Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
10-12 The altar from which God gives us the gift of himself is not for exploitation by insiders who grab and loot. In the old system, the animals are killed and the bodies disposed of outside the camp. The blood is then brought inside to the altar as a sacrifice for sin. It’s the same with Jesus. He was crucified outside the city gates—that is where he poured out the sacrificial blood that was brought to God’s altar to cleanse his people.
13-15 So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.
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.
True or False …
We have so much to praise God for every day, there’s great power in giving full honor to Him. The Bible is filled with examples of praise and worship when we see His power released, life-changing miracles, dramatic stories of the enemy being halted or defeated, stone hearts being changed and drawn closer to Him?
Yet the supposed reality which we rationalize forward and backwards, is that way too often, we over emphasize or hyper dramatize the 1 daily struggle or 1 constant life demand serving to “crowd out” our praise and worship to God.
We might check the “go to worship” box at church and somehow think we’re good for the week. And yet, all the while, with souls distant and ice cold, we sing our praises, we listen to music and words, and then we go home. Unchanged.
Sometimes it really is a sacrifice to offer praise.
We may not feel like it.
We’re struggling.
We’re weary.
We are not feeling well. Or maybe, we feel like God has let us down too often.
He may seem distant to us, like He doesn’t really care about what we’re now struggling through or worrying about.
Painful life blows and losses may have recently sent us spiraling. We’re still trying to get our feet on the ground and put broken pieces back together again.
Here’s what can make a lasting difference.
When we make that decision to fix our eyes on Him, and daily give Him just one praise, no matter what’s staring us straight in the face, we may suddenly realize that God has already begun to release the grip those struggles can have over us.
We have a myriad of choices and decisions we have to make every day in this life. We can choose to live absorbed in worry and stress, on the fast track of busy, focused only on what surrounds us, and tuned into the roar of the world.
Or we can ask God to help us take our eyes off all that may be swirling around, our problems and mess, tearing up our insides and the voices of others. We can look up to Him, the One who holds it all together, who holds us in His hands.
Even from within our worst laments (Psalm 13, 137) God always desires our whole heart, without one single regard to the very worst of its inner condition.
He always waits for us to return if we’ve drifted away. He longs for us to know the power of His presence in and through our lives. He desires to bless us more than we could ever imagine. His Holy Spirit urges us onward, calling us closer.
Hebrews 4:12-13 The Message
12-13 God means exactly what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one can resist God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.
As bad as your heart may now feel in this moment, our first and best effort at our recovery, at our restoration, Continuous streams of prayer and continuous completely ransom outbursts of praise. May He help us to look up again today, remember His goodness, power in our lives, to offer Him worship and praise.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 The Message
16 1-2 Keep me safe, O God, I’ve run for dear life to you. I say to God, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing makes sense.
3 And these God-chosen lives all around— what splendid friends they make!
4 Don’t just go shopping for a god. Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll never treat god-names like brand-names.
5-6 My choice is you, God, first and only. And now I find I’m your choice! You set me up with a house and yard. And then you made me your heir!
7-8 The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I’ll stick with God; I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go.
9-10 I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell— that’s not my destination!
11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.
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.
12 Now the Lord said[a] to Abram, “Go from your country[b] and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[c]
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 God called Abram to suddenly leave his country for a promised land filled with Milk and Honey, He made one of the most beautiful promises ever.
God promised to make Abram into a great nation and to bless him to become a blessing to all peoples on earth. That nation was the people of Israel, and the promise was fulfilled through the coming of Jesus Christ. Through his coming all peoples on earth are invited to enjoy the salvation of the one true God.
It was a one-time promise to Abram. But God’s covenant of grace made with Abraham has continued through every generation since then.
God’s promise to bless people to be a blessing is also for his New Testament people, the church of Jesus Christ.
God has blessed us with hosts of creatively gifted people and almost unlimited resources. In many lands God has blessed us with the freedom to worship, and today we can use many forms of sophisticated technology to spread the gospel.
Blessed to be a blessing!
God blessed us that we should be the same magnitude of blessing unto others.
That explains why we are privileged to share the good news of Jesus Christ.
That explains why we-through our churches, our congregations. our ministries and other Christian ministries–can work with others to plant churches, extend the hand of God through clothing and food giveaways, hold community events for all age groups, support our communities with resources that educate and inform them, spread the gospel in our neighborhoods, out into many countries, publish Christian literature, and minister in mercy and mission in some of the most remote vulnerable areas on the planet. There are no shortage of blessings.
If We Are Ever Asked; What Does a Blessed Life Truly Look Like?
Perhaps you’ve asked an acquaintance, or been asked by an acquaintance, or by a complete stranger, how we/they’re doing, gotten the reply, “I’m blessed.”
In some ways, it’s tempting to think the term “blessed” is synonymous with any of the other social niceties we hear: I’m doing well, all is great, just fine.
But “I’m blessed” is actually an head turning, far better, richer, and deeper response than any of these others, filled with complex and nuanced meaning about someone’s genuine state of being and right relationship with the Lord.
Blessedness is a state of being that stands beyond every-day, surface-level circumstances. Indeed, a person who is living a blessed life is filled with a sense of true joy, hope, peace, and contentment even in extremely difficult situations.
The word “blessed” used in the New Testament comes from the Greek word makarios, which means bestowed with God’s favor, happy, or fortunate — not fortunate because of fortune or luck, but because of God’s providence and favor.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, considered herself to be blessed by the honor of carrying the Christ child (Luke 1:48). In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called “blessed” those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek and merciful, who are peacemakers, hunger and thirst for righteousness and so on.
While on earth these things might not always seem like obvious blessings to everyone for those countless future generations, God has a different standard.
Let’s a take a look at what a blessed life truly looks like.
A State of Hope
A blessed life is a life spent in righteous relationship with God. One who is blessed understands life is far more that the days we spend on this earth.
They know we’re what the apostle Paul termed “citizens of heaven,” with one foot in this world and one in the next (Philippians 3:20). We long for God’s goodness, long to do our best to stay in alignment with God and on his path.
While we might inevitably stray, we correct our course as best as possible and then return to him. We value what God values: love, peace, justice, and mercy.
Because of this, and because we devote ourselves to God’s way, we are assured of our salvation. We know that whatever might befall us in this life — sickness, suffering, persecution, poverty, etc. — our eternal reward awaits us in heaven.
As the psalmist writes in Psalm 1:1-3,
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers.”
Blessedness does not mean everything is perfect in their life.
It simply means they know how their story will end, and who they belong to — the Lord. Because of this, they can live their days filled with blessed hope no matter what measure of adversity comes knocking on their door. (Job 1:20-21)
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
A True Relationship
A blessed life is also one that transcends feeling. Blessedness, like hope and joy, doesn’t necessarily mean happiness, though one who is blessed may feel happy.
In fact, like Job, often people who are blessed are experiencing deep affliction and difficulty. Still, they take this in stride, understanding that their joy and hope and faith are steadfastly rooted in the Lord, not today’s circumstances.
