Prayers for Friends

Colossians 1:9-12 -  For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Paul reminds us here that one way we can support and strengthen our Christian brothers and sisters is to lift them up in prayer…simple advice…to pray for our friends. We can gather in our churches for corporate prayer…or kneel at our bedside to petition God for our friends.  Like Paul…we want our friends to have the very best God has to offer…we want them to have rich …full lives…that are blessed and healthy.  He… was worried too…this church in Colossae...they were beginning to lose their joy...and the loss of joy will degrade the power with which we speak of Christ.  I am once again amazed at this man...who chose to spend the time locked up in prison...writing letters of encouragement to churches...to tell them that the content of their prayers should be considered thoughtfully.

He says that our prayers for others should not just be petitions of health...or healing...they should be requests for the father to fill us up with his knowledge.  Our prayers for our friends should ask God to fill us with an understanding of his will for our lives...that we may bear fruit for the kingdom of God. Our prayers should invite the father to strengthen us…with God’s great might….and receive HIS power to have great endurance and patience and JOY.  God has so much more to share with us than just simple health…or blessings of success.

I needed this lesson…for my prayers of late have been just petitions for health…or healing…or the solving of some financial problem.  Oh how I need to change the way I pray for my friends…to ask God to give them the rich knowledge of his love for them. I need to ask God to bless them with his knowledge…to reveal his will for their lives…to allow them to tap into his mighty power and strength to do all things….endure all things…praise him through all things.

Father…I thank you once again for allowing Paul to write these great letters of wisdom. I thank you for  the desire you have given me to study and read these wise words recorded by your humble servant.  I ask …as I do most mornings…to forgive me once again.  This morning I ask you to forgive me for not realizing that my prayers for healing…or health…or financial remedies…should also include a petition for growth and wisdom.  Thank you…thank you..thank you for these great words that will not just ask you to heal or fix my friends immediate problems…but give them the knowledge to know your will and purpose for their lives…to be strengthened by your love for hem…to be driven by the joy that you plant deep in their hearts. Amen.

True Peace

Philippians 4: 4-8 -   Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

I just keep on being amazed at this great disciple of Christ...his life is in turmoil…he is bound in chains 24/7….Nero could have him executed at the drop of a hat…but Paul is witnessing to the soldiers chained to him and writing letters to churches. Truly Paul has grasped the secret of inner peace…Paul is not just using his time to witness…and write letters of encouragement….Paul is rejoicing in God…he is thanking him for every trial…he is writing down every bit of wisdom God has revealed to him…and he is sending it to his friends….his brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul knows in his heart that God will provide all our needs….so he pens these great words…he uses that word again…surpasses… ‘the peace that surpasses understanding’…cause none of us with our human brain will ever understand the richness of God’s love.  Paul tells us his secret to inner peace…how to take hold of the peace that God holds out to us…to drink in that glorious peace…that surpasses our human understanding. He tells us to rejoice…to be gentle in all things…to take any care to Jesus’ feet and give them up in prayer.

Problem is….at least for me…is that I tend to pick them back up again…SOMETIMES.  It is so easy for Satan to plant the thought back in my brain…he knows just the right moment to insert the thought into my human …worry prone brain.  I sure needed Paul to remind me that my Lord is near…just like Job…he knows my name…my every thought…my deepest concern.  God knows what I can l handle…and he will provide everything I need. Paul knew it too…for he says in verse 19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” I can truly say …that when I keep focused on God…when I study…when I pray…I have tasted a bit of this precious peace…it comforts me in my moments of grief…or brings me back to a state of thankfulness when I am reminded that someone else has suffered far more than I.  It is those moments when we stray from our daily study…or go without prayers to the father that Satan sneaks in…and begins to plant the seeds of worry in our brains.

