Some Things to Remember +

Psalm 46 NIV

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.[b] A song.

1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Prayer:

Father,

         Help us to ALWAYS remember that You are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Then we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. You are always with us! You are our impregnable Fortress. We want to know You in Your fullness, Father. Be exalted, O God! In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Cleaning Up a Mess +

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Colossians 4:56 NLT

So, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that yesterday, a particular conversation was neither gracious nor attractive. I was angry and indignant and instead of exercising self-control - one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit - I went right to telling how the cow ate the cabbage. What I said wasn't wrong, but my attitude certainly was. I did not swear, but neither was I gracious.

The good news is God loves me enough to correct me. The good news is His mercies are new every morning. The good news is His grace is sufficient. The good news is if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.

Prayer:

Father,
          Don't give up on me... Thank You for correcting me. Please pour out more of Your grace and Your mercy so I can represent You withOUT error. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

What's In a Name? +

This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

Genesis 17:4-6 NLT

That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise—and God's promise at that—you can't break it.

This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that's reading the story backward. He is our faith father.

We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"

Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." But it's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.  Romans 4:13-25 The Message

What's in a name? When God changed Abram's name to Abraham, everyone who called Abraham by name proclaimed him "father of a great multitude."  The key is that Abraham BELIEVED it when God first spoke it and God counted it to him as righteousness.

What's in a name? Romans 4:12 tells us this about the Name of Jesus, Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 

Philippians 2:9-11 declares,  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

In Revelation 3:11-13, we are promised, All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name.

I saw a post today that read, "The devil knows our name but calls us by our sin. God knows our sin, but calls us by our name." Which would you rather be called? Which would you rather respond to? More importantly, which will you believe? Because what you believe determines how you live your life. 

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for providing the only sure-fire way to get to You. Thank You that in the Holy Name of Jesus, there is change for all of us. Let Your light and the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead, so shine in us that we have a calling card to the world. Help us to believe as Abraham believed.  In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Psalm 32 +

Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude

Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the flood waters of judgment. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

Prayer:

Father, 

           Cause Your Word to come alive in us and be utterly life-changing! Change our hearts, O God, to be ever true! In Jesus' Name we pray.

Amen

* He Can! Can you?

... if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
 " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mark 9:22b-24 NIV

We want to claim a walk of faith, but when was the last time we checked the reality of it? What does it mean to walk in faith? It means we don't have all the answers in front of us. We reduce God to our level of ineptitude by our unbelief and then want to blame Him when our prayers are not answered. In our minds, we define God by our self-righteousness rather than define ourselves by His true righteousness.

Maybe we don't know where the money's coming from for that bill that is due or for groceries, but we can know that God is true to His Word. And if we are in covenant with Him, He will supply all of our needs in glory by Christ Jesus. That's His Word, not mine. 

Sometimes, we don't know why people get sick but we can know how they can get well. Jesus took the stripes on His back to purchase our healing. He is the Healer. He sends His Word and it can heal. 

Sometimes, they don't get well. Sometimes they die. Titus tells us we have this Truth - His truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.

It's not a pick-and-choose situation. We can't just pick the ones we like and forget the rest. Addison Road did a song called, "What Do I Know of Holy?" and it depicts this whole scenario of confining God to our finite-ness. Limiting Him by who we are and/or what we believe. Negating His promises by our words of unbelief - our view of Him as too small, as not enough... 

Have you thought about who He is? Who God is doesn't change just because our circumstances change or our feelings change or because our friends say so. His sovereignty is not diminished by our inability to believe. However, what we receive IS limited by what we believe.

Can we be forgiven? Can we be made new? Can He heal? Can He provide? Can He restore? Can He remove the stain of sin? Can He empower us to overcome?  He can and He will... Can you believe?

Prayer:

Father,
          Shine Your light of Truth into the deepest, darkest places of our lives. Root out unbelief. Your Words are alive and powerful! Quicken them in us, Father, so that we may fulfill Your purpose in us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Lighting the World with Fast Living +

Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.

Luke 1:78-79 NLT

I am reminded of this Scripture every time I see the sun piercing through the cloud cover as though it were an incredible spotlight behind a curtain with holes and rips and tears. I observe in awe the transformation in appearance of literally anything that the light touches as though it was set free to be alive. And I think it should be the same way with us. The Light of the World transforms our lives and we become like Him and we should shine enough light to transform the lives around us.

Matthew 5, beginning verse 13 in The Message reads, Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives.

Okay, so we go to church and we pay our tithes and offerings and we’re not out purposefully sinning every day and we pray. Aren’t we doing enough?

Well, the question then is, how are we instructed to be generous with our lives? Let’s read in Isaiah 58, beginning with verse 2 (The Message). They're busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people— law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?' and love having me on their side. But they also complain, ‘Why do we fast and you don't look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?'