They hold fast to what Jesus taught in John 16:33:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
They know genuine contentment doesn’t come from things of the flesh, from material items or worldly success, but a personal relationship with the Lord.
An Internal State of Well-Being
Sometimes, blessedness feels a little like “opposite day,” a game I played when I was a kid. On opposite day, I’d say, “Bad evening,” when I meant to say “good morning,” or “No” when I meant “yes.”
Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount by flipping upside down what many people of his day thought about a life favored by God.
Back then, people thought if you had a lot of money or kids, perhaps a lot of land or cattle to pass on as a legacy, then you were somehow favored by God.
Perhaps many of us think the same thing today, that worldly prosperity is somehow interictally tied up with God’s favor and His high regard for us.
But Jesus taught us that blessedness is actually an internal, not an external, state of well-being, and sometimes those who are most “blessed” are those who seem to have very little.
As he said,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3-10).
Later, in Matthew 19:23-25, Jesus said it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God — worldly prosperity isn’t the blessing we think it is, are led, taught to believe.
In fact, it’s too often a hindrance.
True blessedness is living life in line with Jesus, following him and making him Lord of our whole lives. (Psalm 23)
23 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing. 2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures, he leads me by quiet water, 3 he restores my inner person. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name. 4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for you are with me; your rod and staff reassure me.
5 You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint my head with oil from an overflowing cup.
6 Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life; and I will live in the house of Adonai for years and years to come.
A Filling of the Spirit
Perfect unity with Jesus is the goal of a truly blessed life. While Christians are those who follow Jesus and strive to live as he commanded, the true mark of a Christian life is someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit. Everyone who believes has a part of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit, alive inside their hearts.
As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:16, we are God’s temple, and God’s Spirit dwells within us.
He elaborated on this in Ephesians 1:13-14, noting,
“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory.”
We who believe are blessed because we have a portion of the Lord within us, steering and guiding us through all of life’s rocky situations.
The Holy Spirit is our friend and our advocate, a gift from God, (John 14:26).
Whatever we do, and wherever this earthly life takes us, we can implicitly trust we’re 100% blessed because this immense, extravagant gift is with us always.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve appeared to live in a state of perfected blessedness, one with the Lord and able to talk and walk with him freely.
Their sin drove a wall between them and God, and God exiled them from his perfect garden. While he loved his creation, they no longer lived in a state of perfect favor and blessedness because they had broke sacred trust with him.
Today because of Jesus, we have the opportunity to have that blessed state restored. We, who were sinners, are now forgiven because of Christ.
And because we believe in Christ as our Savior, we’re made right with the Lord once more.
That is the epitome of blessedness.
So this coming Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, New Year’s eve, or New Years Day, the next time someone asks you how you are, take a look at your heart. Are you a believer, filled with the Holy Spirit and doing your best to walk in the way, truth of the Lord? If so, then you can rest assured that you are indeed blessed.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 Complete Jewish Bible
16 (0) Mikhtam. By David:
(1) Protect me, God, for you are my refuge. 2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good outside of you.” 3 The holy people in the land are the ones who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.
4 Those who run after another god multiply their sorrows; To such gods I will not offer drink offerings of blood or take their names on my lips.
5 Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup: you safeguard my share. 6 Pleasant places were measured out for me; I am content with my heritage.
7 I bless Adonai, my counselor; at night my inmost being instructs me. 8 I always set Adonai before me; with him at my right hand, I can never be moved; 9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices, and my body too rests in safety; 10 for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol, you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss. 11 You make me know the path of life; in your presence is unbounded joy, in your right hand eternal delight.
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.
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
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.
In the beginning, it began looking allot like Christmas …
Do any of us plan on taking the time this Christmas to tell your children or our friends about the real purpose of Christmas? If so, what will we tell them?
Although we usually meditate on the birth narratives of Jesus from Luke and Matthew’s Gospels at this time of the year, His true purpose in coming to earth was not to give us the sweet picture of a baby in a Bethlehem manger. That little baby was born to die for you and for me and thus pay for the forgiveness of our sins. He was announced by the angels, the Messengers of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, Immanuel, God with us, born with a singularly unique purpose no one else would ever have-die on the Cross that we might be reconciled to God.
That is a whole lot to absorb when we are too busy trying to absorb all the food list we will have to go shopping for, for all of the people who will be coming to our lunch or dinner tables from everywhere across the world where there is a place to travel from. Shall we similarly receive Christ who came from eternity?
For this reason, as the opportunity arises, declare to folks, “Don’t just think of a baby in a manger” at Christmastime, don’t just brag and boast and gloat over all the effort it took just to travel through all kinds of terrible weather conditions. I would not want to be first to brag about all the sacrifices I always have to make!
Christmas is about so much more than that. It is about God coming to earth in human flesh so He could die on the Cross to pay for our salvation and destroy all the sinister works of the devil in your lives! That is what Christmas is all about!
People rarely think of the Cross at Christmastime because it is the time set aside to celebrate Jesus’ birth. But in Philippians 2, Paul connects those two thoughts.
As Paul writes about God becoming a man, he goes on to express the ultimate reason God chose to take this amazing action.
Paul says in verse 8, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Because today is one day closer to family and friends gathering for Christmas Eve, I want to use this Sparkling Gem of a moment to share that real reason for Christmas, which is contained in the truths carefully weaved into this verse.
Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus was “…found in fashion as a man….” That word “fashion” is the Greek word schema. This is extremely important, for this was precisely the same word that was used in ancient times to depict a king who exchanged his kingly garments for a brief period of time for the clothing of a beggar.
How wonderful that the Holy Spirit would inspire the apostle Paul to use this exact word! Did, would, anyone of us, take the time to teach others this truth?
When Jesus came to earth, it really was a moment when God Almighty shed His glorious appearance and exchanged it for the clothing of human flesh.
Although man is fearfully and wonderfully made, his earthly frame is nothing more than temporal dust and cannot be compared to the eternal and glorious appearance of God.
However, for the sake of an indescribable measure of love, for the sake of our redemption, God laid aside all of His radiant glory, He sacrificed, took upon Himself human flesh, was manifested in the very likeness of a human being.
This is the true story of a King who traded His kingly garments and took upon Himself the clothing of a servant.
But the story doesn’t stop there. Jesus – our King who sacrificed His royal robes for the itchy, tattered temporary clothing of flesh – loved us so much that He “…humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”!OMG
The word used here “humbled” is the Greek word tapeinao, and it means to be humble, to be lowly, and to be willing to stoop to any measure that is needed.
This describes the attitude God had when He took upon Himself human flesh.
Think of how much humility would be required for God to shed His glory and lower Himself to become like a member of His creation.
Consider the indescribable greatness of God’s love that drove Him to divest Himself of all His splendor and become like a man. This is amazing to me, particularly when I think of how often the flesh recoils at the thought of being humble or preferring someone else above itself. God sent His Son, Jesus who humbled Himself “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
The word “obedient” tells me that this was not a pleasurable experience that Jesus looked forward to in anticipation. To have humbled Himself to this extent, from eternity down to fragile humanity required Jesus’ deliberate obedience.
