Month: January 2016

Exodus 3:2 “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.”

Dear God,

You certainly are an awesome God, full of power and wonders. The Creator of all, and Recreator of any who will say yes to being Your beloved child; which will mean being forgiven and recreated by You and gradually being changed into Your image, as we put You first, and do as You ask.

Moses had come from the courts of Egypt to Midian, a wanted man, after he had tried to help his people the Hebrews, his way, and ended up losing his temper and killing an Egyptian. He spent 40 years in the wilderness of Midian, caring for the sheep of his father-in-law. In the subsequent years there in the quiet and comparative isolation, he was able to reflect and commune upon You, God, which led to his heart becoming humbled and subdued.

The time had come for You to implement the plan to save the Hebrews out of Egypt, and the changed Moses was chosen to be Your representative to the Egyptian king and the Hebrew people.

Moses now felt inadequate and was not eager to be God’s man, acting to facilitate their release from Egypt, and then lead the people out. Moses believed his speech problems would be a hindrance, when he spoke to the Egyptian King and those of the court.

It is amazing that we and Moses think we know ourselves better, than You the all wise and all-knowing God! It is also worth noticing, that it is because You know our hearts, and are also all loving, that You do not strike us down for arguing and telling You ‘we will not’ or You do not know what we can or cannot do.

You, Holy God interacted with Moses in the form of fire that did not consume the bush, and thus confirmed to Moses that he was indeed speaking with the God of heaven. Just by being there, You made all the land around holy, and Moses was commanded to take his shoes off, which he quickly did and bowed to the ground, because he was afraid to look. He did not seem to be afraid to talk however, even though trembling, he continued to protest that he could not go and talk with Pharaoh. Then he followed up by telling You to find someone else. You in mercy reassured Moses, by saying You would go with him. Moses was yet to develop his legendary faith, and so was still unsure, asking, “…what shall I say to them?” Patiently and with absolute authority, You replied, ‘I AM WHO I AM’, say ‘I AM has sent me to you.’

It is so good to be reminded again, how patient You are, God, not only with Moses, but with each person who has ever lived or is alive now. It is sad that we seem to be more concerned about how we will be received by other people, than in doing Your will, in Your strength and presence, even though You are our Creator God; the great and mighty I AM.

I take courage from the fact, that Moses and others in the Bible record, shows that many did grow their faith in You, to the place, where they fearlessly answered Your commission and ‘did’ in Your strength. I have progress to make, but as I put myself in Your care, to do what You ask, I know my faith will grow.

Amen

Matthew 13:52 “Then He said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a house holder who brings out his treasured things new and old.”

Dear God,

Thank You for this new day of promise, with bright light, colours and bird song, a time of peace to read Your word and to pray. Please lift the heavy lethargy that is mine and fill me with Your joy and a sense of wellbeing. Also fill me with the Holy Spirit, Who gives true wisdom, love and power, along with the most suitable words for me to use as I interact with others. I know that You have heard my prayer, and I give thanks, as I do for the portions of scripture I have read today, especially for the words of Jesus, in Matthew 13, which talk about the kingdom of God.

It is good news to realize that the work of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts has a powerful action, like that of yeast. It is apparent that we should not underestimate the power of You, God working through Your written word, which we are told, will bring life to all who receive them. The scriptures also reveal the design of Satan to undermine and destroy all You have done and offer to us. The history recorded in Your word, does not hide the fact that Satan is totally evil and does not want anyone to be saved unto eternal life and for every one of us, works against Your purpose for them to attain salvation. Thank You for revealing so much of Your controversy with Satan, which is not only historic, by ongoing.

At the end of the world, You will send angels, to take out of the mix of people; all those who do not love You, from among the ones who have chosen to grow to be more like You. Jesus tells us that like weeds in a garden the unrighteous will be rooted out and destroyed. This is the work of initiated by You and not for any human to undertake. “The righteous then will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He, who has ears, let him hear.” In verse 43 Jesus then goes on to tell his listeners, for those who desire to be in heaven, they will need to seek Him with purpose, as they would for treasure.  Even if this means, that all else is put aside, so the treasure can be acquired; and gave the example of someone who sold all his possessions so he could find the treasure by buying the property it was buried in.

