Prayer for The New Year!

Make It Count!

I recently read Bronwyn Lea's blog (see link above) and she helped me to change the way I pray as well. In her blog, she said that one word changed the way she prayed. Therefore, I want to model my prayers in the same manner. Instead of make it better, make it count! Here is my prayer for the new year.

Dear Lord,

Make this year count in all that I say and do. Whatever, trials may come my way make it count in some way to cause me to grow and/or point others to You. Your word tells me that You are not slow in keeping Your promises and that You are patient with people not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. Use me, God in new ways to bring glory to Your name and show mercy to those around me. I desire to always be humble before You though I know that I am prone to seek approval of others. You, alone, are worthy to receive all glory and honor. 

I give You thanks and praise for all that I have been through in 2015 and I look forward to what You have in store for me in 2016.

Amen, come Lord Jesus!

May you, too, be encouraged to ask God to make your life count for Him.  

John 3:30 He must become greater; I must become less.

Place Your Confidence in Christ!

Walk in Him, Rooted and Built Up in Him!

Colossians 2:5-7; 1 Timothy 1:3-5

Again, I like using the Amplified, classic edition. Particularly, the emphasis it puts on faith. In Colossians 2:5, faith in Christ is explained as a leaning of the entire human personality on Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness. It is more than a mental assent. It is a sold out to Jesus without holding back. 

Verse 6 instructs me to walk in Him; meaning I am to regulate my life and conduct myself in union with and conformity to Jesus. I am to strive to act in accordance to what Jesus would do. 

Verse 7 tells me that the roots of my being are to be firmly and deeply planted in Him, fixed and founded in Him and to overflow with thanksgiving. When I stop to comprehend this all, I see that Jesus has given me all that I need, in order, to place my full confidence in Him and that He can bring about the changes in my life so that all I do and say brings glory to God.

1 Timothy 1:3-7 confirms what was said in Colossians, yet it is this faith in Jesus that keeps me from being mislead by any other doctrine and meaningless arguments. The world is an ever growing hostile place to the Name of Jesus and yet He died for all. I desire to be firmly rooted in Jesus because I know that without Him I would not be where I am today. Jesus has never failed me nor has He forsaken me.

My Prayer: Dear Jesus, Thank You for giving Your life so that I am reconciled to God. Help me to live my life rooted and firmly established in You. May others place their confidence in You. Amen.

What Does God Take Delight in?

God Delights In or Takes Pleasure In.

Psalm 147-10-11; Micah 7:17-19; Philippians 4:17-19 

AMP, classic edition

I was reading Psalm 147 today and I was struck by verses 10 & 11.

¹⁰ He delights not in the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man.

¹¹ The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness.

 

I thought to myself, "What does God take delight or pleasure in?" So I went in search of what God delights in and I came across the above scriptures. 

In Psalm 147, I found that God delights in those who fear Him and put their hope in his mercy and loving kindness.

In Micah 7:17-19, I found that God takes delight in showing loving kindness and mercy to His people. He also shows compassion and will cast our sins into the depths of the ocean.

In Philippians 4:17-19, Paul mentions that gifts that he received from Epaphroditus that the Philippians had sent him. Paul referred to them as a fragrant offering and sacrifice that God welcomes and in which He delights. Therefore, God delights in offerings given to the benefit of those who are in service to Him.

What does this mean to me? In order to delight my God, I am to reverently and worshipfully fear Him and put my hope in His steadfast love and mercy. Receive His loving kindness and the fact that He will remove my sins to the depths of the ocean. In gratitude for what God has done for me, give cheerfully to aid those who serve God. I know that according to Zephaniah 3:17 God takes delight in me and rejoices over with singing. I do desire to bring delight and pleasure to my God and King.

My Prayer: Dear God, may all I do and say bring pleasure to You. I give You praise for Your loving kindness and mercy for You have removed my sins to the depths of the ocean. Forgive me, Father, when I fall short. Amen.

Be Merciful and Judge Not One Another

To Forgive is More than Mere Words

Luke 6:36-37

When I came upon this passage in the Amplified, I was struck by two things.

1.) I am not to judge others self-righteously nor condemn others when I am guilty and unrepentant and I will not be condemned for my hypocrisy. 

2.) I am to pardon (forgive) others when they are truly repent and change and I will be pardoned (forgiven) when I truly repent and change. 

Repent means to change direction; to turn from what I was doing wrong. Change is to do that which is right in the sight of God. God is merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) and desires that I am merciful too. As I do unto others it will be done unto me. 

For if you forgive people their trespasses [their ^[a]reckless and willful sins, ^[b]leaving them, letting them go, and ^[c]giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

 

Here, I am instructed that in forgiving others I am to leave their reckless and willful sins, letting them go, and giving up the resentment. This I cannot do on my own but is possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. It is a process and a willful choice on my part to let go of the resentment. With God's help, I can choose not to remember someone's sin against me when I am with that person. I can honestly say that I have experienced this and it is so liberating and I know that it is a God thing. By the grace of God, I am able to be merciful to those around me. God makes it all happen and all that is required of me is to be open to His work in my life. In times like these, I stand amazed at what God has done in me. 