As preexistent God, Jesus came to earth for this purpose. But as man dressed in flesh, He despised the thought of the Cross (Hebrews 12:2) and could only endure its shame because He knew of the results that would follow. For Jesus to be 100% obedient as a man, He had to choose to obey the eternal plan of God.
The word “obedient” is used to describe Jesus is the Greek word hupakouo, from the word hupo, which means under, and the word akouo, which meansI hear.
When these two words are compounded together, they picture someone who is hupo – under someone else’s strictest authority, and akouo – listening to what that superior is speaking to him. After listening and taking these instructions to heart, this person then always carries out the exacting orders of his superior.
Thus, the word hupakouo tells us that obedient people are
1) alwaysunder authority, 2) alwayslistening to what their superior is saying, and 3) alwayscarrying out the very exacting orders that have been given to them.
This is what the word “obedient” means in this verse, and this is what truest obedience means for you and me. But how many of us are teaching this truth?
You see, even Jesus had to come to this place of obedience. Although He knew that He was the perfect Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, that didn’t mean His flesh was excited about dying as the Lamb of God on the Cross.
According to this verse in Philippians 2:8, Jesus had to humble Himself and become “obedient” in order to follow God’s very exact and exacting plan.
He wasn’t looking forward to the experience of death on a Cross; He made a choice to humble Himself, to go to any and every single measure in order to exactingly, obediently accomplish the complexity of His Father’s great plan.
Part of the Father’s plan was for Jesus to humble Himself “…unto death, even the death of the cross.”
The word “unto” is from the Greek word mechri, which is a Greek word that really means to such an extent.
The Greek word mechri is sufficient in itself to dramatize the point, but the verse goes on to say that Jesus humbled Himself unto death, “…even the death of the cross.”
The word “even” is the Greek word de, which emphatically means EVEN!
The Greek carries this idea:
“Can you imagine it! Jesus humbled Himself to such a lowly position and became so obedient that He even stooped low enough to die the miserable death of a Cross!”
I heartily recommend you take the time today to read the Passion Narratives again inorder to refresh your memory on the full extent, process of crucifixion.
It was genuinely the worst death a person could ever endure. For Jesus to choose to humble Himself to the point of gruesome death, EVEN the death of the Cross, demonstrates how much He was willing to humble Himself to redeem you, me.
Just think of it
– Almighty God, clothed in radiant glory from eternity past, came to this earth formed as a human being in the womb of a human mother for one purpose: so He could one day die a miserable death on a Cross to purchase our salvation!
All of this required humility on a level far beyond anything we could ever want to comprehend or anything that has ever been remotely requested of any of us.
Yet this was the reason Jesus came; therefore, He consciously chose to be 100% obedient to the very end, humbling Himself to the point of dying a humiliating death on a Cross and thereby purchasing our eternal salvation.
So as we go to every imaginable extravagance to celebrate Christmas, be sure to go to similar lengths to extravagantly remember the real purpose of Christmas.
It isn’t just a time to reflect on the quality or quantity or hilarity of our gifts.
But on quality and quantity of the gift of baby boy who was born in Bethlehem so long ago. That baby was God manifest in the flesh. He was born to die for you and for me. Jesus was so willing to do whatever was required in order to redeem us from Satan and sin that He humbled Himself even unto death on a Cross!
That is what Christmas is all about!
MY PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, I thank You for the sacrifices you made – coming to earth so You could redeem me. When I think of the extent to which You were willing to go in order to save me, it makes me want to shout, to celebrate, and to cry with thankfulness. You love me so much, and I am so grateful for that love. Without You, I would still be lost and in sin. But because of everything You have done for me, today I am free; my life is blessed; Jesus is my Lord; Heaven is my home; and Satan has no right to control me. I will be eternally, extra extravagantly thankful to You for everything You did to save me!
I pray this in Jesus’ name!
MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY
I sacrifice my ego to now confess that Jesus Christ loves me! He demonstrated His love to me by leaving behind Heaven’s glory and taking upon Himself human flesh. And He did it for one purpose: so that one day He could go to the Cross and die for me and thus reconcile me unto God. There is no need for me to ever feel unloved or unwanted, because Jesus went the ultimate distance to prove that He loves me!
I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
Psalm 100 The Message
100 1-2 On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.
3 Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.
5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.
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.
57 (0) For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam, when he fled from Sha’ul into the cave:
2 (1) Show me favor, God, show me favor; for in you I have taken refuge. Yes, I will find refuge in the shadow of your wings until the storms have passed. 3 (2) I call to God, the Most High, to God, who is accomplishing his purpose for me.
4 (3) He will send from heaven and save me when those who would trample me down mock me. (Selah) God will send his grace and his truth.
5 (4) I am surrounded by lions, I am lying down among people breathing fire, men whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongues sharp-edged swords.
6 (5) Be exalted, God, above heaven! May your glory be over all the earth! 7 (6) They prepared a snare for my feet, but I am bending over [to avoid it]. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it themselves. (Selah)
8 (7) My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast. I will sing and make music. 9 (8) Awake, my glory! Awake, lyre and lute! I will awaken the dawn.
10 (9) I will thank you, Adonai, among the peoples; I will make music to you among the nations. 11 (10) For your grace is great, all the way to heaven, and your truth, all the way to the skies.
12 (11) Be exalted, God, above heaven! May your glory be over all the earth!
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.
continually surrender to God when a blank canvas is before you.
2 (1) Show me favor, God, show me favor; for in you I have taken refuge. Yes, I will find refuge in the shadow of your wings until the storms have passed. 3 (2) I call to God, the Most High, to God, who is accomplishing his purpose for me.
Surrendering to God is an indelible, unavoidable part of the Christian faith.
We know because countless times Scripture reminds us of our need to repent, turn from sin, crucify selfish desires, so we may be attuned to the will of God.
Surrender isn’t just a “one and done” common struggle people face when fully engaged in their trusting of God in the beginning of their faith, but as they grow and experience the most diverse trials, and develop in their walk with Him too.
While many of us would like the apparent ease of “raising their arms or falling to their knees” surrendering to be a one-and-done phenomenon, it just isn’t.
Surrender is something required day after day.
It’s a continual, progressive, and life-long sacrificial pursuit of chipping away at our hyper graffitied self until all that’s left is Christ and His desires for us.
To understand surrender, we have to biblically define the task itself: Letting go of our over active self control, yielding to God’s purposes—no matter the cost.
Understanding Surrender to God
In Mere Christianity, writer, scholar, and theologian C.S. Lewis pens these words:
“Christ says ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time, and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. . . Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked–the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.’”
In Psalms 57:2, the King James Version reads:
“I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.”
This verse, attributed to David as the author, is a heartfelt plea to God for help and protection. In this verse, David acknowledges the sovereignty and power of God, expresses his ‘white flag’ trust and dependence on Him in times of trouble.
The theme of trust and reliance on God is central to this verse.
David, who often found himself in perilous situations throughout his life, regularly turned to God for guidance and protection.
In this verse, he affirms his faith in God as the “most high” and the one who “performeth all things” for him.
