RAGE!
Father, I cherish Your presence in worship. I love how all the components of our services have Your touch upon them. I remember times when I have searched for a certain song or whatnot and have finally decided on one, thinking that it doesn’t really fit and, low and behold, in the middle of the service, it does! You truly do make all things work together for [our] good! Romans 8:28
One thing that I struggle with in life is trying to decide whether I should run away or whether I should stand and fight. This can apply to many areas of our lives but for me, one particularly difficult area is driving. Routine driving isn’t usually the problem. It’s when traffic gets snarly and the roads get full. For that matter, I guess it gets to me when someone pulls out in front of me then drives 10 miles below the speed limit.
Running away, for the most part, keeps me from encountering it. But I have to get to work, so it’s difficult to avoid. I could benefit with personal and spiritual growth if I could stand and fight but way too often my fight results in, not a win, but in a sound defeat! I’m not one for cursing but “idiot” and “fool” rise to the surface way too frequently.
Lord, what is the best way to combat this problem? You would handle it much better than I but in the heat of the moment I am all up in arms and – I’m sorry to say – You are the last one on my mind.
How can I say I love others and act like I do while driving? In Matthew 5:21-22, You make it very clear that I will but subject to judgment if I would murder someone, and rightly so. But You go on to say that even if I call someone an idiot or a fool that I am subject to judgment as well.
What needs to happen is that You need to be the first thing on my mind and not the last. The first thing that pops into my head to help me with that is to put a sticky note on the dash of my truck that will remind me of You. Maybe a WWJD? Or just Your name? I need to start somewhere and I best start with You. Help me, Lord! Amen!
Apr 2nd, Sun, 12:08 pm
Repentance
Father, I am grateful that You are there, in the good and the bad times. Even when I am foolish, You never give up on me. Thank You for Your forgiveness and love. Amen.
1 John 1:8-10 (<<click here)
Lord, I must address this particular passage again. I am telling You nothing new when I admit to not being perfect. There is not a single person who has ever walked this planet (with the exception of Yourself) who was perfect. We say things and think things and do things that are not in Your will for us to say, think and do. Sometimes they are mistakes and other times temptation overwhelms us and we yield instead of standing strong in You.
It may be foolish to allow ourselves to fall but it is more foolish still to avoid confessing our sin and pretending that You didn’t notice…for You see it all. “If we claim to have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves…”
We may be unfaithful but I am grateful that You are “faithful” and also that You too are “just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse up from all wickedness.”
We must never let anyone tell us that we have crossed that line one too many times. You are always there to forgive us. Obviously, the goal is to not sin and to not just do so with the idea that You’ll forgive us anyway but may we never hesitate to admit our failure and come to You in true humility and repentance.
Also, Lord, help us to be fully aware that absolutely no one, no matter who they are, is incapable of sinning. We have this great tendency to place people on pedestals. Only You, Lord, should be held in that high regard. We are fallible. You alone are infallible.
You, Lord, are worthy of our adoration for You are our creator and savior. We would be lost without You. All praise to You!
Mar 31st, Fri, 5:19 am
Forgiven – Past, Present, and Future
Father, I would pray that You would corral my thoughts, they seem to be scattered all around. Help me to focus on You and what You have for me this day. Amen.
1 John 1:8-10 (<<click here)
Lord, as I have read these verses and have read the notes in my study Bible* it has given me reason to pause and think. I have believed the different elements but have not really put them together this way. First, when You gave Your life on the cross it was a once and for all sacrifice
“For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” Hebrews 10:10
Every sin committed against you in all of time as been atoned for- they are forgiven. That includes every person from Adam to the last person that will be born before the final judgment at the end of time. But it is fuller than even that, and I guess I had never thought it out this way before but it also includes every sin I have ever committed, as well as, every sin I will commit in the future. All my sins have been forgiven! Praise Your Holy Name!
