Tag: faith

Practices that Sustain Community: Living Truthfully. Psalm 86:11-13

Psalm 86:11-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have delivered my soul from the [a]depths of [b]Sheol.

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.

It’s another beautiful day to gather together, to connect, to learn, and to grow in our faith.

This devotion explores the importance of embracing and living in truth, as it shapes our lives, guides us, and ultimately sets us free.

Today, we are here to talk about living with truth and authenticity in our Christian lives.

Now, I know that’s a big topic.

It’s something we all grapple with, in big ways and small.

But it’s also something that’s so crucial to our faith, to our walk with God, and to our relationships with each other.

The late great Christian author, Ethicist, Dr. Christine D. Pohl said it well:

“We don’t always notice how profoundly our expectations, desires, and practices are … shaped by our culture. We bring the values of self-actualization, individual success, consumption, and personal freedom—and the choices that result from them—to church life, just as we bring them into family and work. . . This is not a promising recipe for strong or lasting communities.”

And how true that is.

We bring many false narratives from the world into our community here.

We bring the values and the ideologies of a culture that is far from God into a community that is meant to represent the nature of God.

A community of forgiveness, kindness, and truth-telling.

Let’s take a look at the Scriptures that will guide our devotion today.

The first is from Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

The second is from John 8:31-32, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'”

These passages remind us that truth isn’t just something we know.

It’s something we live.

It’s something we hold to.

It’s something that shapes us and frees us.

It’s something that God teaches us, and something that we’re called to live out in our lives and in our communities.

So, let’s talk about the importance of living truthfully…

The Importance of Living Truthfully

Living truthfully is a calling that echoes throughout the Scriptures.

It’s a calling that’s woven into the very fabric of our faith.

It’s a calling that’s as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago.

It’s a calling that challenges us, that shapes us, that frees us.

When we think about living truthfully, we often think about honesty.

We think about telling the truth, about not lying or deceiving.

And that’s certainly part of it.

But living truthfully is about so much more than just honesty.

It’s also about authenticity.

It’s also about integrity.

It’s about being true to who we are, to who God has created us to be.

In Psalm 86:11, the psalmist prays, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.”

This is a prayer for truthfulness.

It’s a prayer for a heart that’s undivided, a heart that’s fully committed to God, a heart that’s authentic and true.

And then in John 8:31-32, Jesus tells his followers,

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Here, Jesus is talking about a truth that’s more than just facts or information.

He’s talking about a truth that’s lived, a truth that’s embodied, a truth that unleashes us, a truth sets us free.

So, what does this look like in our lives?

How do we live truthfully?

First, living truthfully means living with integrity.

Integrity is about being the same person in all situations.

It’s about being the same person on Sunday morning as you are on Saturday night and continuing being that self same person on Monday thru Friday too.

It’s about being the same person in public as you are in private.

It’s about living in a way that’s consistent with our beliefs, with our values, with our faith.

Second, living truthfully means living authentically.

Authenticity is about being true to who we are.

It’s about not pretending, not putting on a mask, not trying to be someone or something we’re not.

It’s about being gut honest with ourselves, with God, and with others about our strengths, our weaknesses, our successes, our failures, our hopes, our fears.

Third, living truthfully means living transparently.

Transparency is about being open, being vulnerable, being real.

It’s about letting others see us as we really are, not as we wish we were. It’s about sharing our struggles, our doubts, our questions, our joys, our victories.

Finally, living truthfully means living faithfully.

Being faith-filled, faithful to God, the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit.

Faithfulness is about being true to our commitments, our promises, our word.

It’s about being reliable, being trustworthy, being dependable.

It’s about showing up, sticking it out, staying the course.

Living truthfully is not even minimally easy.

It’s not even minimally comfortable.

It’s not even minimally convenient.

But it’s absolutely, maximally, utterly, worth it.

It’s worth it because it’s what we’re called to do.

It’s worth it because it’s what brings us closer to God.

It’s worth it because it’s what sets us free.

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

Let us Pray,

Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today, eager to learn, eager to grow. We ask that you would guide our conversations, that you would open our hearts to your truth, and that you would help us to live it out in our lives. We ask for your wisdom, your guidance, and your love as we study, talk about these important topics. Amen.

A Psalm of Supplication and Trust.

A Prayer of David.

86 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me;
For I am afflicted and needy.
2 Preserve my [a]soul, for I am a godly man;
O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
For to You I cry all day long.
4 Make glad the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And give heed to the voice of my supplications!
7 In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You,
For You will answer me.
8 There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works like Yours.
9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and do [b]wondrous deeds;
You alone are God.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have delivered my soul from the [c]depths of [d]Sheol.

14 O God, arrogant men have risen up against me,
And [e]a band of violent men have sought my [f]life,
And they have not set You before them.
15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and [g]truth.
16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Oh grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid.
17 Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

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.

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God Promises Freedom. Galatians 5:1

Galatians 5:1-15 English Standard Version

Christ Has Set Us Free

5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified[a] by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,[b] still preach [c] circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

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.

Freedom Found in Faith

As we immerse ourselves in the profound wisdom of Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, we are immediately confronted with the idea of liberty.

This liberty, Paul tells us, is not a worldly freedom, but a spiritual one.

It’s a freedom that Christ has granted us, a freedom that we are urged to stand firm in.

This is not a freedom that comes from our own efforts or deeds, but a freedom that is found in faith.

In the world we live in, we often associate freedom with the ability to do as we please.

But the freedom that Paul speaks of is not a license for self-indulgence.

It’s a freedom from the bondage of sin, a freedom from the law, a freedom that allows us to live in the Spirit.

This freedom is not something we earn or achieve, but something we receive through faith in Christ.

Paul warns us not to become entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

This bondage, he explains, is the law.

The law, in this context, refers to the Old Testament laws that the Jews were required to follow.

These laws were numerous and meticulous, covering every aspect of life.

But they were also impossible to keep perfectly.

As a result, those who tried to live by the law were constantly in a state of guilt and condemnation.

But Christ has set us free from this bondage.

Through His death and resurrection, He has fulfilled the law on our behalf.

We are no longer required to live by the law, but by faith in Christ.

This faith is not a passive belief, but an active trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross.

It’s a faith that acknowledges our inability to save ourselves and our total dependence on Christ for salvation.

As we live by this faith, we experience a freedom that is both liberating and transforming.

We are liberated from the guilt and condemnation of the law, and we are transformed into the likeness of Christ.

