I am weak, He is strong…

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2Timothy1:7

We serve a God who wants us to be full of strength. He has promised His strength is sufficient and perfect in our weakness. Why then do I succumb to the temptation of timidity? Why do I struggle with being strong? If the Lord has promised me a spirit of power and love and self-discipline, why then do I fall back on my own weakness? I am unable to be strong on my own without God. But, there is HOPE in Him. As long as I am in Him, living for Him, loving Him and submitting to Him, I am strong. With Him my weakness is abolished. I receive this spirit of power, for power is in the WORD. When I am failing and floundering, it is right and proper to rely on HIS WORD! I must remember always that His desire for my life is not to be timid, but powerful in HIM!

Dear Lord,
I praise You for Your strength. I give you all the glory when I am able to be strong…for my strength comes from You. You are all powerful and MIGHTY!

Lord, please forgive me when I stray. Please forgive me when I rely on my own strength. My strength is fallible, and misleading, it is not of YOU. Forgive me O! Lord when I am timid, it is clear in those moments that I am trusting my own weakness rather than Your strength. It is through Your Word that I glean my strength…help me Lord to rest in Your peace and strength.

Thank you Lord that each day Your mercies are new. Thank you that I can rely on You always…always.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

It’s okay…really.

“It (love) is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs”. 1Corinthians 13:5

God keeps no record of wrongs. He has washed away our sins. Past. Present. Future. The blood of Christ, the mighty sacrifice on the Cross, cleansed us of our sin. Am I able to follow that example, even a little? Am I able to forgive, forget and move on? I have a tendency to hold on to what I should be letting go of…I am a forgiving person…but am I a forgetting person? When I meet my Savior face to face, He will not be carrying volumes upon volumes of my transgressions. He already bore the weight of my sin. He will want to know that I believe in Him and love Him and share His Word. So, I will make an effort in Christ with the Holy Spirit, to give freely-not just of my forgiving, but my forgetting as well.

Lord
Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for washing my transgressions away, cleansing me and making me whole. I praise you Lord that you are such a gracious God. You are kind to me and you love me. When I am able to forgive the transgressions of others, I give you the glory. For on my own, in my own flesh, I am incapable of love and forgiveness the way you have graciously commanded.

Lord, thank you for the examples of forgiveness you have given. You cried out on the cross for Your Father to forgive those who were persecuting, murdering You. You are gracious beyond imagination.
I pray that I am able to live in Your light, and that I may be an instrument of peace….and love…and forgiveness. Thank you Lord for equipping me. Thank you for filling my heart with your grace and mercy. Thank you for forgiving me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How bold are you?

“I Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away!” 2Cornithians 10:1

I am bold when I write. I confidently boast in the Lord when I am putting pen to paper…or finger to keyboard. However, when I am tasked with the challenge of sharing the gospel face to face with a nonbeliever, my tongue freezes, I am nearly incapable of sharing for fear that I may say something wrong. I am painfully aware of my inability to be bold. Yet, His word affirms that the Holy Spirit will put into words what my heart feels so deeply. At my request alone, the Holy Spirit will take hold of my tongue and use me, timid…frightened…inarticulate me, to reveal the love of Christ. It is His unconditional confidence that He pours into me; changing my heart and permitting me to speak of His grace and mercy and most importantly the path to salvation through His most gracious sacrifice…the giving of His one and only Son for my sin. It is not mine to convert, but rather to live in Christ, allowing His light to shine brightly from me such that others who do not know Him would be drawn to the glow they see in my face and the joy I feel in the midst of triumph and trial.

Lord,
It is your glory that I am able to share your love. I praise you for the joy I feel and the radiance that shines from me. I praise you that others see in me something wonderful, that they see you. Lord, I thank you for your Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord resides in me because of your sacrificial act…for you so loved the world that you gave your one and only son…that when he ascended you sent the Holy Spirit to comfort and counsel me when I am humanly incapable.

Lord, forgive me please when I am so shamefully unable to share Your Word. Lord, please forgive me that I have sinned in my silence. Forgive me that I have passed so many by, many that you placed in my path…forgive me that I did not share with them the joy that is You and Your gift of salvation.

Lord, I pray that I will be live in Your will…gleaning Your confidence, that I would boldly share Your love with all who I encounter. Lord, I pray that I am filled with your boldness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

His strength, not mine.

“I can do all things through him (Christ) who gives me strength.” Phil 4:13

The weight of these words makes my heart light. Stop to consider the gravity of His strength. With Him we are capable of moving mountains. What is your mountain? Are you depending on Him to move it? When we are consumed by worry or guilt or anxiety we need to offer all of our weight to him. For His yoke is light. He will carry you through all circumstances. He planned your life, ordered your steps. Without his strength we crumble under the demands of the world. When we offer our cares to the Lord He makes perfect use of them, creating in us a calm that can only come from Him.

Dear Lord,
I praise you that I can come to you in all circumstances of my life. I praise you that you know what you have planned for my life. I rest in your promise that your plans for me are not to harm me but to give me hope.

Forgive me Lord when I try to take on the world by myself. Forgive me for my arrogance in thinking my plans are greater than yours. Lord, you created me so beautifully in your image. I pray that I may always rely on your perfect protection and strength.

Thank you Lord for your supernatural strength that surpasses my wildest, grandest imagination. Thank you that I can take my burdens and place them on your shoulders. I know that with you I am capable of far more than on my own. I sing your praise Lord, I boast in your goodness. You created me and I am blessed for your word says “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
I am blessed to be your creation. In Jesus’ name. Amen

In my own little world…

“I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” John 13:20

“Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it”. Hebrews 13:2

Do you pass the man on the corner by? Is he a nuisance to you as you sit in your warm car headed to work or school or the store or coffee with friends? Does he make you feel uncomfortable and vulnerable as you sit securely waiting for the light to change? Do you look at him with the eyes of God, or do you condemn him with the eyes of the world? Have you ever stopped to think that he has been placed on that corner for a purpose…the purpose of testing your faith? The Lord commands us to love our brothers…not just the clean and presentable brothers, but the dirty and lost brothers. God gives us moments to exercise his commandments. He never tempts us, that is the work of the devil, but he tests us. He gives us challenges to love. When we love the unlovable, the dirty, the homeless, the imprisoned…we are showing our love for God.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I praise you for the opportunities you give me daily to show love. You remind me to love those who are hard to love, for I know there are more moments that I am unlovable and you have sent others to love me. I praise you for the resources you have given me so that I may offer help to those who are less fortunate. Lord, I praise you for each moment you stretch my resolve and challenge me to look at the world through Your eyes and not my own.
Please forgive me when I have passed you by. Please forgive me when I was too proud or busy or preoccupied to pray with a friend. Please forgive me when I have used your resources to be self-serving and not generous.

I pray that you would give me an extra measure of kindness and gentleness so that the angels you have placed on my path would delight in my actions and rejoice in Your love that flows through me. Let me be a vessel of love. Help me to lavish your love on the angels on the corner. I pray that I am always prepared to accept your challenges. I pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

His works are beautiful…

“Great are the works of the Lord;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.” Psalm 111:2

How great are the works of the Lord!? He is so gracious to give us the beauty that surrounds us. The blue sky, the yellow sun, the smell of winter air. He blesses us in the smile on a violet’s tender petal-ed face. He makes diamonds in the frost coated grass. We delight in the stripe of bright red and orange that decorates a blackbird’s wing. He is gracious to pour gifts into each of our days for no reason other than his own delight.

Dear Lord,
Thank you so much for the beauty of your creation. The glory is yours for the majestic sunsets and the raging storms that bring skies wrapped in rainbows. Lord, you are ever so gracious to give us glimpses of heaven in the waves of the ocean or the glint in our children’s eyes. You created this earth for our delight. I praise you for the beauty that surrounds me.
I pray that I am an encouragement to those who don’t know you, Lord. That those who marvel at your wonders would also praise you. Thank you, that in times of trouble, your works are still good and honorable. Lord, you lavish me in your beauty.
I am awed by your ever-giving love and mercy. You are the God of all things. You created the expansive universe, yet you still lean in to listen to my heart. I am blessed Lord. Blessed by your love for me. And if I am to agree that all your works are good and beautiful, then I must agree that you created me in the same beauty. I am yours to delight in and I will give you praise for the creation that I am. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Not by law, but by grace…

“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
2Corinithians3:3-6

Our faith in Jesus is not mandated by a law or set of rules. We become His when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. We receive His grace and mercy by believing in Him. When we accept Christ we are renewed in His righteousness. Our faith is not measured by how well we keep laws, but rather how well we trust Him with our hearts. He is a gentle whisper in our consciousness, leading us from sin to glory in Him.

