‘Will you not learn a lesson and
obey My words?’ (Jeremiah 35:13) - ‘Jonadab, son of Rechab, ordered his
sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept... I have spoken
to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed Me’ (Jeremiah 35:14).
Lord, help us not to say, ‘I will follow You’, and then change our mind
(Luke 9:57). Help us not to sing, ‘Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee’, and then live a life which contradicts our
prayer of commitment to You. Help us to mean what we say - to follow
through our words of commitment with a life of obedience, a life that is
pleasing to You. We read about the Rechabites. They were obedient to
Jonadaab’s command - and You blessed them (Jeremiah 35:18-19). Obedient
and blessed - That’s what You want us to be. Help us, Lord, to obey You -
and look to You for the blessing.
Monday 20 May 2024
Lord, You're leading us to the place of blessing ...
‘I will
bring them back to this place’ (Jeremiah 32:37). Lord, You're bringing
us into Your ‘place.’ You're bringing us close to Yourself: ‘They will
be My people, and I will be their God’ (Jeremiah 32:38). You're bringing
us into the ‘place’ of obedience: ‘I will inspire them to fear Me, so
that they will never turn away from Me’ (Jeremiah 32:40). You're leading
us to the ‘place’ of blessing: ‘I will give them singleness of heart
and action, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and the
good of their children after them’ (Jeremiah 32:39). Sometimes, Lord,
our life seems like ‘a desolate waste.’ Help us never to lose sight of
Your purpose: ‘I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly
plant them in this land with all My heart and soul’ (Jeremiah 32:43,41).
We thank You, Lord, that You will not leave us in our ‘desolate waste.’
You will lead us to a better ‘place’ - the ‘place’ of obedience and
blessing.
Lord, may we learn that it’s time to stop complaining and start praying.
Terrible things were happening!
Things were going from bad to worse. ‘What next?’ - The people were
wondering where it would all end. Lord, what are we to do when
everything seems to be getting totally out of control? There is one
thing we must never forget. It is the most important thing of all. We
must ‘pray to the Lord our God.’We must ask You, Lord, to ‘show us the
way we should go.’You will ‘show us the thing that we should do’
(Jeremiah 42:2-3). May we learn that it’s time to stop complaining and
start praying.
Lord, so often, we forget the things that matter most.
Lord,
so often, we forget the things that matter most. So often, we forget
You. The more we forget You, the more we miss out on the blessing which
comes from knowing that You are the Lord our God. You are the God who is
with us - even when we feel that You are far away.
Teach us, Lord, to count our blessings.
Teach us, Lord, to count our blessings.
We try to think of all the good things You have done for us, all the great gifts You have given to us.
We cannot keep up with You, Lord. There is so much to count, so much for which we can only say, ‘Thank You, Lord.’
Lord, You speak Your Word to us.
Lord,
You speak Your Word to us. You call us to obedience. You say to us,
‘Obey My voice.’ Often, Lord, the story of our life is summed up in the
words: ‘They did not listen or pay attention. They did not obey’
(Jeremiah 11:7-8). Your Word is not just ‘something to think about.’
When You call us to obedience, we’re not to say, ‘I’ll think about that
later.’ ‘Now’ is the time for obedience to Your Word: ‘Obey now the
voice of the Lord’ (Jeremiah 38:20). Help us, Lord, not to put this off
until tomorrow. You’re looking for our obedience today: ‘Today, when you
hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’ (Hebrews 4:7). When, Lord,
we’re deeply involved in religious ritual – ‘burnt offerings and
sacrifices’ – , You say to us, ‘To obey is better than sacrifice’ (1
Samuel 15:22). Help us, Lord, to see that obedience involves our whole
life – not just ‘never missing a service’!
Help us, Lord, to come to You and receive Your blessing
‘I will bring Judah and Israel
back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will
cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against Me... Then
this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise, and honour before all
nations on earth...’ (Jeremiah 33:7-9). What great blessing lay ahead of
Your people! Lord, You were pointing Your people to the place of
blessing: Jesus Christ - ‘the righteous Branch from David’s line’
(Jeremiah 33:15-16). We thank you that 'in Christ’, we have ‘every
spiritual blessing’: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ (Ephesians 1:3; 1
Corinthians 2:9). We thank You, Lord, that You have so much blessing to
give to us. Help us to come to You and receive Your blessing: ‘Call to
Me, and I will answer you; I will show you wonderful and marvellous
things that you know nothing about’ (Jeremiah 33:3).
Lord, help us to prepare for the future ...
Lord, help us to prepare for the future – Your future.
Life without a future is no life at all. Often, we feel like we are stuck in the prison of the present.
You lift up our eyes. You show us Your future. You fill our pathway with Your light.
It is Your light that makes our future very bright – brighter than we can put into words, brighter than we can even imagine.
Lead us, Lord, into Your future. Help us to walk with You on Your pathway to glory – Your eternal glory.
Lord, we thank You for Your Word.
