Best Foot Forward
Father, last night was a little rough but I am ready for this day to begin. I give it to You. Not knowing exactly what it will entail, there is no better place to lay it than in Your mighty hands. Fill me and use me. May I be a blessing to those whom I would come in contact. Amen.
A beautiful word picture from The Valley of Vision before I move forward this morning,
“Give me a broken heart that yet carries home the water of grace.”
1 Peter 2:18-20 (<<click here)
O, Lord, how many times have I complained about my job? Yeah, I’ve lost count… This is definitely a very difficult time of year. Earlier (and later) hours. Boatloads of freight. Thousands of customers – some cheerful, some not so much. Leadership run ragged…run through the mill… dead men (and women) walking. Many try (some succeed) in putting their best foot forward…but it’s tough, to say the least.
Lord, today fill me with You. May I be loving. May I show true compassion. Bless me with an attitude of long-suffering patience, just as You have with me. If my day is extra-bumpy, may I take it all in stride. May I encourage and not discourage May I support and not tear down. Use me this day, Lord, as an ambassador to Your kingdom. Amen.
Dec 12TH, Mon, 5:12 am
Silencing the Mudslingers
Good morning, Father! May this be a productive morning. Enable me to benefit from our time together – may I be challenged. Help me to grow. Expand my mind in the ways of the kingdom. May I live out the lessons I learn. Amen!
1 Peter 2:15-17 (<<click here)
Reading through this passage, Lord, and pondering on it brings something You said to mind.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14
As Your followers, Lord, we are not to slink about in the shadows but we are to shine brightly wherever we are so that others can clearly see – both see us and because we are to reflect You in all we are, they will see You as well.
So as Peter states, “It is Your will that [we live] honorable lives…” Our lives should be so in line with Yours – respecting everyone, loving our fellow believers – that even when people sling mud at us it won’t stick and the mudslingers will be silenced. If we are truly living out your calling in our lives, our lights will shine through it all. My study Bible* has a great thought.
“Because God gives us freedom from religious rules and eternal guilt…we should reach for the best God has for us. Let [our] freedom sing of power, joy, and love – accountable to God, devoted to others.”
Lord, May my light shine brightly for You. Help me to live it out so that others are drawn to You, not pushed away. Amen
*New Living Translation Life Application Bible
Dec 10th, Sat, 6:24 am
PRAISE!
All praise, glory, and honor to You, Father! The things You have done and are doing and will do are awesome and amazing! On a universal scale they are absolutely astounding and on my personal level, they are utterly inspiring and humbling.
I have posted a portion of this favorite hymn before (Such Love! – 01/25/16) but it comes to mind again. Last time it was the chorus, here’s the first verse.
That God should love a sinner such as I,
Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss,
Nor rest till he had planned to bring me nigh –
How wonderful is love like this! – C. Bishop, 1929
Lord, I cannot believe that I will ever cease to be amazed at Your wonderful love for me. There is a no more perfect example of love in all that exists! It is surely not deserved but it is so freely given. You are scorned, rejected, ignored, and disrespected but the outpouring of Your love upon the good and the bad, upon the righteous and the unrighteous is unending!
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemers praise… – Charles Wesley, 1739
Even these lyrics, though generous would be inept at communicating how I feel about all the many ways that Your love has impacted and continues to impact my life. All praise, glory, and honor to You, Lord, my Savior, and Redeemer! Amen and Amen!
Dec 9th, Fri, 5:32 am
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Father, what a day this has been. A rough start most assuredly but with Your intervention things fell under Your direction and here I sit having worked through a portion of Sunday’s message and feeling that I need to spend some time – just me and You. Bless our time together, Father – may it be pleasing in Your sight. Amen.
1 Peter 2:13-14 (<<click here)
Lord, Paul addressed this in Titus 3 and I wrote about it way back in February of this year and though the political horizon is on the verge of change, many still struggle with what this verse is conveying. Your word states explicably, “For [Your] sake, respect all human authority…”
No matter who is (or who is going to be) in charge, someone is not going to like it. It seems that in today’s society it is almost a dead draw. In the last several elections, races have been tight – very close to 50/50. And cries have risen from both sides. Who is right and who is wrong? I truly believe that everyone must shoulder portions of both.
But where we all err is the fact that we, as a whole, do not “respect all human authority.” And, Lord, I am right in the middle of it all. I have said many unkind things. I have had many disturbing thoughts. I have grimaced more times that I would care to remember upon seeing individuals of authority speaking or even just media shots of them walking for that matter – shameful!
Lord, wherever I may be, in whatever circumstance I find myself, be it local or global, may I follow your command to R-E-S-P-E-C-T “all human authority.” Because when we really get down to it, You, Lord, are the ultimate authority. Absolutely no one outranks the Creator of the universe. You have allowed every authority to be where they are good and bad. And each fulfills your purpose, no matter how ugly it may get. We do not know all your ways. We are only called to respect – You first and foremost, and then others, as well.
Dec 8th, Thurs, 8:48 pm
Correct Perspective
Sitting here, Father, many things have passed through my mind – situations, people, etc. In my quiet time with You, my mind has been anything but. In spite of the rumbling of my brain, while I’ve sat here in silence, I have prayed for some of those things and I have the calm assurance that all is well in Your hands. Thank You, Father.
Lord, in reading through a Puritan prayer this morning this phrase sticks out.
The memory of my great sins, my many temptations, my falls,
bring afresh into my mind the remembrance
of thy great help, of thy support from heaven,
of thy great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.
I know, Lord, that when it comes to the failings in my past that when asked You forgive…and You forget – my sins are as far as the east is from the west. But I still remember.
This section in The Valley of Vision is a grouping of prayers of penitence and deprecation. It’s tough to read through but it helps to keep my spiritual walk in a correct perspective.
Today’s reading does just that. Memories of improprieties are unavoidable but may each thought be followed by memories of Your help, support, and grace. These things are freely given to me in bounteous supply! May I cherish them. May I hold them close to my heart, for Your love is what saves me. May I never forget. Amen.
Dec 7th, Wed, 6:26 am