Friday, December 30, 2016

A New Year's Prayer

A New Year's Prayer

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land.
                                                                                                2 Chronicles 7:14

This passage of scripture takes me back to a classic contemporary Christian song that I am sure was inspired by that very verse of scripture entitled When God’s People Pray by Wayne Watson.  The chorus went like this:
“When God’s people pray
And take the pains of earth to the doors of Heaven
When God’s people pray
There is hope reborn, there is sin forgiven
And miracles you can’t explain away
When God’s people pray”

With this scripture in mind please pray with Me now.

Oh God, we who are called by your name come humbly before you today.  We thank you for life, health, and strength.  We ask that you be with us as we begin a new year.  Help us not to carry last year’s trouble into the new year. We come with an expectancy of direction and purpose as we shed the unnecessary and pick up the purposeful.  Because your thoughts are not our thoughts and your ways are not our ways, we ask for your eyes to see and your ears to hear along with clarity of mind so that our prayers are both strategic and effective. 

Help us to see clearly who our enemy is and to know that his purpose is to steal the imparted word that is given to us in scripture and sown in our hearts, to kill our natural and spiritual bodies if he were able, and to destroy any sense of unity among your people. 

Lord we know that he is already defeated but he wants to take as many of your children as possible with him.  Lord God help us to see through his many manipulative smokescreens including materialism and  racism, a tactic of the enemy to keep us divided.  We know that beyond ethnic diversities we are one people ... your people.  For we know that You made us all and through the redemptive blood of Jesus we can all be born again into your kingdom and family. 

Lord in your creativity You made each culture unique and different.  You alone are our common ground.  Help us to remember that You have called us to be one with You, just as Jesus is.  Help us to remember that who we are in You supersedes who we are as an ethnic group and that all Christians, from all ethnic groups, make up the body of Christ and form your precious bride.

This year Lord as we make all manner of resolutions, help us to exercise your spiritual gifts of patience and self-control. Help us to depend on your strength in our weakness.  Help us to prefer one another and to live together in the bond of peace.

Also, help us to continue to walk in love as you commanded by showing forgiveness when we are wronged and by loving our enemies.  And last, but certainly not least, to allow vengeance to be yours and not to ever take it into our own hands. 

It is in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.

Be blessed!



Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Does He Know You?



Does He know You?

21) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22) “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23) “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Matthew 7:21-23

Not what you want to hear right?  This set of verses always stops me in my tracks.  This passage of scripture is not easily skimmed over to meet my scripture quota for the day.  These three little verses that say so much pack a powerful punch!  I personally couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of exercising spiritual gifts like prophecy or the gift of healing or teaching people about salvation…doing it all in Jesus name and then to hear Him say ‘I never knew you’.  How could that even be possible?  I began to reflect on this and realized how easy it could actually be.

 Romans 11:29 clearly says, ‘For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.’ This means that if God gives you a spiritual gift such as the gift of prophecy and you fall into sin which separates you from God, your gift remains intact even if you don’t have a good relationship with Him and are not following His ways or walking in His will.  He is not going to take the gift back.  There are many laws that operate whether we understand them or not.  This is true for physical laws like the law of gravity as well as spiritual laws like the law of sowing and reaping.  Our ignorance of the law and how it operates doesn’t dampen the effectiveness of the law. These laws apply to everyone whether you have a relationship with the Lord or not.

There is no fault in the mighty name of Jesus.  It is perfect.  There may be fault with us and our imperfectness.  People will be saved, delivered, and set free by the power of His name. We draw on the power of His name and many wondrous deeds are accomplished but it is not because of anything we tried to do. It is all God’s doing.  We can go through the motions without any real relationship and fool some of the people some of the time and even fool ourselves but we can’t fool God.

Jesus died so that God could open His heart to all of us and in fact gain many sons.  We are not mere servants that do all in His name but don’t know Him personally. We are obedient sons that do all His will and have access to His very heart.  We are joint heirs with Christ and children of the most high God who have every right to be in the know.  God tells us Himself to ask, seek, and knock.  He so wants to be known by His children.  So let’s be “in the know”.  Let’s not perish for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6a).  Let’s take the time to know Him through the knowledge of His word and better yet be known by Him through relationship.

Be blessed!



Friday, December 23, 2016

Unto us a child is born



      6) For unto us a Child is born,
           For unto us a Son is given;
           And the government will be upon His shoulder.
           And His name will be called
           Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
           Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    7)  Of the increase of His government
         and peace
         There will be no end,
         Upon the throne of David and over
         His kingdom,
         To order it and establish it with
         Judgement and justice
         From that time forward, even forever.
         The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
                                                                        Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV

It’s Christmas time… the time when we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world.  While we don’t know His actual birthday, I am grateful that we have set aside a special day in which to honor the birth of Jesus!  He means so much to us!  We love him and yet sometimes we don’t fully understand His importance to our lives. 

It may in some ways be considered a blind trust. However, we can know Him better and in turn trust Him more.  Let’s consider what this scripture is saying to us. It gives us a fast-tracked glimpse of all He encompasses in two verses. 

Although this scripture is mentioned, mostly in my experience, during the Christmas season it is true and real always.  It starts by referring to Him as a child…a son.  We can all relate to Him in those terms as we are children ourselves… sons and daughters.  That’s where our sameness ends.  From there He is completely spiritual.  He is now our Lord and Savior.  “...the government will be upon His shoulders…”  Not this world's government... but His rulership is over our heavenly kingdom. 

His name declares all He is and all He does on our behalf through His precious sacrifice to give us new life. Even these terms are limited in comprehension.  While they are great beautiful words they will never do Him justice.  They are words our finite minds can use to try and explain who He is.  “…Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…”

I think most of us get that He is those things…those lovely sounding ideas but what we don’t get and fail to realize is that He came to also (not as the precious babe but as an eternal grown up) to do and be those things if we allow Him to.  If we accept His gift of salvation not only in word but also in deed.

How truly reassuring verse 7 is!   These scriptures speak to our here and now as well as our eternal future with Him.  This Christmas let’s dig deep and get some understanding of what we have truly been given.  Let’s realize the ultimate sacrifice given to us by our Father God who thought it not robbery to give up His Only Son for a gain of many children (you and I).  Who wouldn’t love a God like that?

This Christmas let’s be mindful as we spend time together in fellowship sharing food and gifts to not forget whose birthday it is that we are celebrating.

Let’s not forget that Jesus (and all He is to us) is truly the reason for the season!

Be blessed!