Month: August 2019

Dear God,

I know you as our loving, very wise God, with wisdom above anything man can conceive.  I know that inherent in man is pride and desire to be at the top, in assets, wealth and prestige.  We seem almost to worship ability and achievement.  In the end no matter the possessions, achievements and prestige, unless we love God and heed His words, God is not impressed even if man is!  It is loving God at an heart level, understanding God deeply, because we have taken the time to do so, which motivates us to be just, kind and open hearted with our fellowman; which pleases God.  Jeremiah 9: 23 “ Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches.”

It is good for each to ask, ‘How does it stand with me?  Am I God’s hands and feet when He asks and the opportunity arises?  Do I give God the honour for my abilities and not think too highly of any personal wealth, possessions or natural abilities and social status?  Accepting God makes me more than that.  It is how I live my life behind the scenes that matters, keeping ever before us, that it is God who made us and gives all that is good, for our sustenance and sharing with those in need.  Remembering that it is God who has all power, wisdom and might, and we in comparison, are weak, with little knowledge, inadequate abilities for the task of living a truly effective life in God.  God uses someone who accepts Him with their whole heart, and follows His requests, selflessly, trusting in Him.  Such evidence is seen in the life lived with God as their support and partner.  As in the disciples of Jesus, some missionaries and many others who were truly happy doing things for God, no matter the Bank Account or status.  After all being in service to God, is a satisfying occupation.

Jeremiah 9: 24 “’But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.  For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.” 

And this is my daily desire.  Thank You for hearing my prayer.

Amen

 

Dear God,

Thank You for my life and the ability to enjoy all that I have long ago planted in my rose garden and orchard.  The vegetables grow and so do the weeds and grubs.  We must all be happy on my property, the uninvited grow more abundantly. I am appreciative I can still manage to make some impact upon them, this winter time.  As my plants and trees need regular care and tending for their best health, so do I need to care for my body and mind and weed out the unchristian thoughts and wrong habits and to be successful I need assistance and am invited by Jesus to ask, and I will be given His help.

At each reading of the recorded messages from God, and Jesus Christ, I am impacted by the new thoughts I find with each reading from familiar passages.  It is thought provoking to contemplate, that Jesus gave His life for friend and foe alike, which is an amazing occurrence, when remembered in the light of His sinless purity and that He left His glorious home with all the angels, You, His beloved Father, and the joyous atmosphere of heaven.  It is barely to be imagined, that this love mission, was to save we mostly unwelcoming habitual sinners living in this dark, hostile environment; the territory Satan had claimed as his.  Jesus with His Divine purity intact within a human body, loved every person, and gave equally to every class as the promised Servant; refusing no one.  Not only did He heal bodies, but souls, that were hungry for the gospel Good News; love Father God and His Son, with all our hearts and everyone on earth as Jesus does and be saved from evil, misery and eternal death.  The kingdom of God is a reality in Jesus.

John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”  Such joyful news, that I am specially chosen to bear the fruit of Jesus.  I perceive that in every situation and condition, this text is not primarily saying, ask to get rich, and build up money and possessions, but rather ask for the Holy Spirit; to grow spiritually in my life and to share Your love with all other people You place in my path.  The fruit given me by the Holy Spirit will remain as I pray You the Father in the name of Jesus to be filled every day, for He is bringing Jesus into my life each day; Hallelujah, for I am one blessed by Your answer.

Amen

Dear God,

To You, I reiterate my praise of Your mighty works and loving forbearance with we very wayward people of earth.  It is recorded in scripture, how quickly man under the influence of Satan and his angels became absolutely wicked.  It has been a history characterized by periods of reforming return to God and then times of general depravity, down through most centuries until the current century.  Many times people who purported to be a follower of God/and Jesus, did unspeakable unloving things to others, and received a rebuke from God.

Through the prophet Jeremiah You spoke firmly to the lying and deceitful prophets, kings and priests and other worshipers.  Jeremiah 5:22 “Do you not fear Me?” ‘Says the Lord,’  “Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?  And though the waves toss to and fro, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.”

Forgive us Lord for bringing You down to our own level of thinking.  Satan has skillfully orchestrated science to deny Your hand in Creation; even Your very existence.  You say of Yourself, I have absolute power to create and destroy, as evidenced by many natural wonders in nature.  These created things, such as animals, tiny organisms, and cells, etc. man cannot emulate, for he needs the already created elements to play around with, combine and grow in petre dishes to name a few.