There is another verse…how does it go….is it in my heart like the scriptures say it should be…something like my peace I leave…My peace I give…can I find it without looking in the concordance? Of course not….I am but a babe…a mere Kindergartner in the study of God’s great word.  I am thinking that Jesus said these words as he ascended back to his father…when his great work on earth had been completed….and he was leaving his disciples…staring at him rising into the sky.   Excuse me a moment as I look this one up! ….Okay…it is chapter 14 of John…verses 1 and 26-27 are the very words of Jesus, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”  And “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The comforter…the Holy Spirit….will teach us all things….even how to release our worries on this Earth to God…so that we can experience his rich… ‘peace that surpasses understanding’…and be content in all things…good and bad….like Job.  So that we can begin to mediate on the good things of this Earth…the noble …the right…the pure…and present the lost world with a positive smile and deep inner strength that only comes from knowing the peace of God.

Father… I thank you for the peace you have given me…and I look forward to the full contentment Paul speaks of in your great word.  Help me this morning to focus more on you…to lift up my needs to you and leave them at your feet….and to leave them there!  Forgive me for allowing Satan to trick me …and give me a renewed strength to stay focus on you…to seek the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide me in all that I do.  Give me a desire to spend more time in study of your bible…and devote more of my day to prayer. Amen.

Loss is Gain

Philippians 3: 8-11 -   What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul had built a relationship with God that surpassed any Earthly blessing he had ever received. He says that all our Earthly wealth and gain is rubbish compared to the ‘surpassing greatness’ of our Lord.  Amazing that he doesn’t stop there…he goes on to say that he wants more…he wants to build an even closer relationship with Christ than he had in that moment….to be so like Christ that he can even share in Christ’s sufferings too.

He even gives us the directions for how to do this later in verses 12-15, “ Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.”

There were three notes in my bible…just waiting to remind me that I had already been told how important it is to run after God.  I don’t remember when I wrote them there…but they spoke to me just the same. The first one said…. “forget what is behind and press on” …easier said than done.  But we must strive each day to leave the past in the past…to allow God to move us forward…to allow God to heal us and prove to us we can be someone despite the mistakes or life hurts we have experienced.  I had also written …. “train for what is ahead” …that makes perfect sense. God needs to train us to work with others…sometimes he uses the very pain and life hurts to make us into a vessel of his word.  We must study…and pray….and seek his wisdom from other trained Christians to gain the confidence to be his workers. Then I saw where I had written… “press on toward the prize” …the ultimate reward…a place in heaven…where we won’t even remember our Earthly pain anymore. We will rejoice nonstop… and party every moment as we are bathed in the presence of God 24/7.

One other verse in the chapter kind of explains what Paul wrote these great words of wisdom for us.  He closes this great Chapter with these words in verse 21, “ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Paul reminds us of the love God had for us…the precious gift he gave us when he sent his only son….the sacrifice he allowed him to make so we could all share in his glory someday. He reminds us that this love give God the power to bring our crazy messed up lives under control…IF…we allow him to transform us into a child of power…a worker that needed not to be ashamed.

Father…forgive me for not working hard enough to put my past where it belongs…in the past.  Help me to drink in these directions of Paul…to move forward…to train  harder…to seek you more.  Help me Lord to see you with more worth than any Earthly thing you have ever given me.  Help me Lord to seek after you…abandoning anything from this world that holds me back from knowing your fullness and glory.  Give me strength and courage to embrace all that you have to offer me here on Earth while I seek to do your will. Amen.

Real Humility

Philippians 2: 1-3 - If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Paul is so wise…to remind us about the model of Jesus…who walked in ministry for about 3 ½ years. It is recorded many times how he woke early to pray to his father…then he used the tenderness and compassion of the father’s love to serve others...many days late into the night. Jesus became the ultimate servant…and sacrifice for all my sins…even unto death on the cross. Paul is wise to remind us to be humble …to consider others more important than ourselves….to always keep our motives pure.

I have a confession…this is the battle I fight the most.  I have been selfish most of my life…taking care of number one first.  It has only been recently that I have really worked on this one…asking God to help me be more aware of others needs…to lessen my control of all the resources he has placed in my hands.  It is a hard daily battle…to really be aware of others before I take care of me. It attacks me most in the arena of self esteem…I love to be patted on the back…to be told I am doing a great job…to hear praise from men is so uplifting.  But God says that my praise should come from him…that I should always consider myself nothing….so that he can make me into something with his power…not the power of the world…of men.