     Well, here's why: "The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit. You drive your employees much too hard. You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting you do won't get your prayers off the ground. Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after: a day to show off humility? To put on a pious long face and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like?

     "This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

     "If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.”

Now THAT is ‘Fast’ Living! Shine the light!

Prayer:

Father,

           Shine Your light through us. Let us bring glory to Your Name. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen

Is God Listening to Me? +

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." 1st John 5:14

Every day, I get calls and emails and texts asking me if I will pray for or with someone, and yes, I will. It's my privilege and honor to come into agreement with you, in the Name of Jesus, according to His Word.

So, the real question is not will I pray for you but rather do you believe the Word of God? Do you believe it is true? Do you think that Jesus or God would lie to you about ANYTHING? Those are the questions you need answered and settled in your need to settle in your heart. That is what I pray for you. That your faith would rise up and you would truly know that God is always ready to listen. And if you think you've done or are doing something that would impede your prayer life, stop it. Confess it to God, ask forgiveness and for His help in overcoming it... because that's also something that He promised to do!

So confess as the dad did in Mark 9, The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” We choose to believe the Truth of Your Word over every circumstance and situation in our lives, just as You promised to us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Matthew 21:22........."...whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

Jeremiah 33:3......... "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things..."

John 14:14........ "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it."

John 16:23........ "...whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you."

James 5:16........ "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Job 22:27...... "You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you..."

1 John 5:15........ "And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

John 14:13........ "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."

Isaiah 55:11....... "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

John 15:7.......... "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

Matthew 18:18........ "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Matthew 18:19........ "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven."

John 15:16........ "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

Jeremiah 29:12........ "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you."

Isaiah 65:24........ "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are speaking I will hear."

Psalm 91:15........ "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him."

John 16:24....... "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

Out of Fellowship *

Please note: I did not write this one. My friend, Chey Hollesen-Sechrist posted it today. It was a story she found and added her thoughts to it. It is a great exhortation and one I felt compelled to share as the Promise for Today

**************************************************************************************************************

Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God.

Deuteronomy 25:17-18

If you haven't been in fellowship for awhile... If you haven't had that resting stop or a desire to be among God's people to serve and to be served, to love and be loved... If you have a disdain for the church or think "God understands" that you have a "special relationship with Him" and don't need His people... think again. There were others who thought the same. (Please read Exodus 17:8-18:27)

The name Rephidim means "resting place." Rephidim was supposed to be a rest stop, a place to find water and peace. But unlike its name, the Israelites found no water or rest, and were attacked by the Amalekites.

The Amalekites were descendants of Amalek. Amalek was one of Esau's grandsons. (In the above Scripture reference - Deuteronomy) Moses was reminding the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land of all that had happened. He reminded them of their first encounter with the Amalekites.

So the Amalekites' first strategy was to attack the stragglers at the rear, picking off the ones who didn't walk with the rest of the children of God. That is the easiest place for you to be attacked as well. When you're out of fellowship with the rest of God's people, having a 'Lone Ranger' kind of attitude: "I don't need to go to church to be a Christian. I can worship God up on this mountain while I'm hunting." Guess what - something is hunting you. The further you are from the rest of the flock, the easier prey you are for the wolves.

One of Chey's friends commented, "When church politics override the presence of God in a place, it can be so easy to opt out, but we were commanded not to forsake fellowship with one another. So we need to renew our efforts to make 'church" the resting place... a safe shelter... the place to rejuvenate that God meant for it to be." 

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for this encouragement today. May it light the heart of one who needs to hear it. Help us to help reconnect those who have fallen out of fellowship over past hurts, slights or offenses. Make this exhortation a Rhema word in our hearts and lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Still Standing

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.   

Ephesians 6:12-13 KJV

Take a moment to think back... to remember all the times in your life you didn't think it would ever get better, didn't think you would make it through. It was difficult; and at times, it seemed absolutely overwhelming. Do you remember? 

Maybe you don't have to 'think back'. Maybe you're there now. I know of many who are in the battle of their lives, spiritually and/or physically. Now stop and think of this moment. Right here, right now, while you're reading this. You're alive. You're still breathing. Can you say, "Thank You, God" and mean it?

I'm not a Pollyanna. I know life can be hard. However, it's true what they say - Whatever we feed or focus on is what becomes bigger. So do we complain and commiserate about the trials and tribulations or do we count it all joy?  Please don't misunderstand. I'm not even remotely suggesting that you must be happy in all things. I don't think that's possible. What I am suggesting is that, according to Scripture, you Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)

What I am offering is the advice from the writer of Hebrews.

Hebrews 3:13-14 NLT You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.

And don't forget. Your foundation is sure. Christ IS the solid Rock on which we stand... and you're still standing. 

Prayer:

Father,

            Thank You for all You have brought us through.  We know You are a faithful Father. Help us always to see Your loving touch in all things. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen