THANKFUL

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Good morning, Jesus

As I go through this day, Lord Jesus, reveal any brokenness in my life that needs Your healing touch. I set aside my pride, and regardless if it hurts, if the painful memories have not been resolved, I refuse to resist Your Spirit’s work and allow You to open old, buried wounds I have carried far too long. In my humanity, I’ve stubbornly clung to these emotional and spiritual hurts to justify my actions against those who offended me. Before knowing You, I carried these unresolved conflicts almost like a badge of honor to show the world how strong I was. But in my brokenness that I was unable to repair, after I came to You in repentance and we began our walk together, I’ve let these old wounds tag along. They have constantly lied to me, spewing nonsense like if You cared, You would take them away. I’ve even heard the enemy tell me these hurts were too embedded in my psyche and could never be resolved. Your Spirit tells me its time to let them go into Your healing hands and let You mend the unresolved hurts, the brokenness in me.

As I surrender my will to You, I hear You whisper in my spirit, My child, I have always been near your broken heart. Before you knew Me, I was close to you. I was there when the wounds were inflicted and stood ready to soothe your hurts and wrap-up you and your broken spirit in My love. Give them to Me today, and let’s walk ahead without you carrying these burdens anymore (Psalm 51). Thank You Lord, that in our brokenness, our spirits are freed from bondage when we give You the burdens we were never meant to carry.

Though our brokenness, Your cross has spoken. You make us whole, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Monday, May 13, 2019

Good morning, Jesus

Lord Jesus, are You conversing with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit about me . . . again? According to numerous places in Your Word, You constantly talk about me. Your invitation to pray is always open so I can cut in and join Your conversations. You say I’m made in Your image (Genesis 1:27). I add my thoughts about this: “You, Lord God, are my Creator and before I was born, You knew all about me. You crafted me wonderfully in my mother’s womb and then breathed Your life into me and I became a living soul” (Psalm 139). In my spirit, I can hear You three talking about Your plans for me. “I agree 100 percent that You have plans to bless me and keep me as I seek Your wisdom and be more like You to fulfill Your will” (Jeremiah 29:11). In Your discussions concerning me, You remember how I responded when I realized You did everything You could do to save me by sending Jesus down here to earth, to be the sacrifice for my sin (John 3:16). What more could You do? I said, “Lord, You even gave me the faith I needed to believe in the work Jesus did to pay for my sins (Ephesians 2:8–10; Romans 10:8–10). So Lord, thank You for talking about me so much. May I continue to join in Your conversations about me and about my friends and loved ones, so they can become all You created them to be. And for our friends who don’t know You, open their spiritual eyes so they can call upon You will be saved too” (Romans 10:13).

Keep talking about us, Jesus. Amen.

A wife/mother of noble character, who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him/her children good, not harm, all the days of their life. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women/mothers do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman/mother who fears the LORD is to be praised (exerts from Proverbs 31).

Dear heavenly Father.

Thank You, Lord, for the privilege to honor our mothers, our wives, our sisters on this special day. You have entrusted these dear ladies with the care and nurturing of Your most precious treasures and Your gifts to us, our children. Some moms have multiple children, others are blessed with only one. Other moms may not have borne children but have chosen to deeply love their children inherited through blended families or adoption. You have gifted Your special needs children with special moms who You knew could be trusted with these angel-like kids who only know how to love everyone. You’ve given each mom talents and unique gifts that molded her children’s lives. And You’ve instilled in every mom the yearning to pray for her kids.

Thank You for our stay-at-home moms, who are home while her children are in their school years. Your grace carries them through these sacrificial years when delayed amenities often benefit the children’s emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Thank You, Lord, for that same grace You give moms who work outside the home but juggle tasks ad infinitum that keep their family life flowing. How moms quickly adapt to changing circumstances make them truly some of Your most amazing creations, Lord.

There is one undeniable truth: all moms need God’s grace. With school, extra-curricular activities, church programs, doctor appointments, dance lessons, soccer practice, quick suppers, baths for little ones, late night laundry, bandaging skinned knees and mending broken hearts, checking homework, keeping sibling at peace with one another—oh, my! Lord, the list of moms’ sacrifices never ends, but neither does Your grace ever end. Only You can turn ordinary women into SuperMoms! Weary moms finally drop into bed, fatigued and exhausted, to find welcomed sleep, but they’re wide awake at the least peep coming from the kid’s room. The mundane days seem never ending, dragging on forever, but as Psalm 39 says, the years fly by as a whisper. Her little one started pre-K it seems like just yesterday and now here they are, walking across the stage, diploma in hand, ready to tackle the world. How did this happen so quickly? What mom hasn’t felt that gulp in her throat watching her kids walk away to a new chapter in their lives. Thank You, Lord, for our mother’s prayers on our behalf.

Thank You for the moms who are now their children’s friend, and when called upon, a part-time advisor. Thank You for the grace You give them as they adapt to this new transition in their lives. Thank You, Lord God. for the blessings of grandchildren. Oh, how You created these moms to be authentically grand, spoiling their grandkids like crazy. These grandmas need Your extra measure of grace to reign them in!

