Tag: God

What Lessons Can We All Still Learn from the Israelites’ Wandering Years Exodus 17:15-16? 

Exodus 17:15-16 Christian Standard Bible

15 And Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord Is My Banner.”[a] 16 He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward[b] the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

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 book of Exodus, we read the story of how God’s people had endured years of bondage under the Egyptians.

They were enslaved, oppressed, abused, mistreated people.

They needed rescue, they needed a way of escape, needed freedom. God saw their need, didn’t miss a thing, in his perfect timing, he acted on their behalf.

The people of Israel spent 40 years in the desert. 40 years of wandering. 40 years of journeying towards the Promised Land that God had given them.

That’s a very long time.

The days must have been intense, hot, dry, I’m sure they got weary.

But God met them where they were, he made sure they had what they needed.

They learned through every hard, grueling step, how much they relied on Him.

It is not so much faith that is important, but the One in Whom you place your trust. Some people trusted in chariots and some in world leaders.

Some trust in themselves, their finances, their family ties, or their talents.

Some trust in their physical strength, in their intelligence education, their personality, their artistic abilities, or performing lots of good works.. but what is most important is trusting Jehovah-Nissi, (the Lord our banner) for He has promised to fight for us, when our enemies come at us like a raging angry flood.

What is necessary for life and living, for death and dying, is our hope in God.

The strength that is needed for today and the blessed hope we have in the world to come, is a heart that trusts in Jesus Christ, and wholly relies on His sufficient grace and mighty strength to get them through all of their weakest moments.

Every person we know and each security in which we place our trust, will one day let us down – including reliance on our own strength and abilities.

What is needed is a willingness to admit our fullest need and have a dependent trust on God to timely supply all we will need according to His riches in glory.

In Exodus, the Lord revealed Himself to Israel as Jehovah-Nissi, (the Lord our banner). The people of God had just escaped from Egypt. They were no fighting army. They had no experience of defeating a fierce enemy.

But they had been brought out of slavery by God, Who provided food for their bodies and led them in the wilderness by pillars of fire and smoke.

The menacing army they faced carried a victorious standard at the head of their battalions of fierce, well trained fighting men, which was meant to intimidate their opponents, instill fear in their ranks, fear and second thoughts in leaders.

It was as they journeyed through the wilderness that the Amalekites came up and fought against Israel at Rephidim, and Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek, and tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”

Trust in God to deliver you, was Moses’ crystal clear instruction. 

While Moses held up the Staff of God, Israel prevailed, but whenever he put his hand down, Amalek prevailed, Aaron and Hur held up the tired arms of Moses until the Amalek’s army was defeated.

On that day, God revealed Himself as Jehovah-Nissi, (the Lord our banner), “and Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner.”

As Israel’s armies fought Amalek on the field of conflict in the physical realm.. so Moses battled the adversary in a parallel sphere, through spiritual warfare.

As the Israelites fought their physical enemy with sword and spear, so Moses battled a spiritual enemy in the heavenly realm – through prayer and through intercession. Moses defied the satanic realm as he held up the Standard of God.

What faith was demonstrated by Moses, Aaron, Hur, Joshua, and the entire army of God. They trusted Him to fight for them, and He did not disappoint.

As Israel raised weapons of war against their bitter foe, so Moses lifted high the Rod of the LORD against the principalities and powers in heavenly places. 

The earthly foe could only be overcome in the spiritual realm. Victory or defeat of Joshua’s army would be determined by the effective prayer of Israel’s faithful watchman.. for the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much – the effective prayer of a REDEEMED man.

Just as soldiers raise their battle standards high, proclaiming allegiance to king and country, so Moses lifted up his Banner to the Lord.

Moses raised up the Rod of God to proclaim Whose they were, Who was their true Champion, and in Whom they trusted.

The Lord God was their Defense and Defender, and so they fought under the authority, direction, and power of God, Who from that day on, became to Israel, “Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord Is My Banner.”

The arms of Moses grew weary and the legs of this prayer-warrior weakened as he travailed in intercession for those in his care.

Spiritual warfare is intense, and the arm of flesh fails when we face the enemy’s onslaught in our own strength.

But Aaron and Hur joined forces with Moses as together they raised high the standard of God, and the outnumbered armies of Israel continued to battle the Amalekites with swords and spears.

The long fatigued arms of an 80+ year old Moses were held aloft until sunset, against spiritual wickedness in high places, for only as he interceded for Israel was Joshua’s victory secure.

It was as Moses prayed for the people of Israel that the enemy was overcome.

Although he grew weary and rested his exhausted body on a stone, Moses kept the Rod of the Lord high, lifted up in prayer, so that we finally read, “Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.”

We too fight under the same standard, for Christ is our Banner.

Jesus is our Jehovah-Nissi. His is the Standard under which we stand and the Commander Whom we obey.

We too lift high the name of Jesus, for He is our Rod and our Staff.

We too rest our weary soul in Him, for His is the Rock of our salvation, and He is our Strong Tower to Whom we flee for safety.

The Lord is our Banner – the Lord is MY Banner.

Like the armies of Israel under the leadership of Joshua, we are not to rely on our own strength, for Christ’s strength is sufficient for all the difficulties and dangers we may face.

He is the One upon Whom we are to cast our heavy burdens and rest our weary souls for Jesus won every spiritual battle we will face, when He proclaimed from the Cross, “It is finished.”

5 Things We Can Learn from the Israelites’ Wandering Years in the Desert:

1. The way to our promised land is not always easy, in fact, it rarely is. But it’s worth it.

God had promised his people a land that would be full of blessing. But the way there would stretch their faith and lead them through journeys where they’d have to depend on God like nothing before.

Maybe you feel like the blessing is too long in coming, maybe you feel like giving up. Be assured again today that God is faithful and he will use all things to strengthen our faith and bring goodness to his people.

Stay strong, keep pressing through.

2. God will make a way where there doesn’t seem to be a way.

As the Israelites got closer that sea must have looked bigger and deeper.

Their eyes focused on the problem.

They forgot about the bigness of their God. But God didn’t forget about them.

Even if the way He’s leading doesn’t seem to make much sense and His timing seems off, or the wait feels long, and wandering in desert places is the last thing we want to do, we can trust Him.

Always. He knows our way. He sees the big picture. He has good in store.

3. God will lead us day and night.

“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to given them light…” Exodus 13:21

God never left his people alone in their journey. His presence was always there, a reminder to them that they hadn’t been left on their own in the wilderness.

God will not leave us to fend for ourselves, struggling to find our way.

He will lead us.

He promises to be faithful. We may not see him in a pillar of cloud or fire these days, but we have his Word, and the Holy Spirit to give guidance to our days.

4. God fights on behalf of his people

“Then the angel of God…withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them…” Exodus 14:19

He gives us victory and power even when it doesn’t make sense. After a battle against the fierce Amalekites, when God gave his people a great victory, the Bible says, “Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, ‘For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord…” Exodus 17:15-16

We’re never left to wrestle through on our own in hard places. He doesn’t send us out to fight the enemy in our own strength. He just tells us to be still, to stand strong, and to know he’s fighting on our behalf.

5. God provides in miraculous ways

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you…” Exodus 16:4

They were hungry. God sent manna. They were thirsty. God sent water gushing from a rock. Every day a miracle was right before their eyes. They just had to pick up the manna, drink the water, accept the blessing.

And just like the people of Israel had to look to God to meet their needs, so it is with us.

They couldn’t store it up, they had to look for it daily. And God always provided.

Sometimes we miss the miracles of his provision, out of busyness or stress. We try to get things going too fast all on our own, spinning around, trying to get it all done. Or other times we might start to forget what matters most.

But even for those days, there’s His grace. He waits for us. His provision and blessing, they never run dry. Every day, his miracles lie right before our eyes. We just have to choose to look for them and stay extra close in his presence.

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

Let us Pray,

All glory, honor, praise and Thanks be unto You, Jehovah Nissi, for the spiritual lessons I can learn from faithful saints like Moses and Joshua, Aaron and Hur. May I recognize that in everything, Jesus is all I need, and that under Your banner I can face the future in full assurance and peace. I pray that my prayers and intercessions will be underpinned by Jesus, the Rock of my Salvation, the Hope of the whole earth and the Standard with Whom I am identified. With every passing day, I pray that I may trust in Him, stand against the enemy in prayer and intercession, and be upheld in truth,  through Jesus Christ, my God and Savior, in Whose name I pray, AMEN.

