THANKFUL

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, that when we need correcting, you don’t back off. As the congregation raised praises Sunday morning in song, I remember one song that didn’t move me spiritually nor emotionally. I just don’t like this song, I thought. It’s too slow. The words, even though taken from Scripture, are difficult to follow. The melody is uneven, and it’s boring. I prefer something upbeat, fast paced, where my hands automatically clap and maybe my feet do a little shuffle. Let’s hear more drums, guitars, and turn the keyboard loose. This song does nothing for me. That’s when I heard you speaking to my inner man loud and clear.

“Excuse me,” the Lord said. “Since when is the praise and worship service about you? I wrote the words of that slow, boring song. They are singing my praises and glorifying who I am.”

How could I argue with the Lord? I felt a spiritual spanking coming on.

He wasn’t finished. “Let me ask you: did you speak and the heavens and everything in the universe come into existence? Forgive me for not consulting you when I spoke and created the earth and everything in it. Do you have leftover dirt under your fingernails when you created man from the dust of the ground? I don’t recall the last time you healed a blind man, or caused a man, crippled from birth, to leap, joyfully dancing before you?”

Lord Jesus what you said next put me in my place.

“Did you send your only son in to this broken world to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. I did. Your sins were included in that batch, and because you believed, now you have eternal life.”

Lord God, I’m such a flawed but forgiven work in progress. Forgive me for being self-centered, forgetting how you saved me from eternal destruction and gave me a new lease in life. May my actions reflect who you are and let everything in this life be about you, Lord God. I’m thankful your corrections are always true, without condemnation.

It’s all about you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Monday, August 12, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Heavenly Father, we pray your protection of our greatest treasures, our children, as they return to school. Thank you for the time and memories we made with our kids and grandkids over the summer. Now it’s time for “Meet the Teacher” night, running after the school bus, homework assignments, afterschool activities, PTA fundraisers and much more that gobbles up our limited time. But one thing we must make time for is to pray daily over our children and grandchildren for their wellbeing and safety.

Station your warrior angels around every school to keep evil and predators away. Place a hedge of protection around every student, from pre-K to high school to college and even graduate school. Protect them from school shootings, physical and cyber bullying, physical and emotional abuse, any kind of substance abuse or destructive habits. Protect their sexual purity. When tempted to do drugs, protect them from the evil one and make a way of escape for them. For the older kids, we pray the attractions of immoral and ungodly behaviors will lose their appeal. Protect their hearts and their minds. Give them a desire to learn and open their understanding to comprehend the truths of life and the truths of your word. Show the kids how to find your purpose for their life. Help our kids make good friends and be a good friend to those who feel rejected, unloved or alone. Let them see you are a good and kind God, overflowing with love and fully accepting them as they are when they come to you. May they never be afraid of you, Lord God, and always find their identity in you. Strengthen their faith in the face of opposition and let your Light shine unhindered in the spiritual darkness.

We pray all educators will teach biblical principles and godly values. For those teachers who follow you, Lord Jesus, we pray their godly influence will make a lifelong impression on the kids. May all those who teach atheism and evolution find their material void of meaning and may they fail in their efforts to teach such nonsense. May this be a life-changing year of spiritual renewal in our schools.

In your holy name, Jesus. Amen.

Friday, August 09, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, our desire is to let your light and love shine through us. Many in this world are looking for the peace and purpose you give. In their efforts to find meaning for their lives, they try everything except looking to you. May our lives reflect what they are searching for. You word repeatedly instructs us to glorify the Lord (Psalm 34:2–5), but how do we do that?

When others see Jesus in us, we glorify you. When those who don’t know you ask you why we live the way we do, when they notice our actions show grace and not a “get even” attitude, we glorify you. When we don’t judge others, but treat all with respect, we glorify you. When we are quick to offer forgiveness, we glorify you. And when the skeptics and mockers highlight our flaws, point out our mistakes, recall the times we have stumbled in our faith, how we miss the standard you set for your followers, we glorify you by reminding them that, yes, we are not denying our flaws, but we are forgiven by God and we belong to you. Despite not understanding everything, praising you in all circumstances glorifies you. This glorifies you, Lord God, when we practice such before the world.

In sickness and in health, we glorify you by persevering in the hope found in you. Believers glorify you when sickness lingers, damaging and sometimes destroying the body, but never destroying our alive-in-Christ spirits. We glorify you when, despite our illnesses or afflictions, we remain joyful and full of life.

Bless our friends in El Paso and Dayton, planning funerals for loved ones. Only you, Lord God, can bring the spiritual and emotional healing they need during these most difficult times. May your grace sustain them as they seek you. Let they feel your tears as they shed theirs.

May everything we do glorify you, Jesus. Amen.

