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Luke 22:32 “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail, and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Dear God,

I thank You for every gift, blessing, provision and protection.  It is such a reassurance to know that I am cared for by the Almighty God of heaven.  Jesus my Creator knows me better than I know myself, and He wants me saved so much that He died for my sins, even though my sins put Him on the cross.

True love and wisdom abide with You God.  I am so thankful that when I ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, I am filled with love and all the other gifts of the Spirit, needed for successful Christian living; none of which is possible in my human strength and abilities.

Today I ask that You God will be my strength and wisdom, so that I indeed will give You my will, and that I will be kept from all temptation.  I thank You for hearing and answering my prayer, according to the promise which is recorded in scripture; and I believe all Your promises.

The disciple Peter was fervent and enthusiastic about Jesus and His work, and had no doubt that He would always be faithful to his Master.  Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, as was his practice, and as He was going off a little by Himself, said to the disciples (including Peter), “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”  Like myself so often, they instead slept and did not pray for themselves, being non-comprehending of the spiritual danger they were in.  But Jesus knew, and He had prayed for Peter, that his faith would not fail, under the coming pressure and temptations.

Peter was distraught after he actually did deny Jesus three times, as Jesus had said he would, for this had never been his intention, and a great weakness in his faith had been revealed. The good thing Peter did not forever forsake Jesus, and was amongst the disciples, when Jesus revealed Himself to them after His resurrection from the tomb.  Peter humbled, contrite and needy sought pardon from Jesus, who freely forgave Peter.

After this experience, Peter had learnt a good deal about himself and the wiles of Satan, and was more ready to be a shepherd for the early Christians.  Actually he went on to become a mighty force for Jesus and did strengthen his brethren, or as Jesus said ‘feed my sheep’.

Thank You that our potential in every area is clear to You (when not to ourselves) and that we are never dismissed as worthless, even when we thoroughly mess up.  I look at the case of Peter, and see many parallels in the experience of many of us, in waywardness.  I hope that many of us, also listen to Your ‘still small voice’ and come back to You in contrition, and go on to achieve the potential that You plan for us.

Lord, rescue me from arrogance and presumption, so I do not fail to be true to You, when under pressure and temptation.

Amen

 

Matthew 26:2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

Dear God,

Thank You for being my God and caring for me.  I am thankful also for the presence of the Holy Spirit being here this morning, for He is essential in my everyday life and in all I do; for I need His strength and wisdom all the time.  I have found that my life seems to be made of nothingness and futility, unless I ask Him to come and lead me to Jesus, filling me with love for Jesus, as well as for all Jesus created.  It is a marvellous wonder, that Jesus loves us all, though we are undeserving of His love.  Praise His holy name!

Jesus when here on earth, always went about His doings, in the wisdom, love, strength and power, and in obedience to You, His heavenly Father. He is always my example.

In Matthew 26, there is this illustration from the life of Jesus as He was nearing His betrayal by Judas, and was trying to prepare the uncomprehending disciple group about what was ahead for them all.  This was complicated by always having nearby, the future betrayer with the other disciples; a pack of priests bent on His death; numbers of people who had been healed by Him, and others who were interested, but did not understand who He was or His mission and purpose.  Patiently and lovingly Jesus continued with His ministry of healing and teaching, never changing His attitude or actions.  Most probably, if it had been one of us from this sinful earth in a similar situation, we would have become much stressed and maybe impatient under such a heavy work load, along with the people clamour and provocation taking place around Him.

This was our precious Jesus in action, near to His death, in the power of the Spirit!

Do I even now allow Jesus to be in me and for me in the fullness available in my individual life and mind?  Today that is my question to myself.  I want it to be so, and pray again it will be so, and believe You have heard and will answer my prayer, as I allow.

The woman, whom Jesus had helped so much, came to Jesus at Simons feast intent on anointing His feet with very expensive perfume, for she needed to show that she had truly accepted Jesus and knew what He had done for her.   She gave Him absolute love and a transformed life, as well as much of her wealth.  The perfume was very expensive and would have taken much of her store, but that did not matter to her, for it was the best she wanted, to honour her Saviour.

Alternatively, for eventual betrayer Judas, his heart had remained untouched by Jesus, even though he lived close to Him and saw and heard all the acts of love that were part of a day in the life of Jesus.  Jesus did not conform to his idea of what a leader for the Jews should be, and Judas amazingly remained unconverted, clinging instead to his pride and critical spirit, even thinking he was justified in paying himself from the group’s meagre store of cash.

Today I again choose You Jesus, and desire to grow in love and grace, so my heart will not remain untouched by Your love, answers to prayer, my blessings received; as did the heart of Judas.

Amen

 

Matthew 25:40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.”