This transformation is not a result of our own efforts, but the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

As we yield to the Holy Spirit, we begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit, which includes these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

This freedom, however, is not an excuse for self-indulgence.

Paul warns us not to use our freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.

The flesh, in this context, refers to our sinful nature, our natural inclination to sin.

If we use our freedom as an excuse to indulge in sinful behaviors, we are not truly living in the freedom that Christ has given us.

Instead, we are abusing this freedom and turning it into a form of bondage.

Instead, Paul urges us to use our freedom to serve one another in love.

This is the essence of Christian freedom.

It’s not freedom for self, but freedom for others.

It’s a freedom that compels us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to put their needs above our own, to serve them with the love of Christ.

This is the freedom that Christ has called us to, a freedom that is found in faith, a freedom that is lived out in love.

True Faith Leads to Freedom Leads to Humble Service

Galatians 5:13-15 The Message

13-15 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?

Paul was astonished at how quickly the Galatian believers were giving up on the gospel he had brought.

And it wasn’t for an easier freedom; people were going back to being burdened with rules and rituals.

Apostle Paul’s message: the freedom bought by Christ’s blood must not be forsaken so quickly and so readily.

It’s infinitely too precious!

It’s a freedom designed to lead to showing Christ’s love to others by humbly serving in whatever ways we are gifted.

Living as people who are freed in Christ, we’re called to walk the “narrow road,” avoiding the ditches of legalism on one side. lawlessness on the other.

Either ditch leads us astray.

Either ditch leads us directly into the stagnant waters and the mud within it.

There might even me a million mosquitos per square inch and a snake or two!

Freed from sin’s yoke, we’re free to serve neighbors—showing Christ’s love!

In doing so, we humbly honor God for the precious freedom we have in Christ.

When we serve one another in love, we’re following Christ’s example and we are obeying his command (John 13:34-35).

John 13:34-35 New American Standard Bible 1995

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This can include a willingness to literally go the extra mile and take someone to an appointment for example.

Or to mentor a teenager, young adult, or do outreach, or teach Sunday school.

Or to serve in another way we are gifted.

Fueled by grace, our freedom leads to serving others gracefully.

Led by God’s Spirit, we’ll find ways to express our freedom by being a blessing.

And in doing so, we too are blessed!

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 40 The Message

40 1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God.
    At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
    pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
    to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
    a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
    they enter the mystery,
    abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
    turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
    ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
    of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
    compares to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
    and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
    account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
    that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
    that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
    so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.
    I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
    you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
    became part of my very being.

9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
    I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
    a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
    I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
    let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me,
    don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
    are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
    a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
    I couldn’t see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
    so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
    hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
    will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
    will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
    will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
    oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
    tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
    make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
    but God, don’t put it off.

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.

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Taming Our Wayward Tongues: The Way We All Talk Tells Who We Are. James 3:10-12

James 3:1-12 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Tongue Is a Fire

3 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a [a]stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in [b]what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our [c]life, and is set on fire by [d]hell. 7 For every [e]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human [f]race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both [g]fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce [h]fresh.

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.

13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be [a]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. Psalm 19:13-14

Or at least we keep praying ….

The Psalmist here reveals that we have a high degree of personal awareness that we are each required by God to conduct our lives with godly wisdom and spiritual understanding, but the most unruly evil, which is incapable of being tamed, subdued by self-effort or rigorous training, is the taming of the tongue.

This little organ can produce the most beautiful blessings which give glory of God, while at the same time can pour forth the most un-sanctified filth and blasphemy which discredits His holy name – and these things ought not to be.

The very same mouth should not pour forth both sweet and bitter water, both blessings and curses and this is not only an admonition for the few, but a stern warning that is applicable in the public, private, revealed life of all believers.

An important key to godly speech is right thinking.

Godly words that reflect a biblical perspective are rooted in a mind that is stayed on Christ – gracious thoughts and purity of heart is a manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in a life that is well governed by God and walking in spirit and truth.

The Way We Talk Tells Who We Are

James 3:7-12 The Message

7-10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!

10-12 My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?

It’s sad but true.

Some Christians do exactly what James says:

they praise their Lord and Father in church on Sunday, and then the next day, at home or on the job or on the road, they curse people.

Something goes wrong, and in an unguarded moment they let loose.

Someone in a hurry cuts in front of them on the highway, or someone makes a mistake, and some Christians use a stream of language that dishonors the Lord.

James says it should not be that way.

James notes that a spring does not yield both fresh and salty water, and a fig tree cannot bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs.

Similarly it is not fitting for a person who is connected with Christ through faith to use his or her tongue to curse others.

The way we talk tells who we are.

If we have truly praised God in worship, we may not possibly use our tongues to curse others.

We have to learn to control our tongues—not by our willpower or in our own strength. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we get ready to begin each new day, we should ask the Holy Spirit to guard our tongues.

Each one of us should learn to pray the prayer of Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

May the Words of My Mouth, Meditations of My Heart

Psalm 19:11-14 The Message

11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
    and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
    Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
    Keep me from stupid sins,
    from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
    scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
    these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
    on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
    God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

In the course of our lives we are confronted by unfairness, by unkindness, by disagreeable circumstances, and all too often by the most disagreeable people.

Before offering a verbal response in these situations, we would do well to recall this truth learned from our Lord: our words reflect our hearts (Matthew 12:34).

Matthew 12:34-37 The Message

34-37 “You have minds like a snake pit! How do you suppose what you say is worth anything when you are so foul-minded? It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation.”

If our words are not Christlike, we must look first not to our mouths but to our hearts.

Equally, it is an indication of our Lord’s work within us when we respond to conflict and challenge with words that help rather than those that harm.

Our tongues contain immense power, and we may leverage them to help, to encourage, to affirm, to enrich, to reconcile, to forgive, to unite, to smooth, and to bless.

It is not by accident that so many of the Old Testament proverbs address the words we speak.

According to Solomon, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 10:11).

He compares this use of words to lovely earrings that adorn the beauty of the wearer and to beautiful ornaments that enhance the loveliness of a home (Proverbs 25:11-12).

Proverbs 25:12 The Message

11-12 The right word at the right time
    is like a custom-made piece of jewelry,
And a wise friend’s timely reprimand
    is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.

Perhaps his most classic statement about the power of speech is his observation that “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (v 11).

What is it that makes for such life-giving language?

How can our mouths be those that bring blessing to others?

Words of blessing are marked by honesty, by “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

Ephesians 4:14-16 The Message

14-16 No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

They are thoughtful, spoken by one who “ponders how to answer” (Proverbs 15:28).

