Deliverance from Temptation
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations.
~ 2 Pet 2:9
What though fierce and strong temptations
Press around thee on the way,
And thy sinful inclinations
Often cause thee great dismay!
Look to Jesus,
Thou through him shalt gain the day.
DOING GOD’S WORK
Matthew 9:35-38
In Jesus’ Name, I Pray God’s Will for You
I pray that you will look to the multitudes of people who need Christ in their lives, and be moved by compassion to do the work of the Lord. May you teach them about the life of Christ and proclaim to them the good news of the Kingdom. I pray that when you see the crowd, you will see them with the eyes of Jesus. May you be a witness to them, telling them that only Jesus can meet their needs. May you have pity on the harassed and helpless, and those who are lost like sheep without a shepherd. May you ask the Lord, therefore, to send you out as His worker, for the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
After The Frost
Why go I mourning?~ Ps 42:9
Canst thou answer this, believer? Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing? Why yield to gloomy anticipations? Who told thee that the night would never end in day? Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice, and hail, to deeper snow, and yet more heavy tempest of despair? Knowest thou not that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter? Hope thou then! Hope thou ever! for God fails thee not.
~ C. H. Spurgeon
“He was better to me than all my hopes;
He was better than all my fears;
He made a bridge of my broken works,
And a rainbow of my tears.
“The billows that guarded my sea-girt path,
But carried my Lord on their crest;
When I dwell on the days of my wilderness march
I can lean on His love for the rest.
“He emptied my hands of my treasured store,
And His covenant love revealed,
There was not a wound in my aching heart,
But the balm of His breath hath healed.
Oh, tender and true was the chastening sore,
In wisdom, that taught and tried,
Till the soul that He sought was trusting in Him,
And nothing on earth beside.
“He guided by paths that I could not see,
By ways that I have not known;
The crooked was straight, and the rough was plain
As I followed the Lord alone.
I praise Him still for the pleasant palms,
And the water-springs by the way,
For the glowing pillar of flame by night,
And the sheltering cloud by day.
“Never a watch on the dreariest halt,
But some promise of love endears;
I read from the past, that my future shall be
Far better than all my fears.
Like the golden pot, of the wilderness bread,
Laid up with the blossoming rod,
All safe in the ark, with the law of the Lord,
Is the covenant care of my God.”
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
~ Acts 17:28 [NLT]
God tenderly reminds us that we are children too! We are His children. There are few things in this life that are more comforting in a season of difficulty than being in the presence of your parents. A mother’s hug can be one of the most restorative actions this world offers and that is exactly what God says He is for us! He’s our Father, our Safe Place, Refuge, Comforter, Wisdom-Giver, and Rest when we hit those moments where we just can’t anymore.
JESUS’ FRIEND
John 15:15; James 4:4
In Jesus’ Name, I Pray God’s Will for You
I pray that you will enter into a close, intimate relationship with Jesus. May you understand that He does not call you a servant, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, He calls you His friend, for everything He has learned from the Father, He makes known to you. I pray that you will accept Christ’s offer of friendship which He extends to you. May you remember, also, that friendship with the world is hatred toward God. I pray that you will choose to be Christ’s friend today.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The “Go” Of Preparation
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there thou rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
It is easy to imagine that we will get to a place where we are complete and ready, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished, it is a process steadily maintained. It is dangerous to get into a settled state of experience. It is preparation and preparation.
The sense of sacrifice appeals readily to a young Christian. Humanly speaking, the one thing that attracts to Jesus Christ is our sense of the heroic, and the scrutiny of Our Lord’s words suddenly brings this tide of enthusiasm to the test. “First be reconciled to thy brother.” The “go” of preparation is to let the word of God scrutinize. The sense of heroic sacrifice is not good enough. The thing the Holy Spirit is detecting in you is the disposition that will never work in His service. No one but God can detect that disposition in you. Have you anything to hide from God? If you have, then let God search you with His light. If there is sin, confess it, not admit it. Are you willing to obey your Lord and Master whatever the humiliation to your right to yourself may be?
Never discard a conviction. If it is important enough for the Spirit of God to have brought it to your mind, it is that thing He is detecting. You were looking for a great thing to give up. God is telling you of some tiny thing; but at the back of it there lies the central citadel of obstinacy: I will not give up my right to myself – the thing God intends you to give up if ever you are going to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
He that slandereth not with his tongue, Nor doeth evil to his friend, Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor; He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
~ Ps 15:3,5
Get the truth once uttered, and ’tis like
A star newborn that drops into its place,
And which, once circling in its placid round,
Not all the tumult of the earth can shake.
~ James Russell Lowell
If you would be well spoken of, learn to speak well of others. And when you have learned to speak well of them, endeavor likewise to do well to them; and reap the fruit of being well spoken of by them.
~ Epictetus
Lord God, I bless thee for the lives of men and women who are willing to be led by the truth, and who are worthy to follow thee. I pray that thou wilt make me truthful, and keep me steadfast, that none may go astray by the uncertainty of my way. Amen.
I am the Lord that healeth thee
~ Exod 15:26
It is very reasonable that God should expect us to trust Him for our bodies as well as our souls, for if our faith is not practical enough to bring us temporal relief, how can we be educated for real dependence upon God for anything that involves serious risk? It is all very well to talk about trusting God for the distant and future prospect of salvation after death! There is scarcely a sinner in a Christian land that does not trust to be saved some day, but there is no grasp in faith like this. It is only when we come face to face with positive issues and overwhelming forces that we can prove the reality of Divine power in a supernatural life. Hence as an education to our very spirits as well as a gracious provision for our temporal life, God has trained His people from the beginning to recognize Him as the supply of all their needs, and to look to Him as the Physician of their bodies and Father of their spirits. Beloved, have you learned the meaning of Jehovah–rophi, and has it changed your Marah of trial into an Elim of blessing and praise?