For the person who does not accept there is a God or that He has done many powerful things and miracles of life and preservation, there is no reverence or acceptance of Him and His works.  Jeremiah 3:22 “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding s.” Part a Perhaps the greatest work and miracle that gives us further belief in the all-powerful God on an ongoing basis, is the change that is wrought in the mind and life of a person in enslavement (say to alcohol or recreational drugs) with unstable temper and life lived. Jeremiah 3:22 “Indeed we do come to You, for You are the Lord our God.” part b  After prayerfully accepting Jesus, and being delivered, they are absolutely changed in every area of their body and life.   Previously they could not have, even with the greatest desire, effect this total change in themselves, by themselves.   Despite having usually tried often and hard to break free from their addictions etc.

I imagine with such an experience in the person being delivered by God, for them, it cannot be argued away by science.  Though I have never drunk strong drink, I have had miraculous answers to prayer and need.  Humbly and reverently I bow before You my God, in thanks and praise.

Amen

 

 

Dear God,

It is a delight to read Your Word and commune with You.  This comes after in rebellion of spirit this morning, I did not want to wake up early and spend extra time to write a special prayer for You.  However I have been given a different spirit since then.   Now in a more peaceful attitude, since I have received Your answer to my prayer for a change in attitude.  I give praise to You, for I am the beneficiary of everlasting attentiveness to me from all in heaven.  You, as God, know all about us, including our every thought and situation; in other words You know just where we are at, within and out.  To my advantage, You work through Your Spirit, to give me the ability to not only perceive the trend of an attitude, but where the attitude is taking me.  I am given the desire to choose to change and ask for Your Divine assistance.  Your answer is assured for me and everyone else who asks, believing, because it has been promised by You.  This is a wonderful thing Oh God, for I have found great hope and help in Ezekiel 36:25-27.  I find in Verse 25 “….I will cleanse you from all Your filthiness and from all idols.”  Continuing on from my being cleansed and my change, to further renewal as promised in Verse 26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you….”  In Your transformation, my hard heart, comfortable in sin, is removed and replaced with a heart that is tender and receptive to Your love and leading.  I want to give praise, oh merciful God, for You know in my earthly spirit I cannot even carry out my desire to be loving and obedient to You, therefore along with everyone who asks, Verse 26 “I will put My Spirit within you…….”  to enable the keeping of Your requests and carefully abide by You laws.

From You we have received our very lives and everything else for our best good, to salvation by Your Righteousness, with the promise of eternal life, without being stalked by the devil enticing us to do wrong and be without help to change.  Why therefore would I say no, to living Your way, in happiness with all the help I need?  I do not yes to the devil, and today renew my commitment to You my God.

Romans 12:2”Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

 

Dear God,

You allowed Your precious only Son to represent Your love and perfect character upon earth.  In the Bible book called by his name Isaiah has written about salvation for people through Jesus, when He was in man’s form, at His first coming Then at His second coming, to redeem those who had loved Him, and wore Christs robe of righteous.  The words of the Prophets give Gods people hope of being redeemed by Jesus and living in heaven with Him and later in the New Jerusalem, with changed sinless bodies, with all the other ransomed people, God the Father and all the heavenly beings.  Isaiah 61:1-3 represent Christ, Verse 1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”  Through Verses 2-3 additional healing and restorative actions are promised by the Lord, bringing joy, righteousness, peace, and so glorifying Jesus.

To the priests and people present in the Synagogue, Jesus identified Himself as being the answer to the above prophecy. This occurred on the Sabbath day, after Jesus read from Isaiah.  Luke 4:18-19 records the quotation that Jesus reads from Isaiah 61:1-3.  With all eyes upon Him, He gave the book back, and said Verse 21 “……….’today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’” Few realized what an immense statement this was for those alive, and saw His work, and after His death, He unlocked the potential, to bring His promised light and healing salvation to every individual, that ever lived.

In the scriptures, firstly in Old Testament times, caring for the oppressed and helping the poor, and not taking advantage of such people, is clearly stated as what God wanted all on earth to do.  Jesus ever had a heart full of tender pity and actively relieved the suffering of the oppressed, poor, sick and suffering.

For some little while, John the Baptist had been languishing in prison.  Jesus was not doing what Israel had expected of the Messiah. With the help of others, doubts about Jesus being the Messiah, began to form in the mind of John the Baptist so he sent his disciples to ask questions; such as ‘should we look for another’?  After a day caring for all in need, Luke 7:22 “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind sea, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” John understood, and it was enough.

Please Jesus put within me a heart for the poor and needy of all types and nations.

 

Dear God,

It is very special to be in Your presence again in the early morning time.  You direct Your servant through the scriptures to give understanding and impress my mind with spiritual needs.  I find also the desire to confess my sins, gain an insight into my character deficiencies and am given a desire to ask how to change.  I am directed to texts that state the offers to fulfil my every need through Your love and power.  The requirement is, that I humble myself and ask for help, and no matter how sinful, self-sufficient and proud I have been, all can be forgiven and reversed, by our Most Holy God.

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the contrite one.”  With so much apostasy and waywardness amongst people who thought they satisfied You with the ordinances performed in worship, to actually receive a rebuke, contains a lesson for us today.  It is the humble obedient worship and service, which pleases You, not many showy actions, without trusting love.

When Your people or church are rebelliously doing actions not as You have outlined, as though being good for us, and are disrespectful to You, they are always plainly rebuked.  You never take Your loving eyes off us and just as plainly call us back to receive forgiveness in love and mercy, followed up with other blessings and fruit of the Spirit in our character.  Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.”

I choose You again today, and as promised in Your word, the thoughts and emotions that are like a ‘troubled sea ‘and never at rest, with thoughts that cast up ‘mire and dirt’, (Isaiah 57:20) need not be when we accept Your words for ourselves, and our reward shall be, Psalm 33:21 “For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His Holy name.”

 

 

Dear Father in heaven, it is my pleasure to worship and bow down to You this morning.  I pray in the name of Jesus and ask for forgiveness for my every sin, so I can be reconciled with You, through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

As I noted on another day, Your prophets of the Old Testament, write with experience of Your ongoing profound merciful love toward erring, sinful children.  Because You are everlasting and eternal, You are the same with each of us today.  The Israelite people turned themselves away from practicing the right living and worship; You had outlined, and did as the wicked people around them.  This included choosing to worship and bow down to a man-made lifeless, god who could not answer or do any miracles.  They then found themselves in bondage and slaves to their supposed deliverers, as well as to the sinful practices of those nations.

After a period of consequential withdrawing of Your care and support, You again endeavoured to bring them back to true deliverance, loving care and forgiveness.  Isaiah 52: 3 “For thus says the Lord: ‘You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money’” 

It is apparent that people have not learned from the past and still think we know better how to live and worship, than You our God.  We of today, still go off and get ourselves tied up with Godless people, and into practices that do us harm and cause us to be slaves to sin, by ‘them and that’.  Isaiah 52: 5 “…..’Those who rule over them make them wail,’ says the Lord, ‘my name is blasphemed continually every day.’”  Once tied up, it seems mentally too hard to extricate our self and go find or return to God, Who loves the sinner and the righteous alike, without reserve. Again as the longsuffering, merciful God, revealed (Isaiah 52:7) God as the answer to their dire situation, proclaimed ‘Good news’, there is peace and salvation, ‘Your God reigns’.

In all our dire situations, the same ‘Good news’ applies “Your God reigns’, and today we have the reality of the life lived in answer to the promise of Jesus, Your Son, Who would come and set all the captives of sin free.  All events came about as had been predicted, for example, Isaiah 52: 10 “The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” 

Your good news of salvation, through Jesus, has gone to most nations and peoples.  Father I pray, that many more, will hear and accept Your ‘Good news’ and choose to accept You and salvation through Jesus for free.

Dear God,

It is peace and sustenance to my mind and well being every day just to know You through the Holy Scriptures, and receive many answers to sincere repeated prayers, through life in general, and some ongoing hard times, and mental challenges.  I give thanks for Your perseverance with me, gently leading and strengthening me.  For giving me more appreciation that You are always caring for me, and refining my character in situations I do not like, and long to flee from, but could not.  Now for the most part, this is somewhat later, and I am glad for the experiences of have been through, for I have found my God in a deeper and fuller way, and my rejoicing in You, also is deeper and sweeter.  My blessings in coming close to You expands, as I find Your presence close through the Holy Spirit, resulting in a quiet purposeful happiness; as has been promised over and over in Your Holy Word.  Zechariah 2:4 “’ Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion!  For behold, I am coming and dwell in your midst’, says the Lord.”  I wonder why more people are not made glad by the news that our Lord wants to live with us personally and dwell in our midst?

A further frequent event is a reminder of Your care, which firms our confidence in our Creator, all powerful.  Rain or snow comes down to water the earth and cause plants to sprout from seed, which grows and becomes food for some animals, people and many birds.  Water is ever used in Scripture to signify the Holy Spirit.  We are promised the infilling of the Holy Spirit as ‘rivers of living water’.  As rain waters the earth, and causes a seed to sprout and grow the Holy Spirit waters our soul, causes us to grow in God and matures our spiritual growth.

Today, more of Gods words come down, with relevance.  Isaiah 55:11 “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”  For all of us there is infinite power in God’s spoken and recorded words that never age, or go out of date.  I have been immensely helped when I believed and put into practice, the knowledge that every promise is alive with the potential God originally spoke into it.  Like a seed, the power of God liberates us from darkness, and causes new growth in mind and spirit every +day; we use our faith, and put God to the test, in peace time and challenge.

Amen

Dear God,

This morning I again thank You for my life and the freedom to search Your Holy Word.  Please open my heart, through the Holy Spirit, teaching and nourishing my mind through Your Sacred Word.  I also have the teaching and example of Jesus, from when He came down to earth.  The life of Jesus is an example of living Your love; as a man.  This was not as we can in human strength live and interact with others.

I am grateful, for a new depth from the teaching of Moses, on the borders of the Promised Land, which contains wisdom for us, on the borders of our promised land = Heaven.

Moses taught the people about their need and why God had led them around for 40 years in the wilderness.  Despite being greatly blessed and guided by God, they had in pride, rebellion and disbelief greatly sinned against You; as we so often do. For them (us) God knew the only answer for them, was to learn humble dependence upon Him and appreciation for the words of the, all loving, powerful and all-knowing Mighty God.  The Children of Israel had for 40 years, been supplied miracle food, that fell each morning; however they (us) were in greater need, Deuteronomy 8:3 “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, fed you with Manna…..that He might make you know that man shalt not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” 

I pray again, that in me is placed a great hunger to learn of You, through the reading of scripture, with perception and the ability to recognize and place aside human preconceptions and theories.  From an early age Jesus was taught by His mother the scriptures, illuminated by the Holy Spirit; as is available to us!  Thus taught by God, His command and understanding of scripture amazed the priests and ‘learned of His day

Jesus being kept by the power of The Spirit, and his belief and knowledge of scripture, came from His baptism, filled with the Holy Spirit, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, for a 40 day test with the devil.  Jesus knew scripture intimately and through the Holy Spirit, in discernment, Jesus quelled the devil with a quote from scripture, for all three temptations.  For the first, Luke 4:4 “But Jesus answered him, saying, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” (Deut. 8:3)

Not busyness, hunger, stress or feeling tired is an excuse for not living ‘by every word of God’.  Your inspired Bible tells me we have all the assistance and strength available, to claim so we can read, and be able to understand, assimilate and obey every word.

 

Dear God,

Your heralds of a new day are busy with their chirps and twitters; so pleasant to the ear. As their Creator, they are provided and cared for so carefully, by You the all-powerful God. It would seem to be imperceptive, when we are so intricate, to deny we were created by an all knowing God, and assert instead that we just happened and were formed in the womb and birthed, all by a series of progressive accidents.

Another series of Gods words that consolidates my belief in Him, is the 100% success rate of the Bible predictions and prophecies; all in precise detail for event and time frame.  The recorded words of God, say in Isaiah 44:7 ‘who can proclaim as I do?’ You reveal about Yourself and challenge us with the thought that you have always been, and certainly no one can change how You create or take away from the fact there is creation happening, all without us knowing the process in Your mind.  We cannot make or remove our sun to give one example. Isaiah 43: 13 “Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work and who will reverse it?”

There were thousands of witnesses to the waters parting before the Israelite’s as recorded not just in our Biblical record.  This miracle was so the fleeing Israelites could escape from being caught between sea and the pursuing Egyptian army. God reminds the later errant Israelites, by ‘asking who did this?’  For no human is capable of such an action.  Isaiah 43: 16 “Thus said the Lord, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters.”  Further during the wanderings in the desert, there were other supernatural deeds performed for the survival of the Children of Israel.   Isaiah 48: 21 “And they did not thirst, when He led them through the desert.  He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them.  He also split the rock, and the water gushed out.” 

Beyond making our bodies, providing and preserving us, it is our eternal salvation that God earnestly promises through Him.  Isaiah 45: 22 “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other.” 

God never forces, and even now, after stating it how it is, He leaves for us to choose or reject, from the clear case presented for the way to eternal life.”

Amen