Proverbs 15:28The Message

28 Prayerful answers come from God-loyal people;
    the wicked are sewers of abuse.

They are often few and marked by reason: “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (17:27).

Proverbs 17:27The Message

27 The one who knows much says little;
    an understanding person remains calm.

And, of course, helpful words will be gentle words. Though it may be hard to remember in the throes of difficult circumstances, it remains true that “a soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1).

Proverbs 15:1 The Message

God Doesn’t Miss a Thing

15 A gentle response defuses anger,
    but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.

Indeed, a gentle response wells up from moral strength.

It takes far more self-control to respond in gentleness than to give way to unbridled passion and anger.

What will mark your words?

Will you commit yourself to using your tongue—that small but immensely powerful member of your body—to wash rather than muddy, to bless rather than curse, to give life rather than tear it down, and to help rather than harm?

Resolve today to use your words for the good of those with whom you interact, honoring Christ in your heart and letting His sweet aroma fill your speech.

Then humbly acknowledge that you cannot do this yourself (James 3:8), and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit—Holy Spirit who grows peace, gentleness, and self-control both inside your heart and in your speech (Galatians 5:22-23).

Humility, grace, peace, and love are the precious spiritual fruit that should be evident in the life of all God’s children who have gained wisdom and been given godly understanding.

The Lord Jesus Himself was the embodiment of all holy wisdom, and the personification of godly humility.

The Lord Jesus was the one Who, throughout His earthly life, demonstrated how all humanity was originally designed to live, and He remains the perfect example of a Man with godly wisdom and gracious understanding for He was meek and lowly of heart, and in Him we find rest for our soul.

As children of God, we are called to live as Christ lived.

We are instructed to live circumspect lives that glorify our Father in heaven, and so we are asked: “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.” 

If we are to live the sort of life that God intends, where good behavior and godly deeds reflect the gentleness and wisdom of God, the old self must remain nailed to the Cross so the life of Christ may live in and through us, to His praise, glory.

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

Ley us Pray,

Father in heaven, help us to use the gift of speech to praise your name. Holy Spirit, empower us to use our tongues only in praise and honor of you. Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus’ example of how to live on earth to Your praise and glory. I pray that I would not act hypocritically, praising God in one breath and cursing Him in another, but I pray I would reflect the Lord Jesus, speaking always in spirit and in truth with all wisdom and understanding. This I ask in Jesus’ name, AMEN

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What Should We Consider Knowing While We Are Waiting For God to Act? Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah 40:28-31 New American Standard Bible 1995

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who [a]wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will [b]mount up with [c]wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

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.

A Holy Ignorance?

The people are lamenting, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God.”

Even when life appears cheerful, there is this undercurrent of sadness among the people.

It’s life in exile.

The people feel abandoned by God.

But Isaiah wants the people to reconsider what they already know, to hear what they’ve heard before.

“Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God.”

No one can even minimally fathom the mind and thoughts and the ways of God.

As a teaspoon cannot hope to take the measure of the oceans, so the ever so finite human mind of mankind cannot begin to fathom the mind of God.

There’s a vast gap between the Creator and the creation.

Life itself is full of mystery–a newborn baby, love, gravity.

Who can fully explain these things?

According to A Short History of Nearly Everything, “There are perhaps 140 billion galaxies in the still unfolding universe. If all the stars in the universe were only the size of the head of a pin, they still would fill Miami’s Orange Bowl to overflowing more than three billion times.”

Over the centuries, Christians have spoken of a “holy ignorance,” an ignorance that is deeply humbling.

It revels in the knowledge the unfathomable Lord has everything, including you and me, in his hands.

We need not fathom God’s ways in order to trust him.

It’s enough to know his heart.

But, Even In Our Ignorance We Will Still Have to Wait

A good friend often shares this reminder: 

God is never late, and rarely early; He is an on-time God. 

These are encouraging words for all of God’s people who believe in prayer and worship a sovereign God.

God doesn’t work on our timetable, but accomplishes all that He wills according to His own schedule.

No one likes waiting.

We live in an age of microwave meals, instant access to information, and next-day and even same day shipping.

The idea behind all our modern-day conveniences is that they will “save” time for us, but the reality is, we are far busier than our ancestors ever were.

We strive to accomplish more and more, to pack as much as we possibly can into the twenty-four hours allotted to each day.

And if by chance we must wait longer than we feel we should, we will grow ever more impatient, rude, and discontent.

I don’t believe this is the way God intended us to live.

Life in the Garden of Eden was simple, as Adam and Eve enjoyed the beautiful world the Father had created for them.

As each day ended, they had time to enjoy what surely was a spectacular sunset and looked forward each evening to walking with God in the cool of the day and enjoying His presence (Genesis 3:8).

Now, we’ll squeeze as much as we can out of every minute of everyday and drop exhausted into our beds, only to do it all over again the next day.

No wonder we find it difficult to wait on God.

How do you respond when God fails to answer your prayers, or your questions, or change your circumstances in what you feel is a “timely” manner?

Does it grow your faith, or challenge what you believe about Him?

Here are six things we need to consider as we wait on God.

1. Trust God Has a Path for You, Will Keep You on It

Psalm 25:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995

Prayer for Protection, Guidance and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

25 To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
[a]Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.

Proverbs 16:1-3 English Standard Version

16 The plans of the heart belong to man,
    but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
    but the Lord weighs the spirit.[a]
3 Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:9 English Standard Version

9 The heart of man plans his way,
    but the Lord establishes his steps.

It can be frustrating when we make plans that don’t work out.

We can’t see into the future; we can only make decisions based on what we know, what we’ve experienced, the good counsel, wisdom we find in and throughout God’s Word.

As we wait, we must trust that God’s Spirit will speak to us, directing our steps, and that He is able to orchestrate events so that things work out exactly as He alone desires and has planned for us.

Have you ever found yourself in a traffic jam, frustrated and anxious that you are going to be late, only to find out later that the delay was a blessing in disguise, perhaps keeping you from a greater tragedy?

Instead of seeing a perpetual array of roadblocks and delays as frustrations or failures, trust that God is working behind the scenes for the perfect outcome, according to His plans for you.

2. Remember God Is Good, and Desires Good for You

Psalm 27:13-14 New American Standard Bible 1995

13 [a]I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

We all would prefer to avoid any kind of suffering or trials.

