Mar 4 Worship! And Stand!

Clap your hands!  Raise your voice!  Sing hymns and worship songs at the top of your lungs! 

Put on a worship music tape and crank up the volume!  Don’t be bashful – show your joy!  God is the One and Only True God who has more power than any person, any force, any thing on this earth!

You, Lord are more powerful than Mother Nature!  You rose from the dead while other proclaimed “deities” are in their graves!

Your creation of the earth and choosing a people for Yourself has been a best seller ever since there has been a printing press!  As of September 2020 some portions of the Bible have been translated into 3,415 languages!

I do not live in subject to a king, but Jesus Christ is my King – the King of Kings!  I owe You my praise and will sing out to You.   I will hum quietly, sway and clap, sing in the shower, and with others at gatherings.  I will play any instrument I can, write new songs, sing along with youtube videos that make me cry, and continue to sing through tears!

You reign and rule, but not from an earthly throne in a temple or synagogue or sanctuary.  And not on a mountaintop or in a river or floating on a cloud.

There is a reality that cannot be seen by the human eye and cannot be described completely by human words.  And in that place, is a great throne room, where You are seated on Your Holy throne.

Because I cannot see it, You draw me pictures with parables: a vineyard owner who went on a journey renting out the land.  This is something I can visualize and understand.  Though the owner is not present, he exists, and is still the owner, and is due the income from the land and the respect of the people.

It is the same with You.  Just because I cannot see You, I should not doubt You are real.  Or think that You will not come for what is Yours.

You have chosen to bless us as a nation.  And show Your love to us in our freedoms and prosperity.  But I believe a storm has come to this country in my time.  When the storm is over, and has swept by; O Lord, may I still be standing firm.  Amen

Mark 12:1-12; Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 10:25

Nov 2 Don t miss it!

Don’t let us miss the message today like the people in Ezekiel’s time did – but give us wisdom and discernment to recognize Your truth, and apply it to our lives…

Father, what You had Ezekiel do seems so hard.  Surely people must have thought he was crazy!  And yet, his strange behavior was an exact representation of all that would happen to Jerusalem!

He obeyed You so he would be a warning to the people.  But the people did not pay attention or return to You.  It makes me wonder about prophetic messages You are sending today, that no one is taking seriously…

Today, the good news is still being proclaimed!  But there are those who hear and it is “of no value to them, because they do not share the faith…”

Father, open their ears!  Soften their hearts!  Do not allow them to be swept away by believing the lies and deception of the evil one!

“Your Word is active and alive.”  Its truth can set people free from the darkness and deceit of the world and the evil one.  It can show them the way to go, and how to turn from evil desires.

Father, You can give them the strength to walk away from what they have known, and toward what is right; because you, Yourself, have walked this path of flesh!

Thank You that in Your humanness, You empathize with my weaknesses.  And thank You that You have invited me to “approach Your throne of grace with confidence…” in boldness, knowing I will “receive mercy and find grace to help me in my time of need.”  Your amazing grace provides me with forgiveness and eternal salvation.

Father, help me hear Your truth when You speak it to me.

Thank You for providing all that I need in my times of need.  Thank You that You know what I need even before I do!  Amen

Ezekiel 4:1-5:4; Hebrews 4:1-16

Nov 2 Don’t miss it!

Don’t let us miss the message today like the people in Ezekiel’s time – but give us wisdom and discernment to recognize Your truth, and apply it to our lives…

Father, what You had Ezekiel do seems so hard.  Surely people must have thought he was crazy!  And yet, his strange behavior was an exact representation of all that would happen to Jerusalem!

He obeyed You so he would be a warning to the people.  But the people did not pay attention or return to You.  It makes me wonder about prophetic messages You are sending today, that no one is taking seriously…

Today, the good news is still being proclaimed!  But there are those who hear and it is “of no value to them, because they do not share the faith…”

Father, open their ears!   Soften their hearts!   Do not allow them to be swept away by believing the lies and deception of the evil one!