Lord, we thank You for Your Word. You have spoken to us. You are still
speaking to us. It's Your Word that leads us on into Your future. Help
us to listen to what You are saying to us, to build our lives on Your
Word, to let Your Word flow out from us, to bring blessing to many.
Saturday 20 April 2024
Praying Through God's Word: Psalms 92-118
Psalms 92:1-93:5
‘You,
O Lord, are exalted for ever… The Lord reigns, He is robed in
majesty…’(Psalm 92:8; Psalm 93:1-2). You, Lord, are ‘exalted.’ Help
us to exalt You in our worship. You are not exalted because we exalt
You. We exalt You because You are exalted. You are ‘exalted far above
all gods.’ That is why we sing, ‘I exalt Thee, O Lord.’ ‘He is exalted,
the King is exalted on high’- This is the truth concerning You, Lord. ‘I
will praise Him’- This is our response to Your truth. We sing, ‘Jesus,
we enthrone You, we proclaim You our King.’ This is our response to the
eternal truth concerning our Saviour: 'The Lord is enthroned as King for
ever.' ‘From all eternity’ the Lord is ‘robed in majesty.’ Help us,
Lord, to respond to His majesty. Help us to ‘magnify’ You, Lord – ‘O
Lord our God, how majestic is Thy Name’(Psalm 97:9; Psalm 29:10; Mission Praise, 158,217,388,507).
Psalm 94:1-23
‘When
I said, “My foot is slipping”, Your love, O Lord, supported me’(Psalm
94:18). You, Lord, are ‘able to keep us from falling.’ We are ‘kept by
Your power.’ Help us to put our trust in You. May we be confident of
this: ‘God, who began His good work in us, will carry it through to
completion on the Day of Christ Jesus.’ Help us to ‘press on towards the
goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenwards in Christ
Jesus.’ As we ‘press on’, may we never forget this: ‘It is God who
works in us to will and to work according to His good purpose.’ Help us
to ‘fix our eyes on Jesus’, trusting in His promise: ‘My sheep listen to
My voice… I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one
can snatch them out of My hand…’(Jude 24-25; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Philippians
1:6; 3:14; 2:13; Hebrews 12:2; John 10:27-30).
Psalm 95:1-11
‘Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord… Let us come before Him with thanksgiving… Come, let us bow down in worship…’(Psalm
95:1-2,6). Lord, You’re calling us to worship You with joyful
thanksgiving. We rejoice in You. We give thanks for Your love. You
are ‘the great God.’ You are ‘our God.’ You are the God of creation –
‘In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong
to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry
land.’ You are the God of salvation – ‘We are the people of His pasture,
the flock under His care’(Psalm 95:3-5,7). When, Lord, we hear You
calling us to worship You with joyful thanksgiving, help us to open our
hearts to You: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your
hearts’(7-8). When we hear Your call to worship, may we open our hearts
to the Spirit of worship.
Psalms 96:1-97:12
‘The
Lord reigns’(Psalm 96:10; Psalm 97:1). Lord, You are the King. You are
not only ‘the King all-glorious above.’ You are ‘the King of love.’ You
are ‘our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!’ You are not only ‘the
King of heaven.’ You are ‘the God of grace.’ You are ‘the King of
mercy.’ Your reign is not to be restricted to some faraway heaven. It is
not to be a reign that is far removed from the practicalities of our
everyday life. You want to reign in our hearts. You want to reign in every part of our life. May Your reign of love begin. May Your grace and mercy control all that we do.
Psalms 98:1-100:5
‘Exalt
the Lord our God... Make a joyful noise to the Lord’(Psalm 99:5,9;
Psalm 98:4,6; Psalm 100:1). Lord, You're calling us to worship You with
joy. You're calling us to glorify You. You want us to enjoy You. In our
worship, may we never forget Your holiness: ‘He is holy!... The Lord our God is holy!’(99:5,9). In our worship, may we rejoice in Your love:
‘His steadfast love endures for ever... He has done marvellous
things!’(Psalm 100:5; Psalm 98:1). You are the God of ‘awesome purity’ -
and You love us with the most perfect love of all: ‘No earthly father
loves like Thee...’. Help us to worship You with holy fear and heartfelt
love.
Psalms 101:1-102:28
‘I
will sing of Your love... I will walk with integrity of heart...’(Psalm
101:1-2). Lord, we read these words, from many centuries ago, and, too
quickly, we say, ‘Things are very different now.’ Are they really so
different? Are worshipping You and walking with You out-of-date now? Are
they to be forgotten? So many people have no time for You, Lord. They
feel that they can do without You. They refuse to worship You. They do
not walk with You. In our ever-changing world, You keep on speaking to
us about something we must never forget: You, Lord, are ‘enthroned for ever.’ Your ‘Name endures to all generations.’
In all the changes of life, You, Lord, ‘remain the same.’ Your ‘years
go on through all generations.’. Your ‘years will never end’(Psalm
102:12,24,27). Lord, we read Your Word, and we say, "These words were
‘written for a future generation.’" They were written for us. Help us
never to forget to ‘praise You’(Psalm 102:18)!