Many of the great bible authors mirrored this advice.  We find this great verse in 1 Peter 5:6, “ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” Or what about this one in James 4:6, “ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." And I love this one in 2 Chronicles 7:14 too, “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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  Paul plus Peter plus James plus Jesus….who spoke this last of these verses straight to Solomon after he finished the temple…equal some great advice…advice I will continue to pray about and work on.

Father…I thank you for not giving up on me …for chasing after me with your wonderful love and continuing to speak to my very soul about how to live a more joyful …abundant life.  I praise you for all you have given me and seek you this morning for clear directions of what you would have me to do for others…today.  I thank you for telling Solomon how important it is to loves others...to seek you…to pray and humble myself….I thank you for all the others you had slip it a reminder later to help me review how important it is to be humble.  Help me father to seek you for my pats on the back and not men….help me father to listen to…to fellowship with you every day…so my joy in YOU may be complete.  Help me to continue to let go of myself…to empty me of all that holds me back from your service.  Amen.

Thanking God in Everything

Phillipians 1:3-11 -  I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.  God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,  so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.

Paul just keeps on feeding me precious words of wisdom. He must really love  these Christians…his words are uplifting…encouraging…thankful.  Paul…sitting in chains…tethered to a guard in Rome 24/7...chooses to write letters of encouragement and faith to the Church at Philippi where he met Lydia.  Paul…chooses to pray and encourage these Christians…where he and Silas traveled on their 2^nd missionary journey.  Paul wanted these sweet friends in Christ to know that God is available to us 24/7…in all our joys…problems…and life hurts.

I love the part that says…he will carry out his good work in you…till it is completed.  It is very comforting to know that God is not finished with me.  And I am very glad he will never stop working on me till I am finished.  God works on me every day…through the reading and careful study of his word...through my prayers…through the many people he sends to be my friends and support.  I will join in Paul’s joy that God has blessed me so with the ability to read…with friends that will be honest with me…with the wonderful tools of technology that allow me to research and deepen my understanding of what I read.

I also love Paul’s prayer. His prayer should be my prayer…every moment of every day.  I should hunger for a love like Paul’s that longs for a deeper understanding of who God is … longs for the insight that will help me find his purpose for my life… able to discern what is best for me in any given situation… filled with the fruit of God’s love.

Paul’s deep understanding of God allowed him to be joyful in all situations…in the next few verses of this wonderful chapter he begins to explain to us how our sufferings sometimes advance the gospel…how our trials are not always tests of our faith…or discipline form God…but opportunities to show the world who we belong to! Remember that Paul is under 24/7 guard…a fresh new soldier is chained to him every 6 hours. And Paul has the opportunity to share Christ with him.  Don’t you just love the irony of Nero’s decision to watch Paul so closely.  Reminds me of those great verses in James 1:2-4, “ Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Lord…thank you so much for allowing Paul to write these words of wisdom…these words that push me to chase after more and more knowledge of you…these words that tell me that even my suffering and pain is not always meant for me only.  Help me this day to really soak the magnitude of Paul’s words into my heart….and allow you to teach me more than my brain can hold about your love.  Help me to learn so much about you that it overflows into every crevice of my world. Help me to count everything that happens today…pure joy…because it will help you bring me to completion in you! Amen.

Armor for the Battle

Ephesians 6:10-13 -  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Paul is closing out another amazing letter …full of wisdom…to the early Christians…probably meant for more than just the one’s at Ephesus.  Paul….who always sought the help of the father…closes his letter with these great words.  He says to be strong…to stand….to put on our armor and get ready for battle.  Paul had already battled Satan many times…he knew what was ahead for those of us that learn to love God more than we love the world.  He knew how much Satan hated that we can gain so much power and strength in the Lord…that Satan would have to flee from us in defeat.

Problem is…we don’t fight him enough…we let him win before we even put up a fuss.  We sit…frozen in disbelief…or we allow Satan to trick us into thinking we are safe from his schemes. We allow Satan to slowly separate us from God’s love….to steal our joy…to rob us of the peace he gave us when we were first saved.  We allow the devil to cloud our judgment… to build a false sense of security in our mind.

