Helpless
Father, today I give myself to You as a “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to [You].” And as Paul proclaims, this is my “true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 May I heed Your calling and direction throughout this day. Amen.
2 Peter 1:4 (<<click here)
As I read this passage, Lord, I realize I know this but it is good to be reminded that I know it. if I honestly look at myself from a spiritual perspective, I am utterly helpless. As verse 3 states, it is only by Your “divine power” that I can live a “godly life.” Only because You so graciously “share [Your] divine nature” can I “escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”
In reality, it goes against everything we are taught in our society. We are taught to be independent but in our relationship with You, we must be dependent upon You. Even with years of experience, without You, I cannot stand against the onslaught of sin – even for a relatively short period of time. Without my hand firmly place in Yours, sin will trip me up every time.
A majority of the time I truly want to stand tall and not yield but my “human desires” to readily get the upper hand. Too often I think “Why didn’t I say ‘no’?” after I have already said “yes” and acted out the “yes” instead of the “no”. Only by sharing in Your “divine nature”, only by Your “divine power”, only by being dependent upon You – only then can I succeed. Being in a relationship with You can I be victorious.
Without the intervention of more mature individuals, infant humans would be doomed. They cannot care for themselves. They cannot feed themselves, or clothe themselves, or protect themselves – they are totally helpless. To thrive and survive they are dependent on the help of others to provide for them.
Lord, I admit I am dependent upon You. I am incapable of surviving, much less thriving, without You. I willing give myself to You.
Mar 7th, Tues, 6:18 am
A Passing Shadow
It is early, Father, but there is a wonderful feeling of comfort even lying in bed contemplating our time together. There is no fear, there is no shying away. I am drawn to You. I know it will be a rich time together. I know I am understood – even with all my flaws – and I know I am loved beyond all measure. Increase my understanding of You. Though I realize that, at least on this side of eternity, it will be only the smallest fraction of understanding, it is so worth the effort. Every moment spent with You yields great rewards, helping me to become more and more like You. Bless me, my Father.
In moments of consciousness throughout the night, my mind has lighted on the many different situations in which I find myself. Through many stretches of life I find things running along quite smoothly – no major snags or crisis. But this has not been the case in recent weeks – so many people on so many fronts dealing with so many life changing struggles and heartaches. Lord, I realize that this is not an earth-shattering epiphany but life is fragile.
Just in the last couple of weeks, I have been touched by the lives of those who have lost loved ones – both young and old. I have seen what strokes can do to the lives of family and loved ones. I have sat by the bedside of an individual who was once strong and vibrant and now is unable to move from their bed as they await their final breaths. And those are only a few of the many. Time marches on – it cannot be stopped. We are at its mercy, carried along with no control.
We can surely relate to Job’s statement from time long ago.
“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.” Job 14:1-2
Lord, there are so many things is this life that You give us in which to find pleasure. Yes, there is much pain and sorrow but there is also much joy and love. We also know that while on this earth we may be ruled by time but when our shadows disappear from this earth our everlasting souls will carry on. You are with us here and You await us there and Your gift of salvation assures us of an eternity together.
I seem to be rambling on but my main thought was not the downside of life but, Lord, may I take advantage of all the good that life has to offer. May I love to the fullest. May I take every opportunity to embrace and appreciate others in my life. May I cherish the time we have, though it is fleeting. May I not waste it. May I not look back and regret what I did – or didn’t do – with the time I did have. Amen.
Mar 6th, Mon, 4:58 am
CAFFEINE!
Father, I’m so glad that we have this time together. Help it to continue to change me. I am a different person than I was almost two years ago. I am far from perfect but day by day You patiently work with me and teach me and just by spending time with You I become more and more like You. May it never end. Amen.
Caffeine… Sometimes I can use it to my benefit. Sometimes I don’t even realize that it’s there. But sometimes…sometimes it is surely my enemy!
