The Delayed Answer

Devotion:  Isaiah 40:31

“Prepare for the things that you pray for because sometimes the delay is your preparation.”  This came up on my instagram through something called “affirmology” on a Sunday morning.  Of course that’s not the answer I want to hear.  We live in such an instant world.  We want even our prayers answered instantly or as quickly as possible.

What is God wanting to teach you and me?  He allows opportunities to trust Him fully through His unconditional love.  Can you wait for Him?  Can you wait with Him.  Will you choose to wait in Him? Will you choose to wait upon the Lord.  Oh sweet one, if you will “wait upon the Lord, He will renew your strength.  You will mount up with wings as eagles.  You will run and not be weary.  You will walk and not faint.”  You have that promise based upon the authority of God’s Word.”  God is a promise keeper.

Ask the Lord to teach you in the waiting.  He loves you with an everlasting love and underneath you are His everlasting arms.  (key word there: everlasting). Nothing you can do or say will ever take that away.

The same God who has gone to prepare a place for us is preparing us for that place through all of the delayed answers.  He is not Santa Claus as the prosperity gospel people would have you to believe.  He is however “always with us and will never leave us nor forsake us,” even in the waiting.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord,  “Open mine eyes that I may see, glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.  Open my hands that I might move, at the impulse of Thy love.”  May I rest in You as I wait upon You. L. Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary. I trust You fully Lord God.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

Blessed are the Persecuted

Devotion:  John 15:18-25

There was a time when I had the blessing to go to Tibet.  While on our way; we decided to stop in a little town up in the mountains.  Little did we know it was Muslim Market Day.  We parked our small bus on the side of the road and got out to take a little walk.

We came back to our bus being gone!  All I could think of was the verse that says, “Blessed are the persecuted for they shall see the kingdom of God.”  I also thought; “My family will never know what happened to me.”

Our bus had been confiscated alright.  It was parked at the end of a dirt road in front of the worst looking police department you can imagine.  We all crawled on the bus and sat there and prayed.  The missionaries with us did not seem too alarmed because this sort of thing happened to them often.  They had perfect peace which made us peaceful.

The rest of the story my friends was pretty amazing.  Our driver came back out from the police station, keys dangling from his hand.  Latter, we found out he had to turn over all the money we had paid him to bring us up to Tibet.  Here’s the thing.  They let us go free, to do what we came to do.

We went up the mountain praising Jesus for allowing us to continue on our journey.  God is so amazing!  We were not persecuted when we so easily could have been.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord Jesus, thank You for all the times You have spared me from persecution.  I know You will be with me if I am ever persecuted. In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

Troubled Heart

Devotion: John 14:1-7

Has your heart ever been troubled over a person or a circumstance?  If you live in this world surely it has.  In this passage; Jesus tells us to not allow our hearts be troubled.  How do we manage to do that, especially in 2022?

I’ve heard so many people say; “I’m so tired of Covid!”  I think we all are; however I do wonder; what is God saying to us?  Is this a plague of sorts?  Maybe.  Is it the judgement of God?  Possibly.

Things are not going well in our country.  We are to live and move and have our being according to the grace and mercy of our Savior and Lord.

Our hearts can be troubled over so many things that we feel absolutely and totally overwhelmed.  He tells us that anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down.  We all have allowed ourselves to be anxious enough times to see that it is not good to be anxious.

I submit to you that if you and I would be inhabited by His praises; we would no longer walk around all the time with troubled hearts.  Anxiety and worry would not fill our minds and hearts the majority of the time.

Choose to fill your heart and mind with a good word from the Word of God.  His counsel will keep you in perfect peace and chase away heavy anxiety.  The fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom.  If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Which will you choose, to have a troubled heart or peace that surpasses all understanding?

Prayer in Motion:

I believe in God and I believe in You Lord Jesus.  I know that in Your Father’s house are many mansions and if it were not so, You would have told me.  I know You have gone to. prepare a place for me and while I am still living, You are. preparing me for that place.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Lay Down My Life

Devotion:  John 13:36-38

Jesus asked Peter, “Will you lay down your life for Me?”  Peter meant it at the time and Jesus told him he would deny Him three times.  I’m sure Peter did not believe Jesus.   Peter was passionately serving Jesus and loved Him with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength.

I remember once saying to the Lord, I would give my life for one of my children.  The Lord so gently reminded me; “I already did that.”  I told Him I was so sorry and I would never say that again.  How crazy for me to say such a thing.