Paul describes to us just a few verses later the exact pieces of armor we need to don before we even think of battling the devil. We need truth…the real truth where we are honest with ourselves…sincere with others…always searching our hearts for sins that Satan can use against us…use to lead us astray.  We need righteousness…a constant sense that we need to strive for the purity of God…repenting when we first notice the sin…allowing God to cleanse us and fortify our hearts.  We need faith…real faith…that gives our feet courage to walk in places he calls us to go…faith that gives us strength through any temptation….peace through any storm. We need salvation…worn as a helmet of protection…covered by his grace…a child of God….loved and washed clean….loved and saved by his great sacrifice on the cross…salvation that delivers us from the mistakes of our flesh.  We need the Spirit of God…that sweet infilling of power and strength …that inner confidence that comes from knowing that God is our rock…that he sent his comforter to dwell in us and work through us…that knowledge that comes only from the divinely inspired words of Moses…Jeremiah…  David…Matthew…Mark…John….and the many other authors of the bible…that we read and study every day.   And finally…we need prayer…prayers that never cease…that continue throughout our day…that become a part of our whole attitude toward life.

Father….thank you again for these wise words of Paul.  Thank you for inspiring him to tell me how to prepare for the attacks of Satan that bombard me every day.  Help me this morning…no this whole day to put on my armor….and let it strengthen me….to allow YOU to fight off the attacks of Satan with your love and power.  Help me Lord to leave my armor on all the time…to never take it off...to wear it even if I get tired. Help me Lord to be so confident in you that my heart knows your voice… that I turn my ear to your truth and allow you to deepen my faith.  Allow me to be so close to you that Satan runs from me as he runs from you! Amen.

Make Music in your Heart

Ephesians 5:15-20  -  Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,  always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul packs a lot into this short passage. He tells us some basic things that all Christians should be doing already... make the most of every opportunity....be careful how you live...seek the Lord’s will. Then he tackles the controversial issue of drinking...too much can lead to debauchery....which is just a big word for indulgence in sensual pleasures. (Remember what happened to Noah.....Genesis 9)  And then the wise Paul ends up with my favorite part...where he tells us to speak to each other in Psalms and Hymns...and Spiritual songs....always making music in our heart and giving thanks for EVERYTHING!

I am not surprised that Paul found so much comfort and strength in the Psalms of David...he chose to sing Hymns of praise at least once that we know about while he was in prison.( Acts 16) I share his love of music...and find myself humming tunes all the time...and not just when I want to worship and praise.  There is a calming... a peace...a focus that comes when I sing...especially when it is a song of praise or adoration to God. In the quiet of the night...in my softest voice...with no one else to hear but God...I just can’t help myself from singing, “I love you Lord...and I lift my voice...to worship you...oh my soul rejoice....take joy my king...in what you hear...may it be a sweet ...sweet sound...in your ear.”

It seems trivial to justify why Paul gave such high regard to the Psalms.  David was a boy chasing after God’s own heart way before he was a man after God’s own heart. David was an amazing writer of music that was able to keep the fear of wild animals at bay while he was keeping watch over his father’s flock of sheep. (1Samuel 17)... David could strum a harp and soothe the craziest King about to lose his mind.  (1 Samuel 18) David could break out in a passionate cry to God in the darkest cave while he hid from his many enemies.  (Psalm 6....51...61....77...there are so many more ....)  David could focus on God and swing a slingshot with precision because he focused his mind on God any moment he got a chance with amazing words that became our precious Psalms.

It had to be these Psalms that inspired many others to follow his example and record great hymns like, “How Great Thou Art” ...first written as a poem by a Swedish preacher ...Carl Boberg.  The words of many of these great songs that celebrate our Lord’s sacrifice and speak of his majesty and wisdom.  Others in their darkest times have written Spiritual songs like, “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” or “Follow the Drinking Gourd.” These songs were passionate cries to their God for freedom and deliverance of the pain the endured each day.  Some claim they even had embedded messages for the Underground Railroad system that many followed to freedom.

We should take Paul’s advice ...we should be careful how we live...just say no completely to any practice like drinking that might tempt us to stray from God’s will, leadership and purpose for our life. ...( and yes I know that there is no place in the bible that condemns drinking entirely...but I allowed drinking once to lead me totally way from God....so I choose now to abstain completely)  We should encourage one another with the great words of David’s Psalms....praise him with the unlimited number of great hymns and spirituals written by those that went before us. We should break into song at midnight...when we wake from a sound sleep and are troubled by some Earthly concern.

Dear father...I thank you so much for Paul’s words....simple reminders that I need to put you first in my life...put you before anything else that I do. Help me to be careful how I live ..to have the strength and courage...the confidence to say no to the many temptations like drinking...so I am not led into debauchery.  Help me make the most of this day...to look for opportunities to share your love ....to search for your will more diligently.  Fill me Lord to overflowing with power from your spirit....so that I can do nothing but praise you with Psalms....sing majestic hymns of praise ...and offer you my pain with the deep emotions of a spiritual song. Amen.

Growing Into Christ

Ephesians 4: 14-16  -   Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Paul…how his heart must have burned inside!  He had such a passion…a passion to preach and teach others…the truth...the bible… he had been taught. Paul’s heart must have also broke many times for these new Christians...for he also saw how the cunning and deceiving Devil was twisting the words of the scripture…trying to make men believe things that were not sound…were not part of the truth of the gospel. 

Paul knew that we must strive to learn the truth for ourselves...to read…to study…to know in our heart the truth….cause God revealed to us the truth as we read and prayed for its wisdom. Paul knew that we must be confident in our faith...so God could prepare us to be teachers…and preachers…and evangelists…and apostles …and prophets ourselves. Paul is calling us to ‘grow up into him’   … and learn the truth of God’s Holy Word…by DAILY study…..by Daily prayer….so that we will not be tricked by Satan…and the men that teach his false doctrines.

Some claim the Mayan calendar….or some numerology pattern will predict the end of the world….sometime this year! The scripture I have read…says we will not know the day or the hour…Jesus’ personal words to the disciples were recorded in Mark 13.  We will see signs…much like the world has seen this year…but as Matthew recorded the words of Jesus in 24:8 …“these are the beginnings of birth pains.” 

Oh how we deceive ourselves when we believe something that can not be found in the bible.  God has inspired many people to explain and write commentaries on our inspired word of God…but no one is allowed to add or detract from it.  We are warned in Deuteronomy 4…Deuteronomy 12….Proverbs 30…and Revelation 22…..not to alter or add to the divine book of God.  The truth is the truth…nothing more is needed…and if you believe in a book that ‘claims’ to contain a new revelation from God…be careful…it is not from God…it is a trick of Satan…meant to keep you from the truth.  Paul….is calling us to speak the truth…in love…to all those we know….so that God can break the chains of deceit…so that God can reveal to them the truth.

Father…I want to grow into you…to grow in knowledge of you daily….to drink in all I can of your great word. Help me daily to become stronger in you because I have prayed for your wisdom to be revealed…because I have studied and become mature in my faith.  Help me to be able to discern your truth…as it is written in your bible.  Help me to apply it to all that I do and say to others.  Thank you father for these words of Paul that remind me to be careful…to convict me of my need to grow up in Christ and receive my calling…to help your body be more unified….to stop the spread of false doctrines that divide your precious children. Thank you for these words of Paul that help me to discern your truth as it was recorded for us in the bible. Amen.

Immeasurable Love

Ephesians 3:16- 21 -  For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Did Paul really fathom …when he penned this awesome prayer…just how powerful and true these words would be for all Christians?  Paul well knew the power of God…he knew and bathed moment by moment in the rich love of Christ….it transformed him from the inside out. He lived a life of sacrifice and knew well the power he could tap into….and he wanted all the converts to understand how to tap into the power of God.  He wanted all Christians to understand the power of love…God’s infinite love…so deep…so wide…so long…and high…that no human could ever reach the limits of what it can do.

I love that phrase….the phrase…strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being….that is just what had happened to him on that road to Damascus. God stripped him of all that he knew…the roots he had built in the Mosaic law…the hate that he had allowed to fill his heart…and he gave him time to meditate and pray.  God gave Saul time to rethink his roots…to reflect on the son that gave his very life for us.  Then God sent sweet Ananias…to lay hands on him and restore his sight….to fill up his empty soul….washed clean of hate…with love…love that has no end.