Dear God,

This is such a serious passage for all Christians, when Jesus tells of dividing the righteous and the unrighteous, at His second coming, found today in Matthew 25:31 – 46.

But also a wonderful uplifting thought; Jesus comes as our King, verse 31, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, and then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”  It is then He will divide the sheep (righteous people) on His right hand and the goats (unrighteous) on His left hand, verse 34, “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”  Jesus will then recount how the righteous cared for His needs, by helping others.  It did not cross the mind of the righteous, when occupied in helping, for e.g., feeding and clothing others, that they did it unto Jesus.

Please, dear God, direct me today, so that I will also love You best, and have a love for all other people, because Your love is in me.  So many times I have had to seek forgiveness and a renewed attitude and heart, for a hard heartedness toward others, that occurs too often.

Amen

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angles with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”

Dear God,

Thank You for the plan of salvation, that provides a way for my sins to be forgiven and for me to be accepted by You, God the Father.  Jesus our Judge and King will call those who have accepted Him and have prepared their hearts, when He makes up His group of saints, to travel back to heaven with Him.  It is my sincere hope that I will repent of my every sin, and then ask to be forgiven and cleansed.  Jesus will then cover me with His imputed righteousness, and I will be seen as having His likeness.

Only when Jesus has my heart, can I be someone like Him and then, I (we) treat all other people as if they were in fact Jesus.  Matthew 25:34 – 36 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in, I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’”

Lord, I am thankful that You love me enough to rescue me form eternal damnation, even though I will never personally deserve this. I embrace all You offer, and choose You as My God and Saviour again today.

Amen

 

Matthew 24:12, 13 “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end will be saved.”

Dear God,

I thank You for my life, and for the privilege of being able to live safely in peaceful natural surroundings.  I need Your assistance and pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, so I know how You want me to prepare and be sanctified. It is also my prayer that I will accurately know and do Your bidding and service, in the way You have directed me.  I dare not go ahead without the promised wisdom and power for every aspect of living my life, because my mind is always popping up with ideas with enthusiasm.  Many times in the past, I have been guilty of running off after my own ideas, which did not actually represent You.

Thank You, that You are gradually changing me, so that I am more likely now, to seek Your will before I run after my ‘brain wave’ and wear myself out unnecessarily or fail to be productive.

The prophecies tell us, that Your Son, Jesus is coming again soon, even though we know not when.  With that knowledge, I pray that, I and as many other people as possible will be prepared.  It would be tragic if I and many others were found to be unprepared and subsequently rejected as His child, when Jesus comes again.  Especially if I (we) had been thinking all the time I (we) have prepared as the ‘5 wise virgins’ and were found to be not adequately prepared like the ‘5 foolish virgins’ and had also left it too late to make amends.

Because You are God, You want all of us to be saved.  I rejoice that You work upon my heart and mind in love, so that my sins are revealed to me, bringing me to acceptance , then to of my own will,  confess and  surrender myself to You; with forgiveness and healing followed by growth.

I praise Your holy name and give praise, for You are entirely worthy and precious to me.

Amen

1 Corinthians 1: 27 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the worlds, to put to shame the things which are mighty.”

Dear God,

Praise Your blessed and holy name, I wish to dedicate myself to You again today; even though I have trouble  adequately expressing  my love,  worship and adoration for You.

In the Old Testament tabernacle offerings and services, in the earthly tabernacle or courtyard, You were never persuaded by pomp and ceremony, or how wealthy someone was (even though wealth can be used for telling others of You).  It is the soul of each person that You are interested in, not human prestige or the possessions owned.  It is me unadorned by prestige; giving my whole heart and soul that pleases You; not my offerings alone or instead of my love.

In Leviticus 1-3, I read today of how the Israelites were to be taught how to worship.  The animal sacrifices were not blood and gore for no purpose; they pointed forward to the time when Christ, would sacrifice His life, for the sins of everyone who has ever lived.  Families were to be taught the principles of how to reverence and worship You, as is encouraged in the church of this age, albeit a different way of worship, after Christ.  Animal sacrifices are no longer needed, but reverence and worship of God are still what You expect and deserve.

Lord, do I still have much to learn in this area?  As I go about my life and into church, please teach me Your principles of worship and fill me with true reverence and a consciousness of You in all situations.

In the time of Moses, what the people bought to the tabernacle as their sacrifice was to be from their own harvest or property.  For me, I bring myself, no one else’s life, dedication or sacrifice, can substitute for my heart and worship of You.  The sins we (I) commit are not dealt with, as with the people in the time of Moses.  We are told in 1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”  I personally have nothing to glory in, for Jesus has done it all, verse 31 “…….’He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Lord let me not lose sight of the lessons to be learned from the temple sacrifices of old.  Now however we (I) confess (our) my sins knowing that the blood of Jesus alone, atones for them.