Dear Lord,
I give you praise for the soft voice that dwells in my spirit. Lord, thank you that you gently correct me when I am prone to sin. Lord, I give you praise for filling me with the Fruit of your Spirit. When I am empty you fill me again. You are so faithful to watch over me, keeping me safe in your firm grip.
Lord, I pray that I may dwell in your Spirit. I pray that I am seeking your righteousness today and always. Lord, help me to be a shining example of your mercy. I ask that I may shine brightly for those who are in the darkness…that I may see your light in my own darkness.

I pray that the Spirit of truth resides deep in my heart that I may be bold to those who are lost. That I may help to keep my brother from stumbling and that I would not be consumed by the crowns I desire to lay at your feet but rather consumed by your goodness and righteousness. I pray these things in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen

Where is your treasure?

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:21

I tend to follow my heart, always have. This is (can be) a double edged sword. If my heart is following Jesus, then my treasure is in Him…in Heaven. But, when my heart desires things of this world, my treasures are fallible and fallen. What good are the treasures of this world when they are temporal and easily destroyed? I want eternal treasure in my Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. I need to fix my heart and mind on the giver of life. My riches are in Him and He will never fade away. He is mine forever.

Dear Lord,
I come to you with songs of praise. You have provided for me in the darkest times. When I could not muster the strength to provide for myself, you saw (see) me through. You are precious and priceless. I praise you that you consume me…that you fill me with your Holy Spirit. I am gratified in your presence greater than I am by any worldly good.

Please forgive me when I set my heart on things of this world. Help me, O Lord, to cast my thoughts for the temptations of the world on you, that I may seek your face only. Forgive me Lord when I boast in what I have rather than boasting in You.

I pray that I would seek your Word for gratification, Lord. I pray that I would find comfort always and only in You. I will spend my days storing my treasures in Heaven. I will give praise to the one who gave His life for me so that I may have eternal life with Him. Amen.

Day Two…

“We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.” 2Corinthians13:9

The Lord is perfect in every way. His purpose and plan for our lives is perfect. He created us for His delight. He created Heaven for us to dwell with Him in perfection. We are created in His image. Take delight in your Lord always. Know that the Lord has a path for you to follow with steps carefully numbered. Take delight that you are not alone but in His perfect will. In our weakness He is perfect and strong. Take hold of His hand, let him lead you.

Dear Lord,
I praise you for the many obstacles I face. I thank you for the moments you have given me to refine me like silver. I praise you that you are with me each step of the way. You are stronger, grander, more able than I could ever hope to be.

Lord forgive me when I try to stand alone. Forgive me that I am fooled by my own inabilities. Lord, forgive me that I am ‘prone to stray’. Lead me O Lord back to your hand. Hold me firm in your grip. Let me rest in You all the days of my life.

Thank you Lord for your strength. Lord, I pray for those who are lost and far from the flock. I pray that they would turn to see your face Lord. You go after the one Lord…you seek out the lost, the hurt, the ambling. Lord, you are merciful. I thank you for your goodness. Amen

daily devotional…day one

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19 NIV

The Lord is my strength. In times of want and plenty, the Lord is my strength. He renews me. He draws me in like cool spring water…quenching my thirst and giving me new life. He is my strength.

Dear Lord,
I praise you Lord for the glory that is today.
I praise you for a pastor who leads Your flock in pure and honest intent…drawing us into a relationship with our Creator.
I praise You for a church that invites the Holy Spirit to dwell in our worshipful hearts.

I praise you Lord for the light that shines bright in the faces of my children. I praise you Lord for a husband who is seeking you in earnest. Daily. Every moment. Thank you, God.

Lord, I give you my heart. I ask that each morning I wake you fill me with your joy and that I live in Your Will…with every breath.

Forgive me Lord, I ask in Jesus name, for the trouble in my heart. I pray for your love to fill me so that I may love my brother as myself. I praise you Lord that I can feel your mercy and grace.

Amen.