Dear God, I ask that by Your Spirit I will continue to seek for Your kingdom; putting earthly treasures aside and then with single purpose go and seek You and then receive Your treasure.

Amen

Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with Me, is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

Dear God,

Praise Your Just and holy name, for You have blessed me this beautiful day. Show me, from within my heart, any attitudes, that mirror the selfish Godless attitudes of the priests of Jesus day. They had seen miracles of healing and demons cast out of possessed people, and still they refused to believe, that this was Your power they were seeing, for it did not conform to their interpretation of God and his word, as well as they felt threatened by how the people received Jesus and what they would be lost to them, if the people were not under their extortion and laws.

It is indeed blasphemy to see the supernatural power of God at work, and attribute the miracles to the work of Satan, as the priests did; we are told in Matthew 12:32 “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man (Jesus), it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

As with a tree that is known by its fruit, so will we be known by our Christlike attributes and actions!

Christ reminds me today, how I should act when He is in my heart, Matthew 12:36, 37 “But I say to you, that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

By Your power dear God, I will walk in Your way today, and each day.

Dear God,

Thank You again, today for my life and every blessing and for bearing me up and giving me words for my part in church, and in running the Beginner/Kindergarten group. I know that You were with me, for I was aware of Your power and enabling. I also know that You love to go with us and be with us, especially on Your Sabbath day.

Lord, as we both know, I am usually quick with words, and can say words that are not kind and patient, but instead hasty and judgemental/critical. Please forgive me for these times, and fill me with the Holy Spirit, so that I have Your Spirit within me, and by Your strength, wisdom, power and love, I speak positively, words formed by love and wisdom. I know You can change me, as I ask and depend upon You, so I will be able to overcome my natural tendencies, and instead, I will have the ability to ‘think before I open my mouth’ and by Your power be able to ‘count to 10’ before I speak.

Thank You for hearing my prayer and being my wisdom.

Amen

Matthew 12:7 “But if You had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless.” V8 “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Dear God,

I rejoice to be Your child, and to be loved and directed by You. To find You through thoughts given by the Holy Spirit in Your written word and in my contemplation of them is very rewarding in all ways.

How easy it is, with cold attitudes, and thoughts that are not from Jesus, to accuse another for their actions, because we believe they do not fit the model we believe in. Please alert me when I am acting like this, and impress me to repent upon my knees, so I can be filled with Your love instead.

This was the case, when the Pharisees saw the disciples, who were hungry and not having yet eaten, “began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” Matt 12:1 and 2, because this infringed the way they believed that Sabbath should have been observed.

Jesus pointed out that this was not a merciful way to act and that no one would deprive an animal of its food, or from giving them rescue if they fell into a pit. To the displeasure of the Pharisees and spiritual leaders of the day, Jesus taught that He was greater than the rule of the synagogue, for He was Lord of the Sabbath. Hard heartedness, judgemental behaviour, was (is) not what God’s beautiful rest day was about, when anyone was (is) in love with their Creator. Sabbath was not only designed to celebrate all creation, but to provide mankind with physical rest, with time for spiritual refreshment, communication with God and mankind. To be healed of any disease, was absolutely in keeping with the purpose of the Sabbath, which God established to remember creation, when all creation was completed.

It is meant to be a delight to take time to remember and give praise for my/ all life, and for Your love and providence.

Thank You Jesus that You taught these beautiful lessons about the joy of loving You and how to be spiritually healed and uplifted by You every Sabbath. Also for teaching us, that it was never Your design, that we today make the mistake of going through the motions of Christian living, as did the Israelites with unconverted, cold unloving hearts.

