Month: November 2019

Evening Prayer

DO NOT BE QUICK TO JUDGE 
Matthew 7:1-5

In Jesus’ Name, I Pray God’s Will for You

Praise God, our righteous Judge, for He is just, yet loving and merciful. May you follow His example by first seeing the good in others. May you not judge others, so that you will not be judged, for with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Instead, may you search your heart for anything that may displease the Lord. May you see others the way God sees them and have compassion for them. I pray that you will live a righteous life, so that you may set an example and win many to the Lord.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Eternal Perspectives

Why won’t we be bored in heaven? Because it’s the one place where both impulses—to go beyond, to go home—are perfectly joined and totally satisfied. It’s the one place where we’re constantly discovering—where everything is always fresh and the possessing of a thing is as good as the pursuing of it—and yet where we are fully at home—where everything is as it ought to be and where we find, undiminished, that mysterious something we never found down here. . . . And this lifelong melancholy that hangs on us, this wishing we were someone else somewhere else, vanishes too. Our craving to go beyond is always and fully realized. Our yearning for home is once and for all fulfilled. The ahh! of deep satisfaction and the aha! of delighted surprise meet, and they kiss.

~ Mark Buchanan, [Things Unseen]

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Poisonous Root

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
~ Hebrews 12:15 [NLT]

It’s always so difficult to see bitterness when you are feeling it, yet so easy to see in other people. Bitterness truly is a root that grows deep if you allow and the poison seeps everywhere. It even spills out to others around you, if you aren’t careful. Search your heart earnestly. When you identify a thorny root, pray for the person who is the source of bitterness and allow God to do His work. It’s not fun being consumed by poison.

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Days of Heaven Upon Earth

In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves

~ Phil 2:3

When the apostle speaks of the deep things of God, he means more than deep spiritual truth. There must be something before this. There must be a deep soil and a thorough foundation.

Very much of our spiritual teaching fails, because the people to whom we give it are so shallow. Their deeper nature has never been stirred.

The beatitudes begin at the bottom of things, the poor in spirit, the mourners, and the hungry hearts. Suffering is essential to profound spiritual life. We need not go to a monastery or a leper hospital to find it. The first real opportunity for unselfishness will bring into your life the anguish of crucifixion, unless you are born of some different race from Adam’s.

It is because men and women have not faced this that they know so little of suffering and death. We must have deep convictions. Truth must be to us a necessity, and principle a part of our very being. Lord, make me poor in spirit. Lord help me to be even as Thou wert when on earth, always the lowest, and therefore highly exalted.

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Jesus Calling

PROBLEMS ARE PART OF LIFE. They are inescapable, woven into the very fabric of this fallen world. You tend to go into problem-solving mode all too readily, acting as if you have the capacity to fix everything. This is a habitual response, so automatic that it bypasses your conscious thinking. Not only does this habit frustrate you, it also distances you from Me.

Do not let fixing things be your top priority. You are ever so limited in your capacity to correct all that is wrong in the world around you. Don’t weigh yourself down with responsibilities that are not your own. Instead, make your relationship with Me your primary concern. Talk with Me about whatever is on your mind, seeking My perspective on the situation. Rather than trying to fix everything that comes to your attention, ask Me to show you what is truly important. Remember that you are en route to heaven, and let your problems fade in the Light of eternity.

[PSALM 32:8; LUKE 10:41–42; PHILIPPIANS 3:20–21]

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Remain

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
~ John 15:4 [NLT]

Where does the good fruit of our lives come from?  Only from the Lord! When we rest in Him our lives produce good things. Remain in Him and watch new goodness grow out of your life.

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The Quiet One

But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
~ Exodus 4:10 [NLT]

In a culture that promotes extroversion, people who are introverted can get drowned out. If you are an introvert, remember that you have special abilities such as listening, creativity, compassion and a peacefulness that spreads to others. Like Moses, you can be a great leader too. Seek God in your quiet time and allow Him to use your unique talents to do His will. 

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