible says God has blessed me with gifts and talents, I feel like a dope who has nothing to offer to this world. There is an impassable gap between what the Bible says about me, what I feel about me!”

My friend, you are like a car that is loaded with enough fuel and horsepower to get anywhere you need to go.

But for that potential in you to be released, you have to hold the right key in your hand – you have to insert it into the ignition and you have to activate it.

Furthermore, (being repetitive) it isn’t enough for you to just possess the key.

You have to put that key into the “ignition” and turn it so the latent potential that resides inside you will be ignited.

When you turn the key in the ignition, suddenly all the potential you possess in Jesus Christ is supernaturally ignited, activated, energized, released inside you!

Believe in Yourself as God Believes in You!

  • So what is the key that sparks all the good things God has placed inside you into becoming an outward reality?
  • What is the key that causes all that God declares about you to become manifested in your life?
  • How do you “turn the key in the ignition” so that the great work God has done inside you is activated and released?

Paul says, “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

The word “acknowledging” in this verse holds the answer to the questions above.

This word is from the Greek word epignosis, which describes a well-instructed, intensive, deep knowledge of the facts.

The word epignosis pictures a person who knows his facts like a professional.

This is a person so sure of his information that when he speaks, he does so with confidence and boldness.

He has no reason to be ashamed or to fear that others may accuse him of being incorrect because he is well instructed, has an intensive, deep knowledge of the facts.

But how did he obtain such knowledge of the facts?

No one becomes this knowledgeable acci­dentally.

To become astute requires study, meditation, digging deep into truth, and applying oneself to know the facts inside and out.

The result of this hard work is such a thorough knowledge of the facts that a person has a strong confidence regarding what he says or writes.

Now Paul uses this same idea when he says we are to “acknowledge” every good thing that has been placed in us by Christ Jesus.

Of course, this means we are to confess the truth about ourselves – but before we can confess the truth, we must first know the truth!

As the word epignosis depicts a well-instructed, intensive, deep knowledge of the facts, Paul is letting you know it is essential for you to possess:

  • a knowledge of exactly who you are in Jesus Christ.
  • a knowledge of what Jesus has purchased in your redemption.
  • a knowledge of every good thing that God has placed in you by Jesus Christ.
  • a knowledge of all these truths that is so concrete and so unshakable that you are immovable in what you think and believe.

Don’t know the facts of who you are in Jesus Christ?

It’s time for you to get serious about digging into the Bible until you know these truths like a professional.

The truth about who you are in Jesus Christ is the key to your victory.

You should study, read, listen to teaching material – in other words,

you should use every available resource to discover what God’s Word says you’ve been given in Jesus Christ.

This knowledge is the key that will set you free.

However, merely possessing the key won’t activate these realities in your life.

You must put the key into the ignition and turn it, sparking these truths into manifestation in your life!

A key in the ignition switch does no good unless it is turned.

Likewise, the truth in your life does no good until it is spoken!

The moment we open our mouth and start confessing the good things that are in us by Jesus Christ, a supernatural connection is made between your faith and all that Jesus has deposited inside you.

At that moment, the gifts and treasures God has placed inside you become supernaturally activated.

The confession of your mouth – your acknowledgement of the truth – is what sparks these spiritual blessings, causes them to become operative, activated, and manifested realities.

Sadly, many people who know the truth remain in bondage because they never align their mouths and thoughts with the truth.

Instead of speaking what God says about them, they ridicule themselves, put themselves down, and speak badly of themselves.

They possess all the potential that God has placed inside them, but they never experience that potential because their mouths have never been sparked and activated turning those spiritual blessings into becoming manifested realities.

To make these truths real in your life, you have to put the key in the ignition switch.

  • The key is the Word of God.
  • The ignition is your mouth.
  • The key is turned in the ignition when you open your mouth and start to speak the truth.
  • The good things in you are activated the moment you start confessing the truth.
  • The way to make these blessings real in your life is to 1) thoroughly know them through diligent study; 2) put these truths into your mouth; and 3) speak them out loud!
  • That is how you turn the key in your ignition and energize these truths until they begin to manifest in you!

You see, it’s time for you to stop speaking so badly about yourself.

Instead, you need to open your mouth and start acknowledging who you are in Jesus Christ!

By acknowledging the basic truths of what you have been given in Jesus, you will release so much divine energy that it will radically transform your life.

The recognition of these spiritual treasures that reside within you will pick you up, lift you high, and carry you right over into the realm of victory you desire!

So quit talking negatively about yourself, and begin to bring the words of your mouth into maximum agreement with the truths God has deposited in your life.

  • God’s Word says you’re healed, so begin to say you’re healed.
  • God’s Word says you have the mind of Christ, so begin to say you have the mind of  Christ.
  • God’s Word says you’re blessed, so begin to say you’re blessed.

You turn the key in the ignition by getting your mouth into agreement with God’s Word. 

Psalm 46:10-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

10 “[a]Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the [b]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

As you cease striving so completely hardcore against yourself, start speaking what God says about you, all your potential will start becoming a manifested reality!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 139:1-18 New American Standard Bible 1995

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c]scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
5 You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

13 For You formed my [i]inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [j]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [k]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

Lord, I know I have a bad habit of speaking badly about myself. When I hear my own words, listen to my own thoughts, even I can tell it’s wrong for me to speak, to think, so badly, so lowly about myself. Renew my thoughts for You have done a great work in me, and I have kept myself bound by the words of my mouth. Pray! Forgive me for speaking so wrongly, for allowing myself to remain imprisoned in self-defeat. I am truly repentant for these actions, and I ask You to forgive me, to give me the power to change my behavior. Holy Spirit, I can only do this by Your power, so I am asking and expecting You to empower me to make these changes in my life and in my mouth!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/