Saul became Paul...mighty preacher….teacher…friend….newly rooted and established in love…the great infinite love of God.  Paul woke with his savior each morning and allowed him to use the Holy Spirit to fill his inner being with power and strength for the day. He lived his whole life traveling to spread this wonderful message of love…establish a church…a body of believers who could continue the mandate of God well past Paul’s Earthly time on this Earth.  WE ARE THAT CHURCH….WE ARE MANDATED TO CARRY ON FOR PAUL! We must allow God to strip us of all our Earthly hate….all those excuses we offer… spend time in prayer!  We must wait for our Ananias….and then become his teachers….preachers…friends….who ask God daily to bathe us in his power…through the Holy Spirit…so we can  spread his love to others.

Father …I thank you….for that amazing love…love so powerful that my human brain can not fathom its power.  I thank you for how you have been emptying me…of my hate…of my worldly desires…of my pride…of my need to be loved by man.   And I thank you …thank you…thank you for filling me back up with just as much love as you know I can hold…in this moment….so that I can share your love with all that you send to me…so that I can begin to comprehend your great love…and become the church that you intended.   Help me father…to accept that I am capable of so much more than my brain allows me to think that I can do. Amen

Lessons

Ephesians 1: 17  - Ephesians 1: 17 - I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious father, give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so you may know him better!

What a great wish! I love Paul's sweet heart! I want to claim this for myself....in spite of the way Satan fights our ability to increase in God's power.

More to follow
Prayer to follow!

*Alas...my computer is really sick...lol! It has been such a good friend. I had to type ....no copy and paste....on my tiny phone....and be limited to 420 characters an update....what a battle. I just had to process and write ...in spite of the difficulty.

**Father...I thank you this morning for Paul's wish.....and your love that allows me to increase in knowledge of you daily. Walk with me today....and every day as you open my eyes to the great wisdom in your word. I thank you also this morning for my phone....that allows me to type my thoughts to you....and share with my friends. Amen!

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*Just an added note (written Saturday afternoon at the library….cause the computer is still being worked on…lol!) to remind me why this page is so different from my other posts….and an explanation to those administrators who might have missed my post yesterday…I never figured out how to share my post on the many pages I usually do each morning.

Once we make a commitment to something we must really try as hard as we can to honor that promise.  I woke up Friday to a computer that absolutely would not turn on ...no matter what I tried.  I can not tell you how devastated I was that God would not just pull out his supernatural powers and fix it on the spot so I could give him all kinds of glory for it.  I know in my heart that he has charged me to write…and could not understand why he would take away my medium for writing. Instead...it became a test of obedience…a lesson in flexibility…and a reminder that sometimes God’s plan is bigger than our own…(as if I should not have learned all of these lessons already…lol!)

Amazing to me that this scripture…this day is what he chose for me!  Reveal your wisdom…reveal yourself…no matter what! When trials come our way…even simple things like a computer dying….ask for wisdom to find a way to be obedient in spite of your difficulty.  Ask God to reveal himself in new ways so you have more than one trick in your bag to get you through the day.

I simply could not go about my day…without processing what I read Thursday night.  I had to write down what I thought God was saying to me and write a prayer of thankfulness that he woke with me that day.  So I pulled out the phone….with internet capabilities...and typed my post….took twice as long….only to have to erase it to 420 characters…and add comments for my additional thoughts and prayer.  So now I write an additional prayer of thanks to the God who helps us find answers in spite of difficulties….as Philippians 4:3 says….I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Father…I am amazed in all the ways you find to love me…in spite of all that I do to mess up.  I thank you so much for the promise you made to me…to always be there … to help me no matter what.  Thank you for tests of obedience that teach me to be flexible and look to you for all my answers.  Thank you for wisdom that helps me know that sometimes less is more.  Thank you for transforming me day by day into a new creature…bold….courageous and always mindful of how life is not on a fixed schedule.  Go with me this afternoon and help me to rely more and more on you and your wisdom and love. Amen.