Thursday, August 08, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Many came to you crushed in spirit, wounded by life’s stuff in this fallen world. They lived without a song in their heart, their hopes dashed time and again. The world’s standard for love puts undue pressure on folks, requiring an impossible steady perfect performance to be accepted. Some lives were a walking train wreck. Others, not so much. Most were not wicked, evil people, but all were broken. Helpless to climb out of the hopeless pit, we cried out to you. (This writer was counted in that broken group.)

In your mercy, Lord Jesus, you demonstrated what true love is. You welcomed us into your kingdom without restrictions, graciously forgiving our transgressions against you and giving us eternal life. As we submit to you Lordship, we find you are also the God who restores that which the enemy of our soul destroyed. You put a new song in our heart, your grace has brought healing to our memories, removing the pain of the disappointments. Knowing we are forgiven and given a new lease in life through you, Jesus, makes us wanna dance with joy. Your Holy Spirit living within us guides us along your path and guards our hearts and souls. Most remarkable, you opened our spiritual eyes to see how you were working in situations that would eventually lead us to you. Your word tells how you “. . . restore that which the enemy destroyed. . .” (Joel 2:25). We’re thankful you are the God who restores.

Your works of grace are amazing, Jesus. Amen.

Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Thank you, Lord, for another day to get it right. As we watched the sun rise this morning in spectacular colors of splendor, we’re reminded of your unending grace. No matter what happened yesterday, our spiritual triumphs over temptations or our human frailties that embarrassed the cause of Christ, we want to embrace this day and all you have for us, Lord God. May we remain humble, knowing your grace will sustain us through our difficulties today. Thank you for not kicking us out of your kingdom when we fail to measure up to all you created us to be. We’re thankful you have not withdrawn your love nor changed your mind regarding us. You are a good Father, who loves unconditionally. As stated in Romans 8, nothing can separate us from your love.

We pray your grace, comfort and strength for those families and friends planning funerals for their loved ones slain by acts of pure evil, fueled by unrestrained hatred. May your grace sustain the families living in disbelief that this has happened to them. Reveal your character and love to those who call on you during these mind-numbing events. In our humanity, may we drop all differences and come together, sharing a common human trait of mourning. Only you can bring unity to our nation. May your great love and truth destroy the works of those who continue to perpetuate hatred and division.

You are still our healer in body, soul and spirit. Heal those suffering from physical issues, comfort the afflicted, strengthen the weak in faith. Heal those damaged by emotional trauma. Pure your soothing Spirit over their memories to replace their pain with peace and hope. Help us to forgive, as you forgive us.

Living a new day in you, dear Jesus. Amen.

Tuesday, August 06, 2019

Merciful Jesus,

Lord, you hear these foolish statements people are making, saying prayers are useless, and do nothing for these mass shootings. Don’t they see the reason why these shootings are taking place? Firearms haven’t changed much over the past fifty years; our society has changed. When we kicked you out of our lives, this is the society we get. Lord, we need you as our nation’s soul today. We need to return to you with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Use these tragedies to wake us up and bring us back to you. Open our spiritual eyes to see our need for you and to live by your principles and values. For those in authority who refuse to acknowledge our need for you but only want to keep us divided, at one another’s throat, make them irrelevant. May their agenda fail. Only you, Lord God, can bring unity to our country. Only by humbling ourselves, turning from our wicked way and seeking you can our nation be healed (2 Chronicles 7:14). Bring us together to stand for law and order, and a return to our Christian values that our country was founded upon. Mockers must quit blaming the innocent for these shooting and lay the blame where it belongs: sinful, godless people, driven by evil. We do not have a gun problem, we have a people problem, a sin problem.

Comfort the families preparing funerals and memorial services. You know the depths of anguish in their hearts. Protect them from a root of bitterness that would control their lives and minds. Heal the memories of the law enforcement officers, the trauma center workers and the civilians affected by these shooting. The PTSD horrors they witnessed will haunt them unless your Holy Spirit does a sovereign work in their minds and memories. May the church rise to do what you created your church to do, Lord God. Help each Christ-follower to show your love and grace to everyone, to encourage one another to seek you so our nation can be healed.

Turning to you with all our hearts, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Monday, August 5,2019

Oh, merciful Jesus!

Lord, again, our hearts are broken and our righteous anger boils within. Innocent people, just out shopping for school supplies, or enjoying an outdoor summer evening, their lives snuffed out for no reason other than sick, twisted people possessed by evil. Every decent person must feel a profound sadness in their hearts over these losses We know the true culprit of these tragedies—it’s Satan. Your word says the devil came to “steal, kill and destroy,” but you came, Lord Jesus, to give “Life, and life abundantly” (John 10:10). We fall on our knees, asking for mercy and comfort for these families affected by these senseless shootings. Hold them close to your heart and comfort those survivors. We pray no more will die from their wounds, but all will recover. For those who passed into eternity unexpectedly, we pray they had a personal relationship with you Jesus. In this fallen world, those who have placed their faith in you Jesus have a hope of eternal security, whether taken suddenly by such an act of an evildoer or left here to mourn the losses of our loved ones (Ephesians 2:12). Lord God, you are the anchor we are tied to when life overwhelms us to the point where we feel crushed and defeated.

