Nov 3 Nourish me, use me

Father, I am at a point where I “grieve and lament over the detestable things that are done” in my country.  Part of the problem is that people have been led astray by those who know better, and who should be teaching others what is right.

Part of the problem is that those who know, stick their heads in the sand in denial or so they will not be uncomfortable.  And part of the problem is that those who don’t know are not even searching for the truth.

I believe there will come a time when You will respond with judgment.

In Ezekiel’s vision You had all the people who grieved and lamented over the ungodly and detestable things done, marked.  And then You sent “a man clothed in linen” through the city, killing anyone without the mark.

Father, take my head out of the sand! 

Show me what I need to know and how to fight against things that are detestable to You.  Don’t let me live just for the sake of being “comfortable.”

If I am being led astray in any area of my life, get my attention and show me how to get back on the path You want me on.  Keep me on a diet of solid spiritual food, so I can be nourished by Your Word daily.

Grow me to maturity in You.   If I am to teach, show me who and how.  Do not let me call evil good; or good, evil.  But strengthen me to speak up for right.  Even in a society that has its values upside down.

Father, You also say to “make known among the nations what You have done.”  So help me know how to speak to unbelievers in a way that reaches them with Your truth. 

Lord, I glory in Your Name.  I look to You.  I seek Your face, Your strength, Your blessing, always.  Amen

Ezekiel 9:1-11; Hebrews 5:11-14; Psalm 105:1-6

Nov 3 Nourish me, Use me

Father, I am at a point where I “grieve and lament over the detestable things that  are done” in my country.  Part of the problem is that people have been led astray by those who know better, and who should be teaching others what is right.

Part of the problem is that those who know, stick their heads in the sand in denial or so they will not be uncomfortable.  And part of the problem is that those who don’t know are not even searching for the truth.

I believe there will come a time when You will respond with judgment.

In Ezekiel’s vision You had all the people who grieved and lamented over the ungodly and detestable things done, marked.  And then You sent “a man clothed in linen” through the city, killing anyone without the mark.

Father, take my head out of the sand! 

Show me what I need to know and how to fight against things that are detestable to You.  Don’t let me live just for the sake of being “comfortable.”

If I am being led astray in any area of my life, get my attention and show me how to get back on the path You want me on.  Keep me on a diet of solid spiritual food, so I can be nourished by Your Word daily.

Grow me to maturity in You.   If I am to teach, show me who and how.  Do not let me call evil good; or good, evil.  But strengthen me to speak up for right.  Even in a society that has its values upside down.

Father, You also say to “make known among the nations what You have done.”  So help me know how to speak to unbelievers in a way that reaches them with Your truth. 

Lord, I glory in Your Name.  I look to You.  I seek Your face, Your strength, Your blessing, always.  Amen

Ezekiel 9:1-11; Hebrews 5:11-14; Psalm 105:1-6

Nov 3 Nourish me, use me

Father, I am at a point where I “grieve and lament over the detestable things that are done” in my country.  Part of the problem is that people have been led astray by those who know better, and who should be teaching others what is right.

Part of the problem is that those who know, stick their heads in the sand in denial or so they will not be uncomfortable.  And part of the problem is that those who don’t know are not even searching for the truth.

I believe there will come a time when You will respond as You did in Ezekiel’s vision: with judgment.

You had all the people who grieved and lamented over the ungodly and detestable things done, marked.  And then You sent “a man clothed in linen” through the city, killing anyone without the mark.

Father, take my head out of the sand! 

Show me what I need to know and how to fight against things that are detestable to You.  Don’t let me live just for the sake of being “comfortable.”

If I am being led astray in any area of my life, get my attention and show me how to get back on the path You want me on.  Keep me on a diet of solid spiritual food, so I can be nourished by Your Word daily.

Grow me to maturity in You.   If I am to teach, show me who and how.  Do not let me call evil good; or good, evil.  But strengthen me to speak up for right.  Even in a society that has its values upside down.

Father, You also say to “make known among the nations what You have done.”  So help me know how to speak to unbelievers in a way that reaches them with Your truth. 

Lord, I glory in Your Name.  I look to You.  I seek Your face, Your strength, Your blessing, always.  Amen

Ezekiel 9:1-11; Hebrews 5:11-14; Psalm 105:1-6

Jun 27 Even me

Father, I am so encouraged to read about Joash, one of the kings of Judah.  He was seven years old when he began to reign.  Seven years old!  And You worked mightily through him.

During his forty-year reign, he effected repairs on the temple, and brought the people back to following You.  He did what was right in Your eyes.