Last night, Karen met me for supper in the midst of her grocery shopping. We both enjoy iced tea with our meal. Now it doesn’t bother her in the least (she could drink a glass right before bedtime!) but my cutoff time is about 7:00 pm. I took a cup with me back to work. I might take a sip of two on my last break of the evening and sometimes will save the rest for the next day. Now I know better but last night I was so thirsty that I had some around 8:00 but I had most of what was left before heading home around 10:00! Majorly bad idea!
I was able to get to sleep after 11:00 but by 3:30 or so this morning, forget it! I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t even lie still! Left side, back, ride side – over and over again – I even tried lying on my stomach but to no avail. My tossing and turning had to be bothering Karen. So I headed to the couch, grabbed a blanket and finally fell asleep!
I know better but I tell myself, “It won’t affect me this time. Maybe I can handle it better this time. I’m so thirsty – one little drink won’t hurt. Right?” Wrong! Caffeine is one thing but sin impacts me, as well, except the consequences of sin are not just an interrupted night’s sleep – they can affect me for eternity if I don’t take care of them.
And by taking care of my sin, I mean taking it to You, Lord. That is the only thing I can do. Only You can really take care of them. You eradicate them. Help me to not justify sinning. May I never think it won’t affect me. May I never be lured into thinking that I can handle it better this time or that this one time won’t hurt. For it will…it surely will. It hurts me and it hurts our relationship. My cut off time was the moment I gave my life to You. Enable me to be faithful to You, Lord. Amen.
Mar 2nd, Thurs, 5:01 am
EVERYTHING We Need
Father, You want me to have a relationship with You – a close personal, intimate relationship. I love the fact that we have that kind of connection. But I also realize that You are a being far above and beyond me. I am in awe of Your majesty and power. I come to You freely because of Your love and forgiveness, but I also come with the utmost of reverence and respect. What a privilege to by Your child!
2 Peter 1:3 (<<click here)
“…God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” And He has “…called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
Lord, we have absolutely no excuse. You have empowered us with everything we could possibly need to live a life fully devoted to fulfilling Your will for us and Your kingdom. You are our source. You are our mighty reservoir. You are the storehouse that meets every need.
James tells us that we “don’t have what [we] want because [we] don’t ask God for it.” But…he goes on to say, “And even when [we] ask, [we] don’t get it because [our] motives are all wrong—[we] want only what will give [us] pleasure.” James 4:2-3
Lord, we are told that You have given us everything we need. We need not be defeated. We are strong in You. Today, Lord, I ask for Your blessing upon myself. May I give myself over to You, so as to be the recipient of everything you have for me. May I been all that You want me to be. Use me for Your glory. Use me for the furtherance of Your kingdom. And may I remember, by no means, thatYour blessings are not just things. Your unending supplies include love and grace and mercy and compassion. Fill me to the uttermost with these most of all. Amen.
Feb 28th, Tues, 6:31 am
Give It Your All
Father, the train is slow leaving the station this morning! Help me to get “a ‘rollin’”. I am eager to hear what You want to share with me.
2 Peter 1:1-2 (<<click here)
“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.”
One of the most important things we can do as followers of You, Lord, is to spend time – quality time – with You. We want all the benefits and privileges of our relationship with You but too often we balk at investing time and effort in getting to know You better.
So many examples in life come to mind in relation to this mindset. We want the income and perks of a good job but we don’t want to do what it takes to do the job well – we scrimp and short change our employer and try to get by with as little investment on our part as possible.
In so many of today’s relationships with the opposite sex, we want all of the benefits of an intimate relationship but we avoid commitment. So many build on unstable foundations because we want all the “good stuff” up front and forgo the love and dedication it takes to make a long lasting allegiance.
Lord, I am sure that there are some in my congregation who wish I would back off on my constant call for them to set aside time to read Your Word and speak with You and listen to You each and every day… but it is vital that we do so!
If we want to receive “more and more grace and peace” from Your bountiful supply we must “grow in [our] knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.”
Lord, may we all have an unquenchable desire to know You more. Take our relationship to new depths. Amen
Feb. 27th, Mon., 6:30 am