Perhaps you’ve planned a long-awaited trip, bought the tickets, and packed your bags, only to get sick, or have something come up that demands your attention and cancels your plans.

Without a steadfast solid belief in God’s character, His divine interruptions can derail us spiritually. 

Waiting on God for healing or for any change to better and easier circumstances requires us to remember He is essentially good in His nature, that His goodness is eternal and infinite.

Romans 8:28 New American Standard Bible 1995

28 And we know that [a]God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

All His actions toward us are good and designed to accomplish good in our lives.

3. Know That God Is Aware of Your Heart’s Desires

Psalm 37:3-9 New American Standard Bible 1995

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and [a]cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.

7 [b]Rest in the Lord and wait [c]patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.

These scriptures remind us that God is not “playing” with our feelings when He causes us to wait.

He knows us intimately and designed us personally.

As our Creator, He knows what satisfies our hearts, meet our deepest needs.

Whether it’s a relationship, a job, or something more tangible and physical, trust that what God provides for you will be worth the wait.

Ultimately, He meets the desires of our heart with Himself as we deepen our relationship with Him.

4. Be Assured God Sees You, Is Thinking about You

Psalm 40:1-5 New American Standard Bible 1995

God Sustains His Servant.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

40 I waited [a]patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the [b]miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.

4 How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not [c]turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.

When God isn’t answering our prayers as quickly as we’d like, it can seem like He doesn’t hear us.

We may feel forgotten, as if He doesn’t care.

According to His Word, this is never true.

God’s thoughts toward us are too numerous to count.

Speaking of His beloved city, Jerusalem, and His people, the children of Israel, God says,

“Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

All who have put their faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, are His beloved children.

God inscribed us on the palm of His hands with the scars from the nails that held Jesus to the cross on our behalf.

Never doubt that God sees you while you are waiting on Him to act.

5. Trust That God Is Present with You

Psalm 46 New American Standard Bible 1995

God the Refuge of His People.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, [a]set to Alamoth. A Song.

46 God is our refuge and strength,
[b]A very present help in [c]trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the [d]sea;
3 Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. [e]Selah.

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her [f]when morning dawns.
6 The [g]nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
He [h]raised His voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
[i]Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.
10 “[j]Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the [k]nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

Waiting is hard at any time, but never harder than when we feel we are waiting alone.

God said it was not good for man to be alone; that’s why He created Eve, so that Adam would have a companion (Genesis 2:18).

Our brothers and sisters in Christ, our family, and our friends can make our burdens lighter as we wait, but the ultimate Helper we need is God Himself.

We must believe He is present, and that He is with us in our waiting.

Knowing and believing that God is present with us gives us hope and courage while we wait for Him to act.

Speaking to His disciples in anticipation of His return to heaven, Jesus promised, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18).

He was speaking of the Holy Spirit who would be sent by the Father to indwell His followers. God is always present with us; He is in us, and He waits with us.

6. Ponder and Meditate on God’s Word, Which Will Sustain You

Psalm 119:9-16 New American Standard Bible 1995

Beth.

9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
10 With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
[a]As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts
And [b]regard Your ways.
16 I shall [c]delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.

Waiting patiently for the Lord to act requires occupying our minds and hearts with something greater.

Our focus must not be only on what we need God to do for us, but on who He is and what He has already done.

Waiting will not seem like waiting if we sustain our souls with the abundant spiritual nourishment we find in His Word.

Instead, we will find that the waiting becomes a place of joy and peace, trusting that our Father is perpetually working, and he will answer at just the right time.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 27 New American Standard Bible 1995

A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

27 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the [a]defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I [b]shall be confident.

4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the [c]beauty of the Lord
And to [d]meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His [e]tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices [f]with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
9 Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10 [g]For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of [h]my foes.
12 Do not deliver me over to the [i]desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
13 [j]I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

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.

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There is Something Indelibly Special About The True Faithfulness of God! Numbers 23:17-20

Numbers 23:17-20 New American Standard Bible 1995

17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 Then he took up his [a]discourse and said,

“Arise, O Balak, and hear;
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 “Behold, I have received a command to bless;
When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke 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.

Today we’ll spend some quality time simply stirring up our affections for God.

God has designed us to see him, to know his character and to let the truth of his goodness lead us into deeper relationship with him.

Augustine wrote, “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.”

In seeing God for who he is our hearts are naturally stirred to find rest in his goodness.

Today, may your heart be stirred at a revelation of God’s wonderful character.

Numbers 23:19 Amplified Bible

19 
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken and will He not make it good and fulfill it?

Numbers 23:19 describes a foundational aspect of God’s character, being his faithfulness.

Scripture says, 

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” 

As believers, we constantly, need a continuous revelation of God’s faithfulness.

Being able to fully trust God is the beginning of living an abundant life.

If you don’t fully believe that God is faithful to lead you into the best possible life you could live, then you surely won’t seek out his will, trust him with your possessions, or be able to fully enjoy his presence.

God’s word promises us in Numbers 23:19 that God is perfectly faithful, steadfast, and true. 

Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” 

Philippians 1:3-6 Amplified Bible

3 I thank my God in every remembrance of you, 4 always offering every prayer of mine with joy [and with specific requests] for all of you, 5 [thanking God] for your participation and partnership [both your comforting fellowship and gracious contributions] in [advancing] the good news [regarding salvation] from the first day [you heard it] until now. 6 I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].

Romans 8:28 promises, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

God is wholly faithful to you.

No matter what you do, he will be there for you.

His faithfulness isn’t dependent upon your works.

All he requires is a willing heart to bring about the incredible fruit of the Spirit in your life.

You aren’t meant to live life apart from the knowledge of God’s faithfulness.

You aren’t meant to live with the weight of doing life on your own.

Man may fail you, but your God will not.

Family and friends may not be there when you need them, but your God will always be there for you.

Where do you feel on your own?

In what ways do you need a fresh revelation of God’s faithfulness?

God is unchangeable and unchanging.

Unlike men who can do an about-face, alter their opinions, break their promises, modify their plans, and speak lies with the twisted tongue of the serpent, the Lord our God is immutable.

God is perfect in all His thoughts and trustworthy in all His ways, unlike men who often distort the facts, twist the truth, and are easily tossed about like waves on the sea, God’s counsel is steadfast, His promises are sure, His Word is dependable, and His Truth lasts from one generation to another.

With God, there is no vacillation and no shadow of turning.

The book of Numbers clearly states the unalterable truth: “God is not a man. He does not lie, and does not change his mind.”

The passage then continues with a series of rhetorical questions which demand NO as an answer:

“Has He ever spoken and failed to act?” NO!

“Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” NO!

Malachi also addresses this issue by stating: “I am the Lord, and I change NOT.”

If God has said it, He will certainly do it.

God has set out His plan of the ages within the pages of Scripture, and God’s purposes for those that trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are steadfast and sure.

We have the assurance of God Himself, that His Word is to be trusted, for God has placed His Word above His holy Name.

The Lord of truth will never go back on His Word, for He is the God Who does not change and Whose Word is worthy of all acceptance.

There can be no shadow of change in His decrees, for God is merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness; and the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Praise God despite the instabilities and uncertainties of this world, and in spite of the faults and failings of men, the Word of the Lord is sure, His decrees are unalterable, all His promises are all ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ Jesus our Savior.

Heaven and earth may pass away, but the Word of the Lord stands fast forever, for God is not a man He should lie, nor is he the son of a man He should change His mind.

He is the Son of the unchangeable and unchanging God.

Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

He promises to be absolutely true to you.

He promises to absolutely see you through any situation you find yourself in. 

Isaiah 54:10 says, “‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” 

Faithfulness is foundational to the very character of God.

God’s steadfast love for you is more sure than the very ground you walk on.

So respond to God’s faithfulness today.

Let his promises steady the parts of your life that feel unsure.

As you step outside today, take time to look at the world around you.

Think about the things you’ve put your trust in.

And remember, God promises that his faithfulness will outlast anything your eyes can see.

May your affections for him be stirred today.

May you respond to his faithfulness with your own.

And may you experience the love and joy of a Father who loves you perfectly and completely.

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

Let us Pray,

Guided Prayer:           

1. Meditate on God’s promise to be faithful to you.

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Numbers 23:19

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23

2. Now reflect on your own life. 

Where in your life do you feel unsure?

What situations seem to toss your emotions around like a boat in the middle of a storm?

Where do you need a firmer foundation today? Matthew 7:24-29

3. Ask the Spirit for a revelation of God’s faithfulness in those areas. 

Ask God to help you trust in his promise of faithfulness.

Ask him how he plans on bringing peace to those areas that are disturbing you today.

Listen to him as he speaks.

Not only does God promise you his faithfulness, but he will actually reveal to you how he is working in your life.

You can ask him for his plans, and he will show you!

You can ask him how he feels about you and your life, and he will tell you!

Within his promise of faithfulness is the promise of his voice.

You will hear him speak today if you open your heart, listen to the Spirit and be alert for God to speak through whatever avenue he chooses.

Your heavenly Father loves you.

Spend your day establishing the foundation of his faithfulness in your own life.

And experience a life lived in the abundance of God’s assurance and peace.

I praise You, O Lord, for You are our trustworthy God and never-changing Savior. Thank You for the truth of Scripture and for the assurance that Your Word will stand fast for ever. Thank You that You will never let me down, despite my own faults and failings. In the name of Jesus, I pray that I may become more and more like Him, as I submit to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life. Alleluia! AMEN.

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Resurrection Culture. John 11:25-27

John 11:25-27 New American Standard Bible 1995

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are [a]the Christ, the Son of God, even [b]He who comes into the world.”

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 Resurrection and the Life

After delivering a sermon and a devotional about Jesus’ resurrection to a group of new youth, young adult leaders at a weekend retreat, the Pastor was asked,

“Do you mean that if I don’t believe in the resurrection, I can’t be a Christian?”

When the Pastor said that believing in the resur­rection is at the very heart of Christianity, the room went quiet and the students turned away disappointed.

In his fifth “I am” statement, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

According to science, it’s easy to reject Jesus’ claim, because people have not actually observed nor witnessed anyone ever coming back to life.

Nevertheless, Christians believe on the third day following his crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead.

Jesus’ resurrection sealed the victory over sin and death.

The resurrection is so essential, Paul says, that if God didn’t raise Jesus from the dead, our faith is useless and “we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

1 Corinthians 15:16-20 The Message

16-20 If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.

By faith, however, through the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts, we believe that God did raise Jesus from the dead.

And we enjoy new life in Jesus and look forward to life with him for­ever.

This is no myth or fanciful escape from the present; it is simply the very central truth at the heart of being a Christian.

Do you believe Jesus is the resurrection and the life?

Resurrection Culture

John 11:25-27 English Standard Version

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[a] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

We serve a God of powerful and miraculous transformations.

All throughout Scripture God takes those whom the world deemed the lowest, the hopeless, and the helpless and uses them to change the world.

You are not beyond transformation.

God longs to break off that which inhibits you from experiencing fullness of life.

He longs to heal you, deliver you, and set you free.

Through the indelible reality of the resurrection of Jesus, we have been given the opportunity to live life in a new way. 

Romans 6:4 says, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” 

The power of the resurrection is not just over our deaths, but over our lives.

God didn’t just pay for our freedom for all of eternity, but for right now—for this very moment.

He’s calling you and me to live a resurrected lifestyle.

He’s ushering us into a resurrection culture.

Romans 8:9 says, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” 

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 even says, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 

Your life is changed because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Because Christ rose from the dead, you have been raised from spiritual death.

In these days of hardcore division and conflict and cancel culture, too often we are content to live our lives apart from the present reality of new life in Jesus.

Too often we are satisfied living according to how we so readily advocate, and accept and we define the sins of the flesh when we have been given a whole new way of living according the very Spirit of God who dwells within us as believers. 

Romans 8:1-2 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” 

We have been freed from condemnation through the new law of the Spirit ratified by the death and resurrection of Christ. 

“There is therefore now no condemnation.” Let that sink in for a minute.

Through the grace of God, not by anything you could ever do, you have been freed from condemnation.

The only one who could ever truly condemn you is now your heavenly Father.

You are the child of the only righteous Judge, and he has offered you continual and uncompromising pardon because of his love for you.

And past being pardoned from condemnation, Romans 8 tells us that we have now been crowned as co-heirs with Christ. 

Romans 8:16-17 says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” 

Because of the life we have been given in the Spirit, we are “fellow heirs with Christ.” 

I’m not sure we even fully understand all that means for us.

So often we live as if we are automatically forced into submission to the world.

We live according to the principles of the flesh rather than life in the Spirit.

You have been freed from slavery to sin.

You have been freed from the condemnation of the world.

Christ defeated the enemy at the cross, and through him you have obtained total and complete victory.

You are now crowned with Christ and given his authority to see heaven come to earth through your life.