Psalm 20 Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 20

Deliverance in Battle

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

1 May the Lord answer you in a day of trouble;
may the name of Jacob’s God protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt offering. Selah

4 May he give you what your heart desires
and fulfill your whole purpose.
5 Let us shout for joy at your victory
and lift the banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord fulfill all your requests.

6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories from his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
May he[a] answer us on the day that we call.

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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For Christlike Living; “Be Alert And Pray in the Spirit on all Occasions.” Ephesians 6:13-20 (Verse 18)

Ephesians 6:13-20 The Message

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.

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.

Warfare of any kind doesn’t normally involve just individuals; it engages whole communities. This is also true with spiritual warfare. In spiritual battle, we are to be righteously concerned not only for ourselves but for all of God’s people.

Christians need to have a global perspective of who is at the forefront of the spiritual battles with the forces of evil. It is not uncommon to pray for people who are ill, who are facing hardened times, or who live in an environment of persecution. Prayers for people in physical need can be heard in many places.

It is less common to pray for someone’s spiritual well-being. But in this world, as Paul puts it, “our struggle is … against the spiritual forces of evil” (Ephesians 6:12). And when spiritual warfare is a big part of our daily experience, it is very difficult for any of us to legitimately claim that we have a sense of well-being.

So we all need each other’s prayers always.

Praying in the Spirit for others is itself a faith-building exercise. It involves giving of ourselves for the benefit of others who are part of the body of Christ.

We may not know precisely the nature of the battle, or the piece of armor that is most needed in a situation, but we know of the struggle—and that is sufficient reason to pray. It is an unselfish and blessed thing to do. Praying this way is also an exercise in obedience because we’re each instructed to be intercessors for all.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

Ephesians 6:18-20Amplified Bible

18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all [a]God’s people. 19 And  pray  for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news [of salvation], 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.

Prayer reveals three facts:

When we pray we recognize, first, the existence of an invisible kingdom.

We would never pray at all if we did not have some awareness that someone is listening, that there is behind the realm of visibility an invisible kingdom.

It is not far off in space somewhere; it is right here. It surrounds us on every side. We are constantly in touch with it, though we do not always recognize it.

It lies behind the façade of life, and all through the Scriptures are exhortations to take heed of this, reckon with it, deal with it, and acknowledge that it exists.

The second fact prayer reveals is that we Christians have assurance, confidence that the kingdom of God is immeasurably significant, that it affects our lives directly, that the visible things which are happening in our world are a direct result of something happening in the realm of invisibility. Therefore, if you and I want to change the visibilities, you and I must start with the invisibilities.

Third, our prayers play an essential part in bringing God’s invisible power to bear on visible life. God answers prayer. Prayer is purposeful and powerful; it is not pitiful and pathetic pleading with only a rare chance it might be answered.

No, it is powerful. God answers! Prayer is an essential link in the working of God in the world today. Without it he does not often work; with it, he certainly does.

These three facts are all revealed in the matter of prayer.

But we must immediately add God answers prayer according to his promises.

This is so necessary to say today, for there is a very vague but widespread concept that God answers any kind of prayer, that no matter what you want or why and when, where and how you ask for it, he commits himself to give it.

This, of course, results frequently in disappointments and gives rise to the widespread belief that prayer is ineffectual. The truth is, God answers every prayer which is exclusively based upon a promise of God and the Will of God.

1 Kings 3:6-14 Amplified Bible

Solomon’s Prayer

6 Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.  7 So now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of David my father; and as for me, I am but a little boy [[a]in wisdom and experience]; I do not know how to go out or come in [that is, how to conduct business as a king]. 8 Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant an understanding mind  and a hearing heart [with which] to judge Your people, so that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge and rule this great people of Yours?”

God’s Answer

10 Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself a long life nor for wealth, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize justice, 12 behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise and discerning heart (mind), so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall anyone equal to you arise after you. 13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both wealth and honor, so that there will not be anyone equal to you among the kings, for all your days. 14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David [b]did, then I will lengthen your days.”

This is what Paul means by his reminder we are to pray at all times in the Spirit.

In the Spirit!

Many will take this phrase as though it describes the powerful emotions we should have whenever we pray.

They think it is necessary to be greatly moved before prayer can be effectual.

Now this is possible at times, but it isn’t essential to the effectiveness of prayer.

And it is certainly not what is meant by this phrase, in the Spirit. 

Praying in the Spirit means to pray according to the promises which the Spirit has given, and the character of God which the Holy Spirit has made known.

God has never promised to answer just any prayer, but he does promise to answer prayer in a way that he has already carefully outlined for each of us.

When you learn to pray on this basis, you and I will discover that exciting and unexpected things are constantly happening, and that there is a quiet but an indescribably mighty power busy at work upon which you can steadfastly rely.

As you and I learn to pray in this way, you find there is put at your disposal a tremendous weapon, a mighty power to influence your own life and the lives of others, especially as it relates to withstanding the hard attacks of the enemy.

Take some time to pick up your Bible and make a list of the promises of God.

How can those promises you identified will surely transform your prayer life?

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 138 Amplified Bible

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.
2 
I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.
3 
On the day I called, You answered me;
And You made me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.

4 
All the kings of the land will give thanks and praise You, O Lord,
When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].
5 
Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],
For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.
6 
Though the Lord is exalted,
He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.

7 
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 
The Lord will accomplish that which concerns me;
Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever—
Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.

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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A Life Lived Against the World, A Life Lived inside the Shadow of the Cross, Is a Life Definitely Worth Our Living. Philippians 1:21 – 30

Philippians 1:21-30 Amplified Bible

To Live Is Christ

21 For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. 22 If, however, it is to be life here and I am to go on living, this will mean useful and productive service for me; so I do not know which to choose [if I am given that choice]. 23 But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; 24 yet to remain in my body is more necessary and essential for your sake. 25  Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that your rejoicing for me may overflow in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

27 Only [be sure to] lead your lives in a manner [that will be] worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I do come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit [and one purpose], with one [a]mind striving side by side [as if in combat] for the faith of the gospel. 28  And in no way be alarmed or intimidated [in anything] by your opponents, for such [constancy and fearlessness on your part] is a [clear] sign [a proof and a seal] for them of [their impending] destruction, but [a clear sign] for you of deliverance and salvation, and that too, from God. 29 For you have been granted [the privilege] for Christ’s sake, not only to believe and confidently trust in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 [and so you are] experiencing the same [kind of] conflict which [b]you saw me endure, and which you hear to be mine now.

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 today’s verses Paul tells his readers that he found ultimate meaning not in the length of his life but in his life of connectional relationship with the Lord.

Paul, feet shackled, wrote this letter from a prison. He didn’t know what his future held, and yet he trusted the risen Christ to carry him through any trial.

For Paul, even while chained and imprisoned, to live in the Lord and serve him in whatever capacity God entrusted him with is wonderful. And to die in the Lord is blessed, for death itself could not rip him away from his Savior’s care.

As we all face up to the inevitable which is our own mortality, that of our loved ones, our hope is rooted inside the everlasting grip our Savior has upon his own.

God might grant us a longer or shorter life. But to be truly fulfilling, worthy, our life in the world, but not of the world, but the cross, must be focused in Christ.

Living for Christ in the present age can get extremely difficult at times.

Rather than living for Christ, it can be easy to do the alternative — to live for ourselves or our own wants and desires.

Paul tells us in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

It should be our heart and souls most sincere desire to follow Paul’s example, be able to echo these same words, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

In our greatly challenged stressed day to day lives, we need to continually pray, continually ask ourselves, are we truly living for Christ, or living for ourselves?

This is a difficult question for all of us to answer, yet there can only be growth if we are brutally honest with ourselves and then make the appropriate changes.

Breaking the Mold and Living for Christ goes against the teachings of the world.

The teachings of the world tell us to “live our best life” or to do all we can for our own ultimate pleasure and happiness.

Our wildly reckless abandon, our endless pursuit of pleasure and happiness will only end up leaving us physically and spiritually torn, worn out, and exhausted.

The things of the world may bring fleeting happiness, but this happiness will quickly fade away, and we will feel empty again. Only in the Cross of Christ are we given the lasting joy of knowing Him and having a relationship with Him.

The Bible tells us that the “god” of the world is Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Since Satan is the “god” of this world, the world’s teachings are not in any kind of correct alignment with the Bible.