“Your Word is active and alive.”  It’s truth can set people free from the darkness and deceit of the world and the evil one.  It can show them the way to go, and how to turn from evil desires.  Father, You can give them the strength to walk away from what they have known, and toward what is right; because you, Yourself, have walked this path of flesh!

Thank You that in Your  humanness, You empathize with my weaknesses.   And thank You that You have invited me to “approach Your throne of grace with confidence…” in boldness, knowing I will “receive mercy and find grace to help me in my time of need.”  Your amazing grace provides me with forgiveness and eternal salvation.

Father, help me hear Your truth when You speak it to me.

Thank You for providing all that I need in my times of need.  Thank You that You know what I need even before I do!  Amen

Ezekiel 4:1-5:4; Hebrews 4:1-16

Sept 10 Give me understanding

Father, what a vision You gave Isaiah! It’s as if he were privileged to peek into the actual Throne Room in Heaven itself! His eyes were opened and he saw and described amazing things that are like nothing ever seen on earth.

And once again, when confronted with glimpses of Your glory, the human response is the recognition of our unworthiness. In the presence of such greatness and holiness, human frailty pales in comparison.

You gave Isaiah a message for Your people. You directed him to say to King Ahaz in the face of military invasion: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all”. It was true then, and it is true today. A paraphrase I heard growing up was “If you don’t know what you stand for, you’ll fall for anything.”

Because I believe You are God, Creator of the universe and the only Savior for all who You created, I can stand. My faith is the firm base I need to plant my feet on. You are a firm and solid rock.

Sometimes it helps to have scripture verses that remind me of these truths. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

Sometimes, it helps to remember statements of truth that are based on scripture. “God is who He says He is. God can do what He says He can do.”

Or to proclaim in song, “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” These are some ways I find reassurance when I feel afraid or doubtful.

Father, I do not want to be “ever hearing but never understanding; ever seeing but never perceiving”, with my “heart calloused”, my “ears dull”, and my “eyes closed.” I want to “see with my eyes, hear with my ears and understand with my heart…and be healed.”

When You open my eyes and ears, I have understanding. And I can stand. Father, help me stand even in the face of the invasion of the enemy

Help me remember Your truths. Help me recall Your faithfulness to me in the past. These things build my faith even stronger. And give me a firm place to stand. Amen

Isaiah 6:1-10

 

Nov 7 New Covenant for Eternity

Father, even with the detestable ways Your people sinned; so much so that You compared them to an adulterous, unfaithful wife; You promised them restoration. You made a way of atonement for them. Not as we might see the restoration of an individual from one day to the next, but as a people, Your people. You are so much more long-sighted than we humans are. We can barely see to the next day, but You look throughout eternity and see things from a different perspective.

Paul saw this new covenant. What You gave Your people in the wilderness was a shadow of what was to come. You showed them how to approach You in the Tabernacle – only through the earthly High Priest who was born into the line of Aaron, and who offered blood sacrifices. What Paul saw, and what I have as a believer, is a new High Priest! You!

With a shadow, something real has to cast that shadow. The reality of what made the shadow of the old covenant, is when You, Yourself became my High Priest when You walked the earth as the Lord Jesus Christ, and made atonement for my sin with Your perfect blood sacrifice!

Paul quotes Jeremiah, saying “The days are coming…when I will make a new covenant…I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people”. It hasn’t happened for all of Israel yet, but it has happened for me! I have You in me, as the Holy Spirit.

Thank You Father, that I am in You, and that I have You in me! Thank You for putting Your law in my mind – for bringing Your Word to me – for placing me in a country and at a time when I can read and study Your Word freely and openly. Thank You that I was born to parents who worshipped You and gave me that example of worshipping and serving You.

Thank You Father, that You are in heaven now, on Your throne – in the true Tabernacle. I long for the day when I will see You in all Your glory. When every knee will bow and all will know that You are Lord. And I will praise You forever! Amen

Ezekiel 16:42-63; Hebrews 8:1-13