This demonstrates David’s unwavering confidence in God’s ability to intervene, work His healing on his behalf, no matter what circumstances he may be facing.
The context of this verse is crucial to understanding its significance. David composed this psalm while fleeing from King Saul, who was seeking to kill him.
Despite being in a perilous situation, David’s focus remains on God and his unwavering faith in His ability to save and deliver him.
This psalm serves as a reminder that even in the midst of adversity, we can find comfort, strength, in turning to God’s wisdom versus our own, asking for help.
The symbolism of God as the “most high” conveys his supreme authority and power. This title highlights the transcendence of God and serves as a reminder of His ability to rule over all things.
By addressing God as the “most high,” David acknowledges his subordination to Him and affirms his abiding belief in God’s capacity to intervene in his life.
Additionally, the phrase “God that performeth all things for me” emphasizes God’s role as the ultimate provider and sustainer.
This recognition of God’s sovereignty and control over all things reflects David’s unwavering trust in God’s ability to orchestrate events in his favor.
David’s acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty serves as an inspiration for today’s generation of believers, all generations yet to be, to wave their ‘white flag’ trust in God’s providence and faithfulness, even in the face of adversity.
This verse also carries a universal message about the nature of God and His willingness to respond to the prayers of those who seek Him. It serves as a comfort to believers, reminding them they can confidently bring their concerns and needs before God, knowing that He is able and willing to act on their behalf.
Psalms 57:2 is the Psalmist’s powerful declaration of ‘waving his white flag’ trust and reliance on God, even in the midst of challenging circumstances.
David’s unwavering faith and trust in God’s ability to intervene and provide for him serves as a model for believers of all generations to struggle to emulate.
This verse serves as a reminder of the sovereignty and faithfulness of God and encourages believers to turn to Him in times of trouble. Through its themes of struggle, surrender, faith, trust, dependence, and the sovereignty of God, this verse offers that fortress of comfort, strength to those who seek refuge in Him.
While there are numerous examples of surrender in the Scriptures, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and Abraham’s willingness to leave his homeland for a promised land of “milk and honey” sacrifice Isaac are 2 of the most profound.
In Matthew 26:36-46, Jesus’ desires matched God’s.
We often have a misconception that surrender means God will make you do things you hate. I spent years wrestling with the idea of getting out of nursing because I was fearful it was my life’s purpose, God’s will, and I am being selfish.
But friends, the wholehearted desires God’s given us should, can, bring us joy.
If we believe in Jesus and fully trust Him with our lives, our hearts and desires should align with His. Yes, He may ask us to do impossible, scary and confusing things, but never without true reason or cause. Just look at Jesus and Abraham.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins because He loved us and trusted that God must have something better for Him. It wasn’t painless, pretty, enjoyable, or fun for Him to endure. But He surrendered His life to the point of death for us.
Meanwhile, Abraham had been promised a son.
And not just any son, but a son through which his descendants would be named.
When God commanded him to put his promised Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice, he surrendered to God, he didn’t falter. Abraham knew what God had promised but also trusted if this was God’s plan He must have something better in store.
In both of these biblical examples of surrender, we learn that faith plays a role.
Surrender isn’t just about blind obedience but steadfast trust and unwavering respect. It’s our struggle; trusting God’s goodness and sovereignty that as we grow in our relationship with Him, the desires of our hearts will match His.
1. Realize that surrender doesn’t mean throwing your dreams out the window.
2. Know that God asks us to surrender for our good.
3. Focus squarely on the Word of God and God’s indelibly faithful promises.
4. Acknowledge and confess the absolute sovereignty of God in all things.
5. No one is more righteous than God, is smarter or more wiser than God.
6. We can never be perfect, or more perfect or more powerful than God.
7. God’s purpose for us will always be better than any purpose we “design.”
8. God is always going to have His “way” His “truth” and His “life” with us.
9. We can never overpower God nor can we ever outlive him, out create Him.
10. Therefore, cease striving, know that only God is, can be, will be, GOD!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 29 Complete Jewish Bible
29 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Give Adonai his due, you who are godly; give Adonai his due of glory and strength; 2 give Adonai the glory due his name; worship Adonai in holy splendor.
3 The voice of Adonai is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, Adonai over rushing waters, 4 the voice of Adonai in power, the voice of Adonai in splendor.
5 The voice of Adonai cracks the cedars; Adonai splinters the cedars of the L’vanon 6 and makes the L’vanon skip like a calf, Siryon like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames; 8 the voice of Adonai rocks the desert, Adonai convulses the Kadesh Desert. 9 The voice of Adonai causes deer to give birth and strips the forests bare — while in his temple, all cry, “Glory!” 10 Adonai sits enthroned above the flood! Adonai sits enthroned as king forever! 11 May Adonai give strength to his people! May Adonai bless his people with shalom!
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.
15 When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John,[a] do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”
“Feed my lambs,” he told him. 16 A second time he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.”
“Shepherd my sheep,” he told him.
17 He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was grieved that he asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
“Feed my sheep,” Jesus said. 18 “Truly I tell you, when you were younger, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” 19 He said this to indicate by what kind of death Peter would glorify God. After saying this, he told him, “Follow me.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Stuck in the Concrete of Guilt, Restored to Discipleship
On the fateful night Jesus was arrested, Peter had surrendered his discipleship.
Under sudden and overwhelming (perceived) threat, in the High Priest’s courtyard he had hardcore denied three times that he was a follower of Jesus.
Then came the piercing eye to eye contact with His Messiah. When he realized the gravity of what he had just publicly done, Peter went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:69-75). He was severely overwhelmed by his shame and guilt.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Lord asked Peter a question. But the question wasn’t “Why did you abandon me when I needed you?” or “Why didn’t you have the guts to stick up for me?” It was simply “Peter, Do you love me?”
Jesus had died on the cross for Peter’s sins.
What he wanted to know, three times now, was whether Peter, looking up from the bottomless pit of his shame and guilt, still loved him. Jesus is saying to him; that Peter’s sins were in the past; Peter’s restored love would shape his future.
When Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” Jesus, the conqueror of sin and death, the Lord of life, Restorer of spirits, graciously invited him to once again “gird up his loins” take up his discipleship and follow him into His future.
Psalm 103:11-13 Christian Standard Bible
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
If we were the one’s on the receiving end of this priceless exchange, Jesus doing the same with us, I pray that we recognize that Jesus is astonishingly gracious.
He doesn’t try to bury us, bringing up our past sins, betrayals, or infidelities. He simply wants for us to know “if we love him.” For that makes all the difference.
Anyone ever tried to measure exactly how far distant is the east from the west?
Anyone ever tried measuring exactly how far apart is the north from the south?
Anyone ever measure the exact length, width, height, depths of God’s Creation?
Do I Give Myself Away … So God may, in THEIR fullness, use me?
Isaiah 61:6-7 Christian Standard Bible
6 But you will be called the Lord’s priests; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will eat the wealth of the nations, and you will boast in their riches. 7 In place of your shame, you will have a double portion; in place of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share. So they will possess double in their land, and eternal joy will be theirs.
