Month: November 2016

1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Dear God,

Your love of me and the entire world is very important to me, in these challenging and busy times on the globe and time of year for many individually.  I think many of us long to be Your true child in all ways, trusting You completely and resting calmly and at peace in You, as did Jesus when sleeping at the bottom of the boat, whilst the storm raged around He and the disciples on the lake of Galilee.

Your ailing child pleads for a double portion of Your love that the Holy Spirit longs to fill me with.  I have not often been comfortable with receiving and showing love as some people do; so it is good to really appreciate that when I love You and have your love within me, I will naturally give to others  of what I have been filled.   Each person is Your precious child; as I am.  It is good that in the freedom Your love gives us, we have the freedom to show it in our different individual ways.

I am thankful that so many of my friends have shown me love and are so kind toward me.  They have lifted me up and fed my sometimes lonely soul.  Today I again will be the recipient of a kind and loving act from another friend.  Please be my strength to put away pride so that I can just receive this kindness expressed as being an outworking of the love You have placed in her heart.

I pray that I will freely express love to others, without thought of merit or favour, with never a hint of reserve, or a begrudging spirit.  1 John 4: 9, 10 ”In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might love through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins”

Amen

 

Daniel 4: 2, 3 “I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me.  How great are His signs, and how mighty His wonders!  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.”

Dear God,

It is a blessed relief to pray and read Your word in quietness, peace and joy.  It is good to be filled with words of praise and happiness.  I cherish Your love and all interventions on my behalf.

This morning as I have read several chapters of Daniel, a few of the well-known stories, speak to me again, for example, Nebuchadnezzar in Chapter 3, appears to be totally controlled by his pride, believing he had personally achieved in his kingdom, by his own wisdom and power.   It seems amazing that he went so far as to make a huge gold image of himself, and demanded his subjects bow down and worship, and give Nebuchadnezzar and not You honour; when all Babylonians had known originally that they had been given power to conquer nations, as part of Your big plan.

Neither was this Babylonian king left to pursue his way without a warning; as the inhabitants of this world have not been left without being warned, what will happen to this world as a consequence of it continuing in and becoming more wicked in the tightening grip of Satan.  We are also in danger of a prideful denial of the messages that You have delivered through Your prophets.

The Babylonian kingdom was to be followed by other kingdoms that were to become progressively weaker.  Nebuchadnezzar had ordered that this statue be made of pure gold down to the toes, unlike the one he saw in the dream You gave him, which changed from gold, to silver, to bronze and finally iron and clay for the feet.  He believed his kingdom had the strength and durability of gold, which went against Your predictions that Babylon would fall, to another nation.

When it came to his attention that 3 of his captive servants had not bowed down in worship in front of the image, it seems unbelievable that his actions were so depraved  to with premeditation, he ordered the furnace to be heated 7 times hotter, to really finish off the 3 men.  God, You alone could have saved the 3 men from death in the overwhelming white hot heat of the fire; which caused the death of the attendants whilst throwing them in.  Your Godly power and might was absolutely established that day, as Jesus came down to walk in the fiery furnace with the 3 men.

When these Hebrew men came out of the furnace, the king was very impressed, and acknowledged Your power, but he did not really humble himself before You or accept that is was You who had given him the prosperous kingdom.  You again sent him a warning dream what was to happen , if he continued in his prideful ‘posturing’, and pushing You out of the way, and so it came to pass one year later, as quoted in Daniel 4: 30 “The king spoke, saying, ‘Is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honour of my majesty?’”  At that time You delivered on the warning given through Daniel, and in that very hour his reason was gone, and he was drawn out into a field to live there eating grass like a beast of the field.  After 7 years of this, You God, returned his reason to him.

Then finally this king acknowledged You as the Most High God and gave You praise and allegiance, and You returned his entire kingdom to Him.  Such an amazing story, that should speak to us all, about Your divinity and power, and whilst You are very patient with rebellion, there is a price to pay in the end, if we continue to deny You, and refuse to acknowledge that You are God, and Your warnings are real and will come to pass as prophesied.

Please give me a humble heart, that  will always acknowledge and give You praise and allegiance, as did the 3 Hebrew men and finally king Nebuchadnezzar.

Amen

 

 

Daniel 1: 17 “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

Dear God,

The day is bright with a warm sun and all seems ready to go for a good day.  I am glad, but a little nervous to be presenting my recipes and tastes again, at a cooking demonstration.  I believe that you will be with me and get me through, so I am on time, interesting and a help to others. I give thanks for leading me away from my self-made fears and pre-occupation with issues relative to myself, onto my salvation through Jesus Christ, which in itself brings much peace, because my sin burden is absolved by Jesus, who has paid my sin price, and so my confessed sins are forgiven.  I praise Your glorious name, for making this provision for we of earth who are entrenched in sin, with no other hope of getting out of our mire, apart from You the Father, and Jesus Christ, Your Son.  I am sure, that when my mind is staid upon You, then only can I walk Your way truly.

Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, the gifted young men of Israelite royal lineage, when captured by Babylon, were chosen to serve in the kings’ palace; after 3 years instruction in the Babylonian ways, gods and affairs.  They had previously given their hearts to You and were wise in Your teachings, and had eaten a simple diet.  They were faced with one of their first challenges to their faith, when part of their preparation for life in Babylon was to dine at the kings table.  Daniel 1: 8, reveals, that Daniel purposed in his heart not to eat the unhealthy food from the kings table that had been offered to idols, and instead stay strong and firm in his commitment to his God.  Three other captives joined him, and I think, as captives in a foreign land, that would take courage.  I can see that this courage and commitment came from having in the past having given their heart’s to You, and making it a practice to spend regular time in prayer and in obedience to walk Your way.  Now You were able to strengthen Daniel and his friends, and move on the hearts of those in positions of authority at the king’s palace, so that the four young men were allowed to eat their Hebrew diet for 10 days and because they had thrived upon it, they were permitted to keep eating that way.  Your blessing was upon them not only at that time, but throughout the 3 preparation years and beyond, for they were intellectually above the others who had eaten the king’s food and compromised their belief and faith in You, the true God.

I ask God, that I also be given a true heart of courage toward You, that will also stay true to You, no matter the circumstances, as I determine to seek You in prayer throughout each day.

Amen

2 Peter 2: 14 “Therefore beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.”

Dear God,

I thank You for safe keeping, in all aspects of my life, especially when I remember the havoc that has been reaped in so many places around the world, as well as the accidental deaths that can occur in a seconds.  I pray for the injured and those left sorrowing, that they may find Your peace.

Peter, as did all the apostles, longed for the second coming of Jesus and spent much time urging the church congregation to live blameless lives, so they would be worthy for Jesus to take them to heaven.  Of course this was over 2,000 years ago; however whether it was then or the day before Jesus comes back, does not change things, from the aspect, that Your scriptures reveal, that when anyone has died in Christ, they will know nothing of the happenings of earth, until Jesus, at His second coming gives them new life.  Therefore the scriptural advice of the apostles is pertinent for every age, because all agree that any opportunity for salvation, finishes the moment my life is over.

Today, dear Father, in the strength and admonition of the Holy Spirit, I determine to live a life worthy of You.  2 Peter 3: 11 “Therefore, since all these will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.”    But I now think, that it does not matter how long that the second coming of Jesus is delayed, because more people will be saved from sin and eternal death.  2 Peter 3: 15, 8 “And consider that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation………  But, beloved do not forget this one thing that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  We live a life that operates in seconds, minutes etc., , for a life span these days lived  in the Western world of 70 – 100 years; with much condensed into a short time, whereas You, God deal in millennia.

Through his writing in scripture, Peter reassures us all, the seeming delay of the second coming of Jesus, is not due to God being slack, V 9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but longsuffering  toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Thank You Father God, for Your total love and care for we on earth and I choose again, to follow You.

Amen

1 Peter 4: 8 “Above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’”

Dear God,

I come into Your presence again Lord and I am so glad to do so, for I feel my need of being close to You.  I pray for Your peace, not only to quiet my soul and mind, but also my whole body.  I thank You for hearing this prayer and according to Your promises, equip me to meet this day, with all its inevitable joys and challenges.

Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so that I can truly walk Your way, remembering the sacrifice of Jesus for my sins, and in Your strength I will not pursue known sin.  1 Peter 4: 1, 2 “Therefore since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”  Please give me a new deeper understanding about what Christ endured upon the cross for me and on the other hand, how my sins impact Christ; for I am beginning to see more fully, that it is no small thing to be a sinner and it is a huge thing to be saved and  transformed by his unconditional grace.  V4 “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”

Lord, please keep me focused upon You, do that I will not be side-tracked away from You.  I know that when I am focused upon You during my activities, and not unheedingly upon my own interests and pursuits; You do fill me with Your love. Which to my delight spills out of me toward others, for then I do truly care selflessly about them.  I also know, that I cannot just decide to truly love them, for I of myself have no true and selfless love (though to show any love would be better than none at all).

It is good to pass Your given love onto others and receive love (of all types) from other people.  It is true, as the saying goes, ‘as we give good or bad deeds and attitudes to others, so it comes around back to us’.

Thank You for every blessing and gift to us.

Amen

2 Peter 1: 2,3 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

Dear God,

I am very grateful for a new day, for my life and Your protection of me and mine.  I appreciate Your answers to my sincere prayers for help and guidance in the daily issues and interactions  I am humbled by Your love at all times, and especially when I do not feel on top of things, I can always be sure You will answer Your promises.