The world teaches us that lying, being selfish, and immoral acts are all normal or that we should do anything that is allegedly “true” to ourselves. As one can see, these teachings do not come from the Bible. If we are going to truly live for Christ in this present day and age, we are going to have to have a radical change.

When we stop giving into the lies, start truly living for Christ, we are going to break the mold of the world. No longer wanting to live according to the world.

Rather, we will simply want to live for Christ, serve Him with our whole heart.

Living for Christ is no easy task, yet it is something that we must strive for each day. We cannot make a difference for Christ if we are living according to the standards of the world. As Christians, we are called to stand out from the world.

From within His Beatitudes, Jesus teaches each of us, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

As Jesus tells us, we are to be the light of the world. We cannot be the light of the world if we are “hiding in some darkened corner, under old tiny baskets, living abundantly in the darkness of the world’s teachings, conforming to its rules.”

Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Romans 12:1-2 Amplified Bible

Dedicated Service

12 [a]Therefore I urge you, [b]brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [c]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].

The Lord wants us to discipline ourselves, abstain from our conforming to the pattern of this world, to instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

We can be transformed by the renewing of our minds by reading the Bible, meditating on its truths, teaching and applying its teachings to our daily lives.

If we choose to conform to the pattern of this world, we cannot properly live for Christ. Living according to the pattern of this world will only result in a broken relationship with God, sin, and shame. As believers, we have the permanent indwelling Holy Spirit, who guides, helps, and convicts us (John 14:26, 16:7-13).

He will help us walk in the right path if we listen to Him (Galatians 5:16-18).

Unfortunately, as we will inevitably do, when we turn two deaf ears to the Holy Spirit, our hearts can become cold and calloused to the point that we no longer feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is vital that we get disciplined, never let ourselves get to the point where we no longer feel the Holy Spirit’s conviction.

The Father and Jesus have given us the great gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit within our hearts, and He is there to help us live for God. In fact, the Holy Spirit is God because He is the third member of the Trinity. Therefore, when we are turning our deaf ears to the Holy Spirit, we’re turning a deaf ear to God Himself.

This is a very dangerous and high risk business and a road that is hard to return from. We cannot truly live out our all in all for our Savior Christ unless we are walking in the Spirit, allowing Him to shape and mold us to reflect Jesus better.

Surrendering Everything for Christ, Living for Christ, means that we have to be willing to make hardcore sacrifices, give up everything, however much value we assign to those, to follow Him, including all of our hopes, dreams, and desires.

Jesus tells us boldly, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples” (Luke 14:33).

Luke 14:25-35 Amplified Bible

Discipleship Tested

25 Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them,  26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not [a]hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come]  and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is unable to finish  [the building], all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one who is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else [if he feels he is not powerful enough], while the other [king] is still a far distance away, he sends an envoy and asks for terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [carefully consider the cost and then for My sake] [b]give up all his own possessions.

34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

In other words, we have to be willing to give up everything in order to follow Jesus and serve Him.

Christ can never be “second best” in our life. He has to always come first.

Placing Jesus as our number one priority each day is crucial for living for Him.

Whenever we place anything above Christ in our lives, it becomes an idol.

Even good things can become idols if we place them above Christ, such as marriage, family, or friends, material possessions, places of employment.

While it is deeply desired, great to be married, have a family, and have friends, we should never place them as being more important than God in our lives.

Choosing to live for our Savior Christ is something that we have to do each day intentionally. This means we should always be ready and willing to go out of our way to help someone else in our lives or to help out at our local church, a local ministry, or even to just help a neighbor who needs help carrying in groceries.

We do not have to be a missionary or an ordained pastor to live for Christ.

If we’re indeed authentic Christians, we can all live for Christ in our daily lives.

God has trusted us each with our own spiritual gifts and talents, skills, and gifts, and He wants us to use these things to be able to serve Him and others.

Each in our own unique capacity has the ability to do great things for Christ, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, financial status, or relationship status.

Living for Christ can be quite difficult, yet living for Christ is always worth it because we are serving our great Savior and Redeemer.

Why Does This Matter?

Why should this matter?

What possible difference can it make?

What possible difference could I make?

Even if the end result is as minimal as it can get-say only .01% , as much as 100, God will be the One who will plant the seed of the change, nurture it to fullness.

Philippians 2:1-4 Amplified Bible

Be Like Christ

2 Therefore if there is any encouragement and comfort in Christ [as there certainly is in abundance], if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship [that we share] in the Spirit, if [there is] any [great depth of] affection and compassion,  2  make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same [a]love [toward one another], knit together in spirit, intent on one purpose [and living a life that reflects your faith and spreads the gospel—the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ]. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. 4 Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

If you have been living for Christ for a while now, as you are familiar with the difficulties, trials, and hard times that come along with living for Christ, yet it is vital you continue to live for Christ even when it’s hard and even when it hurts.

Maybe at the end of our lives, we’ll be able to echo Paul’s words, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

2 Timothy 4:3-8 Amplified Bible

3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold, 4 and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable]. 5 But as for you, be clear-headed in every situation [stay calm and cool and steady], endure every hardship [without flinching], do the work of an evangelist, fulfill [the duties of] your ministry.

6 For I am already being [a]poured out as a drink offering, and the time of [b]my departure [from this world] is at hand and I will soon go free. 7 I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. 8 In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and his son were struggling to get a calf to step into the barn. They tried poking, prodding, pushing, but the calf would not move.

Suddenly a servant girl shuffled by, and by thrusting her finger into the animal’s mouth, she rather easily lured him into its stall inside the barn.

The business world is built on the device of promise of reward for productive work. After a week’s hard work, we receive the reward of a paycheck.

We may also receive other benefits, such as health insurance and vacation time. Work that will be rewarded gets done.

God uses the promise of reward to motivate Christians as well.

Heaven, the gift of everlasting life in the presence of the eternal God, is an awesome reward for all who serve God. When the work is strenuous, the obstacles are foreboding, and our courage is waning, God reminds us of the reward we will receive in heaven.

Picture the crown of righteousness that God wants to place on your head.

Imagine the throne being prepared for you to reign with Christ.

Visualize the banquet table where all of God’s family will feast forever.

But the reward is also a gift; it’s already been earned for us by Christ.

And as he offers it freely, we already begin to live the new life that we’ll receive fully in God’s presence. The reward of the life to come summons us to give our best sacrifices, very best fruits of our labor, and to win the race here on earth.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 103 The Message

103 1-2 O my soul, bless God.
    From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
    don’t forget a single blessing!

3-5     He forgives your sins—every one.
    He heals your diseases—every one.
    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

6-18 God makes everything come out right;
    he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
    opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
    nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
    so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
    he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
    God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
    leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
    eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
    as they follow his Covenant ways
    and remember to do whatever he said.

19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;
    he rules over us all. He’s the King!
So bless God, you angels,
    ready and able to fly at his bidding,
    quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
    alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
    everything and everyone made by God.

And you, O my soul, bless 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.

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God Freely Gives us His Gift of Peace, True Peace that’s Eminently Possible. Romans 12:17 – 19.

Romans 12:17-19 Amplified Bible

17 Never repay anyone evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and gracious and proper in the sight of everyone. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

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.

Peace That Is Possible

The Bible is a wonderfully practical book.

Its wisdom is both rich and realistic, the longer we live, the more meaningfully we hear it speaking to our every situation.

As we age, many of us will realize that our parents were often correct in their warnings and wisdom; and as we walk by the light of God’s word, so it will be proven right in time, every time to this and to us and subsequent generations.

Paul displays this timeless, realistic wisdom here.

On one hand, this sounds overly simplistic: just try to be at peace with everyone.

It’s not difficult to understand.

But that is not all he’s saying.

The instruction is preceded by two qualifications: “if possible” and “so far as it depends on you.” The implication is clear; that it may not always be possible!

Paul is not providing a loophole here.

He’s not telling us to be at peace so long as we can control our temper or hold in our emotions, but otherwise we’re free to harbor bitterness. His call to us is to ensure that any ongoing conflict in our lives is in spite of us, not because of us.

The responsibility for ongoing animosity must never be traceable to reluctance for reconciliation on our part.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Amplified Bible

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. 18 But all these  things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with God].

20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us; we [as Christ’s representatives] plead with you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. 21 He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].

But even if, as Christ’s Ambassadors, we’ve done our part, we need to realize that there will always be two situations in which peace may not be possible.