Love...Grace...AND Mercy

Ephesians 2:4-10 -  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Wow...those words in verse 4…”because of his great love for us”…they are nothing more than the sweetest honey I have ever eaten…the purest melody ever written…the most beautiful flower he has ever allowed me to see.  His great love for me is my whole reason for living…the only reason any of us are allowed even one day on this Earth. Paul knew the rich love of Christ too…he bathed his whole being in the grace and mercy of God daily.  Even though he was a murderer…God’s great love and mercy allowed him to be transformed into one of the greatest preachers and writers of all time.

It is important to remember that we are to show this great love to others….the love of Christ should blossom in our hearts. His love should create a sense of goodness that recognizes the needs of others around us. HIS love then …should manifest itself in kindness. It is not these works of kindness that save us…that is the pure result of God’s grace.  But when we accept that grace...when we accept the love of Christ…when we fall on our knees and let him save us by his grace….our faith plants a seed of love that starts to recognize the needs around us….makes us WANT to love on others.  Paul’s words in verse 10 say it all…we were ….”created in Christ to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Father…I thank you…thank you…thank you…for the great love you have given this world.  Even though I mess up daily...your love is always right there …waiting on me to admit my wrong and ask you to restore me to do your work.  Forgive me…and help me to really open my heart…so your love can correct the vision in my eyes.  Help me to see the needs of those around me that you placed there in advance for me to love on and show mercy and grace too.  Continue to create in me a more loving and gracious heart… able to love on ANYONE…that you place in my pathway!  Amen.

Self Esteem

Galatians 6: 3-5 -  If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.

Paul’s last words to the Galatians were a warning to stay humble…without falling into the trap of doubting your worth as a person.  It is not the first time that Paul has reminded us that humility is one of the keys to understanding God’s love for us.  But these verses also remind me that we should always stay confident in ourselves…measuring one’s self against one’s self. I am reminded of what Paul wrote in Romans 12:3, “ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

I have to admit that I have always struggled with this.  I have judged others…been a huge  hypocrite….but I have also judged myself unworthy…deemed myself to be less than  perfect. Poor self concept…feelings that we are not ever good enough…always seeking approval from men for things…always wanting to be prettier…thinking that we just don’t measure up to the world’s standards of what is perfect.  It’s just another trap of Satan… a very hard one to overcome.  

Comparing yourself to someone else is really like comparing an apple to an orange. If you are an orange…and you think that an apple is what is normal…well you are setting yourself up for failure!  And now that you have deemed yourself an orange forever…you have allowed the inferiority complex to spread in your heart.  And now Satan will come in and plant HUGE seeds of doubt and insecurity.

I know…I have done this for years…still fight it every day! As I reflect …I am sure I have been told this is wrong…and I am reminded of my sweet grandmother Simpson.  As I sat at her feet and learned to crochet…she told me once that I should always consider myself in the middle ….that someone would always be better than me…and someone would always be less skilled.

There is just as much danger in judging ourselves inferior as there is in judging ourselves superior to others.  God needs us to be confident in our salvation…but to entirely depend on him for our strength.  We need to ‘test our own actions’ and measure our own growth…looking for a change from what we were…looking to see what we have become with Christ’s love in control. The man in the mirror is all we have been charged to judge…we who have accepted Jesus have been washed perfect in his cleansing blood of salvation and grace.

Father …thank you for this reminder that you have made me who I am for a reason.  Help me this morning to see what you see …the vessel you had in mind to spread your word.  Help me to stop thinking that my hair or my stubby fingers and nails…my over rounded body…the clothes that I wear…or the car that I drive makes me any better or worse that anyone else.   Give me a new confidence this morning…to accept who I am…the way you made me...and be content in your design and plan for me. Help me remove the seeds of doubt and insecurity that Satan has planted to deceive me. Amen.

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:19-24 - The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Well…Paul just lays it on the line here. He is even brave enough to put in his letter specific sins that our human flesh …our natural nature gravitate to …if we never choose to let God live in our heart.  Pretty heavy list of obvious sins….but he throws a few in there that slap me on the hands in a subtle way. 

I know to well the trap of hatred…and I must admit too that I still struggle with selfish ambition.  If I mediate on the list for very long I would probably find that I have struggled with many more of them than I care to admit.  But the message here is not what we have and are doing wrong in this moment…it is what we can accomplish when we start relying on the spirit…when we begin to allow the spirit to convict us of the sins in this list…and make it detestable to us to practice them ever again.

