A New Heart

     It’s a heart issue. Move from the academic doctrine and the head knowledge just a bit South and open up your heart to Jesus. He loves you and all He wants is your love and faith in return. Open your heart of stone and let Him in, truly in, to give you rest, to give you joy, to fill your heart with the things of heaven.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

     Move from the outward appearance of duty to the inward conviction of the heart. Allow your heart to be made flesh, to warm with God’s love, to understand the truth. Life transformed, an all-sufficient God, a relationship with the living Jesus, a hope for eternity, a love forever.

Jesus,

You are the way, the truth and the life. Open our hearts to You. Remove our stony, stubborn hearts and give us a beating heart of love and new life in Your name.

Amen

Together

     Our family is reading “The Story” by Max Lucado. This book gives an overview of the entire Bible. It is filled with Scripture and additional insights by the author. Studying God’s Word with others is a gift. God tells us to stay in fellowship with other believers. That deep fellowship gives us strength to face the world, fitted with the armor of God and His holy word.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

     Each year brings us closer to Christ’s return. The signs are beginning to line up and we draw together as the body of Christ, encouraging one another in love.

Jesus,

Thank you for other believers. We unite under Your lead. Keep us bonded as one in You. Thank you for the gift of fellowship.

Amen

Sufficient

     Sufficient: Having or providing as much as is needed. Enough. And we can count on Jesus Christ to be sufficient for the moment, the hour, the day, the week, the season, the year. He is enough. He gives us exactly what we need.

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed , but will have sufficient courage so that now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:20

     Paul is nearing the end of his life, sitting in a prison, writing to the church of Jesus. His greatest desire is to have sufficient courage to exalt Christ, no matter what. Can we believe and love Jesus enough to want to share Him with the world, no matter what our circumstances?

     When life gets tough, can we rely on Him to be sufficient, to be enough? Can we shine with His light in the midst of darkness? I have seen it in others. I pray to stay strong through this life, to hang onto hope, to believe Jesus is right there with me in the middle of the muddle, in the storms and valleys. He is enough. Let it be so.

Jesus,

We long to exalt You above our circumstances, trusting You to know all. You hold us and give us hope through these short lives. You are sufficient for today.

Amen

Transformed

     Saul had it all. He was a Hebrew among Hebrews, from the tribe of Benjamin, rich in power and wealth. (See Philippians 3:5) He moved with confidence and control and he hated Jesus and His followers. He had permission from the government to round them up and to kill.

     Before Jesus, we find our confidence in the world around us. We have control of ourselves and confidence in making our own decisions. But apart from Jesus, we are enemies of God, just as Saul was an enemy of God.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Acts 9:4

     Notice Jesus is feeling the pain of His followers. As Saul persecutes the Christians, Jesus takes the pain. And in one encounter on the road to Damascus, Saul becomes the apostle, Paul, the writer of most of the New Testament, the faithful follower and messenger of the Gospel of grace.

     Are you on the wrong road, following the wrong message? Need a little hope and forgiveness? Have an encounter with Jesus and be transformed. And Jesus beckons us with His word, and His grace, and with His forgiveness and with His life-transforming message of hope. And He takes the pain and persecution on His shoulders.

Jesus,

Our lives become new after an encounter with You. Turn us in the right direction. Take our pain from us and fill us with hope.

Amen

Power In Prayer

Pray continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)

Pray without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NKJV)

     Pray without ceasing. Pray continually. How do we do that?  How about staying aware of God’s presence throughout the day? He is right beside you. Remember His Spirit resides within you. He is behind you encouraging you to move forward. He walks ahead guiding you in the right direction.

     Acknowledge His presence continually. Pray without ceasing. Ask for His help before you speak. Ask for His wise words before a confrontation. Ask for His peace as you make a tough decision. Ask for His strength to get through a difficult time. Ask for His comfort as you go to visit a hurting friend. Ask and you will receive. He is available every moment of every day in every circumstance.

Jesus,

You remain with us throughout our days and through the toughest nights. May we all feel Your presence today wherever we are and in whatever we do.

Amen

Power In Prayer

     I read a quote a long time ago that went something like this: Prayer moves the hand that moves the world. Are you seeking His wisdom? Are you praying for answers? Are you praising the God of your life? And IS He the God of your life? Or are the distractions, the pleasures, the television, the job, the busy details keeping Him out of first place?

By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me-a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8

     One sign of a life filled with the God of life, is a deep joy and peace. Are they missing from your life? As you surrender to the One with the answers, the One that will turn you from trouble, the One of your heart, that inner joy will be available and infectious. That joy and peace can and will remain throughout your life. 

     By day let the Lord direct your life and by night let His song fill you with joy and peace. Surrender to the God of your life. He comes first.

Father,

We come to You on our knees. Show us Your love and keep us wise in our decisions today. We pray for deep peace and joy to infuse us and that it will be noticeable to the world around us. Make a difference in the way we live. Help us to show the world the God of our life.

It is Jesus and in His name we pray,

Amen

Power In Prayer

      Our God loves it when we take time with Him. To survive this life, through the ordinary, the heart-breaking and the amazing, we need the loving presence of our Creator. The Bible tells us our prayers rise as incense to Him, that He keeps our tears in a bottle, that our faith pleases Him.

I call to You, Lord. Come quickly to me, hear me when I call to You. May my prayer be set before You as incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:1-2

     When you don’t know what to pray, sit with Him awhile and the Holy Spirit will bring your needs to the Father. Jesus, through His Spirit intercedes for us. Call to Him to be with you. Sit with Him and praise Him. Your prayers and your praise will be lifted to the throne of heaven and all will be well with your soul.

Lord,

We thank You for being there. We long to take more time to sit in Your holy presence, to understand Your Father’s heart for us. Teach us how to pray. We call to you.
In Jesus name,

Amen