Teach me to humbly accept the love friends want to show me, even though I always want (to be the independent one).  Teach me to forget my pride and independence, so that I can accept what people offer with open gratitude, with no thought of embarrassment.  However it would seem to me, that because of the work of the Holy Spirit, I have improved somewhat.

You give those that seek You, spiritual gifts, so we can add to our faith in You, virtue and to virtue increasing knowledge of Your will, and to this, self-control and then perseverance and to perseverance, godliness, with brotherly kindness, and love which all come as gifts from Christ, (2 Peter 1: 5-7).

These are the qualities that have been manifested toward me by my Christian friends, and these qualities I seek more of again today.  For I believe they will come to me as Your gift, more and more as I humbly seek them and use them, with an open heart.

I claim for myself the promise in V8 “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Amen

 

1 Peter 5: 5 “……Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’”

Dear God,

How good it is to greet You, and be greeted by the evidences of Your love and care, in every place I am in.   I am truly enveloped by evidences of your care in the natural world, and by the support of me spiritually and emotionally.  One further evidence of Your love and care, is that for we who are called Your children, You have given us eyes to see Your works, and minds and hearts to discern Your love and care for each of us, that an unbeliever does not have.  But of course You would bestow these upon us, for how else would we ever be remotely ‘in tune’ with You, if we could not discern Your works or understand Your intervention or spiritual messages, that are to bring me (us) close and closer to You.  It is evident in my life and the life of those in the scriptures, that because we are born in sin, we do not have these abilities inherently within us.

When I analyze what Peter quoted from in the above text, he has drawn from the writing of Solomon in Proverbs.  For both men (and many of us) their proud heart had separated them from You and bought a spiritual downfall for them (us).  More than many, they would recognize the danger of pride in a child of God, because it reduces our perceived need of You our God, and makes us uncharitable toward others as we operate with varying degrees of self-importance.

The pride that Lucifer, the leading angel in heaven, allowed to develop in his heart bought about changes in how he viewed Your Son Jesus, and Yourself, to the degree that, he and other angels on his side, viewed the government of heaven as unfair; bringing he and 1/3 of the angels into rebellion, which led to an attempted takeover war, and finally their expulsion out of heaven.  Upon this earth, the place he and his angels reside, every one of his actions arise out of his own evil self-centredness and are designed to get at You, our God; by making us as much like himself as he can.   So we cannot fully appreciate You and the plan of salvation, or worship and revere You as Almighty God and Father, he aims to disable or destroy us physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I know that You cannot fully reach my mind when I am proud, and I am horrified to find, that this attitude so often sneaks in unnoticed, and always brings disquiet and dissatisfaction; when examined in the light that the Holy Spirit gives.

Therefore today, in the strength of the Holy Spirit, I will remember 1 Peter 5: 6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”  There is a way out, and I do not have to hang onto my issues that are causing concern or disquiet, for you invite me to leave them with Yourself, V7 “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Thank You!

Amen

! Peter 3 : 15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you , with meekness and fear.”

Dear God,

To love and serve You is at the core of my being and delight.  Even though at times I am a poor reflection of Your love, because I tend to go about doing what I want and not what You want me to do.   I am always humbled, that through Your spirit, I am bought back to Yourself, and then I see the error of my ways and in repentance ask forgiveness knowing that You attend to all such prayers.  Then instead of being self-willed and rebellious, I am contrite, remembering that I cannot even do what is right in Your sight in my own judgement; but I can in the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit.  Hallelujah, all praise to You, beloved Father God and Son.

Thank You for Your mercy and love manifested by the Holy Spirit, who changes me and empowers me so that I can truly have You in my heart.  Then You are my hope in all things, especially for the future here on earth, for eternal life, when Jesus Christ comes to collect His own from this old, tired earth, and takes them to live in heaven with Him forever.  I have the anticipation of heaven as a place of purity, amidst bright vibrant colours and life, in which sin, death and decay never intrudes or has a place, because the glory our God the Father and Jesus, King of Kings are at the centre, illuminating all of heaven.

The opening text for me, also refers to the fact, that not only do I have Your glorious hope, pulsating through my being, I then with joy bubbling out of my being, will tell others about the reason for the hope I have, not in a ‘cock sure’ way, believing I deserve to be chosen by Jesus, but in meekness and gratitude I acknowledge, He IS in my all.

I am glad that I learned many hymns as a young person in boarding school and one comes to mind that reminds  me of what we have in Jesus,

My hope is built on nothing else, than Jesus blood and righteousness,

I dare not trust thrust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Chorus:

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.

I have just focused on the first verse in my talk with You, but the other three also remind me and speak to my heart afresh today.  Please keep these words in my mind throughout the next few days, so I can ponder on them and be filled with gratitude for life lived with this knowledge and experiences with Jesus.  Then another gem from Your Holy Word or well-known Hymn  will take my attention, and I will have the enrichment of thinking on that for a while, for which I give sincere thanks.

Amen

 

 

John 16: 33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Dear God,

I am very grateful to You, God for answering my urgent cries for peace, every time I lost the peace You gave my mind and body a few years ago You restored it again.  Sometimes it takes a while to adjust to a change in health status and it all loomed often in my mind, with “how can this be happening to me, the one who tries to be healthy.”  But of course it can, that is how life is on the earth!

I drew on the promise found in Psalm 31: 24 “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen Your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” My mind and emotions were strengthened, to do what was required.   Always I feel Your love and compassion as I pray and open my heart and mind to You.

The disciples had no idea what was ahead of them, as their beloved Master was apparently not going to proclaim himself as king of Israel and overthrow the hated Romans, and instead was apparently going to allow Himself to put to death as the sacrifice to pay the sin price for all sinners.  Thereby for all time overcoming Satan, sin and death, and consolidating His place as King of Kings, in heaven.  Jesus because of His love had been preparing His disciples for His death.   At first He had spoken in ‘figurative language’ which they did not understand, but He now speaks in plain language, which they say they understand. John 16: 29 followed in V30 “Now we are sure that You know all things and have no need that anyone should question You.  By this we believe that You came forth from God.”

They were convicted about the divinity of Jesus, but when the events leading up to and during His crucifixion they were found to have a faith in Jesus that was not fully able to carry them through- out, and every-man fled from the side of their beloved Master.  And so it is so often with myself and others; when new and troublesome times come, we may find that our knowledge of Your divinity is not enough, and as yet our faith has not developed sufficiently to carry us through in assurance and peace.  It is so good to know that we do not have to stop there, for in Jesus we may face tribulation and disquiet, which will test and let us know the weaknesses in our faith; to be strengthened through Jesus.  We have no need to be down hearted about them, for we have a strong helper in the Holy Spirit and Advocate in heaven, which is Jesus Christ Himself.

It is so encouraging to read on in Acts, of how the disciples later had now become humble, fearless and full of faith, representatives of Jesus, their risen Lord.  Their belief and faith were new, born out of the total surrender, of their heart and life direction, to the cleansing and redirection, through the Holy Spirit.  Even while going through tribulation!  Their tribulations were just beginning, but in joy they proclaimed the gospel story in every place they could.

Their experience and the promises of Jesus are not limited to them, I am sure, and as we surrender to Jesus in all situations, we will have a new belief and faith each day, which will grow through each difficulty and tribulation.

Thank You God for hearing my prayers, and giving me a new heart, strength and commitment.

Amen

1 Peter 1: 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Dear God,

I thank You again this morning for Your sacred word written by people that You inspired.  Though the language is old, the words convey a message that is alive throughout all ages and is always appropriate and available to the one who prayerfully searches the scriptures in the illumination of the Holy Spirit.  Then I find I am given understanding of the message You have for me, (often by comparing different passages)  as well as an application to my own life, whether it be an affirmation or a rebuke, always  underpinned by Your love.

Thank You for the opportunity to freely and quietly read Your word, as the daily activities are put aside and hopefully the concerns as well.  It is so profitable to acknowledge it was the love of “God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” that allowed His precious Son Jesus to come to earth, based on His own abundant mercy toward us.  And always timely, because Jesus was resurrected from the grave and now lives, that we can have a living hope, for when Jesus comes to earth again, we also will be resurrected by Jesus from death or life, to leave earth to live eternally in heaven.

How special for me to appreciate that those who have given their hearts into the keeping of Jesus in heaven have an inheritance that cannot be corrupted or removed, for it is in His safekeeping.  When we continue to faithfully love You , we will be kept by Your power, by the faith that You have gifted us unto salvation which assures our inheritance.

It should be a win, win situation, but due to the combination of a master of the devious and wickedness = devil and we deluded and sinful = devil ambushed human people, we often just do not believe what has been done for us or is on offer from You through Jesus Your son; or just hop out of our relationship and do our own thing.  Sometimes we think we can come in out on our terms, or just walk away in rejection.  How sad, please open hearts and minds to not only what You offer, but our great need, in our utter sinfulness and inability to change apart from You.

Please dear God, protect me from my ‘deluded and sinful self’ and the ‘master of the devious and wickedness’; for I certainly have no defense against either!

To consolidate our faith so that it is genuine and cannot be moved, we may be tested by trials and/or persecution, but Peter tells us that in this we have occasion for joy and need never fear, for God never leaves us defenseless or alone and our character becomes more like Jesus, in the refining process of adversity, toward, V9 “Receiving the end of your faith-the salvation of your souls.”

Please dear Jesus, give me the right attitude toward adversity, along with joy and endurance, that brings me closer to You in the present,  and on into my inheritance with You for all time.

Amen