Give Away Your Wealth!
Thank you for yesterday, Father. The opportunity to help a friend in need, getting things done for worship, a nice supper with Karen and completion of church business at our meeting last night made for a very full day! But You were with me from beginning to end, what a blessing! I look forward to this day and what we will tackle together. Use me as You will.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (<<click here)
Lord, we are abundantly blessed – and our blessings are not just monetary in nature. Many are blessed with family, with love, with joy and peace – there are so many things for which to be thankful. We may be blessed but are we willing to share with those who are less fortunate?
Each day at Kohl’s I have choices to make. Will I share my blessings or keep them to myself? Joy is a highly valued commodity. Sometimes life and the way we address it depletes our store of joy. Lord, may I be generous in my dispersion of the overabundance of joy in my heart.
Sometimes love is hard to find. Many are lonely and destitute. People many times have no family and few friends or possibly the family or friends they do have are oblivious or apathetic to their need for love. And many times people are just plain hard to love. Lord, help me to see people as You see people – to peer through the crusty layers of grumpiness or anger to the core of people’s being and to love them even in the their “unloveliness”.
Yes, Lord, many of us are very “wealthy” and we are wealthy in many ways. Help us not to be hoarders and hermits but may we be generous givers so we may enrich the world with You!
Oct 2nd, Fri, 6:12 am
A Good Reflection of You
Father, as I come before You this day, once again, I give myself over to You to do with as You will. We know that I am far from perfect and that the only hope I have when it comes to holiness – to be considered a vessel worthy of the use of God Almighty – is to call upon You each day for Your help. On my own, I am weak, but in yielding to You is where strength is found. Many aspects of life attempt to bring me down and take me out, but when I am in You, I am more than conqueror! I conquer my assailant, but even beyond that, I find joy in this life. Help me to stand strong and to be filled with joy that comes only from You! Amen!
1 Timothy 6:12-16 (<<click here)
Lord, I will never cease to be amazed at how You direct my thoughts, even as we come together, towards what I will read in Your word! Praise Your holy Name!
“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you… Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.”
As long as we live here on this earth, until we cross the threshold of death and step into Your presence, we are vulnerable. We are susceptible to sin. If we depend only on ourselves, if we rely solely on our strength, we will fail. If there is anything I have learned over the last few months is that the absolute only way I can be victorious is when I totally give myself over to You, Jesus!
A glance at headlines this morning confirms this. A prominent governmental leader – a fellow follower of You – has fallen. And that’s a poor reflection of You, Lord. I pray for Your child – may he run to You not from You. But I also pray for me. I need You this day and every day. Help me not to wander. Help me to continue to “Fight the good fight for the truth faith.” May the way I live my lift lift You up, Lord, Keep me on the straight and narrow so that my life would be good reflection of who you truly are.
Sept 30th, Wed, 5:58 am
Pure as Freshly Fallen Snow
In the quiet of this morning,
I sit and feel You here.
I know You’ve something for me,
As I know that You are near.
I cherish every moment,
While I wait here at Your feet.
For nothing’s more important,
Than this time with You, how sweet!
1 Timothy 6:11 (<<click here)
“man of God… run from… evil… pursue righteousness”
Short and to the point, Lord, If we would just flesh this out every day of our lives we would accomplish Your holy will for our lives. If we truly want to be a man (or woman) of God, this is how it’s done.
“run from …evil” Why is it so alluring? We are drawn by its supposed beauty and appeal. We embrace and indulge the facade of fulfillment only, too late, to realize that in reality it is death with which we have been intimate. And when evil’s work is done, we are stained – we are sullied. We cannot cleanse ourselves. We reek of defeat and defilement. We are undone and we cannot undo our undoneness. We are condemned. We are damned… “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” Isaiah 6:5 NASB Is there no hope? No, in and of myself, there is not… There may be no hope in me but, praise God, there is hope outside of me!
“pursue righteousness” “… we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear on (Jesus Christ). He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians 1:6-7 NLT
When we embrace You, Lord, we are saved! An intimate relationship with You brings life! The stains of our sin are as if they had never been! Washed clean, pure as the freshly fallen snow – but not just covered up – eradicated! Our aroma is the bouquet of the beauty of Christ and His wonderful gift of grace and mercy. We are victors. We are conquerors! Because of Christ we are made pure, we are made holy! We are redone to be what we were meant to be Praise God!
Lord, help me to embrace You! To find my true calling in my relationship with You. Enable me to “run from… evil…” and to “pursue righteous and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” Amen!!
Sept 29th, Tues, 6:21 am
What I Deserve vs. What I Receive
I realize, Father, that it is only because of Jesus that I can sit in Your presence this morning. I am quite often astounded that I am so eagerly welcomed. I am so grateful that Jesus’ extreme sacrifice and the blood He shed cover my multitude of sins, which is the only reason that I can be with You. It saddens me to think of the many; many times I have had to seek forgiveness for the things I have done that were outside of Your will for me. But I am gladdened because though I fall, You would rather I would seek Your face instead of turning away, defeated and not return. Truly I don’t deserve it. Punishment and death is what I deserve but grace and mercy are what is extended to me… Thank You, Father for the most precious of all gifts! May my heart and mind be focused on You this day. Enable me to stay true to You, to live out Your call on my life. Help me to wholeheartedly love You in response to Your love for me and in so doing may that love shower those around me. Because I have been so richly blessed “make me a blessing out of my life may Jesus shine. Make me a blessing to someone today.” It is the least I can do! Fill me this day. I am Yours to use as You will.
Sept 28th, Mon, 6:31 am
You Can’t Take It with You
Father, as this day begins my thoughts go towards what it will entail. First, I know I will be a part of two wonderful groups of people. I pray that we will truly worship You in Spirit and truth. May we come together with the expectation of coming into Your presence and eagerly learning from You and being determined to apply what we have learned to our lives. Secondly, Father I would ask that You would be with me and Karen in whatever we decide to do. Help us to cherish our time together and to love each other more and more.
1 Timothy 6:6-10 (<<click here)
One of the most alluring things (and quite often one of the most elusive) in life is wealth. Some are content with little; others are not content with much. Our culture has an insatiable desire for “stuff” and to get it they must have wealth – and many pursue the acquisition of said wealth by whatever means necessary.
Lord, it’s a struggle! We all want our needs met but where do we draw the line? How much is enough? When does our “enough” cross the line over to too much? Lord, help me to find contentment with what I have. Help me to be wise in how I use what You have given me, so my needs will be met and that I can give to others in need, as well. Help me to control the wealth in my life and for it not to control me. Help me to obsess over what is truly important – my relationship with You and how that in turn impacts my relationship with others. Then may I not obsess over what is “here today and gone tomorrow.” “After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it” v.7
Sept 27th, Sun, 6:26 am