One is when the other party is unwilling to be at peace with us.

We may be dealing with someone intent on harming us and with no interest in resolving the conflict.

In that situation, it may not be possible to change that person or prevent their cruelty—but it will be possible for us not to fight back.

When we ensure that we are not contributing to the conflict, we are pursuing peace “so far as it depends on” us.

The other obstacle arises when the terms of peace are incompatible with principles of holiness, truth, and righteousness.

The writer of Hebrews had such a situation in mind when he instructed his readers, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Hebrews 12:14-16 Amplified Bible

14 Continually pursue peace with everyone, and the sanctification without which no one will [ever] see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 and [see to it] that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

These are not two disjointed instructions; our striving for peace and for holiness must definitely, unequivocally, not take us in separate directions.

The pursuit of peace is not to become the pursuit of peace at any price.

Some of us need to take care that our distaste for conflict and confrontation does not lead us to pursue peace at the cost of our integrity and righteousness.

One cannot change a heart; that is the Lord’s business.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 Amplified Bible

26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them.

One must not compromise their integrity; that is the Lord’s chief concern. But God is giving you, me, an imperative, as much as it is up to us, that we pursue peace. Do you or I need to be prompted by this command to temper our words, change our behaviors, or make the first step toward repairing a conflict, today?

God Will Speak, God Freely Gives His Gift of His Peace

Psalm 85:8-13 Amplified Bible

8 
I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say,
For He will speak peace to His people, to His [a]godly ones—
But let them not turn again to folly.
9 
Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder],
That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.
10 
Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together;
Righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 
Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 
Indeed, the Lord will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.
13 
Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].

Peace is a commodity that can only be found with time spent seeking the face of God. The world can’t offer us peace because it has nothing in which to place its hope, trust, and security. Kingdoms come and go. Leaders move in and out of power. What cultures and societies value changes like the passing of the tides.

Our only constant is God. He has been, is, and forever will be the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord of all. All authority has been given to him. He governs the change of seasons. He thwarts the plans of our enemy. And He longs to offer total and sustained peace to all who will place their full hope and trust in him.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Our God has peace in store for us in every situation if we will choose to keep our mind stayed on him and trust him.

The world says that peace can only come when you’ve worked your fingers to the bone and have finally attained all you want. You can only have peace when you have enough money, friends, the right job, or the right spouse. You can only have peace if friends, family, bosses like you. Peace as negotiated with enemies.

James 4:7-9 Amplified Bible teaches us …

7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. 8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people]. 9 Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom.

God’s way is to draw you into himself and offer you peace in the midst of your circumstances. He doesn’t want you to wait until everything gets worked out before you can have rest—we submit yo Him, he’s offering you rest right now.

Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul . . . . You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:1-3, 5).

God longs to prepare a table for you in the midst of whatever trouble surrounds you. He is calling upon each, every one of us to keep our minds stayed on him no matter what may lie before us. And he is asking us to seek his face, not ours and find our rest in him rather than toiling and striving for a circumstantial peace.

Romans 8:6 says, “To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” 

Romans 8:5-8 Amplified Bible

5 For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]. 6 Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; 7 the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

It’s by the Holy Spirit alone that you and I will find abundant life and true peace.

Stop looking for your fulfillment in the things of the world. Stop asking the world to offer you what it never had to begin with. Look toward your heavenly Father for the peace that surpasses all understanding. May you be filled with rest and peace today as you spend time in prayer seeking the face of God.

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

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on the truth that God is your sole source of peace and rest. 

Allow God’s word to mold and shape your perspective.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” – Psalm 23:1-3

“To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” – Romans 8:6

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” – Isaiah 26:3

2. Where have you been running to for peace? 

Have you had much peace and rest in your life lately? Acknowledging your past pursuits will help you make present changes.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

3. Seek the peace coming from placing your hope and trust in God alone. 

Ask the Spirit to fill you with peace in the midst of your circumstances. Let your requests be known to God, and receive the peace that comes from casting your burdens on the loving and capable shoulders of your heavenly Father.

“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5-7

You will be robbed of peace as soon as you turn your trust away from God and begin to live in your own strength.

The only source of consistent peace is keeping your mind stayed on God.

You can trust in the reality of God’s desire and ability to help you.

You can wait on him if he tells you to wait.

You can move when he tells you to move. Offer your understanding, actions, and emotions to him, and allow him to be sovereign Lord over them all today.

Psalm 29 Amplified Bible

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.

A Psalm of David.

29 [a]Ascribe to the Lord, O [b]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty and majesty of His holiness [as the creator and source of holiness].

3 
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
4 
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion (Mount Hermon) like a young, wild ox.
7 
The voice of the Lord rakes flames of fire (lightning).
8 
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 
The voice of the Lord [c]makes the doe labor and give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple all are saying, “Glory!”

10 
The Lord sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
11 
The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

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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A Guarded Heart; Guarding Your 2024 Heart from Evil Today. Proverbs 4:23

Proverbs 4:20-27 New American Standard Bible 1995

20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your sight;
Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them
And health to all [a]their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious [b]speech far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your [c]gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
26 Watch the path of your feet
And all your ways will be established.
27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left;
Turn your foot from evil.

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 proverb writer, presumably King Solomon is very deeply concerned about helping his children build a wise and discerning life, avoiding his fathers errors, avoiding, learning invaluable lessons from his father David’s vast array of wild and severe intrigues which nearly cost him his throne, his family, his very life.

“Listen,” he pleads, “pay attention to what I’m saying.” (verse 20)

Throughout the early chapters of the book of Proverbs we find one plea after another like this.

And in Proverbs 4:23 the writer points out the central issue in all this teaching.

“Above all else,” the writer says, “guard your heart.”

In other words, “Look inside. Search inside, Rummage around, Be concerned about your inner life before you build your external life. After all, your heart, your inner life, ‘is the wellspring of life.’ Your heart shapes who you are.”

Jesus taught this truth also.

He said that a person produces good things when that person has a good heart— that is, a heart focused on living for God.

But if a person has an evil heart, that will show up in the evil things that person does. (See Luke 6:45.)

Luke 6:39-45 New American Standard Bible 1995

39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A [a]pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will [b]be like his teacher. 41 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. 43 For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, [c]on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. 45 The good man out of the good [d] treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from [e]that which fills his heart.

Throughout the Psalms, the writers encourage and even admonish: be focusing on our “inner life”—the focus and direction of our heart. (Psalms 4:4, 7:10, 9:1, 10:17, 13. 14:1, 17:3, 19:14, 22:14, 25:17, 26:2, 27:1-8, 28:7, 33:11, 37:4, 38:10, 39:3, 40:10, 44:21, 51:10, 53:1, 55:4, 57:7, 61:2, 62:8, 66:18, 69:20, 73:12-14, 73:26, 77:5-7, 78:37, 81:12, 84, 86:11-12, 90:12, 95:8-10, 101, 107:12, 109:22, 111, 119:2,7, 10,11,32, 34,36, 58, 69, 70, 80, 111, 112, 145, 161, 139:23-24, 141:4, 143:4)

Put your heart on the highest possible levels of alert, know that God is coming soon!

Mark 1:1-3 Amplified Bible

The Preaching of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the [facts regarding the] good news of [a]Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

2 As it is written and forever remains in the [writings of the] prophet Isaiah:

“Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way—
3 
A voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
[b]Make His paths straight!’”

And before we start discussing about how we ought to behave and what we all ought to do, let’s simply talk about what’s inside – take a prayerful day or more to take your heart on that rigorous journey through those verses of the Psalms.

After all, it would be a wasted effort to try building a way of life (on the outside) if the heart wasn’t healthy (on the inside) courtesy of the power of God’s Word.

So let’s reach way inside the remainder of this month and continue on for as long as it takes for you and God, Jesus and Holy Spirit to check out our inner life.

In that vigorous effort, let’s remember to also ask for God’s help in guarding it.

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 19 Amplified Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

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

7 
The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 
The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.
10 
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 
Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.
13 
Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.
14 
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my [firm, immovable] rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 139:23-24 Amplified Bible

23 
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting 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.

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Living in Harmony Is So Necessary; Rejoicing with Others is Symphony. Romans 12:9-16

Romans 12:9-16 The Message

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

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.

Living in Harmony Is So Necessary

Wise believers acknowledge when Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34), this was not simply a suggestion for getting along.

So too, the Bible’s commands as to how we treat one another shouldn’t be considered optional. That’s not the nature of God’s commands at all.

