Popcorn Prayers Prayer is still an issue with people today. Some people are content only to offer popcorn prayers as they quickly run through their day. To others prayer has become a stiff, boring ritual. When God commanded us in Scripture to pray, He didn’t intend for it to be rigid, rushed, or thoughtless. His Word is filled with examples of prayer. The prayers of kings, prophets, and apostles are recorded for our instruction. We are to learn from these examples and develop a spirit of continual communion with the Father. Are you too busy to pray? Making prayer a priority in your life is paramount in developing a love relationship with the Lord. Just as scheduling a doctor’s appointment is vital for your health, making time for prayer is essential to your spiritual health. You may not be able to schedule lingering time for prayer every day, but you can plan to pray during the few quiet moments when the children are napping, while waiting for an appointment, or during your lunch break. It all boils down to a choice. Do you value your time with the Lord, or don’t you? When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek (Psalm 27:8). O Lord, may I faithfully choose to meet with You daily. Wake me up each morning eager to spend time with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Abundance in God Isaiah 33:21 Broad rivers and streams produce fertility and abundance in the land. Places near broad rivers are remarkable for the variety of their plants and their plentiful harvests. God is all this to His Church. Having God she has abundance. What can she ask for that He will not give her? What need can she mention that He will not supply? On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food.1 Do you want the bread of life? It drops like manna from the sky. Do you want refreshing streams? The rock follows you, and that Rock is Christ. If you still have any need, it is your own fault; if you are deprived, you are not deprived in Him, but in yourself. Broad rivers and streams also point to business. Our glorious Lord is to us a place of heavenly merchandise. Through our Redeemer we have business with the past; the wealth of Calvary, the treasures of the covenant, the riches of the ancient days of election, the stores of eternity-all come to us down the broad stream of our gracious Lord. We have business, too, with the future. What ships, laden to the waters edge, come to us from heaven! What visions we have of a new heaven and a new earth! Through our glorious Lord we have business with angels-communion with the bright spirits washed in blood, who sing before the throne. Better still, we have fellowship with the Infinite One. Broad rivers and streams are specially intended to set forth the idea of security. Rivers were often a defense. Beloved, what a defense God is to His Church! The devil cannot cross this broad river of God. How he wishes he could turn the current, but do not fear, for God abides unchangeably the same. Satan may annoy, but he cannot destroy us; no galley with oars shall invade our river, neither will a majestic ship pass through. 1 Isaiah 25:6 Wisdom from the Psalms Psalms 139:9-10 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. The man sat alone in the prison cell. Seldom did he get to see the light of day. His cell was a cubicle of about five square feet. He could not even stretch out to lie down. He had a straw mat and a can, and that completed the inventory of his possessions. A window three inches wide and a foot high opened to the outside world, but it was at least five feet above his head. The man sat and wept, believing that even God would not find him in such a place as this. Then, as he sat on the floor, he saw a spider in the corner, weaving a delicate web. It peacefully spun, and created an object of beautiful symmetry. The man watched closely as the hours passed. In his heart, he knew that God would be with him; that He did know where he was. With nothing more to hold onto, the man was able to wait out his sentence in peace and quiet joy. Prayer: No matter where I may go, Father, be there with me. Help me to know that You are always near and I have not been abandoned. With You by my side, I can make it through anything. Amen. Victory over Guilt “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17 At times, people are bound by guilt long after the feeling should have been resolved. Some rightly live with it because they refuse to give up the sin that brought it on. Meanwhile, others suffer the weight of false guilt because they harbor shame that doesn’t belong to them. Whatever the root cause of your condemnation, the battle plan remains the same. Victory over guilt begins with understanding that Jesus took our shame to the cross and paid our penalty. There is no way that we can pay for our own sin. But we do need to honestly identify the source of our guilt and confess before God. That means we agree with His perspective on what we’ve done. In other words, we admit when we’re wrong. Repentance goes a step further: we turn away from the wrong and choose to do right. Confronting guilt in this way replaces the weight of shame in our heart with peace and joy, which are far lighter and more freeing. And an amazing side effect is that we have wisdom to share. Openness about our past mistakes, resulting consequences, guilt burdens, and forgiveness can reveal the Lord to those in our sphere of influence. Through our witness, God may reach others who need their guilt chains broken. The battle to overcome guilt is one that should not be delayed. The feeling won’t just go away. Whether your condemnation is true or false, it needs to be dealt with quickly. Stop running, and face the source of your guilt. It’s time to end your captivity and start walking in the joy of God’s blessing. Guiltless “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1 I purchased an expensive picture for our bedroom. I had been looking for one since we moved into the house six years earlier and finally found the perfect one. At least, so I thought at the time of the purchase. There was a catch, the sale was final, I could not return it if I didn’t like it. To my utter dismay, after it was delivered and placed on the wall over our bed, I realized I didn’t like the picture. It didn’t look right in the room. The colors were too vibrant and looked wrong in our peaceful bedroom. The picture disturbed me greatly every time I walked into the room. Now I faced another choice – take the picture down and put it into the storage room or learn to live with it. The worse part wasn’t the picture; it was the guilt I felt over the price I’d paid for the picture. I was losing sleep because I felt so terrible. The money could have been better used. For several weeks as I went about my work, this feeling of guilt kept gnawing at me. One day while I was out walking, the Lord brought the promise in Romans 8:1 to mind: “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The light went on. That is right, I thought, I don’t have to walk around with this guilt – I can confess it and Jesus Christ will remove the feelings of guilt. After all, that is why He died. So I did. I admitted that my purchase was too expensive. I told God how badly I felt about it and claimed His forgiveness according to 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” My burden of guilt was removed immediately and in its place, joy now filled my life. Through Christ’s death on the cross, God offers us freedom from guilt. Often, we don’t take the time to analyze our guilty feelings or take the time to admit and confess them and we suffer needlessly. Friend, do not suffer in silence. Confess to the Lord and know that He will be faithful to forgive. Lord Jesus, thank You for dying so we can be set free from all of guilt and sin – no matter how big or small. Your blood has erased all of our sin. Thank you so much! Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 15:24:34 +0000
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