But I need not stop there; I go on to offer all of me, a perfect gift to You; even though I am not perfect.  I also desire to allow the Holy Spirit to fill me, so that I am at peace with You.  I thank You in advance for answering my prayer.

Amen

Psalm 66:20 “Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

Dear God,

Oh how I need the rest and peace of Your presence this morning.  Please forgive me for the unchristian way I can treat other people at times, for my lack of spiritual wisdom and for my dealing with people that reveals a critical spirit as well as a lack of a generous spirit toward others.

Thank You that You never turn away from my prayers and Your mercy is ever extended toward me.

I am grateful for the Scriptural writings of the prophets and Your other Godly men that reveal their battles, along with their trusting in You throughout, and for the ways they were delivered physically and spiritually.

I know You see and hear our prayers of need, and will answer us in a way that reveal Your wisdom and love for each of us; even though it may not be as I (we) asked or expected.  Always when I ask, You give me mercy, comfort and peace; even when You know that my circumstances are best left as they are and I just am pushing things; in the end it always works best, Your way.

Eventually I rest in the knowledge of Your loving, gracious vigilance over me.  It is immensely important to take in, as I reflect, that I am always on Your mind and view.  I appreciate even more Your care for me, when I remember that You gave me my own guardian angel, when I was born, as is the case for every person born upon earth.

Today I want especially to give praise for Your creative, preservative and spiritual gifts which are only the beginning of the totally positive experience of knowing and loving You.  I am grateful that not only do You love every one deserving or not; for we that love You, there is the promised, inherent blessing just in being Your child.  There is the blessing also, in the hope of salvation and being caught up into the air to meet Jesus, with new and transformed, pure bodies, and to travel with Jesus through the skies to His heavenly home, the place in which His Father God makes His home, along with the 100 and 1000s of angels living there.

My prayer focus just now, is that many others will embrace all You have to offer in Your Holy word and experience loving You with a full heart and mind.

Amen

Matthew 17:1-3 “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up a high mountain by themselves; 2, and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3, and behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.”

Dear God, of Glory, Might and Power, the only true source of love and wisdom, and so much more, I reverence and worship You this morning, anew.

I note that Moses was much beloved, and You communed with him directly, in a verbal manner.  He like all of us had been born of sinful earthly parents, and which meant he was himself subject to be sinful, and therefore he could not have seen Your face and lived.  Your absolute righteous glory has been reported to be dazzling.   Like an insect caught in front of certain light bulbs die, so would we with sinful mortal bodies, be slain by being exposed to Your lighted glory.

This is not the case with the angels who live in heaven, even though they were also created by You,  they have never sinned, and so can live and interact with you, as will those, who will be redeemed by Jesus when He comes for His own, from earth.  What a glorious thought, as opposed to how heinous the sin in my life really is!

It is affirming for our hope of redemption, to remember that Moses now lives in heaven after been buried by the Lord, in a valley in the land of Moab.  God the Father, had taken Enoch, and Elijah to heaven, and they had never seen death, and represent those who will be alive when Jesus, comes for His own to translate them, without ever having seen death.  Whereas Moses was given a sinless body, when Jesus translated him out of the grave and serves as example of those who having died and been buried, will also be translated with sinless bodies, out of the grave when Jesus comes again; and from then on, be able to live in heaven freely and talk with God face to face.  Justice was meted out to Moses when because of his sin at Meribah was denied entrance into the Promised Land; at the end of his toilsome years leading the rebellious Children of Israel. Love was shown when Jesus came and transformed him; verifying Your promise to the rest of us.

Satan must have been jubilant, when Moses sinned, and wanted to claim the body of Moses as his own, and contended with Jesus when He raised him from the grave (Jude 9).  From heaven in a blaze of glorious light, Elijah and Moses come down to be with Jesus and uplift Him in answer to his agonizing in prayers on top of the mount of transfiguration.

My hope of being redeemed by Jesus to heaven when He comes again is real, and is revealed in the life of Moses who has gone before, I thank You dear God, for this hope.  I sincerely pray, that I will continue to allow You to change my life, so I am Your true child, at the coming of Jesus.

Amen

 

Matthew 22:37-40 “’Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  38 This is the first and great commandment, 39 and the second is like it: ’You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.”

 

Dear God,

How wonderful it is to be Your child, and to know that You love me, and every living thing that You ever created.  I am glad Your laws are formed in love, and reflect Your character.  Because You are God, and our Creator, You know that it is only when we love You with our whole heart, soul, every part of our (my) mind and being, that I can  be true to You, otherwise sinful tendencies take over and draw me away from You, into my own desires and allegiances, which lead on to sinful rebellion.  You have promised to be my wisdom, strength and power which I claim, for I am very well aware that even with the very best intentions; I cannot be true to You in my own strength.