Even if Jesus were to ask us to lay down our lives for some one; we are not perfect and sinless the way He is.  Our lives could never take the place of another person.

Impetuous Peter wanted to know why he couldn’t follow the Lord right now?  Jesus had just told His disciples to love one another.  That’s how people of the world know we are believers by the love we show one another.

Will we humble ourselves and be obedient to the point of death as Christ did?  It was Christ’s humility that brought the Father’s exaltation upon Him.  There will come a day that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord, I humble myself under the hand of Almighty God.  Your Holy Spirit lives and dwells inside of me and I trust You to accomplish what concerns me.

 

 

 

 

Human Praise

Devotion:   John 12:42-43

Admit it.  Human praise is nice to receive.  That comes from this former people pleasing addict.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I still love to make people happy, however; I no longer live to please people but to please God.  I’m still learning and growing in this discipline of pleasing God rather than man and seeking to hear His voice above all others.

The disciples lived to see the prophecies of Isaiah fulfilled. He saw the glory of the Lord and spoke about Him.  Verse forty three is very telling about many of the believers that would live in Jesus’ day.  Even though they believed in Jesus; they would not confess him because they did not want to be banned from the synagogue.

Every time I read the words; “For they loved human praise more than praise from God,” I feel sick to my stomach. I do not want to be that way but I am so like that.  I question myself with words like; “What if I turn them off?”  “What if I say the wrong thing?”  Any witness for Christ is never wrong.  The enemy will run these excuses through your head daily if you allow him.  That should make us even more determined to share a good word with those who are lost.

One people group, the religious leaders known as the Pharisees; ran and controlled the temple as well as the people of the city.  People were very afraid of breaking a rule and being found out.  They did not want to be shamed by these men who seemed to have it all together.

We all sin and fall short of God’s glory.  Because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we no longer have to live under the law.  We live to obey God and please Him.  The words we all long to hear are “Well done Thou good and faithful servant.  Enter into the joy of your Master.”  Those are the most important words any believer could ever hear.

Prayer in Motion:

Jesus, I want to please You more than any one else on earth.  My heart leaps when I think of seeing You for the very first time, the One Whom my soul loves.  Thank You for first loving me.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

Most Pitied

Devotion: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

The word pIty means “the feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others.”  No one wants to be pitied.  Jesus was a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief even though He owns everything.

In today’s verses Paul tells us if we only have hope in Christ for our life on earth, we are to be pitied more than anyone.  Those who preach the prosperity gospel only talk about life on earth and rarely if ever speak of eternal life.  There needs to be a balance.

Jesus did say, He came to give life and give it abundantly.  I’ve shared this before however;  one time I was with some ladies prayer walking on the streets of Charlotte, NC.  We asked this guy how we might pray for him.  He replied,”Pray God will send me a million dollars.”  Of course we did not pray those exact words.  We did pray that God would provide for all of his needs.

God promises to provide for our needs and even our wants when they line up with His will. However; many times we get our wants and our needs confused.  We want what we want when we want it and we will do whatever it takes to get it.  It gets us into trouble financially and most of all spiritually when we walk outside of the will of God.

When we choose to believe God for only half of His truth, we must examine ourselves to see if we are truly saved.  Do we honestly know Him in His fulness?  If not,  then we to be most pitied.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord Jesus, I pray today for anyone who only receives a partial gospel.  Open up their mind, heart and spirit to believe the whole truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It’s in His Name I pray.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

God’s Purpose In Testing

Devotion:  1 Peter 4:12-13

No one loves a test.  Even a studious student who knows his or her stuff becomes a little anxious when the test is passed out.  Today we are talking about life’s tests foreordained by God for our good and His glory.  They are not fun to walk through but by them we can be trained in righteousness.

I recently read the following in a commentary.  “God’s purpose of testing is to display the enduring quality of our faith.”  He isn’t trying to see how much faith you have.  God is trying to prove to you how much faith you have.   Omniscient God knows every single thing about you down to the last cell that divided in your body.  Nothing catches Him off guard or takes Him by surprise.

God tells us in today’s scripture; “Do not be surprised at the fiery trials among you.”  I don’t know about you but I’m always surprised when the trials come.  Even though Jesus is not; I am caught off guard every time.  I say things like; “I can’t believe that is happening!”  Another common remark is “What in the world?”

