THANKFUL

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Lord, in the praise song Waymaker, we sing the phrase, “You never stop, You never stop working.” How can we, the redeemed, not jump for joy singing this truth. Like sheep, we all have wandered from the fold at some time. Because of Your incredible love for me, You left the “ninety-nine in the safety of the pasture and went looking for that one lost sheep” (Luke 15:4) As the Good Shepherd, You never stopped working but stepped into evil’s territory, searching for that lost sheep whose hope for purpose and meaning was steadily slipping away.  Psalm 23:4, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me,” has a new meaning. What a comfort to see the crook of Your staff reaching down for me as I languished in the devil’s pit. You pulled me up and put me, Your-lost-but-now-is-found lamb on Your shoulders and triumphantly marched out of Satan’s backyard. And the devil and his minions couldn’t do a thing to stop us I had to give the enemy a parting shot: “Hey devil, look what Jesus did for me! You lose—Haha!”

Thank You, Jesus, that You never stop, You never stop working! What an awesome God You are. Amen.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Lord, as our Good Shepherd described in Psalm 23, You warned that Your followers who proclaim Your Gospel of Redemption and Reconciliation would be as sheep sent among wolves. Many wish You would had added we would also be sent as sheep among sheep in this fallen sheep pen. Your sheep will never be a flaw-free flock. Sadly, another truth comes to light: sheep bite. Sheep bite other sheep. Sheep battle each other for position in the sheep pecking order. Sheep are jealous, they gossip, lie and lust. Sheep judge redeemed sheep. Sheep judge lost sheep. Sheep too frequently fail to demonstrate to the fallen sheep pen Your mandate “to love your neighbor as yourself.” Forgive us, Good Shepherd. We don’t want to be known as biting sheep. Scripture cautions us, “But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another . . . walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:15,16). May we be more like You Jesus, our Lamb of God, who gave His life for our sins. Help us to love other sheep as You love Your flock and cease to “bite and devour one another”

Desiring to please You, Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Amen

Monday, July 19, 2021

Lord, You told us ahead of time of the danger: “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Be shrewd as a snake, innocent as a dove” (Matthew 10:16). Being a Christ-follower is not for the faint-hearted. Here is an indisputable truth: Wolves like to eat sheep. We must constantly be on our guard. In this spiritual battle for the truth, we must put on the full armor of God that He has given us (Ephesians 6:10 -20), to make Your sheep “wolf-proof.” Your Holy Spirit equips us with “street smarts” to see through the corruption of this snake pit, this fallen world ruled by Satan. At the same time, Your Spirit helps us exercise a spirit of gentleness as we share Your Gospel of Redemption to those captured in Satan’s kingdom of darkness. Despite the devil’s attacks to stop our efforts, here is another indisputable truth: Your message of hope, unconditional divine love, and salvation for the lost through the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins will never be silenced.

Walking with wolves to spread the Gospel of Redemption. Amen!

Friday, July 16, 2021

Lord, my faith increases when I think of Your goodness. In Psalm 103, King David listed the benefits of following You. By the time he finished this great Psalm, he couldn’t stop praising You. In addition to the greatest benefit of following You in that we have forgiveness of sins, he was reminded how You give healing for our body and soul (v3). You have rescued us from destruction and overwhelmed us with divine love (v4). But it gets better. For my senior friends, verse 5 oughta make us wanna dance like all heaven and our grandchildren are watching …and laughing. Get this senior saints! God “Satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Think about this. Even though our physical bodies wear out “we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). That inner me is getting younger every day.

Lord Jesus, I’m putting on my orthopedic dance shoes! Amen

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Lord Jesus, when the two blind men came to You as recorded in Matthew 20:29-34, You asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?” Their answer was obvious. “We want our sight.” But Jesus, You knew their physical sight was not their biggest need. You looked into their souls and saw how they needed liberation from their spiritual darkness as well. They were tired, mired in their mundane, purposeless, hopeless life. Scripture tells us You had compassion on them. When they encountered You Jesus, their Savior and Healer, and received not only physical sight but spiritual sight, everything in their world changed. Immediately, they were freed from their dark life in the devil’s kingdom of darkness and followed You into the freedom found in Your Kingdom of Light to become the “salt and light” in their world. Lord, we want our sight too.

Open our eyes, Lord, we want Your spiritual sight. Amen  

Tuesday July 13, 2021

Lord, I’d better be serious when I ask You to show me what I need to change if I’m to be the real-deal Christ-follower You are looking for. For me, this is a dangerous prayer, since I’ll hear things I really don’t want to hear. I’d better hold on for a big spiritual jolt. When Your Spirit shows me what You want me to change, it means I now own it. The Holy Spirit gives me a little nudge. “You asked me to show you what I wanted you to change, well, here is the list of items I’ve found.” I can either obey or I can rebel, ignoring what You showed me, hoping it will go away. Many items on the “change list” seem harmless enough, but You say these activities tend to lead me away from You (1 Corinthians 10:23). Claim one thing yet do another. To unbelievers, wishy-washy Christ-followers are such a turnoff. When You walked among us here on earth, You called “real deal” believers the “salt and light of the earth” believers (Matthew 5:13-16). This world is looking for—and needing—real deal Christians, who walk the walk when they talk the talk. Lord, may I be counted among that group.

Jesus, as You are the real deal, by Your Spirit, may I be also. Amen

Monday July 12, 2021

    Lord, as a ‘Super Christian,’ I’m quick to quote Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Yes, nothing is beyond me now! Jesus and I are unstoppable. Yes, You equip me with grace to do all things You called me to do, but in my zeal to serve You, sometimes I’m driven by the spirit of “It’s up to me! I’ve got to do everything or else the world will end!” That’s a problem. Sadly, when I try to do what You didn’t call me to do, where You are not already working on my behalf, I fall on my face. Frustration sets in when You don’t seem to bless what I wanted to do. You hear me grumble—“I quoted Philippians 4:13 and it didn’t work. Where were You?” I’m glad You never scold. “Hey, ‘Super,’” You say. “Stay in your lane. That wasn’t your assignment.”

Lord, keep me from stupid sins, from thinking I can take over Your work (Psalm 19:13 Message Translation).

Wednesday, July 07, 2021  “

“but deliver us from the evil one” Matthew 6:13

Lord, as Your follower, we don’t have to put up with the devil’s temptations. Your Holy Spirit, who dwells within each believer, red-flags the devil’s schemes. Since he corrupted the Garden of Eden, his tactics haven’t changed. Peter described the devil as “A roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). However, by Your grace, we are made to be lion tamers. With every temptation, Lord, the same grace that saved us is the same grace that provides protection during temptations. Scripture is clear how, since the Garden of Eden, all humans “are tempted by the same common things, but God is faithful. He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear . . . but with every temptation, He will provide a way of ‘escape’” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Lord, Your escape routes may not be the same for every temptation, so open our spiritual eyes to see the doorway to freedom that is always open. You are our good heavenly Father, always providing a way out when we are tempted. May we not hesitate to take it.

Thankful Your grace that saved us also protects us during temptations. Amen.

Tuesday, July 06, 2021

“Lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13)

Lord, temptations last a lifetime. There is no getting out of it. In His sovereign wisdom, God the Father made sure His Son was not exempt from temptation either. Jesus, as human as we are, endured 40 days of non-stop temptation from the devil (Matthew 4:1–11). The devil threw everything in his arsenal at Jesus, but the devil’s most intense temptations tried to get Jesus to doubt who He was. “If You are the Son of God . . .”  the devil went on and on. Just like us today. “If you claim to be a Christian . . .“  We belong to Jesus, and the devil can’t reverse that, but like he tempted Jesus, he wants to create doubt about our relationship with God. GOOD NEWS! When we study the Scriptures, we see how secure we are in our salvation (John 10:28,29: Hebrews 7:25). MORE GOOD NEWS! Hebrews 4:13–15 comforts us: “Jesus, our ‘high priest’ empathizes with us since He too endured the same temptations yet did not sin. Therefore, when tempted, we can run to Him for safety.” As far as temptations go, Jesus His been there, done that and thoroughly defeated the devil. We are safe with Jesus. He knows.  

Thankful we can run to You, Jesus, since You have overcome temptation once and for all. Amen

Monday, July 05, 2021

“And lead us not into temptation. . .” Matthew 6:13.

Lord, this prayer is simply asking You to protect us from ourselves. Even for Christ-followers, our sinful human nature wars against Your holy nature, and without Your divine interventions by the Holy Spirit in our everyday life, we would sink under the never-ending temptations. All temptations come from the devil. He is known for being relentless in his attacks on our faith. We’re thankful for the spiritual armor You gave us to fight the devil’s temptations, especially the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:13–17). However, at times, regrettably, we help him along. “When tempted, don’t say, ‘Lord, why are You tempting me? Don’t be fooled. God is holy and He cannot be tempted, nor does He evert temp anyone to sin. But each person is tempted when they dwell on their carnal desires to have our own way” (James 1:13,14). Help me, Lord, to armor-up every day. And, yes, Lord, protect me from myself.

Being protected during temptation, safe and protected in the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.