As Christ’s followers, we must remember how our relationship with God affects our relationships with each other.

When we pray, “Our Father,” we acknowledge that we are part of a family that includes sisters and brothers. We’re each called to live in harmony together.

Today’s reading mentions specific ways of doing so, such as honoring one another above ourselves, holding to what is good, praying faithfully, sharing with people in need, showing hospitality, and not being haughty or proud.

When believers live in harmony, expressing their love for one another by sharing tears in times of sorrow and expanding their joy by celebrating together, they become appealing witnesses to their truest hope in Christ.

When a coworker or stranger observes, “It’s amazing how you guys love each other,” the cause of Christ moves forward. Jesus taught this when he prayed that all believers “may be one” and also “may be brought to complete unity.

Then,” he said to the Father, “the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:22-23).

Rejoicing with Others is So Symphony.

Romans 12:9-16 Complete Jewish Bible

9 Don’t let love be a mere outward show. Recoil from what is evil, and cling to what is good. 10 Love each other devotedly and with brotherly love; and set examples for each other in showing respect. 11 Don’t be lazy when hard work is needed, but serve the Lord with spiritual fervor. 12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in your troubles, and continue steadfastly in prayer. 13 Share what you have with God’s people, and practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you — bless them, don’t curse them! 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be sensitive to each other’s needs — don’t think yourselves better than others, but make humble people your friends. Don’t be conceited.

Can you hear the triumphant sounds of symphony of Christians in community?

Can you hear the ruckus of badly timed, tuned instruments of no Christians in community or harmony at all – a million of clashing cymbals + broken bugles?

1 Corinthians 13 The Message

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11 When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

It is a good thing that God’s love stays in eternal harmony, His love never ends and His love forever bears all things because man’s love for his fellow man fails.

Shared faith, hope, love, joy are a great expression of sympathy. We typically use the word sympathy to describe a shared grief—but it applies equally to joy.

We understand sympathy when we use it in a sentence, but the word itself can be difficult to define. So consider its opposite: apathy. If apathy is akin to saying, “I couldn’t care less,” sympathy is akin to saying, “I couldn’t care more.” Sympathy is an identification with the experience of another person.

Many of us find it natural to “laugh with those who laugh, weep with those who weep.” It is instinctive for us to enter into the merriment and disappointment and pain of those we love and to cry at the sight or thought of their sadness.

This is a good thing, for to “bear one another’s burdens” is to “fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

To enter into the joy and success of others, however, is often the far greatest of challenges because it requires us to work against the grain of the fallenness of our human nature, which is prone to continuous resentment and bitterness.

Instead of someone’s success serving as an occasion for us to bless God and thank Him, it so easily becomes an occasion for everything contrary to love.

Most of us know how to avoid expressing envy. But there is a massive difference between not expressing envy and not feeling envy. We can modify our behavior enough to keep from showing it, but it requires spiritual transformation to get us to the point of not feeling it. This transformation begins with a well studied understanding of our identity as members of Christ’s body in true community.

Paul says that “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Romans 12:5). To be in community with Christ means we are members of Him and of one another in authentic community.

To put this another way: if we are in Christ, we are all on the same team.

When we grasp this, it will be as natural for us to enter into another’s joy as it is for a soccer player to rejoice at their teammate’s game-winning goal in just the same way as if they had scored it themselves. As God’s people, we win and lose—we enjoy and we grieve—in community as God is in community – all together.

God’s word calls you to “let love be genuine” (Romans 12:9)—and genuine, Christlike love conforms your feelings so that jealousy gives way to joy and apathy to true sympathy playing God’s symphony of peace. Is there anyone who you are standing aloof from in some way, either in their joy or their sadness?

Have you considered whom you will encourage with tickets to God’s symphony?

There is almost certainly someone you know who needs you to reach out and let them know that you are with them, praying for them and there for them as they walk a deep valley. Likewise, there will be someone whose joy you can share, and you can simply let them know that you praise God for His favor on their life.

Be that community, that symphony of someone’s of whom it can increasingly be said, “They couldn’t care more.” Ask the God of all compassion and comfort to work in you and through you by His Spirit to mold you into that person today.

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

Let us Pray,

Father God, we want to live with others in such a way that shows we are in a life-giving relationship with you. Grant us your Spirit to do so. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Psalm 150 The Message

150 1-6 Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
    praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
    praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
    praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
    praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
    praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
    Hallelujah!

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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Unlocking those not so Mysterious Secrets to Loving Others As Jesus Did. Psalm 40:11

Psalm 40 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.

6 [d]Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have [e]opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is [f]written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”

9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.

11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
[g]Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has [h]failed me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
Make haste, O Lord, to help me.
14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my [i]life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight [j]in my hurt.
15 Let those be [k]appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 Since I am afflicted and needy,
[l]Let the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

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.

Happiness in Being Cared For by God

Psalm 40:11-12 The Message

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.

One of the most comforting truths for our lives is the providence of God.

The Lord Almighty takes care of us 100% of the time. The same God who created us also 100% sustains us. In this comfort we live and move and have our being.

God is the one who gives us breath and 100% of everything He knows we need.

God gives life to the seeds and plants we need for food. God gives us our daily bread and good health to enjoy. He even gives flavor to our food so that we can savor it. God is the one who preserves our life and delivers us from evil. The Lord God is our creator, provider, protector, redeemer, and our comforter.

The apostle Paul asks, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Our life does not drift on the winds of time at random, at the mercy of mere circumstances. We are all in the hands of the one who controls the universe.

How comforting it is to know that the God who rules the world is in control of our lives!

It is a great assurance to troubled souls and burdened hearts to know that God cares for them. He is thinking about you right now and has not forgotten your pain and need. Knowing this, everyone who seeks the Lord can be filled with joy.

Happiness is being unselfishly Cared for by Others

John 13:34-35 Amplified Bible

34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you [a]love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.”

The walk of life is filled with all kinds of relationships.

We pray that they’re mostly good ones that enrich our lives, but that’s not always the case.

They say people are here for a reason, a season, or a lifetime; unfortunately, some fall in the former.

Lucky for us, God redeems all things for good, and losing a friendship or just not clicking with someone from the start are no exceptions to that rule.

It doesn’t make it easier at the moment, though, and spending time around these people can be inevitable.

However, it’s during times like these that I’m often reminded of one of the more remarkable concepts in the faith, one that can be challenging when the temptation is to do the exact opposite.

Golden Rule #1 Treat everyone like Jesus died for them. (Matthew 7:7 – 12)

Because He did. Yes, even that stranger who was rude to you at Starbucks, even that ex-friend from your past who won’t stop spreading rumors about you and even that peer who won’t get off your nerves and those contrary to God’s ways.

All of them have the same opportunity for salvation as you.

It’s inviting to let those people hold a 100 year mortgage on the space between your ears, ruin your day, snap back, maybe say something bad about them too.

That’s not how Jesus taught us we’re supposed to publicly conduct ourselves.

Navigating the John 13:33 – 34 text is one of the more powerful exercises for self-control, but you have to remind yourself in those moments they are a child of God too and loved just the same as you. You can’t treat them as anything less.

Unlocking all those Secrets of Navigating John 13-34

1. Love God as God Loves Us.

Matthew 22:35-40 The Message

The Most Important Command

34-36 When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?”

37-40 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

It’s a simple concept. When Jesus was approached and asked outright what the greatest commandment was in Matthew 22:37, He didn’t hesitate to answer that it was to love the Lord your God with all of your heart. He continued to say that the second is like it and that you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

However bothersome that person is to you, they are your neighbor, and you are not asked to like them; you are commanded to love them.

Otherwise, you would not be loving God.

The two are so closely intertwined that you can’t have one without the other. Now, what is love? How do we love someone who has done us so wrong?

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Luke 6:31

Christianity demands kindness and just treatment, but the Bible has never instructed us to be doormats or pushovers. 

Matthew 7:12 echoes the same sentiment referenced above.

To start, we can simply treat others civilly.

In fact, it truly is the most mature course of action for any interaction.

Being civil and respectful are the bare minimum acceptable standards, and no one benefits from gossip or behind the back snarky comments or dirty looks.

It’s certainly not expected to treat someone as a friend when they haven’t been one; it’s not good to reward harmful hurtful and 100% unacceptable behavior, but there are a few ways to have decorum going forward: Faith Hope and Love.

2. Pray for Others

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 The Message

16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

It’s incredibly hard to continue feeling anger toward someone if you’re praying for them—not praying because you feel obligated, but genuinely sitting down and praying for that person. Putting yourself in your enemies’ shoes and too walking their path, very quickly gives you a new Kingdom perspective.

I’ve tried this out myself on occasion, and it had me thinking in ways I never would have thought about someone who betrayed me.

I felt compassion and even empathy.

It brought me peace in ways I didn’t know it would. I found myself thinking about all that may be going on in their lives to make them act in those ways.

Matthew 5:43-48 The Message

43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

Maybe the grumpy and rude someone at Starbucks or Burger King had just received some bad or devastating news sometime during that day. I didn’t have to imagine the scenarios for ex-friends because, funny enough, I already knew them so well. They’d always had struggles with their family or even their own self-worth. We didn’t need to keep being friends, but I could pray for them.

3. Extend Grace

Ephesians 2:8-10 The Message

7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Remember, revenge, picking a fight, and gossiping are not the path to healing.

Instead, embrace the power of love and grace.

It’s not necessary to maintain a friendship that causes you pain.

By choosing to love yourself and others, you can overcome the hurt.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

However, responding with malice or cruel intent is also not loving.

Act with grace and treat the other person with dignity.

Jesus wants us to set boundaries and defend ourselves in respectful ways, but seeking revenge is not our job.

God will repay; He expects us to do what is honorable.

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:17-21

4. Pause before Reacting

Proverbs 3:5-8 New American Standard Bible 1995

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your [a]body
And refreshment to your bones.

There are two different paths to take when dealing with someone we don’t get on with, whether we’ve just met them or known them for a long time.

Confrontation is the first option.

Is the situation worth having a conversation?

Obviously, that person in the Starbucks or the Burger King probably doesn’t need a conversation, but someone who did you wrong and you will likely keep seeing may need to be spoken to.

That peer from before, maybe you’re working on a project for school with someone who won’t do their part, or you have a coworker who won’t stop bugging you. They may need kind and intentional confrontation. If there’s something you can do to make that everyday reaction better, you should.

If it’s that friend from your past, sometimes an honest discussion can go a long way. But conversation isn’t always meant to salvage something. Sometimes, it’s meant for the circumstance to help you part ways, walk different divergent line.

Distance is the other option.

Tough love is love, too, and I’m a firm believer in that.

That can be executed by taking space if it’s possible.

Remember, you won’t always get closure the way you want it, and on occasion, that is all the closure you’ll get.

You’ll save yourself a lot of pain and struggle by making that choice to step away. Even if your relationship used to be close or maybe that person was just in your life quite a bit, they won’t always need that confrontation. Talking doesn’t solve everything. Walking away can be the best “I Love You” course of action.

Pray for discernment to determine which would be best for your situation.

God will help nudge you in the direction you should take.

It’s important to be astute going forward to protect yourself.

“Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.” Proverbs 2:11-12

5. Remember, You Are Loved

Romans 5:8-11 The Message

6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!

Sometimes, in our heads, it can feel like, ‘How could a person who is so mean, rude, or awful have the opportunity for forgiveness in the same way I do’?

Why would Jesus make the “tough love” decision to go through all that grief, all that bodily pain and ultimate humiliation of the Cross to do that for them, too?

It’s because they need it, and you need it too. You need forgiveness like they do because you, too, have sinned. Jesus didn’t come to condemn; He came to save.

I desperately need the daily reminder that we are all sinners in need of His forgiveness and that while I may feel like the victim now, there have most definitely been instances in the past when I was the villain in someone else’s story, instances where I may not have conducted myself with grace and dignity.

It’s why we all deserve to be treated like Jesus died for us—because, thank goodness, thank God, He did so love us with an everlasting sacrifice of love!

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

Let us Pray.

Psalm 23 The Message

23 1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my 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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God, make a fresh start in me; put a fresh wind in my sails! I will let loose with your highest praise. Psalm 51:12

Psalm 51:7-15 The Message

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
    scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
    set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
    give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
    shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
    or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
    put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
    so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
    and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
    I’ll let loose with your praise.

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 Daily Prayer for Every Christian

Psalm 51:10-13 Complete Jewish Bible

10 (8) Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness,
so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.
11 (9) Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my crimes.

12 (10) Create in me a clean heart, God;
renew in me a resolute spirit.
13 (11) Don’t thrust me away from your presence,
don’t take your Ruach Kodesh away from me.

“It happened to me because I did not think it could happen to me.”

That’s what a homeless man said to me after getting involved in a relationship that almost destroyed his marriage, his children almost being taken from him.

Taking the “reasonably good” life he had made for himself and his family for granted, He never thought anything like that could, would, ever happen to him.

He’s not alone.

It’s easy to think we are immune to sin and temptation. Many of us go to church and try to live right. Sometimes we even shake our heads when others fall into sin, and more than one Christian has said, “That will never happen to me.”

But that’s when we become extremely vulnerable. Paul warns against that when he says, “Watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).

We would do well to make David’s prayer in verses 10-11 our daily prayer.

No matter how strong we might think we are or however good our intentions might be, in our own strength we are never going to be a match for Satan.

David was speaking from life long experienced when he prayed, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”

Take some time over the next few days to memorize that prayer, or write it out and put it on your refrigerator door or bathroom mirror. Pray it often. Only with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit do we have the power to resist temptation.

In the face of sin and separation from God, grace is a refreshing stream that restores salvation. But the joy of salvation is found only when we realize and accept the forgiveness, grace, and restoration God has given us — when we drink from the stream of grace. The joy of salvation is sustained in a changed lifestyle, changed mindset, and an ongoing recognition that we walk with God.

Search Me, Investigate Me, Test Me, and Uphold Me

I believe that deep, abiding joy is largely missing in much of the church today.

I have heard Christians say, “We did not do enough when we had the chance, We prayed down a revival in our church, we did not give revival a real chance.”

Yet revival cannot happen by prayer alone. There cannot be any such awakening unless people hunger diligently for God’s Word. And they must wholly commit, sacrifice their lives to being guided and governed by the Scriptures. We cannot obtain heaven’s joy until the pure Word has convicted us of our backslidings.

When David was disobedient, he tried to hide it from everyone, he tried to cover it up and in doing so, all of his bones felt like they were crushed within him, he utterly lost the joy of the Lord, a joy would only be restored by true repentance.

David knew this, so he prayed, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. . . . Purge me” (Psalm 51:2–3, 7). David also prayed to regain what he had lost: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

Ezra told the people rebuilding Jerusalem, in essence, “You have hungered so long for God’s Word and allowed it to work in your hearts. You have repented and mourned, and God is pleased. But now it is time to rejoice! Take out your handkerchiefs and wipe away your tears. It is a time for uncompromising joy!”

The glory of the Lord fell on Israel, and the people spent the next seven days rejoicing: “All the people went their way to eat, and to drink . . . and to make great mirth, because they understood the words that were declared unto them” (Nehemiah 8:12, KJV).

The Hebrew word for “mirth” here means “gladness, happiness.” This isn’t just a good feeling, but a deep, inner exuberance. It is clear to everyone around that this wellspring of uncompromising joy has only come from God in heaven.

When God’s Word is revered, the result is an outpouring of genuine “Jesus joy.”

Test Me, Cleanse Me, Uphold Me With A Willing Spirit

Psalm 51:7-13 Complete Jewish Bible

7 (5) True, I was born guilty,
was a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me.
8 (6) Still, you want truth in the inner person;
so make me know wisdom in my inmost heart.

9 (7) Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
10 (8) Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness,
so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.
11 (9) Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my crimes.

12 (10) Create in me a clean heart, God;
renew in me a resolute spirit.
13 (11) Don’t thrust me away from your presence,
don’t take your Ruach Kodesh away from me.

David’s request to be sustained (thoroughly supported) with a willing spirit (a heart quick and ready to respond) could be viewed as a culmination of the Lord creating in him a clean heart, giving him an unwavering spirit of obedience, not grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) and a restoration, renewal of his joy.

The Evidence of Being Sustained by the Lord with a Willing Spirit:

1. Remembering and rejoicing (vv.1-3) that the Lord:

  • Stooped down,
  • Drew the believer out of the pit of despair and destruction,
  • Gave a place to stand and a path that leads to flourishing, and
  • Gave a new song to the Lord of all mercy.

2. Understanding foundational truths:

  • Happy/blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord (whose ultimate confidence is in the Lord). Those who TRUST/DEPEND upon the Lord display trust by not turning to, or seeking counsel from, the self-sufficient proud or those who believe lies.
  • The Lord has multiplied our joys beyond measure and we continuously recount the tender mercies of the Lord (vv.5, 11).
  • The Lord delights in heart-felt obedience. We are to delight to do the will of the Lord with an open ear (receiving the Scripture) and treasuring the Word in our hearts.
  • We are to speak of his tender mercies, proclaiming the goodness/mercy of the Lord (vv. 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b). 

QUESTIONS:

1. How does the reality of verses 5 and 11 lead to an “unspeakable obligation” on the part of those who have received mercy?

2. What lies do we most readily believe in our current culture?

3. How do we speak of the mercies of the Lord (Malachi 3:16)?

4. To whom should you speak within the next two weeks regarding the mercies of Jesus in their life?

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 32 Complete Jewish Bible

32 (0) By David. A maskil:

(1) How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven,
those whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed those to whom Adonai imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
because of my groaning all day long;
4 day and night your hand was heavy on me;
the sap in me dried up as in a summer drought. (Selah)

5 When I acknowledged my sin to you,
when I stopped concealing my guilt,
and said, “I will confess my offenses to Adonai”;
then you, you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Selah)

6 This is what everyone faithful should pray
at a time when you can be found.
Then, when the floodwaters are raging,
they will not reach to him.

7 You are a hiding-place for me,
you will keep me from distress;
you will surround me
with songs of deliverance. (Selah)

8 “I will instruct and teach you
in this way that you are to go;
I will give you counsel;
my eyes will be watching you.”

9 Don’t be like a horse or mule
that has no understanding,
that has to be curbed with bit and bridle,
or else it won’t come near you.

10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
but grace surrounds those who trust in Adonai.
11 Be glad in Adonai; rejoice, you righteous!
Shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

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

https://translate.google.com/

“like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Build a Strong Spiritual Foundation at Home. Matthew 7:26

Matthew 7:24-29 Amplified Bible

The Two Foundations

24 “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. 25  And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish (stupid) man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods  and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great and complete was its fall.”

28 When Jesus had finished [speaking] these words [on the mountain], the crowds were astonished and overwhelmed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority [to teach entirely of His own volition], and not as their scribes [who relied on others to confirm their authority].

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.

Wise and Foolish Defined …

Matthew 7:26-27 The Message

26-27 “But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

At the end of his Sermon on the Mount, the most dramatic ethical and religious teaching of all time, Jesus closes with a parable to note this teaching is nothing if people do not put it into practice. Wise people still heed this biblical advice.

Sometimes it takes a crisis to spur us to act on the truth. I know someone who adamant – they would not quit smoking until they were diagnosed with cancer.

Jesus describes such a crisis in this parable.

In desert lands a rare storm can roll through a mountain pass and sweep away everything that is lodged only in sand.

Jesus pictures a disaster like that here to describe for his audience the crisis of the coming of God’s kingdom.

Interestingly, Jesus concludes the parable not with success, but with failure.

After describing the wise builder, Jesus leaves his audience pondering the example of the foolish one.

Jesus explains to his audience, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Though not every disaster in our lives is a punishment, sometimes it takes a disaster to get us to pay closer attention to what Jesus is trying hard to teach.

Perhaps the most obvious lesson is we must live wisely, serving God faithfully.

If we are living too foolishly, we need to turn around before disaster strikes.

Understanding God’s Word is a first step, and acting on it must immediately follow. When we obey God’s Word, we stay in touch with our firm foundation.

Build a Strong Spiritual Foundation at Home

Isaiah 2:1-5 The Message

Climb God’s Mountain

2 1-5 The Message Isaiah got regarding Judah and Jerusalem:

There’s a day coming
    when the mountain of God’s House
Will be The Mountain—
    solid, towering over all mountains.
All nations will river toward it,
    people from all over set out for it.
They’ll say, “Come,
    let’s climb God’s Mountain,
    go to the House of the God of Jacob.
He’ll show us the way he works
    so we can live the way we’re made.”
Zion’s the source of the revelation.
    God’s Message comes from Jerusalem.
He’ll settle things fairly between nations.
    He’ll make things right between many peoples.
They’ll turn their swords into shovels,
    their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
    they won’t play war anymore.
Come, family of Jacob,
    let’s live in the light of God.

What and Who are you living for?

What and Who do you see as your primary ‘why’ for all you do each day?

These questions reveal much about what foundation we are building our lives upon. If all we can say is that we are not sure what the answer would be, we likely have not really seriously considered how all we do matters to the Lord.

We have been created in the Image of God on purpose with God’s purpose!

Matthew 7:24-27 states, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jesus makes clear that what we are living for matters more than we can fully comprehend. He asks what we are putting into practice. Whose words are guiding us? He cautions that if we don’t follow Jesus’s way, life’s storms will come, and we will find ourselves drowning without a home to protect us.

A solid spiritual foundation is vital to our ability to live our life with peace and joy. Here are some ways we build a strong spiritual foundation in our homes:

1. Study God’s Word Together …

2 Timothy 2:14-18 Amplified Bible

An Unashamed Workman

14 Remind the people of these facts, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good, and [upsets and undermines and] ruins [the faith of] those who listen. 15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. 16 But avoid all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have deviated from the truth. They claim that the resurrection has already taken place, and they undermine the faith of some.

Jesus tells us we must hear his words and put them into practice in order to build our house on the rock. In our modern context, that means studying God’s Word.

Why is knowing the Bible so important?

The Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired, living, and active Word of God.

Reading God’s Word is the best way to learn who God is and what he desires us to do with our lives.

We learn from the stories of those who walked with God long ago, we read poems that shed light on how we wrestle with God from time to time, we gain wisdom from all those Psalms, Proverbs and the prophets, and we can read the accounts of Jesus’ life and death in the Gospels. There is so much to gain from studying the Bible, the context, culture that existed at the time it was written.

When we know the stories of the Bible, we can begin to know God better and practice his ways.

The Bible has the ultimate power to guide us, correct us, convict us, change us, and motivate us. If we want our homes and our families to have a solid spiritual foundation, we must include prioritize the reading and studying of God’s Word.

2. Embrace the Power of Prayer Together

Matthew 26:40-41 The Message

40-41 When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

Prayer not only connects us with God, but it also protects us.

When we pray often, we are inviting God’s Spirit into our daily lives, which guards us from harm and temptation. The point of having a strong spiritual foundation is protection. We need something stable to build our lives on so that we are grounded in truth when things get hard. The goal is an unshakable faith.

That faith is built through daily conversations with God.

It’s this back and forth with Jesus that grows solid roots of relationship in our homes and with our families.

James 1:5-8 The Message

5-8 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

James 5: 16 – 18 states, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed, Prayers of the righteous have power.

James 5:16-18 The Message

16-18 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Prayer is a vital part of our faith not only because it protects us but also because it is powerful! God moves, things change when we pray. Our hearts change, our relationships change, our views change, and even our circumstances change.

Prayer is the catalyst for forgiveness, is the precursor to miracles, and is the bedrock of our relationship with Jesus. Prayer is a vital part of building a solid spiritual environment in our homes, with and among our families, neighbors.

3. Never Get Tired of Serving One Another with Love

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?

Galatians 5:13 says, “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.”

God is love, and a huge part of what he tells us as his people is to serve one another through love.

1 John 4:7-10 The Message

God Is Love

7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is  love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.

We live out that love through random selfless acts of service towards the people we are closest to as well as towards those in our community that need to feel the real and tangible love of God through us. (Matthew 10:38 – 42 The Message)

Matthew 10:38-42 The Message

38-39 “If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.

40-42 “We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.”

Mother Teresa put it this way: “Love is a one-way street. It always moves away from self in the direction of the other. Love is the ultimate gift of ourselves to others. When we stop giving we stop loving, when we stop loving we stop growing, and unless we grow we will never attain personal fulfillment; we will never open out to receive the life of God. It is through love we encounter God.”

We grow to know God more by loving others. Love is an action. It’s giving something of ours away for the benefit of another. To be near God, we have to be near those brokenhearted. We have to serve the least of these. We have to utterly accept God’s love and turn around to freely give that same love away.

4. No Shame in the Gospel, Live from Faith to Faith

Romans 1:16-17 Amplified Bible

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

In order to draw near to God, we have to have complete faith that he is who he says he is. That requires faith. Faith is fundamental to living a Christian life.

If we consider the great heroes of our faith revealed in Hebrews 11 in the Bible, they all share one thing in common: They did something in their lives that had defied all human logic and trusted God rather than following the world’s way.

Most of the time, the people around them thought they were crazy!

Noah built an ark before God invented rain. Abraham believed he would have many offspring with a wife that was barren. Moses went to free a whole nation by being God’s mouthpiece, all the while struggling with a speech impediment.

David went after a giant as an unarmed shepherd boy. It was an unshakable faith that pushed these heroes to move past what the natural world says is possible and first thing trusted that God is the one that has the real final say!

If everything we do only trusts what we can reason to be true, then we aren’t living with enough faith.

To build a faith that lasts for generations, we have to trust God to show us how he can use us to do abundantly more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine!

When we surrender to God’s way, our lives find a firm place to grow upon. Let God’s gentle Holy Spirit lead, guide you towards him. Jesus told us all we need is the faith of one single mustard seed to see mountains moved (Matthew 17:20).

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 119:105-112 The Message

105-112 By your words, God, I can see where I’m going;
    they throw a beam of light on my dark path.
I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back
    from living by your righteous order.
Everything’s falling apart on me, God;
    put me together again with your Word.
Adorn me with your finest sayings, God;
    teach me your holy rules.
My life is as close as my own hands,
    but I don’t forget what you have revealed.
The wicked do their best to throw me off track,
    but I don’t swerve an inch from your course.
I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever—
    what a gift! And how happy it makes me!
I concentrate on doing exactly what you say—
    I always have and always will.

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

https://translate.google.com/

When God’s Scriptures Teach Me God is Always So Close to Me, What Can I Do When I Feel so very Far from God? Acts 17:24-29 (26-27)

Acts 17:24-29New American Standard Bible 1995

24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and [a]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.

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.

How far is too far away?

How far is not far enough?

How close is not close enough?

How near is not near enough?

How far is the north from the south?

How far is the east from the west?

There have been far too many times when I have felt far from God.

I have asked myself those rhetorical questions listed above far too often in the past year as I have been trying to find a physical and spiritual balance after my heart surgery last year. Rather than feeling a naturally close bond with Him, I too often have the unnatural feeling as though He is fifty million miles away.

If in this moment you are also struggling with feeling far from God, know that you are not alone. Most Christians have felt as far from God as the east is from the west, north from south at the same time least once in their walk with Him.

Psalm 13:1-4 The Message

13 1-2 Long enough, God—
    you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head
    long enough. Long enough
I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
    lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
    have looked down their noses at me.

3-4 Take a good look at me, God, my God;
    I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
    or laugh when I fall on my face.

This can be due to various factors such as health related and financial; however, there is a remedy for this feeling and it is found in God, the Father, Son, Spirit.

It is common to feel far from God, yet we never truly are far from Him.

Feeling far from God is a feeling—it is not a fact.

As believers, sometimes we will have to rely on what truth we know through the Word of God rather than what we feel. Feelings can come and go, feelings can linger, feelings will influence how we respond, yet God’s truth never changes.

There will be many times that we will rely too heavily on overwhelming feelings and not remember we have to rely on what indelible truth God’s Words reveal through the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit, rather than what we’ll feel. 

God is greater than our feelings and just because we don’t feel Him doesn’t mean He is not there. God is always with us and always walking beside us.

He is never far from any of His children as He is always just one prayer away.

Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Sin can often make us run from God, which can make God feel distant from us.

When this happens, we have to know it is not God who is far from us, but that we are far from Him.

Genesis 3:6-10 Amplified Bible

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband [a]with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [afternoon breeze] of the day, so the man and his wife hid and kept themselves hidden from the [b]presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9  But the  Lord God called to Adam, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

In the beginning, Just as Adam and Eve fell into temptation, ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, became self aware and then ran and hid from God in the Garden after they were aware of their nakedness and sin (Genesis 3:7-24), we too fall to temptation run and hide from God when we have sin in our own lives.

If this is a possibility for you, and clearly not one of us is exempt from falling to sin and temptation, rest in the peace that you can repent and turn back to Him.

After repentance and asking God for forgiveness, for a new heart, you might not feel very far from Him anymore. You could feel closer to Him than ever before.

What Will It Take For Me To Accept God is that Close?

Acts 17:24-29The Message

24-29 “The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

What a tremendous encouragement this passage from Acts should, could and would be for all who will seek God! This verse tells us that not only will we find God if we seek him, but we will not have far to look. He is close to us already.

How so?

For some of us, God may seem distant.

Maybe we think of heaven, God’s home, as far, too far away on the other “side” of this immense universe.

Paul disagrees.

God is a lot closer than we might think or take the necessary time to accept.

He is right here, right now.

All we need to do is “notice” the signs of his presence in our very existence.

Psalm 19 The Message

19 1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
    God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
    Professor Night lectures each evening.

3-4 Their words aren’t heard,
    their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
    unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

4-5 God makes a huge dome
    for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun’s a new husband
    leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
    racing to the tape.

6 That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
    from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
    warming hearts to faith.

7-9 The revelation of God is whole
    and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
    and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
    showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
    and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
    with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
    down to the nth degree.

10 God’s Word is better than a diamond,
    better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,
    better than red, ripe strawberries.

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.

We’re alive.

Where did our life come from?

From God!

We exist.

We move.

How so?

Our very mobility and being show that God is the source of our life.

More than that, claims Paul, God gave us ancestors and even prepared a place for each of them to live.

That’s also how we showed up—at a specific address, on a certain day.

An accident?

Random chance?

No! assures Paul.

God was at work, choreographing even our birth date and birth place as clues to his immediate involvement in our existence from day one.

To find God, an inviting first step is simply to embrace what we so deeply want to believe: our very existence can’t be just an accident.

We are not flukes.

We are created in the Image of God.

We know this deep in our very bones.

Life—our very life, existence—came from God, God alone. (Psalm 139:1 – 18)

Intersecting Faith & Life:

As Paul says in Acts 17:26-27, God is not far from any of us.

God appointed times in history and marked our boundary lands in order for humankind to seek Him out.

With proper searching, God wants us to reach out and find Him as He is not far from each of us.

God did not create the earth and everything in it just to leave His creation abandoned. Even though this is a popular idea among agnostics, it is not true.

God created the earth and everything in it in order to reveal His glory.

Through general and special revelation, God hoped some of us would take notice and reach out to Him.

As believers, who already know the Lord, He wants us to know that we can always reach out to Him.

There will never be a day when God will be far from us. 

The Lord is by our side through every difficult day.

Feeling far away from God is common, yet He wants us to reach out to Him.

Whenever you feel you are far from God, first remember that feelings are not facts. After you have reminded yourself of this truth, turn to God in prayer.

Ask Him to help you know that you are with Him and to also reveal any sin in your life that could be making you run from God. (Psalm 51, Psalm 139:23-24)

Give the Lord time and He will give you answers.

Through reading the Bible and personal conviction, God will instruct you.

Even if sin is what is causing you to feel far from God, rest in the knowledge that it is not terminal.

You can turn to God, ask for His forgiveness, He will forgive you (1 John 1:9).

Through reading and studying God’s Holy Scriptures, praying for our God’s forgiveness and active repentance, you will not feel as far from God anymore. 

If you are feeling far from God due to depression or feelings of deep sorrow, know that God is still with you in this dark valley.

Depression can be very difficult, isolating, yet God sits with you in the pain.

When we are going through depression, it can make us feel alone and as though nobody cares about us.

These are lies of the depression that we must combat and fight against.

God never leaves us alone, He loves us without conditions (Romans 8:37-39).

Run to Him instead of away from Him.

He will surround you with His love, peace, and protection.

Psalm 125 New American Standard Bible 1995

The Lord Surrounds His People.

A Song of Ascents.

125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the [a]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do wrong.

4 Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with the doers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel.

With time and prayer, you won’t feel as far from God anymore.

He created you, He loves you, and that will never change. 

Hebrews 13:8 Amplified Bible

8 Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever.

  • Do you feel far from God today? If so, what can you do to help you feel closer to Him?
  • God is not far from each of us. Does resting in this promise bring you comfort? Why or why not?
  • How can you rely on what you know rather than how you feel?

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

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 The Message

23 1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my 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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