Please forgive me for not practicing Your love toward You or any person I have contact with, on any day. By the gift of Your Holy Spirit please change me.

Amen

 

Matthew 11

Dear God,

Thank You for my life and all Your blessings. For godly friends and people who care about me.

The mighty warrior for God was in prison – ‘John the Baptist’, after having proclaimed Christ as the Messiah and being witness to how at the baptism of Jesus, God spoke from heaven, expressing that He was pleased with His Son; John was having a time of doubt as to whether Jesus was the Messiah after all. Jesus was not fulfilling the blue print, as taught by the priests, and others had helped in sowing doubt for John when he was in hard and unjust circumstances in a prison.

It shows we all can be subject to moments of doubt, despite what we really know; when we take our eyes off Jesus, and/or dwell on self and what we think should be happening, or what God should be doing. Thank You for teaching me this Lord, and bringing my thoughts back to You when I have any doubt about You or Your works and promises.

Jesus was so gracious with the friends of John and said nothing judgemental; He just got them to observe His work of healing and teaching, which no mere man could have done. To forget preconceived notions, would solidify a belief, that only someone sent by God from heaven, could do what Jesus did and was doing on that day. Matthew 11:6 “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Jesus recognized John as God’s man, and acknowledged that his life had been one of obedience, leading to abstemiousness in his lifestyle, and when God’s time for him had come; mixing with crowds of people, warning to them to repent from their sins and change. Sadly few had forsaken their sinful ways. Matthew 11:20 “Then Jesus began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.” How sad, that the people were not more heart affected by the supernatural work of Jesus, or by John’s repentance message, preparing hearts for the ministry off Jesus.

I ask myself, am I at the same risk? God is working supernaturally all the time and I can dream along, and let it go over my head, or His works can become ‘ho, hum, like ‘white noise.’ Please forgive me for when I have taken You and Your works for granted. Holy Spirit, teach me to be sensitive to Your promptings and in regard to the works of Jesus and His Father.

Next Jesus gives an appeal to His hearers and to all mankind, Matthew 11:27 “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son and the one whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” V28,”Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Today these words bring me hope and peace, and I thank You Jesus that I can have ‘rest’ because of belief in You.

Amen

Matthew 10:32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before my Father, who is in Heaven. V.33 but whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven.”

Dear God,

You love me totally, and desire that the by Your Spirit, I be filled with true love, a gift of the Spirit. Upon reflection, how can I say I really love You, and yet keep quiet about You to others? Forgive me for not taking this as seriously as I should. There have been times when I thought of myself, and the fear of what might be thought of me, and so just kept quiet, when there was an opportunity to tell others of Your love for me and them.

It is a fearful thing to think of being denied by You the God of heaven, by You son, the Saviour of all mankind, who now lives in heaven also with You.

That would leave nothing for me, but to be amidst the sin, degradation and death, upon this earth at the end of time. For me no bright beams of light in heaven, living in purity, with the joy that comes to those who worship Father God and His Son, along with the 1000’s of angels and all the redeemed from earth; is something I cannot bear to think about!

The comparisons between heaven and earth reveal that earth and all its attending evil, devised by Satan and all his forces of evil, makes earth a totally undesirable place to be left on by choice, or default. The good news is, that even though I was born and have lived my life on earth, I have the choice to be Your child, strengthened, supported and protected by the Holy Spirit who leads me to Jesus, who brings me to You, His Father. I will not stop there, for there is also Your written word, and my guardian angel, and probably other interventions, that I do not know about, sent by You to keep me (all) safe from being overwhelmed by evil and therefore deprived from our ‘new birth right’.

Thank You for making it possible for me, if I so choose, to live victoriously as Your child, with the opportunity to be counted as faithful, when Jesus comes again to claim His own. He will know my name, and call me to be redeemed from earth, to live for evermore in heaven, with a new body through and through; with all my evil gone. Hallelujah!

