Ready
I love being here with You, Father, in the quiet of the morning. My day has not crowded in. it is fresh and clean as it lies before me. Let us walk this day together hand in Yours. Amen.
1 John 3:2-3 (<<click here)
As a whole, family gatherings are joyous occasions. But they don’t just happen. There is a lot of time and attention that go into preparing for the big day, especially if you’re hosting the event – vacuuming, dusting, cleaning, baking, cooking, ironing, decorating – everything in its place and as perfect as it can be. Then when our guests arrive there are lots of smiles and hugs and kisses and laughter all around. Getting ready for it all was a lot of hard work but it is so worth it!
We don’t know when it will happen, Lord, but You are coming. And this time it’s not to stay with us but to take us home with You! Everything will be in its place and it will be perfect… period! You will have everything ready for us but we have a responsibility, too. We must be ready for You!
As John admonishes us,
“And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he [Christ] is pure.”
Your Holy Spirit, Lord, helps us prepare for our meeting. Keeping ourselves pure is surely not an easy task but with Your help, we can do it. It’s a lot of hard work but it will be so worth it!
Lord, may I be eager to keep myself pure, for our meeting day is getting closer every day!
Apr 25th, Tues, 6:33 am
River of Life
Father, as I have sat here praying my heart goes out to the three ladies who are dealing with the loss of their beloved husbands within the past few days. Also, there are two who vigilantly are sitting by their spouse’s sides as they valiantly fight to overcome the after effects of strokes. Father, I place them in Your more than capable hand, touch each of them today, may they find comfort in Your loving arms. Amen.
Point of focus. That’s what You must be for us, Lord. Life is so full of things that try to overwhelm us. They seek to knock us over. We experience much over which we can despair. In the midst of it all friends and family rally round to support us – and we are so grateful they are there. But there are times when they cannot be there. The river of life continues to move along. Friends, family, and ourselves, we move on… but the pain, the loss cannot so easily be left behind.
You, Lord, are the only One who is always by our side, through the ebb and flow of the river of life, through all the ups and downs, You are right there with us.
May we see You through the struggle, through the heartache. May we fall upon You in our time of need, for You are there. Oh, Sovereign Lord, You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Grant unto us Your abundant mercy. May we find comfort and healing balm in Your sustaining grace. Amen.
Apr 24th, Mon, 6:29 am
I Am Your Child…Not a Robot
What a week it has been, Father! Thank You for Your strength, Your wisdom, and Your rest through it all. May I be used of You this day. Amen.
1 John 3:1-3 (<<click here)
“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”
What a privilege to be called children of God! We are not just His creation or His servants, His followers, His robots or His puppets. We are His children and he proudly owns up to the fact that we are His children.
One of the fun banterings parents have back and forth is that when kids are well behaved they are my children and when they misbehave or are ornery they are your children. It’s all done in fun but in many situations, fun is not the intent. How many families are broken because a child or a parent has said or done something that is labeled as “unforgivable”? And there it sits. The anger or hurt or pride runs so deep and is so ingrained that attempts at reconciliation are futile.
Lord, I am so grateful that Your word does not equate You with anger or pride but it says You are love. 1 John 4:8 Love is the driving force in how You feel about us. You love us so “very much” that “[You] call us [Your] children.” Many of us diligently strive to separate ourselves from You. But regardless of destructive actions, Your mind will not be changed. The indisputable fact remains that You love us. You love us so much that You gave Your very life so that we might be saved. John 3:16
Thank You for Your love. Thank You for not letting me go…
Apr 23rd, Sun, 6:25 am
Where the Line Is Drawn
Father, thank You for the gift of today, may I use it wisely. May the way I use it bring You joy. Amen.
1 John 2:18-29 (<<click here)
Lord, it’s interesting to me that John, a part of the first century church, is already addressing, what he labels as, antichrists. He acknowledges in verse 18 that the Antichrist is coming but that “already many such antichrists have appeared”. Here it is, more than 2000 years later, and we still are dealing with them in and about the church.
The name says it all, antichrist. Many in our world, Lord, refuse to believe that You are who You are. They may accept Your humanity from a historical basis – You lived and taught here many years ago. But the whole deity thing? Uh…no. And that is where the line is drawn.
A traditional creed of affirmation going all the way back to 381 A.D. is referred to as the Nicene Creed. It was written in part to stand against what antichrists were tearing down. I, personally, believe these things to be true.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
Lord, You are fully God and fully man. May I embrace these truths as they are found in Your word. May I remain true to You each day. Amen.
Apr 21st, Fri, 5:14 am
Mold Me – Mold Us!
Though it is dark as pitch at this hour from my vantage point, Father, I can proclaim, “Good morning!” for You are the maker of it all. Somewhere the waning moon shines, as well as, billions of stars and though I cannot see them from here, I know they exclaim Your glory as well! Father, bless this day for Your glory. May I use every moment to honor Your name. Amen!
Lord, as I have readied myself for our time together, I cannot but sit back and be amazed at what You have done in my life – talk about teaching an old dog new tricks! Oh, my! Where I was back then and where I am now! This morning has begun the best way it can. It is not always this way but even at this early, early hour – even after a day yesterday that went from early, early until almost today! – I have remained on task. Many times I allow myself to get distracted by Facebook or emails or whatnot, but not today. I quickly touched base on stats from the blog, read through my devotional, gathered my Bible and here I sit!
My dear, blessed Savior, You have worked a miracle in my life. Two years ago, this was not happening. I was not the man then that I am today. You have lovingly molded me, more and more, into the person that You created me to be. Was I a follower of You before? Yes. Did I know You intimately before? Not so much – at least not as much as I do today. And I am sure that two years from today, and I pray with all my heart, that I can say the same thing!
No one – absolutely no one – is so far from You that You cannot, with the utmost of care, reach out and change them…if they are willing.
Lord, I pray for my family, my friends, my readers, the people of the churches with which You have blessed me, I pray that they all would develop an insatiable desire to know You intimately. Draw them to You, Lord. They will never regret the journey!
These verses from James 4:8a, 10 from the Amplified Bible are wonderful promises,
“Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you.”
“Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].”
Apr 20th, Thurs, 5:16 am