Mar 17 Growth

Lord Jesus, we know very little about Your childhood from the scriptures.  We do know that You were remarkable.  From Your eighth day, we know that “He grew and became strong, was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” 

And when twelve years old, You ”sat among the teachers in the temple courts, amazing people at His understanding and answers.”

Then we learn You were obedient to Your earthly parents and “grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”

Lord, that is my desire as well, to grow “in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”

I pray You would help me grow in being able to understand, remember, and apply learning and knowledge to my life; which we call wisdom.  But not just from a worldly viewpoint.  I would desire to have godly wisdom, from the Holy Spirit, to teach me of You, to know You better, to see things from Your perspective.

Lord, help me grow in stature, which means maturity.  That may require reexamining and putting away some childish thoughts and behaviors.  It means not being led only by ego, or emotions or selfishness.  Instead, lead me to develop a responsible sense of accountability when it comes to my relationship with You and with others.

Lord, I mostly desire to grow in favor with You.  Show me where I am missing that mark, and turn my path back to You.  Before I act, let me ask, “Will this draw me closer to the Lord, or move me farther away?”

Sometimes I feel close to You when I am strong, because I know that my strength comes from You.  Other times I feel closer to You when I am weak and in dire need of Your help, encouragement, and guidance.  I believe my trust in and dependence on You also honors You, as Your strength is shown through my weakness.

Father, let my favor with man be such that I can be a witness to man, rather than being taken in by the traditions and values of man.  As You give me favor, keep me mindful that my home is in heaven – this is just a temporary stopover.

How wonderful it would be to be like Jesus in this.  Thank You for sharing Your wisdom with me and giving me Your peace.  Amen

Let me be strong, and show others the peace that You offer and the grace that I live in, thanks to You.  Amen

Luke 2:39-52

Mar 17 Growth

Lord Jesus, we know very little about Your childhood from the scriptures.  We do know that You were remarkable.  From Your eighth day, we know that “He grew and became strong, was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” 

And when twelve years old, You ”sat among the teachers in the temple courts, amazing people at His understanding and answers.”

Then we learn You were obedient to Your earthly parents and “grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”

Lord, that is my desire as well, to grow “in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.”

I pray You would help me grow in being able to understand, remember, and apply learning and knowledge to my life; which we call wisdom.  But not just from a worldly viewpoint.  I would desire to have godly wisdom, from the Holy Spirit, to teach me of You, to know You better, to see things from Your perspective.

Lord, help me grow in stature, which means maturity.  That may require reexamining and putting away some childish thoughts and behaviors.  It means not being led only by ego, or emotions or selfishness.  Instead, lead me to develop a responsible sense of accountability when it comes to my relationship with You and with others.

Lord, I mostly desire to grow in favor with You.  Show me where I am missing that mark, and turn my path back to You.  Before I act, let me ask, “Will this draw me closer to the Lord, or farther away?”

That way, when a crisis comes, like what the world is facing today, I would not only have the wisdom to know what to do, and the peace to act, but I would be able to share that peace with others to help them cope.

Thank You Father, that You have shared your wisdom with me, and that I do have peace.

Let me be strong, and show others the peace that You offer and the grace that I live in, thanks to You.  Amen

Luke 2:39-52

Apr 9 God bless you

Lord, I believe everyone desires to be blessed.  I truly do.  But many people did not grow up receiving a blessing.

One result is that very few people know how to give a blessing to others.  The overused “Bless you” when someone sneezes carries little meaning.

Culturally, Jewish parents recite a blessing over their children every Shabbat (Sabbath) at Friday dinner.   In Old Testament times, before they died, Hebrew fathers spoke blessings over their sons as a way of passing on the leadership and possessions of the family.  Both of these have a prophetic piece to them, as well as words of favor resting on the receiver.

Even before that, You blessed Your creation of man and woman.  It was an empowerment for them to be all You created them to be; a release from any and all restrictions or limitations preventing them from reaching their potential to participate in their divine purpose.

In Hebrew, the verb form “to bless” means “to kneel;” while the noun for “blessing” means “a gift or present.”  So the concept is to bring or receive a gift or present, something of value, while kneeling out of respect.

The one who receives a blessing is changed, energized, empowered and enabled by the gift or the words of blessing.

Lord God, would You bless each one of us right now. Bless every reader as they speak this prayer, with the full definition of the meaning of the Hebrew word for bless:

Heavenly Father, infuse us, fill us, permeate us, saturate us with unlimited potential to achieve all You would invite us to do that will glorify You and bring honor to Your Name.

Release us from any restriction or limitation, whether physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, psychological, social, financial or personal that would prevent us or hold us back from becoming all You created us to be.

Empower, energize and enable us to reach the fullness of our divine purpose.

We kneel before You to receive this divine blessing.  Amen

Deuteronomy 33:1-29