My Prayer: Dear God, I am forever grateful for Your forgiveness of my sins. Thank You for helping me to forgive others as You have instructed me to. May this help others to see that the power to forgive comes from You. Continue to give me the desire to do Your will. Amen

 

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 6:14 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
2. Matthew 6:14 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
3. Matthew 6:14 Webster’s New International Dictionary offers this phrase as a definition of the word “forgive.”

 

In Times of Persecution

To Have the Faith of 

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego

Daniel 3:16-18; 6:6-11

Hebrews 10:19-25; Psalm 112:6-8

First, I want to apologize for not writing in a long while. Life has gotten hectic but God is faithful and has brought me through it all. In light of recent events and what God has shown me in His word, I think it is appropriate to talk about persecution and the faith to persevere.

In the passages from Daniel, I found examples of faith and trust in God that I desire and want to share with you. First one is the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when faced with the fiery furnace. They trusted God to deliver them and if not they still would not serve the gods of the King or the golden image. Their trust was in God and they were committed to Him no matter the cost to themselves. God delivered them from them from the fiery furnace untouched.

The second one is Daniel's faith when the satraps set out to trap Daniel and have him thrown into the lion's den. The satraps tricked King Darius into writing a decree that could not be revoked that if anyone did not worship the King for 30 days they would be thrown to the lion's den. When Daniel heard of this he did not throw a fit or make a fuss. He just did what he always did and left the results to God. To King Darius' credit, he did not want to throw Daniel to the lion's den. However, he had to follow the edict. The next morning, King Darius found Daniel unharmed for Daniel told him that God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions.

In the Hebrews passage, I find three ways to strengthen my faith. One, I am to draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with my heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and washed with pure water (baptism). Two, I am to hold fast to the confession of my hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Third, I am to consider how I can stir up others to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together and encourage one another.

Psalm 112:6-8, talks of the righteous and that they will not be moved nor are they afraid of bad news for their hearts are firm, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are steady; they will not be afraid.

So in conclusion, I will put my trust in God and do what I have always done when my rights are challenged leaving the results to God. I need not fear for my God is faithful and mighty to save.

 Memory Verse: Daniel 2

 ²⁰ Daniel answered and said:“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding;
²² he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.

No Matter How Bad It Gets, God is in Control!

Daniel 7 & 8

As I have been studying Daniel in a group setting, I have learned a lot about the character of God. Daniel, in his time, was an interpreter of dreams, yet, he did not try to interpret his own dreams (7:16; 8:15-17). He was wise not to try to interpret such awe inspiring and yet terrifying dreams. He looked to God for answers. Even still, he had an emotional response to both dreams with the second making him physically sick (7:15; 8:27) . After a time he was able to get up and go about the king's business (8:27). In Daniel's second dream (8:23-25), there is a description of a king of bold face who shall cause fearful destruction with great power that is not his own. What strikes me in this passage is the last part of verse 25, And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. Though this king is great and powerful, he is brought down not by human hand, meaning that God brings him down. This tells me that God is sovereign and nothing is beyond His control. 

My take home on this is that though times be tough and fearful, I need not fear for God is, without doubt, in control. He removes kings and sets up kings. Jesus has been given a dominion that is everlasting and His kingdom shall not pass away (7:13-14). Come what may I will be okay for God is in control and knows all things. It is like knowing that outcome of the game before it is even played. God wins!

All praise and glory be His now and forevermore!

My Prayer: Dear God in heaven, I praise Your Holy name for You are indeed in control and there is nothing to fear. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who reigns forevermore. Amen. 

 

Now For Something Completely Different

Could Even Illness/Infirmity Serve a Purpose?

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

Yes, I believe it can. Having come through a recent experience of my own, I have come to realize that if I expect myself to always be healthy or if I have a pity party when I am ill, I am being a perfectionist and unrealistic. It is wrong of me to think that life should always be sunny for after awhile I no longer appreciate it and start wanting it to rain. To expect God to instantly make me better is not being realistic either, though He can if it is His will for me. 

My infirmity serves a purpose in quite a few ways. One, it slows me down and requires me to call on God for strength. Two, it allows the opportunity for someone to serve and to give. Third, I can experience healing through different venues such as medicine, prayers of others, including the laying on of hands, and time. 

You see, in the Ecclesiastes passage there is a time for everything. In being ill, I have come to appreciate the help of others and the good health when it returns. Illness is the other side of the coin of health and it is a consequence of the fallen world. In the garden of Eve, long before sin entered in, there was no sickness and in heaven there will be no sickness either, therefore, until Christ returns, I must face whatever comes my way with God's grace for in 1 Corinthians 12:9 His grace is sufficient. I cannot experience that grace unless I am in need of it. In my infirmity, I am to a be patient and be willing to ask for help. Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God. This is something I am still learning to do and He has a away of causing me to be still before Him. 

I challenge you the next time you find yourself ill, seek Him for His strength and His grace. Ask Him what He wants you to learn from Him.

My Prayer: Dear Gracious God, thank you for helping to see things differently and to understand that into my life illness will come but Your grace is sufficient. Be with those who are ill and give them strength. Amen.