I often wonder how I am equipped to serve You.  I am not a healer, or preacher, or famous author with a large following.  I’m not a missionary in a far off land, or a concert singer or evangelist.

Often Your Word says You use ordinary people.   “Elijah was a man just like us…” and yet Elijah became a powerful prophet.  Moses claimed to be “slow of speech” yet he was Your instrument for delivering Your people from four hundred years of slavery.

It’s so easy to look at great people: both from Biblical times and those of my day, and feel completely inadequate.   Yet, here is this seven-year-old boy.  And it gives me such hope, that if You would use a seven-year-old boy, You would use me too.

It reminds me that it is not the “person” with their talents, gifts, skills, and abilities that accomplishes anything.  It is You!  You are the One!  It is Your power which accomplishes Your will.

What You can do with any person who is sold out to You, is limitless!  Even a seven-year-old boy.  Even a simple, untrained girl.  Even a sixty-year-old woman.  Even me.  Amen

2 Kings 12:1-21

Aug 11 Building with God

picture by Sweet publishing

Father, I remember a time You put in my heart to have a women’s Bible Study for our church. Without a building, we needed a location. Other times, other churches and places had said no, so our people told me it would be impossible. Adding there would never be enough workers to come and do all the tasks needed to run it. A prior study began with 25 women but dwindled down to only three by the end.

Undaunted, I prayed, seeking Your wisdom to know if I should give up in response to my own church’s “wisdom”. Knowing You would have to open the doors, I went forward.

Believing You were leading me, I went first to the church where our boys were in a Scout Troop. They said yes! When I asked, they told me they believed the blessing of the building You had given them should be shared with the community!

Obviously, You had gone before me and prepared the way. They gave us access to a large meeting hall, the kitchen and their nursery! Including all the toys, beds and changing tables!

That very day, a woman from our church called and said if I found a location, she would love to run the nursery to care for the children who came, and make nametags! She helped me get other volunteers for the children’s’ area and brought refreshments that first week. By the time we started, we had a greeter, a setup person, a clean up person, kitchen and children’s workers, and beautiful ribbon nametags.

It was an amazing victory! And the most successful study we had for several years! You provided an amazing answer to prayer and response to obedience in going forward. Remembering Your faithfulness has encouraged me often.

Just like You brought workers from many places to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem, each doing a small part; You brought people to support the work You wanted to do in our church. Both jobs were too big for one person. But You are bigger than any job. And You have the resources to accomplish anything in Your plan.

Father, I believe You place in each believer a desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. I know during that time I felt completely empowered.

I can’t describe the joy it gave me to feel, to know, I was in the center of Your will. You had opened doors.   You brought people to help. You brought women to attend. What a blessing to be part of something You were doing!

Father, show me what comes next. Give me that blessing again.  Amen

Nehemiah 1:1-3:14

June 27 Even me

Father, I am so encouraged to read about Joash, one of the kings of Judah. He was seven years old when he began to reign. Seven years old! And You worked mightily through him!

During his forty-year reign, he effected repairs on the temple, and brought the people back to following You. He did what was right in Your eyes.

I often wonder how I am equipped to serve You. I am not a healer, or preacher, or famous author with a large following. I’m not a missionary in a far off land, or a concert singer or evangelist.

Often Your Word says You use ordinary people.   “Elijah was a man just like us…” and yet Elijah became a powerful prophet. Moses claimed to be “slow of speech” yet he was Your instrument for delivering Your people from four hundred years of slavery.

It’s so easy to look at great people: both from Biblical times and those of my day, and feel completely inadequate.   Yet, here is this seven-year-old boy. And it gives me such hope, that if You would use a seven-year-old boy, You would use me too.

It reminds me that it is not the ‘person’ with their talents, gifts, skills, and abilities that accomplishes anything. It is You! You are the One! It is Your power which accomplishes Your will. What You can do with any person who is sold out to You, is limitless! Even a seven-year-old boy. Even a simple, untrained girl. Even a sixty-year-old woman. Even me. Amen

2 Kings 12:1-21

May 5 To save You reach around the world

Lord God, You amaze me at how You use simple, ordinary people, men and women, to accomplish Your purpose. You sent believers all the way to Moab, at least sixty miles across the desert during a famine to reach Your faithful servant Ruth.

She made the famous statement, “Where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay, your people will be my people and your God my God” to her mother-in-law Naomi. Her faith and trust in You led her to be part of Your amazing plan of salvation, as she was in the lineage You were born into.

Here in the flesh You stopped in a Samaritan town and spoke to an immoral woman, something a respectable Jew would not have done. And in doing so, brought her the message of Your salvation. Through her, You saved many Samaritans that day.

You chose for me to be born into a believing family. Wherever I was, You were there with me, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey, France, Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas, Virginia, Colorado. All through those formative years, You made Your presence known to me. Even though everything else about my life changed: house, school, church, community, friends; You were always there.

There are so many who still do not believe You are who You are – Creator, Savior, King of Kings, Master, Wonderful Counselor, the One True God. But I know that You will move heaven and earth to reach them. You can use natural and divine events, travel across continents, reach into unrespectable communities, to make Yourself known.

You can speak through a hurricane or a whisper, reveal Yourself in a majestic mountain or a delicate flower.   I trust You can bring my loved ones who I pray for to a saving knowledge of You.

Help me do my part. I can pray for them. I will let them see me praise You in good times and in bad. I will love them, and do my best to give them godly assistance and direction.   Show me when to speak and when to hold my tongue. Show me how to behave in a way that will draw them to You. Help me remove any stumbling block that would keep them from coming to You.

Lord I thank You and praise You in advance for the celebration in heaven when they come to know You as Savior and live to glorify Your Name! Amen

Ruth 1:1-22; John 4:4-42

Sept 12 A Tool for God’s Purpose

Father, when You sent Your judgment against Israel, You used the political and military and powers of the day. Not knowing You, they believed it was by their own strength and power that they conquered. But it is clear that they were merely a tool in Your hand. The power is not in the tool, but in the one who wields it.

Father, I pray that I would be a tool in Your hand for godly purposes. Use me to accomplish Your will. You are truly the potter and I am the clay. Send me where Your would, as Your handiwork, to achieve Your plan. And never let me forget that Yours is the strength and the wisdom by which anything is accomplished.

Father, some are called to far away places to be tools for You in spreading Your Word and Your love. And surely there are obstacles for them to overcome and challenges to conquer. But sometimes I feel the hardest place to be Your representative is here at home, with the people I love.

I know You have a wonderful plan and purpose for their lives too. So until you call me away to somewhere else, help me realize the potential here, and be willing to be a tool in Your hands in the lives of those people You have brought closest to me.   Help me live every day showing Your grace and mercy and compassion to them. When asked, help me give wise and godly advice, not just my own preferences. Let my words be instructive and gentle, and line up with Your truth, spoken in love for the benefit of the hearer.

Help me hold my tongue when I need to, when the words would not be godly wisdom, but come from some other motivation. Help me spread peace in their lives when it would be so much easier to spread my own brand of how things should be. Help me let go of my own expectations of them, freeing them up to know the fulfillment of Your plans and purposes. Help me be patient with Your timeline for their development and maturity. And help me be consistent to pray for them to be empowered and guided by the influence of Your Word in their lives, and what You speak to them and through the godly mentors and circumstances You allow into their lives.

Let me draw strength from You. Let me be guided by You. And let me rest in Your strong and skillful hands. Amen

Isaiah 10:1-19

May 5 to save You reach around the world

Lord God, You amaze me at how You use simple, ordinary people, men and women, to accomplish Your purpose. You sent believers all the way to Moab, at least sixty miles across the desert during a famine to reach Your faithful servant Ruth.   She made the famous statement, “Where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay, your people will be my people and your God my God” to her mother-in-law Naomi. Her faith and trust in You led her to be part of Your amazing plan of salvation, as she was in the lineage You were born into.

Here in the flesh You stopped in a Samaritan town and spoke to an immoral woman, something a respectable Jew would not have done. And in doing so, brought her the message of Your salvation. Through her, You saved many Samaritans that day.

You chose for me to be born into a believing family. Wherever I was, You were there with me, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey, France, Arkansas, Arizona, Kansas, Virginia, Colorado. All through those formative years, You made Your presence known to me. Even though everything else about my life changed: house, school, church, community, friends; You were always there.

There are so many who still do not believe You are who You are – Creator, Savior, King of Kings, Master, Wonderful Counselor, the One True God. But I know that You will move heaven and earth to reach them. You can use natural and divine events, travel across continents, reach into unrespectable communities, to make Yourself known. You can speak through a hurricane or a whisper, reveal Yourself in a majestic mountain or a delicate flower.   I trust You can bring my loved ones who I pray for to a saving knowledge of You.

Help me do my part. I can pray for them. I will let them see me praise You in good times and in bad. I will love them, and do my best to give them godly assistance and direction.   Show me when to speak and when to hold my tongue. Show me how to behave in a way that will draw them to You. Help me remove any stumbling block that would keep them from coming to You. Lord I thank You and praise You in advance for the celebration in heaven when they come to know You as Savior and live to glorify Your Name! Amen

Ruth 1:1-22; John 4:4-42