2 Peter 2:9-10
then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.
Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,

When you hear certain words, they evoke emotions or images – some good and some bad. Words like self-assured or a relatively new word in our language, selfie, generate positive thoughts to most people in our world. I wonder though about a focus on self.

We are warned in the book of 2 Peter of false prophets and how to recognize them. Traits that seem to start with the rise of self. When we make ourselves more important, when we are so self-assured that we become the focus and not the cross and what it represents. It is so easy to see these traits in others, so easy to deflect the attention away from ourselves. I know I struggle. The battle is constant. If I attempt to rely on self, my self-righteousness steps forward and I lose self-control. Only when I stay focused on scripture and prayer, relying only on the Holy Spirit, is it possible to die to self.

Heavenly Father, I am weak. I am unable to be what you want by doing it by myself. I pray that You would rescue me constantly from temptation. I pray for the ever presence of the Holy Spirit in my mind and my thoughts. I pray this in Jesus’ name, the One who has made all of this possible. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Matthew 28:21-22
Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

What a blessing that my self righteousness is not what puts me in favor with God. What a blessing that as I stumble, trying my best not to sin, that I am still forgiven. What a blessing it is that God gives us second chances.

Peter was trying to understand the law, but he was also testing the limits to determine when he could give up on someone. Maybe Peter had a dispute with someone, who had sinned against him many times. Was there a limit under the law that allowed him to say, “I will forgive you no longer”.

What if God had a limit on the number of sins that we commit against Him? Would anyone survive?

Heavenly Father, thank you for second chances. Thank you that Your forgiveness is complete and without limits. Thank you Jesus for making that possible. I pray that You will give me the strength to forgive others as You have forgiven me. Forgive me for putting limits on others. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Genesis 25:22 (NASB)
But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

The phrase “inquire of the Lord” appears about a dozen times in the Old Testament scriptures. The first instance is by Rebekah when she was pregnant with Jacob and Esau. However, the typical instance is when a King or group of people went to a prophet of God to ask God a question on their behalf.

After Jesus came, we no longer have to go to a prophet, but as a Christian can inquire of the Holy Spirit within us. The question is: How often do we do that? I must admit that I often resort to requests that I have formulated and don’t take the time to ask God what He would have me do. Isn’t that just like us? We would rather have God work on our plan rather than ask Him what He wants us to do for His kingdom.

This follows the world view that God wants us to be happy, so we tell ourselves: Why wouldn’t He want to follow us? It is a distorted view of God, minimizing His Glory and elevating our glory instead. Didn’t He promise in Romans 8:28 (NASB),

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Not, to those who call on Him to work towards our purpose.

Heavenly Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. I am inquiring of Your plan. I am listening. I will remain quiet and wait for the still, small voice that is Your Spirit. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

John 6:63 (NASB)
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Last weekend, I attended a church conference at a local church. The guest speaker was Donald S. Whitney. He is professor of biblical spirituality and associate dean at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. I knew about him from my grandson, who attended that seminary several years ago and who had recommended Whitney’s book called, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life”. Whitney travels most weekends of the year giving talks across the country on the topic of praying the Bible.

To say that I was transformed by his teaching is an understatement. I have been involved in prayer ministry for a number of years, but had never heard about his approach to praying. Yes, I had heard of the idea of praying through the Bible and praying through the Psalms, but his approach was different and quite unique. He has captured that concept in his book, “Praying the Bible”.

I can only say that I would recommend that every Christian read both of his books and incorporate his concept of praying. It truly becomes a conversation with God, not as he said our typical prayer life of a one way communication, “praying the same old things, about the same old things”. If you do decide to try his method, you should also pick of the phone app called “Five Psalms”.

Christians want to pray, it is the prompting of the Holy Spirit that encourages us to pray. But we can get discouraged for a number of reasons. When we are able to keep our prayer life fresh by having a two way conversation with God, it makes prayer what God intended it to be.

Heavenly Father, I pray for Donald Whitney. I pray that your Holy Spirit would continue to refresh him as he uses this prayer ministry to transform lives. May Your glory be magnified as our prayers reflect the Psalms that You have given to us. They are Your heart. May our hearts be transformed into Your likeness through them. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

1 Thessalonians 5:12-23 (NASB)
But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If we as Christians are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, why wouldn’t the church, who is the body of Christ, also become visibly sanctified? Shouldn’t a church look and act differently today than it did last year, or the years before? When Jesus exposes our sin to us and as we repent and turn away from that sin, we are sanctified, becoming more like Jesus. The body of believers as a whole, it seems, might look more like Jesus over time too.

Certainly there are things about the church that shouldn’t change. The church must be true to scripture and the doctrines taught in scripture. The church should only be interested in bringing glory to God in whatever it does.

Jesus criticized those in Jewish religious power because they had made the business of church more important than God. The New Testament says very little about church organization, except for some specific roles that God intends, like pastor, elder, and deacon. But the Bible is largely silent about the organization of the Christian church. The focus is on Jesus, the worship of our Lord and Savior, and sharing the Gospel.

That leads me to think that the church should reflect the sanctification of its body of believers. Regrettably, some churches today reflect the business world, with goals and objectives and specific organizational structures. Titles and job descriptions determine how ministries are led, rather than being led by the Spirit. Goals and objectives become centered around numbers; growth, budget, and ministries. Leadership falls back on organizing as a business and the Holy Spirit becomes silent.

How refreshing it is to see churches that follow that leading and change as the Spirit directs; who don’t resist change because it goes against an organizational structure developed by man. How refreshing it is when church leadership is only interested in following the Spirit where it leads.