America doesn’t have a gun-control problem, we have a moral problem, where life is cheapened by senseless slaughter of the unborn for convenience, to the “right of assisted suicide” of the elderly. Violence is glorified in movies and disrespect for authority is encouraged. Abnormal behavior and depravity are celebrated as acceptable. This is our godless society. Government is now the god we worship.

Lord God, forgive our sins. As a nation, and as individuals, we have strayed far from the spiritual roots our country was founded upon. As Christ-followers, we must turn from our wicked ways, seek your face and bring you back into our society and culture. As a nation and individually, we fall prostrate before you in repentance, asking you to heal our land.

Calling upon your mercy, forgive our sins, Lord God. Amen.

Friday, August 02, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord God, Your mercy never ceases, Your lovingkindness never runs out. But at times I feel broken. When my soul can’t feel Your presence, my spirit tells me You are here. Reveal my broken places that You want to use for my good and Your glory. Is Your desire to use me like that alabaster jar, filled with rare, expensive perfume recorded in Mark 14:3? As Your followers, You’ve given each an alabaster jar of great worth, the Holy Spirit, Your healing oil, to live within us. This healing, soothing, perfumed oil is of no value to others as long as our jar remained intact. As we are broken, we release Your Spirit’s healing balm to touch those poor souls You bring into our lives, those wounded by this broken world. Use our brokenness to help and encourage those in despair, who have fallen into depression from life’s challenges. Use our story of brokenness, which brought us to You, so others will find the hope they have been searching for.

Draw us deeper into faith. Use our brokenness to reveal areas in our life that Your Spirit desires to change. Only by breaking our alabaster jar can You do what You want to do for us and through us.

Use my brokenness to change me and bless others, Lord.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Thursday, August 01, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Thank You, Lord, that when we come to You in repentance and accept Your grace, we gain perfection. No, we still have character flaws and still sin every day. Thankfully, we live under Your grace, but You give us a better “perfection.” First, we, Your children, gain a perfect inheritance, that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish (1 Peter 1:4). You give us Your Spirit to live within our spirit so we gain access to all Your blessings, every promise and every spiritual gift. This inheritance can never be lost. Unfortunately, many of Your followers do not know their inheritance is secure and keep striving to gain Your favor. Or more sadly, those who know their inheritance ignore the blessings available to them. But Your grace is enough!

You give all Christ-followers a second perfection: Your perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). Your love drives out fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of loneliness, fear of going without our basic needs, fear of death, fear of what may lie on the other side of the Jordan we all will cross one day. Your love gives us peace, comfort and strength when life’s stuff happens. But most important, Your perfect love enables us to keep the greatest commandment: We can love You with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and the second commandment, love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27). Thank You, Lord, that Your Spirit takes all the pressure off us as we live for You.

May Your perfect love keep our dear ones who face medical and physical challenges. Be the Strength that is beyond them, be the Rock they stand upon when treatments do not always bring the desired results. Be the Comfort during emotional pain. Be the Relief when physical pain persists. Be the Hand they hold as they walk these dark valley paths and mountain trails.

Forgive our sins. Heal our nation. Start a spiritual renewal in each of us.

Resting in Your perfect Love, Jesus. Amen.

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Good afternoon, Jesus

Lord, experiencing Your grace and living in Your love makes our hearts joyful. We enjoy being around people to share the godly love You bestowed on us. But at times, in our fun-loving attitudes, we can say things that are hurtful and wish we could take back. We fail to follow the advice of the psalmist about putting a muzzle on my mouth (Psalm 39:1). You tell us our conversations should be always full of grace (Colossians 4:6). We do not want to be like the man Your brother James wrote about: if anyone considers himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless (James 1:6). Forgive me, Lord. I realize how much spiritual work remains undone in my heart. Too often I open my mouth and step right in it. May Your Holy Spirit govern my words and actions to present the true image of who You are, Jesus. Let my words truly be laced with grace to influence others to put their faith in You. We know the skeptics will criticize Your followers, highlighting only our flaws, calling us hypocrites. Let the Holy Spirit guard our hearts so their poisoned words have no effects.

May we faithfully speak words of healing, words of encouragement, words of faith when we are with those facing medical issues and physical afflictions. May our words point to the cross where our physical, emotional and spiritual healings were obtained by Your sacrifice for our sins (1 Peter 2:24). Let our words speak of Your goodness and mercy, especially when illness invades our lives. Despite the medical trials, place a continual song  in our hearts, so Your grace will be seen by all.

Forgive our sins. Heal our nation. Begin a spiritual renewal in each of us.

Being careful to lace our words with Your grace, Jesus, Amen.