Paul says that it is the spirit…the fruit of loving God so much that you just don’t want to do things that are worldly anymore.  When you are allowing the spirit to live IN you …you are changed into a person who is overflowing with love and joy.  Patience just appears when you need it. Every thing you do is kind and good and gentle.  You are transformed in heart….soul…and mind.

The transformation makes Satan sick to his stomach…he can’t stand that we allowed Christ to rule in our hearts…so he continues to lurk in the shadows…watching for opportunities to trick us into sin again….whispering in our ears ways to justify drinking….having affairs….watching porn….hating people who treat us in hurtful ways. That’s why Paul said in Romans  8:14-15, “ For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” ….   and why Jesus himself told us to deny ourselves and take up our crosses DAILY in Luke 9:23.

Father…I need you every hour…every day…you are most precious and I need you to help me watch out for the subtle trick of Satan that try to trap me back into sin.  Help me to crucify my sinful nature this morning…to really take time to examine every corner of my heart…to listen carefully to everything I say….to consider every thing I do and say…and make sure it is a fruit of your spirit….not sin from my old human nature creeping back into my life.  Wash my heart clean anew this morning and help me to guard my heart carefully from that sneaky Devil. Amen.^{reflect on consider}

Unity

Galatians 3:26-29 -  You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,  for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Paul’s words are clear here…we are all united in our faith in Christ.  We who have proclaimed to believe in God…have been clothed with him.  We are all the same in his eyes.  He does not see gender….economic status…cultural differences…or political boundaries.  God does not separate us by denominations…God sees only our heart. Paul so wanted the new Christians to understand that is was not the outer things we do to our bodies that give us the power to love others as God loves us.

Paul wanted the church at Galatia to understand that the faith they had in Jesus…his life and model on Earth…his death on the cross…the glory and victory of his resurrection was the key to their inheritance.  Paul wanted them to become a united group of believers that all worked toward a common goal…to not divide themselves over the meaning of any law…or ritual established before Christ’s death on the cross.  If you believe…if you have faith…you are a child of God…you are his heir.

Father...I thank you for allowing Paul to write these wonderful words of faith and unity.  Help me to grasp that all people are the same in God’s eyes….he loves us all...he wants all of us to believe in his gospel….we are one in Christ Jesus.  Continue to build my faith in you…to strengthen my understanding of who you are by studying your word…and praying daily for you to open the hidden wisdom in its pages.  Amen.

Simply God

Galatians 1: 11-16 - I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased  to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,

Paul was concerned for his friends…his church that he loved.  He saw them seeking favor because of the laws they followed…he saw them trying to earn power from the rules they obeyed.  He had been where they were….he was one of them.  He kept the laws better than anyone…and even went to great lengths to punish those who failed to follow the many laws that man had made more important than the God who gave them to Moses.

Paul’s testimony was his power.  He simply states here…the condition God found him in…the way he spoke directly to his sin…and what God required him to do once he believed.  His power came from God….his power came from the one who knocked him to the ground…blinded him…and gave him time to pray to the father…to repent…to allow his mind to accept the truth of the gospel….but the message came from Jesus himself!  Acts 9: 4-5  says, “ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

We all have a message…if we believe in Christ.  We all have a story of how God found us …deep in sin….how he got our attention…spoke to our heart…and then changed us. Our hope does not come from any man…it comes from the father who saved us…who spoke to our soul…who loved us enough to die on that cross and sacrifice himself to save us all. That message…when spoken to others is power ….God’s power to share his love with others….to go….to be his vessels in a world that seeks for love in man.

Father...I thank you anew this morning for the love you showed me that day that I was 14. My Damascus road was not as dramatic…yet you spoke to me softly that day…you convinced me to believe in you and I am so thankful to you for that. Forgive me Lord for all the years I sought to please people…for the years I searched here on Earth for contentment and peace…and forgot that day I told you I loved you and would serve you no mater what.  Thank you for allowing me to read this passage….this morning…and reminding me that you have placed me here in this time and season to work for you…to please only you…to love you more than I even love myself. Amen.