Thank You, Lord, for the priceless memories of our mothers who have preceded us into Heaven. They reside forever in our hearts. We would give anything humanly possible to hold them once more, but we’re promised the day is coming when we will be united again—forever. For some of us, our moms are even more overjoyed, and we are comforted, knowing our moms are holding their kids and grandkids who have preceded us to Heaven. Their godly influence molded our lives and You heard their countless prayers on our behalf—and the prayers worked! Chuck Swindoll tells how his mother’s prayers led him to God. She’d admonish him, God help you if you do that again, young man!

May we men, husbands and fathers, never take our mothers or wives for granted, but give us a greater appreciation of these remarkable godly ladies who fill a prominent role in the Kingdom of God.

Thank You, Lord, for creating moms. We love our moms—just like You, Jesus, loved Your momma Mary.

Amen.

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”—Jill Churchill

Jimmy Eskew © 2019

Friday, May 10, 2019

Good morning, Jesus

Thank You, Lord God, that You saved us from the consequences of sin and spiritual death, eternal separation from You. Our salvation sets us apart from this world’s godless and agnostic systems of living. In addition, You go a step further, Lord, and call us ‘holy,’ but not because of our good deeds or noble activities we may have done in attempts to earn our salvation. No, Lord God, You also saved us from the bondage that religion demands of us. Christianity is not obtained by doing good works, attending classes, behaving in certain ways, or ‘turning over a new leaf,’ trying to gain Your favor. Many good, moral religious folks are frustrated, carrying guilt and shame, unable to shake on their own some harmful habits or temptations that they believe is keeping them from salvation. Lord, open their spiritual eyes to Your truths.

Your Word in 2 Timothy 1:9 reinforces a great truth. God has saved us [read me] from sin and now calls us [insert your name here] holy. We receive this title not by our human efforts but only by placing our trust in the redemptive sacrifice of You, Lord Jesus, on the cross. We’re grateful that as Christ-followers, we are free from man’s well-intentioned, but burdensome religious demands that places the responsibility for our salvation on our behaviors. Religion says we must do more to be saved than just having faith in You, Jesus, because only believing is way too easy. A popular meme states Your truth so clearly: “Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship with You, Lord God.” And Lord, it happens every time. Good works just seem to follow those who have trusted Jesus.

Thank You for making us holy, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Thursday, May 09, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

How blessed we are, Lord, when we meditate on Your Word, Your promises. May Your Word dwell constantly in our hearts and in our minds. Then when trials come, our faith has solid promises to rely on. You describe such a Christ-follower as a tree planted by streams of water, that extend its roots deep into the ground, drawing constant nourishment from the water to remain green and viable, producing a harvest of its fruit. That person will overcome any obstacle put in their path (Psalm 1:3).

When the challenges of living for You in this fallen world harass us, Your promises keep us focused. No doubt we will be tempted to violate Your Word, to compromise Your principles. Most temptations are subtle. Oh, Lord, open our spirit to the leading of Your Spirit to recognize any half-truths, which are really lies. Give us an intense desire to know the truths of Your Word that we will become like mighty oak trees, strong, stable, never uprooted by the floods or droughts that life brings. As only You can do, Lord, transform us from scrawny, ugly hackberry trees into mighty oaks as we obey Your Word and follow the leading of Your Holy Spirit.

Desiring to be an oak tree for God.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Wednesday, May 08, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

You’ve shown Your followers Your outline for a happy and contented life. The Psalmist recorded this open secret of joy: Happy and contented is the person who doesn’t follow the anti-God ways of the world, or engage in the lifestyle of the ungodly, or be associated with people who mock and ridicule You and Your people. Instead, their delight, their joy comes from the truths found in God’s Word. Day and night, their mind dwells on the truths of God’s Word, basking in God’s constant peace (Psalm 1:2–2).

The world never stops trying to squeeze us, Lord. Keeping our sanity in this fallen world can be burdensome. With the world’s constant luring us to follow a path other than what You laid out for Your people, it’s understandable how people fall for such schemes. But like us, the psalmist also faced pressures to compromise his principles. His game plan to stay in God’s will was to resist taking up the lifestyles and attitudes of this fallen world. This success in resisting temptations to wander off track is accomplished by meditating about the goodness of God found in Your Word, the Bible. When our minds are saturated with the Your goodness and all You have done in our lives, we can’t help but develop more of Your character. When we’re tempted to stray by some worldly scheme that promises to make us popular and complete, happy forever, we recognize this trap immediately. Your Word has shown us that anything we pursue apart from You does not bring lasting joy. Contentment will always be just out of reach. May we always find our joy, contentment—our life, in You, Lord God.

Lord, our hearts weep with Yours for the victims and their families of the senseless murder and wounding of the students at the STEM School Highland Ranch in Colorado. We pray for the family and friends of the 18-year old victim, and for the wounded students. Be merciful to their emotions, their minds. Guard their hearts from bitterness and hatred. Do works of grace for all those involved as only You can, Lord God. Bring peace from this senseless tragedy of evil.

Meditating on Your Word, resting in Your peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, You know that I hate to wait. Drives me nuts! Waiting on other flawed humans, like myself, for results or actions make me anxious. I know it shouldn’t make me that antsy, but it does. Lord, You see how restless I get just waiting for paint to dry or grass to grow. Did You wire me this way? I need things to happen right now. Why can’t everything proceed smoothly like I planned? In my soul, I’m stomping my foot—I want it now!

When I finally calm down, Your Holy Spirit breathes Your truths into my heart. “My child. Not why? but what? If you will let Me, I want to develop more of my attributes in you, but first you must slow down. Look to Me. What you learn by waiting on Me for things to happen in your life will change you. First, relax and let Me love you. You’re my child. I’m Your heavenly Father. My love will open the doors of joy in your heart, so that My peace will replace the anxiousness hanging around your spirit. Then, let me search your soul to reveal areas in your life that make you anxious about waiting. Allow Me to surgically remove these stumbling blocks in your soul that keep you from being all I created you to be. And finally, I long to show you what living in Isaiah 40:31 means—those who wait upon the Lord will receive new strength. They will soar like eagles, run and not be exhausted, walk but never fall behind.”

Lord, help us not to be anxious today but wait on You so we may experience more of Your grace.

Waiting on You, Jesus. Amen.

Monday, May 06, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord God, You are our source of life and wellbeing. In You we find contentment in our souls, knowing You hold our future, both in this life and afterward. But every so often You lead Your children into times of testing so our faith will be strengthened. Your Word says You will never leave us nor forsake those who have put their faith in You, but there comes a time we are forced to put this promise to the test (Hebrews 13:5). We enter seasons in our life when we seem to be wandering in the desert, when things are not going as planned. Obstacle after obstacle disrupt our lives and our prayers seem to hit a brick wall. God knows that in our humanity we will cry out, “Why?” Many are now going through a financial crisis desert. Others see no way out of their desert of medical and physical issues. Some question why once solid relationships are now a wasteland. As we seek God His Spirit whispers, “Not why, my child, but what.”

Lord, show us what You want us to see when we’re in the desert. We may not see Your purpose in allowing these problems, but one day we’ll understand how these challenges worked for our good. The new levels of faith we gain will strengthen not only us but those who we can help during their times in the desert. Help us be patient, to endure, to trust that Your grace will be desert-resistant. We have Your promise that we will walk in the lush gardens of Your goodness again.  

Walking in the desert but living in Your desert-resistant grace, Jesus. Amen.

Friday, May 3, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Thank You for not giving up on us, Lord. After ignoring You and doing our own thing, after we’ve thoroughly messed up everything and our world is crumbling around us, after we have come to our senses and return to You, we find Your arms are wide open, waiting to embrace Your wayward kids. “I love you,” we hear You whisper. “I never changed my mind about you, Come, let’s continue on.”

In our flawed ways of thinking, we can’t understand why You don’t just wash Your hands of us, as You watch generation after generation, for thousands of years, reject You. We’re grateful Your thoughts are not our thoughts, Your ways higher than our ways. You love us with an immense  love that our finite minds struggle to grasp. Why You give second, third, fourth—endless chances—to Your repentant followers to get it right with You only demonstrates Your grace that we don’t deserve. The wayward Psalmist voiced his heart’s deepest sorrow, crying for mercy when he acknowledged his sins, Do not cast me from Your presence, or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation (Psalm 51:11–12). You are an amazing God, full of mercy for all who call upon You with a sincere heart. Thank You for always taking us back.

Forgive our sins. Heal our nation. Let us return to You, as a nation and individually, in repentance.

Thank You heavenly Father for never changing Your mind about us.

Jesus is Lord, Amen.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

On this day, our National Day of Prayer, help us set aside whatever differences we may have, and come together to acknowledge You as sovereign God, and as the Creator of us all. Let us confess our sins and place ourselves under Your Lordship.

There are many in our land who reject this day of solemn soul-searching, calling this event “un-Constitutional” and declaring that the National Day of Prayer has no place in our society. They deny the truths of our nation’s spiritual roots. Lord, we say to these mockers, “Look, we tried that! Look at the results! When we kicked God out of our schools and thus out of our society, we were left with divisions, hatred, bigotry, human trafficking, oppression, depravity, prideful self-righteousness—all the sins the arrogance of man unleashes when man sets himself up as the “supreme being” and rejects the Lord God.” In biblical times, when the ruling authorities threw our tidbits of recognition to God just to show people how “spiritually and morally intellectual” they were, Jesus called out their hypocrisy. These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me (Matthew 15:8).

Our nation desperately needs to return to You, Lord God. Your Word cannot be clearer describing our nation’s dilemma and Your solution: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to their prayers offered in this place (2 Chronicles 7:14–15).

May this be our heartfelt prayer today, Lord God. With contrite hearts, we humble ourselves to confess our sins, seek Your forgiveness, as a nation and as individuals. We ask that You begin a spiritual renewal in each of us. Only You, Lord God, can bring unity to our nation and our people, and heal our broken relationship with You. So be it, Lord Jesus.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.