Leadership Ability or Disability

People will oppress each other - man against man,
neighbor against neighbor.
Young people will insult their elders,
and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.
Isaiah 3:5 NLT

I know this passage refers to Jerusalem and Judah, but it also seems to be prophetic. It struck me as what we see happening all around us in the world today. 

There was a time when Godly principles and standards were foundational to the family. The farther away our nations - yours and mine - move from God's Word for our wisdom, the less wise our leaders. When people come to power who don't have true leadership ability, societal morés break down as evidenced globally.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV reads, I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. No wonder God instructs us to pray for those in authority. They need it and so do we.

Prayer:

Father,

           Forgive us for not carefully guarding the priority of Your Word in our lives. Give us divine appointments to share Your Word with others, and to teach our generations how to govern according to Your wisdom.
        Open our spiritual eyes to those things that distract us from You. Cause us to see with Your eyes.
         Father, we bring petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving for all people - especially for leaders worldwide, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Just Like Your Father

Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17 NLT

Had he lived, my father would have been 104 today. Sadly, he passed away 22 years ago, estranged from the real world. He was quite a character during his lifetime. He definitely marched to a different drum, and not always one that was accepted by "normal" standards. As a teenager, when I would behave in a manner that did not please my mother, she would say, "You're just like your father!" in an effort to get me to repent of my ways. I can't say it always worked. 😊 

Later, when I came to understand the character of God the Father, it was a different story. I wanted to be like our heavenly Father. I wanted to take on His characteristics - love and mercy and grace and forgiveness, faithfulness, to name a scant few. And just like God reached out for us to save us from sin and ourselves when we had nothing of value to offer Him in return, He wants us to reach out to others to lead them to God through Christ. He wants us to be just like our Father.

Prayer:

Father, 

          Help us to be like You. Forgive us all the times we fall short of doing so. Breathe Your Holy Spirit into us. Open our eyes to see those who need, In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Psalm 51 Path of Repentance

Have pity on me, O Elohim [O God], in keeping with your mercy.
In keeping with your unlimited compassion, wipe out my rebellious acts.
Psalm 51:1 Names of God Bible

Verses 2-9, Wash me thoroughly from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. I admit that I am rebellious. My sin is always in front of me. I have sinned against you, especially you. I have done what you consider evil. So you hand down justice when you speak, and you are blameless when you judge.

Indeed, I was born guilty. I was a sinner when my mother conceived me. Yet, you desire truth and sincerity. Deep down inside me you teach me wisdom. Purify me from sin with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken dance. Hide your face from my sins, and wipe out all that I have done wrong.

Prayer: (verses 10-12)

Father,
          Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a faithful spirit within me. Do not force me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

A Change of Heart

But Elohim [God] says to wicked people, “How dare you quote my decrees and mouth my promises! You hate discipline. You toss my words behind you. When you see a thief, you want to make friends with him. You keep company with people who commit adultery. You let your mouth say anything evil. Your tongue plans deceit. You sit and talk against your own brother. You slander your own mother’s son. 

When you did these things, I remained silent. That made you think I was like you.
I will argue my point with you and lay it all out for you to see.
Consider this, you people who forget Eloah [God]. Otherwise, I will tear you to pieces, and there will be no one left to rescue you.
Whoever offers thanks as a sacrifice honors me. I will let everyone who continues in my way see the salvation that comes from Elohim [God].”

Psalm 50:16-23 Names of God Bible

As students, we have memorized songs and poems and presidential addresses, and never really paid attention to the words. In that same vein, memorizing Bible verses will not get anyone into Heaven. Reciting the 10 Commandments or the covenant verses of God won't do it for them, either. Scripture refers to those people as wicked. What?!? Why?!? Because it's head knowledge only. There's no plumbing the depths of God's pure intent and straight-out commands. There's no change of heart. 

David said, "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee..." Psalm 119:11 KJV.  Not the head, the heart. 

Do we think we can skate superficially through this journey and not reap retribution? People often mistake God's silence as acceptance. No, He is a holy God who will accept no less than holy. He is also Love.  2 Peter 3:9 NLT tells us, The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

We must re-examine our hearts. If we are not right before God, if His Word is not hidden in our hearts, we must repent and turn to Him to receive His saving grace.

Prayer:

Father,
          Forgive us for head knowledge only. Change us, O God! When we search Your Word, help us to drive it deep into our hearts so that we don't sin against You. We don't want to just go through the motions. We want every motion in our lives to be because our hearts are moved by You and Your Word. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Yesterday's Tomorrow

Oh, how sweet the light of day,
And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.

Take delight in each light-filled hour,
Remembering that there will also be many dark days And that most of what comes your way is smoke. 

You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. Follow the impulses of your heart. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes;
You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.

Ecclesiastes 11:7-9 The Message

God's mercies are new every morning, so each day we get another chance to do it right. So, we go through life thinking "Tomorrow's another day". We'll have another opportunity - a sort of do-over. But when we think about it, today is yesterday's tomorrow and what have we done with TODAY?

It's important to note that we are to live life abundantly through Christ for we will give an accounting to God for each day of it. We tend to live our lives in yesterday and today. God sees it as forever.

Prayer:

Father,

           Forgive us for the time we waste. We ask for Your wisdom and Your grace to live EACH day as You would have us to live. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Unpredictable

[Solomon speaking] The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.

Ecclesiastes 9:11b-12 NLT

How often have we wondered why things don't go as we think they should? Why do certain circumstances point to an expected end, yet turn out entirely different? The only thing we can say with any certainty about everyone on Earth is that their life will end. Life itself is unpredictable.

As Christians, I don't believe our lives are decided by chance because the Word tells us our steps are ordered by the Lord. When we walk in close relationship with God, His Spirit leads us to the right place at the right time. Whether it's to the best of times or seemingly the worst of times, what we can KNOW is that we are not alone; that God's love NEVER fails, and that He will work ALL things for our good when we choose to trust Him in all of it. Our lives are unpredictable to us, but not to God. 

Prayer:

Father,

          We choose to follow You wherever You will lead us, knowing that You are fully trustworthy. We choose to live with grateful hearts toward You for great is Your faithfulness to us, O God. Help us to keep our spiritual eyes open to see You so we can point others to You along the way. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Fears Within

For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within.
2 Corinthians 7:5 NIV

For every Christian who has ever wrestled with fearful thoughts, this verse should be a comfort. Here, the Apostle Paul confesses to being harassed not only by outside influences but from fears within himself. He'd missed Titus in Troas and was concerned that he had lost the faithfulness of the Corinthians because of his previous letter of correction to them. Then Titus showed up and was able to overcome the fears that had harassed him. 

If you've ever said or done anything that caused doubt or fear within yourself, you know how unsettling that can be. BUT we serve a God Who is faithful to give us exactly what we need when we turn everything over to Him. He will do for us what He did for Paul. He will send someone alongside who will encourage us, pray for us, or testify about how God saw them through the same thing. 

All Christians are humans and as such, wrestle with doubts and fear. Paul, King David, Simon Peter, Moses, Elijah... just to name a few. 

1st Peter 5:8-10 tells us, Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 

We are made new in Christ. We are made to be overcomers.  

Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You for Your Grace. Thank You for restoring, confirming, strengthening, and establishing us, and making us fit for Your purpose. Give us eyes to see those around us who need to be encouraged, too. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen