“The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you….” (Deuteronomy 31:3 NIV)
No fear.
Lord God, I struggle to obey your command to be strong and courageous. Yet, You have promised that wherever I go, You go before me. You “cross over” ahead of me, whatever Jordan I cross over. You prepare the way.
You have told us not to be afraid or terrified because You, the Lord our God, go with us. You will never fail us in any way or for any reason. Holy Spirit, when I’m tempted to fear, please prompt me to remember these truths. I can choose strength and courage because You fill me with Your power, love, and a sound mind. Thank You, Lord.
Let me forget my failures from the past, though they are many; but let me remember Your love, Lord, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.
“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” (Psalm 9:9-10) “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) (Both Scriptures NKJV)
Lord, I read about people who are persecuted for their faith and praise You for being a refuge for them—the oppressed. Then I hear a testimony of how You strengthened a mom with a part-time job and 8 children at home. Yes, You are the Lord our Strength! Yet sometimes I wonder about my own unimpressive life with its few troubles—I need You too. I can’t manage life on my own.
I believe You talk to pastors and other Christian leaders, giving them wisdom and guidance. Still I feel unsure that I can hear Your voice when I just feel stupid and embarrassed and wonder what to do next.
The Lord Is Our Refuge.
So I will remember that You came, Jesus, giving up Your throne in glory and the honor You had in heaven from before the foundation of the world. You suffered and died, and (Hallelujah!), You rose again. You did all this so I could become a child of God and have a wonderful life with You, now and forever. Such amazing love! You care for me with overwhelming, everlasting, personal love. And Your Word says in Romans 8:32 (NLT), “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” “Everything” must include large and small, important or not.
Therefore, I can believe You are also MY refuge and strength.
Lord, our God, I seek You today as my refuge and choose to put my trust in You, even in what seems unimportant. I love you, Lord. Thank You, Jesus, for caring for me.
“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me….””
“For the revelation awaits an appointed time…. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” (Habakkuk. 2:1,3 NIV)
Old City Wall Rampart
As I wait on You, Lord, my strength is renewed. [Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” (NASB)]
My hope is in You, Lord. I will wait for You. At the appointed time, You accomplish Your purposes—as You did with the coming of Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection.
I choose Jesus. And trust Him, And remember His love and patience and kindness. I remember the cross. I reach for and grab onto hope. I hope in Jesus. Yes, my hope is in Him.
When I’m tempted to focus on frustrations, disappointments, and loss, let me choose to get my eyes back on You, Jesus. May I gaze upon Your goodness and take in Your glory. I need to keep looking to You, the Author and Finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). Amen.
I volunteer a few hours a week at a food pantry/clothes closet for low income people in our county. One day God pointed out some unloving attitudes I had toward the people I served there and even toward some co-workers. So I wrote this prayer:
“Dear Lord, I see that my attitudes toward these requesting help and those I work with don’t reflect You well. I need more of Your mind toward them. Please help me to listen to Your thoughts and see both volunteers and clients through Your eyes as I’m doing my job there. Please help me distinguish between what I can control and what I can’t. Teach me to humble myself so I don’t get angry or think myself better than anyone.
You’ve been so merciful and patient with me, and You have forgiven me again and again. I want to let your love shine through me to others. Amen.”
“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
My train of thought has jumped its track and is chugging off toward Comparison Station with a proposed stop at You’ll-Never-Be-Good-Enough Landing. But wait! I will cry out to God for help. Then I can choose to stop the train and back it up. God will help me get my thinking onto His track—remembering His love and grace and power.
Okay, Thoughts, “All aboard for the destination of a mind set on things above where Christ is!” (See Colossians 3:1)
“What does glory look like?” I asked the question as I looked at Colossians 1:27. It says that God lets the Gentiles know “the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (NIV).”
Part of the answer may come in asking, “What results from ‘Christ in me’?” As Jesus lives in me, He produces Holy Spirit fruit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Again, what does that look like? Maybe it shows up as my listening to the news the way Jesus would if He were me—not feeling threatened and not getting angry about things I can’t control. And I might remember to ask Father what parts of the news I need to pray about and how He would have me pray.