And most importantly, Romans 8 concludes by telling us of the incredible love available to us in our resurrection and victory with Christ. 

Romans 8:37-39 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

There is nothing you or anyone else could do to separate you from the love of God.

Through the undeniable reality of Christ’s resurrection, you have been offered unchanging and unshakable love.

Living life in the Spirit is living with the constant knowledge that you are and will forever be loved.

Spend time today allowing the Word and presence of God to empower you, to mightily stir up your desire to live according to the Spirit rather than the flesh.

In what ways can the reality of Jesus’ resurrection shape how you live today?

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, may your life be forever changed as you spend seriously quality time discovering God’s heart for transformation.

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

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the life available to you in the Spirit. 

Allow your desire to walk in fullness of life to be stirred up by God’s word.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” Romans 8:16-17

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

2. Reflect on your own life. 

Where are you still living your life according to the flesh? Where do you feel condemned or unloved? Where do you feel conquered rather than a conqueror?

3. Ask the Lord to guide you into life in the Spirit today. 

Life your live with a renewed mind according to God’s word.

As you go throughout your day, know that you have the choice to live your life differently.

You are not bound by the way you’ve lived your life in the past.

There is “newness of life” available to you every single day through the power of the Spirit working in you as a believer.

Yield to the Spirit’s leadership and live in light of the freedom purchased for you by the death of Jesus.

Jesus, you are the resurrection and the life, and in you we have new life and the hope of eternal life. Help us to work through our unbelief’s, Work in our hearts and our lives today as we serve you and look forward to spending eternity with you. Amen.

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Holding On to Hope When Life’s Not Fair – Our Encouragement for Today. Lamentations 3:19-24

Lamentations 3:19-24 New American Standard Bible 1995

Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy

19 Remember my affliction and my [a]wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely my soul remembers
And is bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses [b]indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”

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.

When have you ever felt like your soul was screaming in pain?

Sure, on the outside, you look the same.

You show up, dress up, and tell yourself to hurry up and move past this … but deeper inside, you feel a deeper chasm of grief that shouts, This is not fair!

For you, maybe it’s a broken heart you never expected or a season where it feels like the hard things never end.

Maybe you’re longing for days gone by and wondering if life will ever be good again.

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.

As you go through your day, you cannot help but wonder, God, where exactly are You in those moments when I need you the very most?

As you lie in bed at night, you can’t help but wonder, God where are You in this?

For me, it was depression.
I didn’t want to cry, but I couldn’t stop.
I wanted to get better, but I didn’t know how.
I wanted to have more faith and pull myself out of it, but I felt helpless.

I was screaming inwardly because I didn’t want to be the burden that I felt I was to God and others. I wanted to be carefree and full of hope, but instead I was broken and unsure of how to move forward in faith.

As I turned to Scripture for encouragement, I came to Lamentations 3.

The author poured out his own sorrow as he shared how he had seen affliction, bitterness and hardship.

I found comfort in the fact that he was so honest about his pain.

This whole book in the Bible is about lament, which means “a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.”

Yet right smack in the middle of his cries, he made this bold statement: “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:21-22).

These verses opened a crack of light into my darkness that day, and I felt my faith slowly stir up once again.

I didn’t have to deny my suffering — in fact, it was good to acknowledge it.

But even in the midst of post surgery depression, I could call truth to my mind.

I pray this encouragement from Lamentations stirs up your faith as well.

Even when our souls scream for relief, we’re tempted to wonder if God has left us alone, we can know His great compassion never has failed and never will fail.

Yes, our circumstances may be painful, but because of God’s great love, the pain will not consume us.

We can both acknowledge our pain and remember God’s goodness.

When we choose to remember who God is, we find hope to hold on to.

Audacious Hope

Lamentations 3:19-24 Easy-to-Read Version

19 Remember, I am very sad,
    and I have no home.
    Remember the bitter poison that you gave me.
20 I remember well all my troubles,
    and I am very sad.
21 But then I think about this,
    and I have hope:
22 We are still alive because
    the Lord’s faithful love never ends.
23 Every morning he shows it in new ways!
    You are so very true and loyal!
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my God,
    and I trust him.”[a]

Hope is a Christian virtue. It’s a good and positive thing.

We need hope because the world is not yet the way God intends it to be.

We need hope because we are waiting for things to get better.

Hope means believing in the light even when we are in the darkness.  

Psalm 9:18 Easy-to-Read Version

18 It may seem that those who are poor and needy have been forgotten,
    but God will not forget them.
    He will not leave them without hope.

Psalm 39:6-8 Easy-to-Read Version

6 Our life is like an image in a mirror.[a]
    We rush through life collecting things,
    but we don’t know who will get them after we die.

7 So, Lord, what hope do I have?
    You are my hope!
8 Save me from the bad things I did.
    Don’t let me be treated like a fool.

Psalm 62:5-6 Easy-to-Read Version

5 I must calm down and turn to God;
    he is my only hope.
6 He is my Rock, the only one who can save me.
    He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.

Romans 12:9-13 Easy-to-Read Version

9 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Do only what is good. 10 Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself. 11 As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him! 12 Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. 13 Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes.

Hope opens us to have joy whatever the facts may be.

The facts around us show that the world can be a scary place.

But Christian hope is bold to say that even in the darkest times, God’s light still shines -even when we are afraid, God remains in absolute control of the entire universe, and he absolutely loves and cares for us more than we can ­imagine.

To those who do not know the Lord, having hope might seem like a crazy virtue.

If we consider the facts, we could be frightened about our lives and our world.

But because of the great love God has for us, we have sufficient reason for hope.

We have sufficient reason to believe that we are safe in the care of a faithful and powerful God. We can boldly hope in God and in the promises God makes to us.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 Authorized (King James) Version

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

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.

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Our Lenten Journey: Trading in My Alleged Agenda for Abiding in Jesus. Psalm 91 

Psalm 91 New American Standard Bible 1995

Security of the One Who Trusts in the Lord.

91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that [a]stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 [b]For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your [c]tent.

11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the [d]serpent you will trample down.

14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [e]trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With [f]a long life I will satisfy him
And [g]let him see My salvation.”

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.

Safe and Sound

If you know how big and scary and difficult the world is, this psalm is for you.

These are powerful words of comfort: God is our shelter; God will cover us with his feathers spread wide, and under God’s wings we will find refuge.

Birds do that by instinct; they see a threat and spread their wings, forming a canopy of protection.

Their offspring run for cover and huddle there until the danger passes.

Reflecting on the relationship between God and ourselves, the psalmist says God will protect us in a way like that.

We can find refuge under his wings. Surely God will shield and protect us.

But it also happens that sometimes a threat doesn’t pass us by, and we don’t feel protected at all.

The promise is not that pain and tragedy will magically flow around us, but that ultimately nothing can, will, ever separate us from the reach of our God’s arms.

We live “in the shelter of the Most High”; we rest and find comfort “in the shadow of the Almighty.”

We do not fear because the all-powerful God of heaven and earth is here with us, walking alongside and standing beside us, in front of us and behind us, as a mother hen who will never abandon her young.

We’re safe in God’s care, and he is always with us.

When the Terror Comes and the Arrows Start Flying

June 2023 that terror came and the arrows started flying right at my own heart.

Up and until my 3 bypass open heart surgery in July 2023 I was a doer by nature.

I loved setting goals, scheduling, and keeping life tied up in a tidy little bow.

Now, all these seven months later my goal-setting took on a new life of its own.

At this phase of my rehabilitation, with all the good things I wanted to do, I give myself one pep talk after another and I have tried to convince myself I could do it all, with a lot of rest, little help from my trusty goal-planner (wife), of course.

Soon, my morning prayer and Bible reading were pushed to the forefront to make room for more God-given steps forward toward reaching those goals.

Yet, still, too easily, I would become winded, exhausted, utterly unmotivated.

All my wife’s careful planning would go by the wayside devolving into my naps.

I had become so accustomed to consulting the pages of my agenda at the start of each day that I didn’t realize how it affected my relationship with the Lord.

Now, instead of waking up looking forward to spending a few minutes in God’s presence, I was reaching straight for my planner to see what needed to be done.

My choice to start each day with my own strength began affecting every part of my life. I needed to be willing to set aside my agenda and learn to abide in Jesus.

In the Gospel narrative of John, in the Upper Room discourse, Jesus had over emphasized the essence of abiding when he described himself as the vine and his followers as the branches.

In John chapter 15, we see the word “abide” used several times.

John 15:1-11 New American Standard Bible 1995

Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He  [a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already [b]clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit [c]of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  6  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so [d]prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  11  These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

ABIDE: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3306/kjv/tr/0-1

Our taking a much deeper dive into Scripture to carefully look at the original meaning behind Jesus’ message reveals this God spoken life-changing truth.

There’s no better place to be than abiding in him. 

Psalm 91:1 illustrates this truth well, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Jesus also knew our tendency toward striving, so in his message to his people, he added,

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 

We can do nothing of value apart from Christ.

Only average, tasteless fruit comes from a branch separated from the richness of his love.

I believe Jesus knew how hard it would be for us go-getter types to “abide.”

We want to do good things and share the love of Jesus through serving others.

But goals, absent God, can become idols, stealing the focus of our hearts.

The amazing truth I have discovered in this long course of my cardiac rehab is that learning to re-discipline myself to abide in the Lord draws me into a deeper awareness of the Holy Spirit working in our (mine, my wife’s) maturing lives.

Through these difficult and challenging heart agenda weighted times, it helps us stay patient with each other, love each other more and aligned with his will.

God enjoys our fellowship with him, and in those precious times of awareness, our faith filled connection to him will grow in miraculous and unexpected ways.

One way we have found we can learn to abide is by setting the planner down for a while and just sitting with God for a while.

No prayer requests, no specific agenda, just spending time being present with the Creator of the universe.

Sitting in God’s presence isn’t easy at first.

It takes a continual return to total dependence.

It means opening our hearts to what God wants to do in us, again and again and again, it involves picturing ourselves setting aside our fears, resting amidst the vastly strong arms of a loving Father, as his shadow offers protection, respite.

The more we learn to abide, the more we will long to abide.

So before we return to our agenda’s and to-do lists for the day, let’s commit to spending time simply learning about, praying over and then practicing abiding.

Even five minutes a day will cultivate a deeper connection. As we lean into God’s transforming presence, may we trade our agenda for all the Father has for us.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 91:11-16 New American Standard Bible 1995

11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the [a]serpent you will trample down.

14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in [b]trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With [c]a long life I will satisfy him
And [d]let him see My salvation.”

Lord God, protect and shelter us, we pray. Gather us under your wings and shield us. Be our refuge in every storm of life. Be our only daily agenda In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Father God, You weaved me together on my Mother’s womb, Your thoughts of me and my future so infinite. Forgive me for the times I’ve gotten so busy with my own goals that I’ve forgotten to spend time in your presence. You are a good and faithful God, but in my rush to get things done, I forget to abide in you. Help me to lay down my own agenda and simply enjoy being connected to you. Thank you for reminding me to spend time with you as I learn how to abide. In Jesus’ name, I 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.

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Our Lenten Journey: True Humanity. John 14:18-23

John 14:18-23 New American Standard Bible 1995

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 [a]After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will  disclose Myself to him.” 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.

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.

Do you know how God chooses a place to live?

He looks for someone who is obedient to him, and then the Father and the Son come to live in that person through the Holy Spirit.

Not only do they live there, but they also reveal their presence.

In other words, Jesus has gone to heaven to prepare a place for us, but he comes to live in us until we can come to live with him.

Our invitation for him to come and live in us is our love for him, shown in our obedience.

There is nothing more important for us than to understand the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

There is a very mistaken concept among Christians that Jesus came to show us what God was like and how he would behave among men.

This is far from the truth, for Jesus did not come to show us how God behaves.

It is true that he came to reveal the Father in his character, but in his activity he came to reveal humanity as God intended humanity to be.

In everything he did we see humanity acting as God intended us to act, from the very beginning.

At the very heart of that manifestation is the key and secret of human life.

The principle on which he lived is the principle on which God intended man to live and by which we are to live.

Throughout our Lord’s ministry he reminded us continually of that great principle, not only by his words, but by his deeds.

You put Christ back into the Christian and you put God back into the man.

This is the revolutionary claim of Christianity.

Unfortunately, it is often obscured in our day.

This is why there are so many false claims and so many attempts to substitute something dramatic, something which would appeal to the human heart to distinguish Christianity from other faiths.

The radical claim of Christianity is that Jesus Christ offers to live his human life all over again in you, in the midst of the situations that you daily face.

There are few who seem to step out into this kind of living, but wherever it is attempted, strange things begin to happen.

Not that the life becomes suddenly spectacular and people go around doing miracles and other wonders, but in the quiet daily experience of life, in the various decisions that come to us, there is a quiet trust in the wisdom of God to meet our need, and things begin to work out in unexpected ways.

Extraordinary things follow ordinary activity, as God begins to work in human life.

This is the secret of human life, as our Lord had demonstrated it, making it 100% available to us as we by faith receive Jesus Christ, that his life may be lived again in us.

Love is much more than a feeling or an attitude: love is an action.

When we love, we show it by our deeds.

As disciples of Jesus, our love is shown by our obedience to the things Jesus taught.

Of course, that obedience brings an incredible blessing — Jesus reveals himself to those that obey him!

Jesus loves His people, and He wants us to love Him back. 

Jesus wants to make his home within us, that we should reveal him to others.

This has been the message in the Bible from the beginning. 

He has already made the first move – He left everything and he came to us.  

Philippians 2:5-13 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 Have this attitude [a]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be [b]grasped, 7 but [c]emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death [d]on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  11  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work  for His good pleasure.

The very human response to such a divine revelation of humility is up to us.

The revelation of Jesus Christ living in my humanity, guiding my humanity.

Revealed to the Jesus Christ living and guiding the humanity of the next person.

However small and inconsequential or large and in charge that may be in them.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 8 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

8 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have [a]displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2 From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established [b]strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

3 When I [c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have [d]ordained;
4 What is man that You [e]take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than [f]God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen,
And also the [g]beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

God, Author of my life, final judge of my humanity, Convict me of my sin, not for my condemnation but so that I might repent and learn the new ways of righteousness. Let me walk each day in closer harmony and fellowship with you. Let your Holy Spirit live, work both in me and through me so I might experience the true joy of life.

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.

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Our Lenten Journey: A Prayer to Surrender All. Matthew 16:24-26

Matthew 16:24-26 New American Standard Bible 1995

Discipleship Is Costly

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his [a]life will lose it; but whoever loses his [b]life for My sake will find it.  26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

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.

Self-denial

Let us just come right out and say it – Believers in Christ face the daunting challenge of being desensitized to the utter filth in the world around them.

The line between what is holy and unholy too often becomes fogged, unclear.

In the midst of the corruption and sin in our world, how can we be re-sensitized to live holy lives for the Lord?

Jesus explains, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves…”

And what does it mean to deny ourselves?

It means putting to death our sinful nature and putting on the spiritual nature of new life in Christ (Ephesians 4:14-5:20).

We cannot ever hope to do this task on our own, but all of this is made possible because Jesus came to live among us, as fully human, and to die in our place so that we can be completely freed from the slavery of sin and the curse of death.

In Christ we are called to put sinful ways behind us—all immorality and all impurity such as hatred, discord, jealousy, envy, rage, selfish ambition, greed, drunkenness, brawling, gossip, slander, and any kind of malice.

Instead, Paul writes we are to walk “in step with the Spirit” of God, bearing good spiritual fruit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance [patience], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-25).

Jesus is our example.

He gave up his whole life for our sake, so that we might live.

Will we give up our old, corrupt nature to live the full life God wants us to enjoy?

In Christ we can!

A Prayer to Surrender All

Matthew 16:24-26 Easy-to-Read Version

24 Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. 25 Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life. 26 It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost. You could never pay enough to buy back your life.

I often think about what it must have been like to live in the days of Jesus.

Even more, what it must have been like to encounter Jesus face to face, witness the miracles, to listen to him speak, try and anticipate his next journey, touch His cloak, or better yet, to walk and be one of His followers or beloved disciples.

The personal relationships that Jesus built with each of His disciples is truly touching.

The beautiful thing is that today we get to experience it all and can almost hear their conversations and interactions as we read, study and pray through each account in the New Testament.

Jesus’ teachings were not only intimate as He gathered the disciples and the people around and shared wisdom and truth with such love and grace, they were also a direct message to us as well!

Yet, some of the lessons must have been difficult to hear and understand, just as we struggle to read and decipher His Word today.

I specifically think of the verses noted above for instance.

We see parallel verses in Mark and Luke, where Jesus is informing the disciples that if they wish to follow Him, they must deny themselves and they must take up their own cross on a daily basis. (Mark 8:34-35, Luke 9:23-24)

Jesus has reminded the disciples of the price they will pay for following Him.

The cost is denial of self and to bear their own cross.

This is the high price we all must pay when we seek to follow Jesus and fully surrender our lives to the one and only God.

So, what exactly does that look like?

First, we are called to deny ourselves.

That means to disown our own interests, desires, and natural tendencies and replace them with what God loves and honors.

It’s essentially a mindset shift that chooses and craves to be more like Jesus – His attitude, His mannerisms, His faithfulness.

Second, we are called to take up our own cross. 

The cross was a bold instrument of execution in Jesus’ day.

It was meant for pain and torture along with public humiliation.

As followers, we must be ready (and willing) to undergo suffering and shame.

That is because this world will mock, ridicule, reject, and torment those who claim Christ as Lord.

Lastly, we are to follow Him by surrendering all.

Jesus is the direct access and path to a good, righteous, and abundant life beyond this one (John 14:6).

When we follow His way, truth, and life examples, we fully surrender our lives to Him and seek His will and way.

So, we must discipline our spirits to daily ask ourselves, are we surrendering all to Christ in order to follow Him?

Well, are we?

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 42 New American Standard Bible 1995

BOOK 2

Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.

For the choir director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.

42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c]pants for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and [d]appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go along with the throng and [e]lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you [f]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[g]Hope in God, for I shall [h]again praise [i]Him
For the [j]help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is [k]in despair within me;
Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the [l]peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night,
A prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning [m]because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why are you [n]in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
[o]Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The [p]help of my countenance and my God.

O Lord, our souls thirst for you, the living God. Guide us to live for you. Our only hope is in you, our God, the Creator and Author of our whole entire lives and Savior. Amen.

We humbly submit ourselves to You, Lord and seek Your face. We surrender our heart, mind, soul, and physical body all to You. We ask that You give us a means to seek only after Your heart and the plan and purpose You have for our lives. Align all our desires and passions to Your passions and allow us to be shaped and molded to be more and more like Jesus. Grant us such a measure and degree of wisdom and strength to bear the cross and sufficient power to resist the evil ways of this world. Please forgive us where we fail and cave under pressure, while offering us the courage to still fight the everyday battles. Be in our midst through each and every situation, showing us areas in our lives where we can improve and bring glory to Your holy name. Alleluia, 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.

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