Holy Spirit, be my strength, wisdom, power and love today, so I can love Jesus best, with nothing on earth enticing me away from my allegiance to Him. Day by day, when I stay true to You, I will be truly happy more and more, as all aspects of my life will speak of You, as well as my mouth; when You put words there, because I will for You to do so.

Amen

Matthew 6:31-34 “Therefore do not worry, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles.”

 

Dear God,

I give thanks for the ability to read Your word, pray and meditate upon You. It is good to give You praise, as well as seek You in all ways.

Jesus, whilst on earth never sinned. He was God in human form. To accomplish His mission and not be drawn into sin by Satan, He needed to be the prayer expert He was; he prayed in the early hours of the morning and all through the day. Jesus actually practiced prayer more than any other person.

Thank You for the written words about prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, covers not just asking for items and material goods, but also gives a more comprehensive picture of ourselves as Gods children, along with the needs of others, and then our need for salvation.

This world was taken over by Satan and everything living, (all created by God) was blighted by the effects of sin. Now sickness, death, unhappiness and disharmony prevail. To forever cure and dispel the sin problem, Jesus came from heaven to earth, and contrary to the taunts of Satan to God, the Father; Jesus on earth, lived a sinless life, ever true to Gods commandments. He did that by living in the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit, ever connected to His Father by prayer.

Better than any person, even of themselves, Jesus knows intimately what we need spiritually and how to address our spiritual need, because He has lived on earth, and relentlessly pursued by Satan, and yet managed the living of a victorious, sinless life.

Our greatest need is to be like Jesus, and to be also filled by the Holy Spirit and connected to our heavenly Father by prayer. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit, as we listen to the voice of God, bringing us to repentance and confession through prayer. The Holy Spirit cannot come and dwell with us when we hang onto our sins, for He is God and cannot coexist with sin. Prayer is our source of life, as well as providing all we need from God whether that is spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Thank You for the Lord’s Prayer that gives us direction. I am to pray for Gods kingdom to come to earth as it is in heaven; and that will be a day for praise and song, for then all sin will be gone forever. You welcome my prayers about my needs, and the needs of others. But as the Jesus told us whilst on earth, I do not need to worry about any of my needs being supplied, for God already knows my needs. When I first seek God and His righteousness, I can be assured that all my needs will be supplied.

Amen

Matthew 8:26 and 27 “But He said to them, ‘why are you so fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.’” 27 “So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”

Dear God,

I am grateful for a new day, and for my life with which to live and enjoy the day. I give thanks that You have kept me safe from all harm, as You did Jesus and His disciples. Thank You that Your angels go with me (us). I wish to give grateful thanks and praises that Your love and watch care of me and all mankind, never ends.

All creation was perfect, when created by Jesus, without sin, disease and death, but now some of it Satan has distorted and contorted. However as the Creator, Jesus knew the power of wind and wave, and has total power over creation and Satan and his fallen angels.

This was evidenced later in Chapter 8, when Jesus caused the many demons to depart from the possessed man, which had terrorized the locals. The demons could not refuse to obey Jesus, for they had no power against Him. This very day and all days, Jesus still has all power over Satan and his angels.

Also this very day and every day, Jesus will come into my life, because I have invited Him, and He will be my Shepherd, Protector and my Saviour.

Amen

Daniel 9:18,19 “O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolation s, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Dear God,

Thank You for the record of Daniels prayer. A fearless man of prayer, who allowed nothing to get in the way of his habit to pray three times daily, at his home, at his window facing Jerusalem. His recorded prayers are not self-focused, or about the predicament he found himself in (to be put to death if he continued to pray); they are about the dire condition of Jerusalem and the sins of the nation, in which he included himself. Daniel appealed to You, because You are God and they were Your people, he also knew of Your great mercy, and he also knew, as do I, that You love to answer the prayers of those who are Your children.

Daniel knew the people of Judea had apostatized so much, that they did not listen to You when they had received messages appealing to them to change from their wicked ways, and now even though disasters had befallen them, they had not repented of their sins or asked for forgiveness for them.

Daniel is now praying such a prayer for his nation, as he appeals to You, as the righteous and merciful God, that listens, and You did, sending the angel Gabriel to him.

I pray for understanding of Your will, and the love and words to pray meaningfully for others.

Amen

 

 

Matthew 20: 25 – 28, verse 28 “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

 

Dear God,

It is very good to come to You at the beginning of each day, to learn, pray, worship and adore. I find it the sweetest and most peaceful time of each day; a time I treasure, and I thank You for, and especially for the blessings bestowed upon me during this time. Today I ask that I be filled with much of the Holy Spirit, so that I can be brought closer to You, and be able to truly walk obediently the way You have for me. I give You my sinful and wayward will, to change, strengthen and direct me. I long for a large portion of love, wisdom, compassion and power, as well as whatever other gifts the Holy Spirit knows that I need.

 

The mother of the Zebedee sons came asking for special favours for her sons, when they reached heaven with Jesus, such as that one sit on the right of Jesus and the other on the left. Despite the ignorance about how heaven functions, and the unfairness toward the other disciples, inherent in her request; Jesus was not unkind as He gave His answer, as to why this could not be. Such a privilege, only God the Father could grant, as well as the fact that God’s kingdom, does not operate as for those who handle the affairs of earth. On earth it is the people of power who seek to use their position to control others and success is measured by ability, finance and belongings. Jesus expanded on how this was not God’s way, Matthew 20: 26 “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him become your servant.” Verse 27 “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave.” None of this comes easy to me and others, for as sinful mortal human people, we have many admirable attributes, but we also have innate selfishness, and a desire for supremacy over others, which we have inherited from Satan. Those attributes were made manifest during Lucifers original sin. He has grown into these characteristics more and more since leaving heaven. The angels who were loyal to him (and not God) have grown to be like their boss.

 

Jesus is still our example, and has shown, that we can be humble and caring whilst on this earth, if we see our need and then allow the Spirit to change us. I desire for this change to take place in my heart.

 

Loving You best, and serving You, first, and serving others is what I find being Your child is all about. But I have found none of this comes naturally to someone born on this earth; and is never possible apart from You in my life every moment of every day. Thank you for this privilege and the influence and enabling from the Holy Spirit to make it happen more often in my life.

Amen

Matthew 8:13”Then Jesus said to the centurion “Go your way; and as you have believed so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.”

Dear God,

I am glad to come to my quiet place and learn of You, as well as worship again today. It seems like this is a day of great promise, for when I look out from my kitchen upon my garden, and listen to the birds chortle and sing; I know that nothing is more important than being close to You. I also know my sins are forgiven, and that I am covered by the righteousness of Jesus and filled by the Holy Spirit, because I have asked to be forgiven of my sins and then to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Search my mind and heart, O Lord and show me what I need to bring to You for forgiveness and healing of my soul. I ask that I will be given a willing heart that will trust always and have faith in You always.

Also that I will remember that my life and health are in Your care, for I have found disquiet forming in my mind, because I have been feeling so weird lately, along with painful back muscle spasms.

Forgive me Lord for my melancholy attitude and instead by Your Spirit fill me with peace, love and wisdom, so I can have Your rest in my mind, as You have promised. You know my needs and concerns, please hear and answer my concerns.

I think of the faith of the Roman Centurion based on his respect for Jesus and belief the He would and could heal his servant. Although a man of rank in the Roman army, he was humble in his approach to Jesus, not presumptuous or demanding. He had the power to have people come and go at his will; he also believed that Jesus had more than his authority. He acknowledged that all creation responded to the authority of Jesus. He also knew that Jesus did not physically have to be beside the bed of his servant to heal him, but could just say the word now, and it would happen – and it did. When he went home, as Jesus said, the servant was healed.

This type of faith can be for me today!

Amen