Secondly, then, the forgiveness is awesomely wonderful but John very clearly here in verses 8-9 states,
“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
So all of my sins have been forgiven – past, present, and future – but just because I’ve been forgiven doesn’t mean I don’t still need to repent and seek forgiveness. Here is how my study Bible* puts it,
“This kind of confession is not offered to gain God’s acceptance but to remove the barrier to fellowship that [my] sin has put between [myself] and him.”
The barriers we erect must be taken eradicated and only Christ can do that! Lord, there is empowerment in knowing that my sins are forgiven. Knowing that You have forgiven every sin I have committed or ever will commit is…well, it’s stunning! You did it all for me! You believe in me! You want me to succeed in serving You. Lord, help me to be more and more like You. Empower me to overcome temptation when it comes my way. Help me to live victoriously because You have made it possible! Amen – so bet it!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Mar 29th, Wed, 6:46 am
Your Light Broke Through
Father, I’ve been here for ten minutes and am fretting over what to write You. Everything that pops into my head sounds like something I’ve already written several times in some way or another. I was stymied until You spoke into my spirit and said that You don’t mind if I repeat myself. I thought, my mother doesn’t care how many times I start off with, “Good morning, Mother.” What’s important to her is that I am calling! What’s important to You is that I am here with You. We are spending time together, and I am the better for it. Thank You, Father.
1 John 1:5-7 (<< click here)
“God is light…” and my study Bible* says that “light represents what is good, pure, true, holy, and reliable.” By nature we are not light – we are darkness which “represents what is sinful and evil.” We were not created to be that way but are that way by birth. We cannot make our own light. In fact, many don’t even realize that they are trapped in the darkness. They trudge through life stumbling blindly about trying to find their way.
And, Lord, only You can help us. Only You can shine Your light into our darkness. It shows things as they truly are. Only You can lead us out of our own darkness into Your light. And as John proclaims, “if we are living in the light, as God is in the light…the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” You are our only hope and with great gratitude, You are mighty to save!
As I’ve been writing, a song has been rambling through my mind and it is definitely worth sharing. The song is “Your Love Broke Through” by Keith Green. Light isn’t in the lyrics but love is and You are love as well!
All my hopes would come tumbling down, and I never knew just why
Until today, when you pulled away the clouds that hung
Well I’ve been blind all these wasted years and I thought I was so wise
But then you took me by surprise
Until your love broke through
I’ve been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love broke through
And with one touch, you just rolled away the stone that held my heart
And now I see that the answer was as easy, as just asking you in
And I am so sure I could never doubt your gentle touch again
It’s like the power of the wind
Until your love broke through
I’ve been lost in a fantasy, that blinded me
Until your love, your love, broke through
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Mar 28th, Tues, 6:36 am
Deep Seated Trust
Father, quite regularly I am in awe of how you work in my life! On occasion, I can forget why I am entering a room but this morning out of a dead sleep, You enabled me to totally process why I was waking an hour earlier than the norm. I needed to proof one of Massey’s papers. And now I am sitting here with You, ready to learn. Amen- so be it!
1 John 1:1-4 (<<click here)
When a trusted friend shares something with you, you accept it for what it is. That’s the way I feel about John, Lord. I have read through his Gospel and Epistles so many times that I have a deep-seated trust of him and what he has to say. He saw You. He touched You, Lord, and there is absolutely nothing that would give me reason to doubt him.
Lord…I pray from the very depths of my soul that I am the same. I pray that I am trustworthy and true. I pray that the longer people know me, the more assured they are of my genuineness.
I realize that I am human. I make mistakes. I am far from perfect. But I pray, Lord, that You shine through me. Hmmm… that’s probably why I trust and love John and for that matter Paul and Peter and Luke…You shine through them. I love them because I love You.
So many in this world are seeking for authenticity. They crave genuine, deep love. Lord, touch them through me. As I feel that I can see and touch You through the words of John may others see and touch You through what I say and how I live. Amen.
Mar 27th, Mon, 6:06 am