If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time you know to take your emergencies to the Lord. But what about the good things you’re doing for Him? Do you feel overwhelmed with responsibility and stressed in your ministry? Or is the Lord pushing you into new directions and you’re resisting out of fear and doubt? This verse says to cast your cares on the Lord…all of them. Think of it like a oxen yoke with two oxen shouldering the work together…each pulling in the same direction. Give your concerns to the Lord – whatever they are…work as a team, and see His glory revealed.
Tag: Daily Inspirational Devotional
Job 42:10 ” The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.”
I’ll admit, most of my prayers are very selfish and self-centered, and begin with “I”. But what the Lord is trying to teach us here… is that regardless of how Job viewed his own personal crisis…it was only after he had prayed for his friends that God moved. The ministry of intercessory prayer takes the I and Me out of our prayers and replaces it with our friend’s names. Intercession is so wonderfully described in Ezekiel 22:30, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap…” When you intercede for a friend in prayer, you are standing in the breach of their broken down life…a life split open by divorce, torn apart by job loss, or ripped asunder by cancer. By standing in that gap of their wall of life…you make their wall whole and complete again. When the Holy Spirit lays someone on your mind…respond immediately and pray for that person…stand in the gap of their life’s wall. For you may never know how crucial your intercessory prayer was for them at that moment.
Romans 8:5 ” Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
Within us is an ever raging battle…sometimes with one side winning, sometimes with the other. The battle is between our flesh and the Holy Spirit. It was fine before we were Christians…there was no need for any kind of battle…we just did what we wanted. But now that we live by the promptings of the Holy Spirit within, the conflict has started. What do you have your mind set on? It tells us in this verse that you’re either devoted to your corrupt sinful nature…or you’re mindful of the Holy Spirit. So how can we change this cycle? It says in Galatians 5:16, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Living by the Spirit is listening carefully, reacting immediately, and obeying promptly.
Isaiah 6:5 ” Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips…”
In the presence of God, Isaiah realized instantaneously his sin of impure language. In that moment of God’s presence, there’s never any vague, broad sense of sin…rather the Lord will laser focus in on some specific personal area of your life you need to change. Your attention will be directed to it, followed by conviction to take personal responsibility and confess the sin to Him…followed by you acknowledging your need for forgiveness.
I Peter 2:1 ” Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”
Growing in our salvation is a process…a conscious, everyday struggle of putting off our old self to be made new in the attitude of our minds. (Ephesians 4:22) This verse should convict and challenge us all to look at our conduct, actions, and manner…and free ourselves from the chains of all the negativity. For it tells us later in this chapter, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” (Vs 16) Letting loose of negative emotions will unchain you from the past while freeing you for the future.
I Corinthians 15:10 ” But by the grace of God I am what I am. And His grace towards me was not in vain.”
With over 30 years under my belt as a Christian…it’s only with sincere thankfulness and gratitude I can proclaim that it’s only by the grace of God I am what I am today. For it’s only by God’s unearned and unmerited favor that I have been changed…justified freely by His grace through the redemption that comes through Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24) And I strive daily to show Him that the grace He lavished on me was not futile or a waste of time…for this grace God showed me – I need to be passing on freely to others.
Isaiah 40:8 ” The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
Our Lord is everlasting, eternal, and forever…and so is His Word. Every word, command, and promise within the Bible was true at its conception…is true today…and will remain true into eternity. The tremendous power within the Word is found in Isaiah 55:11 where it says, “So is My Word that goes out from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” So we can then stand firm, putting our faith and trust in His Word…knowing that His plan and purpose is being fulfilled in our life.
II Timothy 2:3 ” Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
If you’ve been in any form of the military, or defended your country in any capacity…I want to personally thank you for your service. For I know many of you have never been recognized and appreciated for what you did. It takes a certain character make-up to be a good soldier…a certain firm stand and persistence to face adversity day in and day out…a certain firm determination to get the mission done. By the time Paul wrote this second letter to Timothy he was well acquainted with the life of a soldier…for he wrote this letter from prison. So Paul couldn’t help but watch the Roman soldiers as they worked around him…drawing inspiration from their mindset and resolve. This is why he exhorted Timothy to be a good soldier…enduring hardship, fighting the good fight, and holding on to his faith until his mission was accomplished.
Daniel 6:16 ” So the King gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The King said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually rescue you.’ “
Daniel had made quite the impression on King Darius…not only for his exceptional qualities of trustworthiness and integrity…but in his worship of God. Daniel’s life was one unending devotion to God…whether he was at work or at home…whether he was with other Christians or co-workers…his focus didn’t change. Can we say the same thing about ourselves? Would your co-workers readily comment about you as King Darius had observed about Daniel? Has your walk made such an impact on the people around you that they truly know from where your faith comes? Let us pray then that God would give all of us boldness to live a life worthy of the Gospel.
James 1:19-20 ” Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
Say someone you’re close to is going through a major health crisis…so as a good person off you go to their house. But soon this visit becomes very awkward, for the more you talk and ask questions, the more frustrated and angry the person becomes. Abruptly the visit ends with you walking out wondering why you feel discouraged and angry when all you wanted to do was to encourage and comfort that person. Aristotle referred to anger as desire with grief. And this verse in James should be a guide as we deal with those going through critical times. Listening should be the only goal we have…not preaching…not pumping the person for details…nor personalizing the visit with every awful thing we’ve gone through. Proverbs 10:19 says, “When words are many, sin is not absent.” I remember hearing a story about Mother Teresa, that when she visited the dying she rarely spoke…instead she just held them, stroking their face, and listening. When your only agenda is to listen…you are validating that person and giving consideration to what they’re going through without bias or opinion. They are then free to explore and verbalize their internal dialogue as they work through their emotions. Just listening can then become the greatest gift you can give that person.
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