Against the backdrop of John 21:15-19, how close do we resemble Peter?
How closely do we identify with the depths, the whole of Peter’s experience?
Are we even .01% ready to sit with Jesus, remaining with him, eating with him, not returning to our catastrophically poor impulse control – but humbling self?
Are we ready to surrender to God 1% the darkest depths of our shame, our guilt?
Are we ready to be confronted by the reality of the disaster we’ve made of self?
Are we prepared to receive the magnitude of change Jesus is offering to Peter?
Do we 1% seek His Restoration with 110% of our hearts, minds, soul, strength?
Are we authentically seeking Jesus?
Do we authentically love him?
Do we 110% realize that He still invites us to go out and serve him today?
Forgiving, Gracious, compassionate, merciful, 100% ready to cast with the very heaviest millstone, our guilt and shame into the deepest depths of the great sea of forgetfulness? Never be seen nor heard from or be remembered ever again?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 42 Complete Jewish Bible
Book II: Psalms 42–72
42 (0) For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach:
2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams, God, I long for you. 3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God! When can I come and appear before God?
4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night, while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?” 5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me, how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God, with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs observing the festival.
6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for the salvation that comes from his presence. 7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast, I remind myself of you from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon, from the hill Mizar. 8 (7) Deep is calling to deep at the thunder of your waterfalls; all your surging rapids and waves are sweeping over me. 9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace, and at night his song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life. 10 (9) I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, under pressure by the enemy? 11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel as if my bones were crushed, as they ask me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’ ”
12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for being my Savior and 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.
21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, [a]John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said [b]to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
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 we ever not struggled with feeling out of place?
Like the skin you are in doesn’t quite feel like home?
Maybe exhausted from the endless struggles of being a person in a body?
We all long to be in the Presence of the Lord, to spend our eternity worshiping God with the angels. I so fervently pray that we feel this way from time to time, prayerfully, much more frequently, much more significantly than we do now.
But are we recognizing, with a much greater frequency, there are the moments where Heaven just breaks through and we feel a sense of other worldly peace.
Where our souls feel rest, beauty and goodness shine through.
It’s unexpected moments of testifying, witnessing things, as they are meant to be, and even more exciting than that, believing it’s the way they one day will be.
Revelation 21:3declares, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
God’s ultimate plan for us, his people and his creation, is to dwell with us. His permanent, forever dwelling place is with us. What a crazy thought to ponder while we are stuck here in the middle, advocating for Heaven to touch us but not yet free from the powers of evil that cause grief, strife, struggle, for humanity.
From the exact start of creation, He saw the ending. This is why He could say what He had done – what He had created – was good. He knew this creation would be one that would go through some things, that would wander and stray, go their own separate ways, but at the very end of his story would be a reunion.
All creation groans for his plan of redemption and grace to come to completion. (Romans 8:22)
He made a way to make right the many wrongs that humanity has committed.
By our Baptism, we are each a part of a story which is ultimately leading us to the unification of the holy Creator and his beloved Creation.
How Do We Live in This Place of Waiting?
Right now, all things (including our hearts) are waiting to be made new again!
As we long for God to come down from Heaven and dwell with us again, it can be challenging to see the beauty of his plan. We are his children and we struggle with doubt, a lack of faith. It’s a hardcore fight for us to take him at his Word.
Which is why we must each discipline ourselves, immerse ourselves, saturate ourselves, in his Word so we know it, we believe it, and we grow to rely on it.
While we’re waiting, it’s all our covenant responsibility to get to know him.
Joshua 1:7-9 New King James Version
7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may [a]prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you[b] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
John 17:3 tells us, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Our Eternity starts now and how we see it in the land of the living is through a dynamic, growing relationship with Christ.
This relationship is defined by his love and mercy that chases after us for all of our days (Psalm 23:6).
We don’t know God through a salvation hack, we know him when we give him our hearts and he miraculously changes us so we can experience His freedom.
Knowing God comes when we take time to be in his house and in his presence.
His house is the church and his presence is always available to us, but is best accessed through prayer and praise.
Have you ever felt unsettled and then just stilled yourself in prayer?
How quickly does quiet time with the Lord change our hearts!
What about a moment you felt discouraged and then you gathered with other believers in the church? God so often graciously uses the words of other Christ followers to encourage, inspire us. He does not leave us alone in the waiting.
As we know him, we grow in his love, and then we can share it.
2 Corinthians 5:14 tells us, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”
His love compels us to action.
To share. To serve. To change our thought patterns. To both consider and create goodness and beauty. His love is a transformative power for all who know him.
Knowing Our Future Gives Us Peace in the Present
As you consider the future and the anxiety that sometimes lives out there in the great unknown, remember that God has a plan. He is sovereign over all and his ultimate goal is reunification with us, his beloved creation.
God doesn’t share many things with us, but he has graciously clued us into the most important aspects of his forever plan.
While we face trials and hardships of many diverse kinds, the end of the story is always, ultimately a good one. One day we will dwell with our God! All will know him, see him, and be submitted under his rule. What a future to look forward to!
When you know where you are headed, it gives you strength to overcome trials of many kinds as you journey forward.
This is why at the start of a marriage you begin with vows that point directly to remaining faithful through sickness and health, prosperity and poverty until death do we part. When we share a life together, there are so many holes on the road. But the goal remains faithful devotion until one of you leaves this earth.
God’s promise to us that we will one day dwell in His house with him is like those marriage vows.
It’s a promise that we can cling to when life around us makes no sense. When our needs feel greater than his goodness. When loss tears at the fabric of our hearts. While we still have to walk through the hard, we are overcomers through Christ! We have a promised good future ahead of us that inspires hope for our lost and dying world. Don’t lose sight of the hope that is yours through Christ.
God Is a Relational King
God’s main aim isn’t just to put right all the wrongs for the sake of justice.
If that was true, then humanity would not have lasted long because it would have made more sense to scrap us than to patiently allow us time to find him.
Ultimately, God’s main goal is to be with us.
That’s why he tells us about a forever Heavenly home with him that gets our imaginations excited. He wants us to know that what he cares about most is the chance to one day walk his streets of gold hand-in-hand. Until then, he wants us to live in our homes, to be the guide of our hearts, and to show us his ways.
The God over all Creation loves you and his ultimate dwelling place is with you.
You are not a means to an end, you are the end. You are the gift that he has moved all Heaven and Earth to get to know. Thank you Jesus for that truth.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 100 New King James Version
A Song of Praise for the Lord’s Faithfulness to His People
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
100 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, [a]all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and [b]not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
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.
25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. 28 I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30 Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his [a]own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you [b]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome 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.
For close to two thousand years now, Christians everywhere celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Some of us sang the words, “I serve a risen Savior, he’s in the world today.” And our hearts and souls resonated with every word.
We’re back to school or work or at home facing the pressures of everyday life.
The joyous celebration of Christmas getting closer every moment of everyday.
But the risen Savior may not seem nearly as close today, and little may seem to have changed over the course of time and history.
We’re still faced with that lingering disease called sin, that broken relationship, between humanity and our Savior, those cultural and societal, governmental issues, those impossible financial problems, or those hardships that come with growing older but not so much proportionately smarter or wiser or peaceable.
We hear about poverty and persecution, about war and conflict in so many countries, and we might ask,
“Has the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ really made .01% a difference? Has all the prayers prayed since that glorious moment, has anything changed in the past 2,000 years since Jesus’ resurrection? Are things any better, are things that much the worst for the passage of time in the 21st century than they were in the first century?”
Though nations, technology, social institutions have changed a lot since then, our human condition is much the same. God’s image-bearers are still addicted to sin, still refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of sin, refuse to honor God.
In our text from John’s narrative, Jesus sternly warned all of his followers,
“In this world you will have trouble.”
But because he has overcome the world, we can have new life in him and peace in Him in spite of the enormity of our struggles. We can with much effort strive to enact God’s restoration in our daily lives. We can pray, share his love with others and look forward together to the day when the risen Savior will return!
What Difference Does It Make to Pray for Peace in Our World?
Praying for peace seems an impossible task, or even a waste of time.
When we look at the current unrest in our world — the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan, to name just three — we know that if or even when conflict comes to an end in these regions, peace can be precarious, tentative.
If war doesn’t return to these areas, it will flare up elsewhere in our world.
Even down to the level of our homes, we know that peace is elusive. Quarrels, silent treatment, or someone walking out can occur at any time. As much as we try to mediate the peace — or work to make those times we get together with our families peaceful — it is often an ongoing battle to live without tension.
In any case, didn’t Jesus sternly warn us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble”? Didn’t Jesus say that “wars and rumors of wars” were a sign of end times and his return (Matthew 24:6-8)?
And yet, the Bible doesn’t leave us with this sense of unrest.
It does the opposite.
The biblical view is to seek peace.
The biblical exhortation is to
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 New King James Version
14 Now we [a]exhort you, brethren, warn those who are [b]unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
As I heard someone say recently, “Chase after peace, pursue it, handcuff it.”
First, to understand what we are praying for, we need to grasp the meaning of peace more fully. We need to know what the word “peace” means in the Bible.
The word for peace, shalom in Hebrew in the Old Testament, is more than an absence of conflict.
Shalom’s meaning is much broader and more comprehensive.
It more correctly means wholeness, soundness, health, security, well-being, and salvation. It can also mean quietness, rest, stillness and completion.
Here are three reasons we should pray for peace and the difference it can make.
Peace Is a Blessing from God for His People
Peace, in all the forms mentioned above, is not created by human beings but comes from God himself.
Just like love, grace, and mercy are characteristics of God, so is peace; and wholeness, well-being, and completion are each a part of God’s nature.
God is the creator of peace.
And as one commentator says, “peace is the ideal of creation.”
God says this of himself in Isaiah 45:7:
“I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
The word for “well-being” in this verse is shalom.
God’s government and authority is one of peace.
Job 25:2 “Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven.”
When we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven,” we are praying for God’s peace that rules in heaven to come to earth. God’s kingdom is one of wholeness, soundness, health, security, well-being, rest and salvation.
The Creator God of peace, whose reign in his kingdom is harmonious and 100% complete, also blesses His people with peace.
Psalm 29:10-11 says: “…The Lord reigns as king forever. The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace.”
And Psalm 85:8 says: “…he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants.”
We get a sense from these Psalms that God’s blessing and promise of peace — soundness, wholeness, rest even — is for His people, corporately.
And because of that, we are summoned to pray corporately for God’s peace.
We pray for the plan of the Creator to fill the earth, as the heavens, with His peace. We pray for God to restore our world to His intended plan for creation.
We should pray within our churches and with other believers for the blessing of God’s peace to come to earth from heaven. Just as the Lord’s prayer begins: Our Father… we ask for His blessing of peace on us, all as his people.
God’s Kingdom of peace is the needed difference to our world.
Let’s use this prayer together.
Our Father in heaven, may your Kingdom of peace, salvation, wholeness, and completion rule on earth as it does in heaven. We ask you to pour out your gift and blessing of peace on us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Peace Is a Gift That Individuals Have with God through Jesus
The New Testament word for peace is irene. This word means rest, but it also incorporates all the meanings of shalom mentioned above, too.
With the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the angels praised God:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).
The peace of heaven came to earth through the birth of Jesus, Prince of Peace.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of one who would come, one who was hoped for.
We know this as Jesus.
Just as we repeat the words of the angels during our Christmas celebrations, so we recite the words of Isaiah 9:6:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Psalms above indicate, God’s people prayed for God’s peace to come to earth. This Prince of Peace was longed for by God’s people for hundreds of years.
We know that Jesus didn’t bring peace to the land, even if his disciples hoped that Jesus’s rule would be a physical kingdom (Matthew 20:21).
Instead, Savior Jesus gave all he had at Calvary, by his resurrection, gave us individuals peace—rest, well-being, salvation—in their relationship with God.
Jesus understood that his mission was one of peace, too:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
And Paul developed on Jesus’ mission by explaining that peace came through Jesus’ death for us as sinners.
Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
Those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus know the peace it has brought to our hearts as we understand, or perhaps realize is beyond our understanding, a sense of well-being, wholeness, rest, and security that we are right before God.
The most important peace we can pray for is for individuals to be reconciled with God through Jesus.
And prayer is the way in which we invite others to place their faith in God, through Jesus, and receive salvation. Prayer brings individual peace with God.
Use this prayer for the people in your life to find peace with God.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus, the bringer of peace. I bring before you those I know and love who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. May they turn to you in faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Peace Is a Gift of the Holy Spirit for Our Relationships with Other People
Galatians 5:22 lists “peace” as a gift of the Holy Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
God’s peace, part of His nature, is bestowed on us through the Holy Spirit.
As God’s people we receive his blessing of peace, and we are reconciled to God in peace through his Son Jesus. Then we also have God’s peace dwelling within us through his Holy Spirit. We are surrounded, both inside and out, by peace.
There are two things we should know, though, about peace that comes through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
First, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is never exclusive for ourselves, it is for the benefit of other people. Second, peace is not automatic, we must work at it.
Paul, in his letters, valued the quality of peace to such a high degree that he coupled it with God’s grace.
In his letters, he greeted the churches with the words “grace and peace to you.”See 1 Corinthians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, and Colossians 1:2 as examples.
The writer of Hebrews also knew of the importance of setting peace as a goal:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy” (Hebrews 12:14).
Peace makes the body of Christ work as it should. It brings “full restoration,” God’s wholeness and completeness. It brings a “harvest of righteousness,” through knowing Christ as our only Lord and Savior, and it leads to holiness.
Immanuel, Living in peace means that God is with us, other people will notice, and God will be glorified. Let’s pray to work at finding peace with each other.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit and the gift of peace that he brings. Give us the strength and wisdom to strive and work for peace with other people, especially other believers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 46 Authorized (King James) Version
Psalm 46
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth.
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
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.
7 Lord, hear my voice. Be kind and answer me. 8 My heart told me to come to you, Lord, so I am coming to ask for your help. 9 Don’t turn away from me. Don’t be angry with your servant. You are the only one who can help me. My God, don’t leave me all alone. You are my Savior. 10 Even if my mother and father leave me, the Lord will take me in.
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 My Father and Mother Forsake Me …
Psalm 27 includes a verse that begs us to look closer.
David declares, “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.”
He doesn’t say, “If my father and mother forsake me,” he says, “when.” This is something that David knows about.
Having a parent forsake you is one of the most hurtful situations a child can experience.
Some are blessed with great parents.
But then again, for reasons and rationale known but to God alone, too many are not blessed with great parents, these children experienced complicated family situations first-hand. For the very coldest of all of them, a mother or father had called long distance to let him know that they never wanted to see them again.
I know of a couple of families where the parent’s texted their children in school to tell them they would need to find somewhere else to live because they could not, would not, will not at any future time be able to care for them any longer.
Those children ended up living out their school years on the streets, in drug houses and essentially homeless. Eventually they both ended up in prison cells.
They only remember their Thanksgiving and Christmas days living in squalor or behind prison bars – abandoned, forsaken, forgotten, destitute, hating God.
The Psalm writer David knew something about hardcore family rejection.
After he had been anointed king by Samuel, but was not actually the king, things got a exceptionally thorny, even life threatening pretty quickly.
King Saul had no intention of giving up his crown to a boy and was becoming murderously unstable. David was married to the king’s daughter and bff’s with his son, but that didn’t keep King Saul from failing in his family responsibilities and with sword, chasing him around the country with intentions of killing him.
During this time, it was not only David’s life that was in danger, his family was now facing a very real threat to their own safety.
In 1 Samuel 22, they packed up and left Bethlehem to be with David.
Verse two,“And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontent gathered to him.”
This was definitely not what they envisioned about hospitality and family !
By verse three David had asked the king of Moab if his parents could stay there.
Jewish life completely revolved around their family and community.
Their land was passed down from generation to generation. Jewish families would never have abandoned their family land if they had any choice at all.
Moving to Moab (historically Israel’s enemy) must have been devastating for David’s mom and dad.
We don’t hear of David’s parents again.
We might assume that they died in this foreign land where everything was unfamiliar and hard.
We might also assume, based on Psalm 27, that they let David know that they blamed him for their situation.
Whatever was said, he felt their disapproval acutely.
You may also have a complicated relationship with one or both of your parents.
It’s hard. It may be something that you have tried to overcome your entire life.
If that is the case, let David’s words bring you some comfort. “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” Then the Lord will.
I don’t say this flippantly at all, but in such times let the Lord take care of you.
So often we experience deep, deep hurt and we never heal from it because we hold it tight, even find our identity in it, and never let it go enough to let Jesus bind up our wounds, heal broken hearts. You have to choose to let Him heal you.
We may never have lifelong congenial relationships with our parents. Reality may be the depth of the betraying situation is echelons beyond unrecoverable.
Letting go of the immensity of our hurt won’t be easy. But with an effort, it will require prayer and Godly council from spiritually strong people who understand what they’ve experienced. If we have empathy, courage to give our hurt to God, as David did, we will find that He takes better care of us than we can imagine.
Does The Faithful, Perfect Father really Exist for me?
Psalm 68:4-6 Easy-to-Read Version
4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Prepare the way for the one who rides on the clouds. His name is Yah.[a] Worship before him with joy. 5 God, who lives in his holy palace, is a father to orphans, and he takes care of widows. 6 God provides homes for those who are lonely. He frees people from prison and makes them happy. But those who turn against him will live in the desert.
Unfortunately, not everyone has had a positive experience with their father.
Deadbeat dads walk out on their families, offering only neglect instead of care.
Some children have never met their fathers.
Or, worse, some wish they had never met them.
Sadly, our world is plagued with poor examples of fathers, men who abandon, neglect, or abuse their families.
Your own bad experience may make it difficult to accept God as your heavenly Father.
But God’s faithfulness far exceeds that of even the best parents.
Even if our father and mother forsake us, the Lord will not.
Our Father God is the perfect Father. He fills a painful vacuum of love for all whose earthly fathers have forsaken them.
God’s intention in calling himself Father is to reveal his heart’s desire to have a real relationship with you, his child. He loves you in a way that no human has ever loved you, with ferocity and faithfulness that no human love can match.
If your own father has failed you, then you need, more than most, the faithful Father in your life.
Do not reject the vivid image of God as your Father because your own father failed to live up to his calling.
No one should be abandoned, neglected, or abused. We all need the authentic unconditional love and affirmation of the perfect Father.
If God is in us … We can be a model of fatherhood, more like God the Father …
Our Father who art in Heaven … Hallowed be THY name … thy kingdom come thy will be done … on earth as it is in heaven … give us this day our daily bread.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Father, thank you for calling us your own children and welcoming us into your life and into your family. Replace the pain of our bro-ken relationships with the joy of your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Psalm 133 Easy-to-Read Version
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
133 Oh, how wonderful, how pleasing it is when God’s people all come together as one[a]! 2 It is like the sweet-smelling oil that is poured over the high priest’s[b] head, that runs down his beard flowing over his robes. 3 It is like a gentle rain[c] from Mount Hermon falling on Mount Zion. It is there that the Lord has promised his blessing of eternal 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.
12 We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. 2 Let us look only unto Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.
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.
For 17 months, I have been praying relentlessly for strength and even just a bit more motivation; to be set free from the chains of discouragement that seemed to be holding me down, zapping my energy, and paralyzing my will and way.
And to my momentary relief and honor this morning, I woke with a slight sort of spring to my step. A tiny touch of hope greeted my heart.
But only for a brief, flickering flash as reminders of previous disappointments began to spring to my mind that since my triple bypass open heart surgery had deflated many of my dreams, led to my self becoming increasingly frustrated.
At the break of day this morning, I temporarily felt something beneath the surface, ready to burst out and up into positive change and progress – perhaps the coming Christmas season. But the force of the enemy keeps coming on so strong my life’s fight felt threatened, and once again, I was tempted to cave.
Do you ever feel desperate for God’s power to push you onward? Dying for 1% more encouragement and hope to take deep root in your soul with persevering patience, joyful expectation, and certain tiny baby steps of confident purpose?
In my heart and in my soul I do know that God can’t be defeated. I know that his all-powerful spirit is alive and well within me. And so he can and will conquer the enemy trying to turn off, extinguish the light in my soul and surroundings.
But how do we shed even 1% of what is weighing us down, what is keeping our feet super glued to the floor, stand strong against the suppression of our souls?
I bet you’ve wondered something similar.
What is it?
Maybe you’re feeling down due to a past season that didn’t go quite as you hoped or planned.
Or in that lonely wilderness place with no spiritual food or drink to be found, depressed by a current situation that feels incredibly stagnant and hopeless.
Or disheartened by an uncertain future clouded with acute, chronic medical issues (for example – cancer, heart, diabetes, and so on) that looks dim, has no cure, will only get worse with time and feels so completely out of your control.
I get it.
Rising to better health following my heart surgery, constantly getting more tired, fighting Diabetes, I’ve been resisting the pull-down of darkness, too.
But when I step back and ask myself how I can resist, I remember how I’ve done it before. And I’m reminded that it’s in these wrestling places and spaces that we need to stand firm on God’s Word. His Word that says, I am with you.
His Word that says,“I will help you.” “I will keep watch over you day and night, “ And his trustworthy Word brightly proclaiming, “With me, we will conquer this.”
We can and should look up to God, rise and stand up for Jesus, balance ourselves steady our thoughts, look forward, stand sturdy on the solid rock of scripture.
Isaiah41:10 and Romans 8:37 are verses worth memorizing and scripting on our hearts to fight and face such fragile moments.
They read, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10) and, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
And closing out the Eighth chapter of Romans … we read these powerful words;
Romans 8:37-39 New Century Version
37 But in all these things we are completely victorious through God who showed his love for us. 38 Yes, I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, 39 nothing above us, nothing below us, nor anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We can grow wiser and more mature in God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, trust these words and truths of his presence, help, and victory.
They are his gifts to us and me as children of God.
Yes, in our moments of struggle, we need to listen to the voice of God saying,
“I am here.”
“I always know exactly where you are and why and how you arrived there!”
We need to receive the subtle nudges of encouragement, strength, and light, he showers on us constantly through his creation, people, and presence, His Word!
And we need to never take our eyes off of him, shed what weighs us down which serves only to threaten the integrity of our connection, let go of his hand, while running with highest perseverance the race of life he has mapped out before us.
I know the race is long.
I know there are very few ultra marathoners capable of going on ahead without being consumed by the thoughts, feelings of physical exhaustion, like a never-ending, vision of the unpredictable, heights of a previously unknown marathon.
You’ll keep yourself looking and seeking taking a step forward, two back, three forward, and lose ground all over again. But keep your eyes open and toward the light. It’s always there. It’s always shining. It’s him. The almighty good God.
Ready to risk it?
Praying to God, pleading to God, crying out to God, that by His intercession, we are looking, moving forward. that if we look back far enough, we can see it.
And he will keep moving you on.
He will keep encouraging you, He always has with his presence, his help, and his victorious good and sovereign hand.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Don’t take your eyes off the light of the Lord today.
And keep looking to him as you journey on.
He is always 100% with you.
He is for you. And he will fortify your fight and perfect your faith as you continue on with him through your life and to the finish line of eternity.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 121 New Century Version
The Lord Guards His People
A song for going up to worship.
121 I look up to the hills, but where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you be defeated. He who guards you never sleeps. 4 He who guards Israel never rests or sleeps. 5 The Lord guards you. The Lord is the shade that protects you from the sun. 6 The sun cannot hurt you during the day, and the moon cannot hurt you at night. 7 The Lord will protect you from all dangers; he will guard your life. 8 The Lord will guard you as you come and go, both now and forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
2 At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. 2 You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. 3 At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else.
4-5 However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace! 6 And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. 7 God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.
8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith.[a] This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.
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.
Can anyone answer the question; “Where and when did our happiness begin?”
If we had to take our best guess, our most educated guess, our best considered guess, our best biblical or theological guess when our happiness really began;
How would we be most likely to respond?
Contemplatively?
Considerately?
Compassionately?
Easily?
Instantly?
Quickly?
Immediately?
Joyfully?
Mockingly?
Scornfully?
Spitefully?
Spontaneously?
Snarky?
Mysteriously?
Cryptically?
Instinctively?
Laughingly?
Sadly?
Tearfully?
Angrily?
With as much malice and forethought as we could muster from inside our soul?
With a “wide eyed thousand mile stare into the depths of who knows where?”
Not answer the question at all?
Is it really that difficult a question to ask and then expect an honest answer to?
What time frame would we be most likely to assign to our answer?
Minutes ago?
Just a few seconds ago?
Hours ago?
Days, weeks, months, years, decades ago?
“I cannot remember when I last felt happiness?”
“I don’t believe I have ever experienced happiness!”
“What is happiness, anyway?”
If we were to ask Abraham or Sarah?
If we were to ask the Israelites being held in bondage in Egypt?
If we were to interview Moses – while a Prince of Egypt, while a fugitive on the run for murdering an Egyptian, wandering in the harsh wilderness with so little to eat, drink to keep him moving forward toward survival in who knows where?
When he was received and was welcomed in Midian, took a wife, had children, a steady job? Before or after his experience with God Himself and a burning bush?
What about an interview with King Saul, before and after he was anointed the first King of Israel and then suddenly lost it when he was disobedient to God?
David, standing in the presence of a scared stiff King Saul, listening to the day after day taunts of the giant Goliath? Then defending the honor of his nation in a simple shepherds tunic with only a sling and a few stones from a dried river?
Examine the moment when he lustfully eyeballed a naked bathing Bathsheba?
When David then conceived, then enacted, his plot to cover up his adultery?
Select and examine any moment in scripture … when did their happiness start?
Our Happiness began in our Being Created by God.
Genesis 1:26-28 Common English Bible
26 Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth.”
27 God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them,[a] male and female God created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and master it. Take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, and everything crawling on the ground.”
Why are we here?
What is our purpose for living here and now?
Maybe you have asked or heard these questions before.
These are philosophical questions that have kept the brightest people busy.
Do you have an answer?
The Bible teaches that we are created by God and made in his image.
“We are God’s handiwork,” and he sent Jesus to redeem and renew us so that we can have eternal life with him.
God renews us so that we can do good, and this is our purpose in life.
With the new life that God makes possible for us in Christ, we seek to live God’s way and to do good so that we can show others the way to know God.
We find true happiness in being created by God for an extraordinary purpose.
We are not a piece of wood floating aimlessly through the ocean of life.
We are not like a loose leaf carried by the wind.
Life has a truly meaningful purpose.
We are created by God to have full life with God and to shine the light of his love to others. God is the source and the destiny of our life.
The very meaning of eternal life is to know God and his Son, Jesus Christ, through the life-giving work of his Holy Spirit.
There lies our greatest and most complete happiness.
What is the origin, the real source of our happiness in our life?
In our current emotional, multi-emotional condition, what are we doing here to help ourselves connect to that moment when our happiness genuinely began??
How will you happily help someone happily answer these questions?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 New Century Version
The Lord Takes Care of His People
A miktam of David.
16 Protect me, God, because I trust in you. 2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. Every good thing I have comes from you.” 3 As for the godly people in the world, they are the wonderful ones I enjoy. 4 But those who turn to idols will have much pain. I will not offer blood to those idols or even speak their names.
5 No, the Lord is all I need. He takes care of me. 6 My share in life has been pleasant; my part has been beautiful.
7 I praise the Lord because he advises me. Even at night, I feel his leading. 8 I keep the Lord before me always. Because he is close by my side, I will not be hurt. 9 So I rejoice and am glad. Even my body has hope, 10 because you will not leave me in the grave. You will not let your holy one rot. 11 You will teach me how to live a holy life. Being with you will fill me with joy; at your right hand I will find pleasure forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 