Perhaps it appears as compassion and joy in the Lord pushing out envy and self-seeking. Or a time when I experience contentment instead of jealousy and when I triumph over people-pleasing with confident trust in God’s love and care.
That sounds glorious to me. And Jesus Christ in me is making me like that.
“And we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV).”
I received an invitation that reminded me of a painful incident from my youth. I prayed:
“Jesus, You were there when it happened. You longed to quiet my pain, but I thought I had to handle it myself. Why couldn’t I receive Your love and comfort? Perhaps back then I knew You only as a far-away God or as a Spirit who didn’t enter the reality of my daily teenage world.
“But now I know You better. You are Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth. You are also the God who loves each person You created. You see us, not just as a group, but also as individuals. “And You are the God of all comfort, the God who knows when a sparrow falls and who counts the stars and yet also knows the ever-changing number of hairs on my head.” (See 2 Corinthians 1:3, Matthew 10:29-30, Psalm 147:4.)
Dear Lord Jesus, Savior, Friend,
I want to sing Your praise again.
You are my life, my God, my King,
Ruler over everything.
Jesus, You are all I need.
I want to learn Your voice to heed
So I can walk in Your good plan,
Son of God and Son of Man.
Anger tries to push You off Your throne.
Bitterness turns my heart to stone
I reject these things that cling to me
And accept Your offer to set me free.
O Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Cleanse and heal and make me whole,
As I repent and seek Your face
And the kingdom of Your grace. Amen.
(See Ephesians 4:31.)
God’s love doesn’t depend on your behavior.” How many times have I heard this and even said it myself? Yet recently a friend unearthed a stubborn place in my heart that didn’t believe that. This spot of unbelief lets in fiery arrows that cause me to stumble. One day I prayed, Dear Father, I feel so out-classed by some of the Christians I’ve met. They serve you well in career and marriage/family and seem to grow steadily in their relationship with Jesus. I hesitate to share my real thoughts with such people. Although I’m sure they don’t think themselves superior to me, I think myself inferior. Perhaps God answered with this bit of verse:
Don’t believe Satan’s lies, dear child. Just lift up your eyes to Me and look— My heart for you is written in My Book. You are loved. You are prized. Your value cost Me My Son’s life. So doubt no more about your worth, And don’t compare to others on earth. Relax, receive. Choose to believe. My love depends not on you, but Me. And though your trust falters, My love never fails. Go forth in joy And know I am with you whatever assails.
“Search me O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV). I will turn away from the offensive ways of unbelief which You, God, have exposed, and I will return to trusting You with ALL my heart and not leaning on my own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
Regrets came knocking again the other day, and I struggled with guilt and shame. Father, I wonder how You even put up with me, let alone love me! Over and over I’ve listened to doubt instead of to You and missed the blessings Your love offered.
Nevertheless, You once more saw my distress and spoke peace to me. You brought Scriptures to mind along with hymns I learned as a youth. Then you sang this little chorus to my heart with a familiar melody:
Underneath Christ's blood, underneath His blood,
All my sins and failures are underneath His blood.
Come rejoice with me! We can all be free
When we place our sins and failures underneath the blood.
Thank You, God, for being so patient with me! You are so gracious and merciful! I love You, Lord, because of Your amazing love.
“Truth is under attack in our culture,” states David Barton, author of The American Story, in a recent talk available on YouTube. He gave startling statistics especially about moral truth. He noted that 3 out of 5 Americans believe there no such thing as absolute moral truth. Among millennials, the number is 4 out of 5. Even among Christians, 1 of every 2 believe there is no absolute moral truth.
He spoke about 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, particularly about verses 10-12 where Paul talks about people not receiving a “love of the truth.” A continued rejection of truth results in being deluded and believing a lie. People then act on these lies and experience condemnation.
Mr. Barton points out that personal opinion has replaced truth and fact in our society. “My side winning” has become more important than truth.
(The above from the American History II video in a series of 3 at Christ for the Nations Church:)
All 3 videos were truly fascinating with true American history being given in each one, much of which I didn’t know and which is no longer taught in American schools.
How very sad that people in our country have drifted so far! Everyone “doing what is right in their own eyes” must stop. The only way our nation can be restored is for all of us to begin to love and pursue truth in every area so God can bless America again.