Heavenly Father, I pray for Your church. I pray that as we are sanctified by Your Holy Spirit, we would be brought together with other believers to reflect that in Your church. I pray that the outside world would marvel, not because of anything we do, but because of what You are doing to bring the Gospel to the world. I pray that the visible church would become an ever increasing sweet aroma to the world. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Affliction may be lasting, but it is not everlasting.
Thomas J. Watson

Romans 4:19-24 (NASB)
Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

Some never taste the bitterness of affliction, but most do. It can be devastating depending on the circumstances. For those that are in Christ, we have the promise of glory. What a comfort, knowing that only for a short time do we need to endure that affliction, for glory awaits us. Glory that is so wonderful, we can’t even imagine the depth, the breadth, nor the full beauty of it. We have the promise and that is more than enough.

The Puritans understood that there is a huge difference between this world and eternity; it can’t be compared. Paul used the life of Abraham to show how our faith can carry us through. He also pointed out that it wasn’t just the credit of righteousness that was given to Abraham, but it has also been done for our sake as well.

Heavenly Father, when I am weak, I know You are strong. I pray that You would increase my faith each day. I know it is only possible through the sacrifice of Jesus. It was the affliction that He endured and defeated that promises the glory that awaits each of us that are in Him. Amen.

Praying for Frankie.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 (NASB)
That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has existed for ages
Which were before us.
There is no remembrance of earlier things;
And also of the later things which will occur,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come later still.

Proverbs 10:14
Wise men store up knowledge,
But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.

Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Recent events have emphasized the importance of the counsel of God. As Solomon notes, there really isn’t anything new under the sun. Yet we forget the lessons learned by others and especially the lessons that are provided in scripture. I marvel at the disinterest in applying the word of God to situations that we face. Many don’t look at the wise counsel and instead attempt to make decisions based upon what seems right from their perspective.

We are a society of laws, but we also know that laws alone cannot save us. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the ability to change us into a person that cares as much about the next person as we do ourselves.

As I listened to news reports today, those closest to the tragedy have said they are tired of hearing that they are being prayed for – they want action. If only everyone were on their knees in prayer. If only we were looking for guidance above. If only we were looking at scripture for the counsel of God. Then a solution honoring to God would present itself.

Heavenly Father, keep me on my knees in prayer for those impacted by recent events. I pray that Christians everywhere would be deep into the Word of God. I pray that we would only accept the counsel of God. Amen

Always praying for the glory of God,

Philippians 3:10 (NASB)
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

Romans 8:16-18 (NASB)
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

When we think of suffering, there is the type that is utterly cruel and without any meaning. But we also know that there is suffering that occurs in this world that is redemptive. Jesus died on the cross – to redeem the world. As Christians we are also called to suffer. But not for sufferings sake. Suffering that is cruel and meaningless needs to be avoided and fought against. However, we are brought into partnership with Jesus to suffer so that our example will draw others to Him.

I’m not sure I completely understand this concept. It’s probably because if I was given a choice, I would rather not suffer. However, the words of Paul say that I will and you will, if we are His children. Shouldn’t we be honored, if we are called to suffer and that God will be glorified in it? My initial reaction is fear; fear of what is right around the corner.

Prayer, it seems to me can prepare us properly for it. Prayer that asks the Holy Spirit to show us the joy that comes when we know that any present circumstances aren’t worthy to be compared to what is to come.

Heavenly Father, when I look at the cross I see suffering, but I also see love. Love of the Father and love of the Son for Your children. It is the ultimate suffering of Jesus that brings to us our salvation. As I live my life, no matter the circumstances, may You be glorified in all I do and say. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

“I am not in the business of promoting myself; I am in the business of surrendering to the Holy Spirit.” A. W. Tozer

Isaiah 66:2
“For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

Prayers of praise to the true and living God redirects my focus from me towards Him. It takes the pride that so easily surfaces to the top of my consciencesness and puts it in its proper place.

But I fail each day to surrender completely. And yet, in my weakness and self-righteous spirit, He comes to me and tells me that He loves me. How is that possible? It can only be expressed by one word – Jesus!

Heavenly Father, I surrender. I pray for a humble spirit. Thank You for the Holy Scriptures. Forgive my daily failures as I release myself to the Holy Spirit that sanctifies me. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,

“Sin cannot be the little thing that my pride has helped me to imagine it to be. It must be an awful thing if but one sin could ruin my soul for ever.”
Charles Spurgeon

Romans 8:3-4 (NASB)
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The adjective we are tempted to use to describe our sin is often at the wrong end of the spectrum. We describe our sin as small, little, or insignificant; hoping that in comparison with other sins we think we haven’t committed, that God won’t notice. Unfortunately, as Spurgeon notes, any sin, no matter how we might chose to describe it, is enough to bring us down. In actual fact, there is no adjective that can accurately describe sin. It is simply sin.

When we humble ourselves before the one true God; when we recognize the pride that keeps us separated from Him; only then can we begin to understand the amazing grace that has been given to use through Jesus. It is at that point that confession becomes the only alternative. We can no longer dismiss the importance of our offenses. Our only option is to cling to Him for mercy.

Heavenly Father, have mercy on me. Strip from me the pride that reduces my sin to something insignificant. Bring it fully before me, that I can see it as it truly is. I pray that my confession is honest and heartfelt. Praises to You for Jesus, the only path to salvation. Amen.

Always praying for the glory of God,