If we do not go through the trials; how can we be taught of the Lord?  He longs for us to live out our looking up.  It’s not just for us.  It’s for Christians and non-Christians to see how we respond to the trials and tribulations of life,  They are watching to see what difference if any faith in Christ makes.  I pray they see a difference in you and me.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord Jesus help me to come through any test You allow victoriously.  I long to learn all that You have for me to learn and apply it to my life.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

Be Sober

Devotion:  1 Peter 4:7

The Greek Word for sober is sophron. It does not refer to the absence of intoxicating substance; instead denotes the presence of soundness of thoughts under control, to be sober in our thinking.

God’s Word admonishes us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.   Why are we to be sober in spirit?  The end of all things is near.  We are to be of sound judgement and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

We do not even know how to pray as we ought; so we need to have the mind of Christ even when we pray.  If we pray with sin in our hearts or wrong motives, God will not hear our prayers.  I don’t know about you, but I desire for Him to hear my prayers.

So many times, I pray selfishly for things to go the way I want them to go allowing my flesh to prevail versus what the Holy Spirit wants.

My prayer for you and me is that we will have the presence of soundness of thoughts under control as we pray the mind of Christ.   He desires that we would pray what’s on His heart and in His mind for those people and circumstances for which we are praying.

Our flesh and our heart may fail but God is our strength and our portion even when we pray.  There have been many times when I didn’t even know how to pray. Those are the times I ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for me.  He’s so gracious to do so.

Let’s ask the Lord to help us to be of sober spirit always.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord, please help me to be of sober spirit when I pray for people or circumstances.  I want to pray with the mind of Christ.  Teach. me Lord to listen for the words You would have me to pray.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

The Voice of the Shepherd

Devotion:  John 10:25-30

When sheep are raised and cared for by one shepherd; they will only respond to his or her voice, never the voice of another.  Any shepherd knows this to be true.  A flock will not be misled by the voice of an enemy.  The shepherd feeds his flock and leads them beside green pastures and only to still waters.  He knows where they are most comfortable when it comes time for rest.

A shepherd puts the right kind of ointment around the sheep’s eyes, mouth and ears to keep the biting flies and gnats away.  He is their protecter and defender from any wolves or predators that may be lurking in the shadows.  He uses his rod and his staff to ward off the enemy and to pull them back close to himself.

A good shepherd will always risk his life for the life of his flock.  He lays down his life daily on behalf of his sheep.  That’s what a good shepherd does.  He knows his own and his own know him.

Jesus compares Himself to a good shepherd and his children as His sheep.  He says we hear His voice.  He knows us and we follow Him.  He give us eternal life and we will. never perish.  The enemy or no one can snatch us out of His hand.  We are protected by our Shepherd.  We cannot be stolen by our enemy.

If we will listen with the ear of a sheep or listen as the Lord’s disciple; we will only hear His voice  and will not be deceived by the voice of another.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord Jesus. may I always hear Your voice above any other and follow You daily.  I do love You and long o be obedient to You more t

 

 

 

Endurance or Perseverance

Devotion:  Romans 5:1-5

As a noun endurance is the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.

As a noun perseverance is persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

I am trying to decide which one is going to be my one word for 2022.  Both are words that indicate work on a person’s part.  Endurance takes time to develop and comes about by going through a trial or hardship.  Perseverance involves determination to exhibit staying power and strength to keep on keeping on.

We can be distressed by various trials and hardships.  This is how Jesus teaches us and trains us in righteousness.  Although we would not choose trials; if we will allow them, they can honestly help us to grow in our faith.  God allows trials to come into our lives because He wants to use them for our benefit and His glory.  He longs for us to learn the discipline of endurance not to be heroic but to grow in the grace and knowledge of God.

Trials and tribulations for the most part are painful.  They can affect us physically, emotionally and spiritually.  They can prove to be beneficial or destructive.  Depending upon our response to the trial and acknowledging that the Lord allowed it; will determine how we respond outwardly and inwardly.  We can either resent it and grow bitter or we can accept it and learn from it.  The choice is clearly ours to make.

When difficulties seem to persist we can either learn to persevere or cave into despair.  Oh how I want to learn to persevere in the midst of hardship.

I’ll get back to you on which word I choose for 2022.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord Jesus, I want to endure and persevere all the days of my life.  These words both involve discipline.  Help me to do both through the power and strength of the Lord Jesus.  It’s in His Name I offer up this prayer.  Amen.