It is through the love principle in action, that Jesus invites me to lay my (our) burdens upon Him.

With the words of Jesus in mind, I have a changed view of the commandments of God, than when I was a teenager, for now I know that they are formed and based on love, Matthew 23:38 “This is the first and great commandment” – to love God totally and with all of me.  In His answer to the lawyer who had been sent to trap Him, Jesus continues to expand on the love principle. V39
“And the second is like it: You shall love Your neighbour as yourself.”

This is not my easy and natural way, please forgive me Lord, and again lead me and empower me, so I can be Your vessel of love and wisdom to others.  I read that there is more, in Exodus 35, Moses had returned to the mountain, where You had shown him Your glory, by allowing him to see Your back from the cleft in which he was placed.  Despite not seeing You face to face, the face of Moses shone with the reflection of Your glory, and he had to veil his face, because the people could not look upon him.

With the words God fresh in his ears, Moses reminds the people to observe Your rest, the day You set aside to honour the creation of the world and all in it.  Then the people were asked by Moses to bring gifts for the building of the temple honouring You; which they gladly did.”

It is my intention to love and serve You on a continuing basis.  I also aim to honour You in a place of worship as well as at home, and willingly bring offerings to assist in the costs and maintenance of the building.

Amen

Exodus 33:12 “Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’  But You have not let me know whom You will send with me.  Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have already found grace in My sight.’”

Dear God,

It is wonderful to read of Your dealings with people as recorded in the scriptures, and also to gain a sense of Your glory, power and might, along with Your love and mercy.  Moses felt inadequate to lead the rebellious, difficult children of Israel to the Promised Land, unless You went with them, as their divine guide and God.  How wonderful to know You God as did Moses, and have You say, “I know you by name, and you have already found grace in My sight.”  Moses having worked for years in the quiet of the desert as a shepherd, would now have I imagine a mind  uncluttered with everyday things, and free from cherished known sins, therefore he was ready to hear Your spoken words.

He was of course still subject to sin, which caused him to miss out on entering the Promised Land. For all of us, one unguarded moment, can cause us profound problems, because Satan and his angels never seem to take a nap, and they are right in there with their temptations encouraging we on earth to sin.

To know that I had found grace in Your sight would be such precious knowledge, to have.  With humility Moses responded, Exodus 33: 13 “Now therefore I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.  …”  Your promise is given to Moses, Exodus 33:14, “And He said, ‘My Presence will go with You, and I will give You rest.’”  Not only did You go with Moses, but You gave him Your rest, which he surely would have needed, after dealing with 1000’s of rebellious people.

Today I can be comforted by the assurance and promise of Jesus, when He says, ‘come unto Me and I will give you rest’.  I have found this to be so; along with the many other promises that You have made to give us rest, which I have also claimed; with gratitude I give You my praise.

The response made by Moses ‘Now therefore I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and may find grace in Your sight…..’ I affirm as my prayer today, as I lead a Health program for people in the community.

Amen

Matthew 21:22 “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing you will receive.”

Dear God,

Thank You dear God, that You do answer the prayer of faith.  Right now I am subconsciously worrying about preparing for the running of a program, and it is causing my muscles to be tight and painful, and I feel agitated and touchy.  I remind myself there is no need to worry, I will leave it with God, but my body does not listen to my mind or words.

Then I come to You in Bible study and prayer, and already I am more relaxed.  Please give me Your total peace, putting all else aside, I ask for Your promise, and believe I have received my request, as I claim Your promise for my own.

I know Your peace will come, as it has on a number of other occasions.  Also I have dedicated myself to this program and to be used by You, therefore I believe You will give me the right attitude and supply all my needs; spiritual, mental and emotional , as well as direct my path.

Thank You that despite me getting in the way; You take my agitation and replace it with calmness, peace and right thinking.

It is so wonderful, to love and serve a God, who cares about what I do and how I feel.  You have shown me so often, that You not only care about how I feel about myself, but how I feel within myself.  I give You all my praise, for You alone have the power that will enable us to think the way that is most beneficial for the situation we are in as You bestow upon us all the abilities that we lack to do just that;  often not immediately, but over time, when we keep seeking and hang by You.  For so many, it has been shown, that there is no ‘black hole’ or addiction that You cannot pull a person out of, into the light of freedom and normality.

Thank You for giving me the opportunity to learn, that addiction can certainly be chemicals, but very often is a multitude of socially acceptable things like, over working, over eating, wrong foods, excessive worry, and other negative ways of thinking, and so the comprehensive list goes on.

I am so glad that no matter the cause for any distress in my (our) life, Jesus is and has the answer, if we will only ask Him and stick with Him.  I have found this so very often, even though I recognise in lots of ways in the light of the experience of many others, I have been spared a great deal.

Jesus I choose You, to run my life again today.

Amen