Psalm 103:1-22
‘Praise
the Lord’(Psalm 103:1-2,20-22). Lord, You're calling us to praise You
for Your ‘steadfast love.’ You are ‘abounding in steadfast love’(Psalm
103:8). How are we to respond to Your ‘steadfast love’? Are we to say,
‘God loves me. I can do what I like’? No! We must not think like this.
We’re not to say, ‘I’ll keep on sinning. God will keep on
forgiving’(Romans 6:1-2). Your Word tells us something very different.
You love us. Teach us to love You. When Your ‘steadfast love’ has really
touched our hearts, it changes our lives: ‘As the heavens are high
above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him... The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him’(Psalm 103:11,17). We thank You, Lord, for Your love. Help us to live to please You!
Psalm 104:1-35
‘I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’(Psalm
104:33). Sometimes, Lord, we feel like giving up. Other things become
more important to us. Worshipping You gets pushed out to the edge of
your life. Wrong attitudes creep in. It starts with the idea, ‘Worship’s
just an hour on a Sunday.’ Then, it becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord
when I feel like it.’ It soon becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord when I’ve
nothing better to do.’. Before long, all desire for worshipping You, Lord, has gone! Little-by-little, we drift away from You, Lord. It’s time, for
us, to start thinking about what’s happening. It’s time for a new
beginning. It’s time for an ‘all my life’ commitment to worshipping You,
Lord - not just on a Sunday, not only when I feel like it, not only
‘when there’s nothing better to do’!
Psalm 105:1-22
‘Look to the Lord and His strength;
seek His face always. Remember the wonderful works that He has
done...’(Psalm 105:4-5). Lord, You give strength to those who put their
trust in You. Trusting in Christ, we have this great testimony: ‘I can
do all things through Christ who strengthens me’(Philippians 4:13). How,
Lord, do we receive Your strength? We must '‘seek Your face always'. We
must not think we can face difficult circumstances in our strength.
Without Your strength, we will be defeated. You have helped us in the
past. Help us never to forget this. Help us to give thanks to You for
every victory won. As we face temptation, help us to remember Your
promise of victory: ‘God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted
beyond your strength. With the temptation, He will also provide the way
of escape...’(1 Corinthians 10:13).
Psalm 105:23-45
‘He brought His people out with joy’(Psalm
105:43). When things are going badly and we feel like giving up, help
us, Lord, to remember Your Word: ‘The joy of the Lord is your
strength’(Nehemiah 8:10). You're calling us to ‘rejoice in You always.’
You do not leave us on our own when our time of testing comes. You are
there for us in our time of need: ‘My God will supply every need of
yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus’(Philippians
4:4,19). When we are deeply conscious of our own weakness, You come to
us with Your Word of strength: ‘My grace is sufficient for you. My power
is made perfect in weakness’(2 Corinthians 12:9). Through Your Word, we
receive strength. Your Word brings joy to us. May we sing ‘glad songs
of victory’: ‘The Lord is my Strength, my Song, my Saviour’(Psalm
118:14-15).
Psalm106:1-48
Lord,
we read about Israel’s sin - ‘They soon forgot what He had done and did
not wait for His counsel... They despised the pleasant land; they did
not believe His promise... They grumbled in their tents and did not obey
the Lord... They rebelled against the Spirit of God’(Psalm
106:13,24-25,33). This is not only ancient history. It’s the story of our
life! We read this, and we must join in Israel’s confession of sin: ‘We
have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted
wickedly’(Psalm 106:6). We thank You, Lord, that the history of Israel
is not only a history of sin. It's also a history of salvation: ‘He
saved them...’(Psalm 106:8,10). When, Lord, we read of Your salvation,
may we echo the prayer of Your people - ‘Save us, O Lord our God...’ May
we join with them in praising You - ‘Praise be to the Lord...’(Psalm
106:47-48).
Psalm 107:1-43
Lord,
there are some things that are worth repeating! The story of Your
amazing grace is worth repeating over and over again - ‘Then they cried
out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their
distress’(Psalm 107:6,13,19,28). The call to praise You is also
something we need to hear again and again - ‘Let them give thanks to the
Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men’(Psalm
107:8,15,21,31). Help us, Lord, 'consider Your great love.' Help us to
‘give thanks to You’(Psalm 107:43,1).
Psalm 108:1-13
‘With
God we shall gain the victory. He will trample down our enemies’(Psalm
108:13). In ourselves, Lord, there is only defeat. We are no match for
‘our enemies’- the world, the flesh and the devil.
We are surrounded by the world - ‘The world is ever near. I see the
sights that dazzle. The tempting sounds I hear.’ We live with the
constant problem of the flesh - ‘the storms of passion, the murmurs of
self-will.’ Behind the world and the flesh, there is an even stronger
enemy - the devil: ‘Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against... the spiritual forces of evil...’(Ephesians 6:12). Lord, our
situation seems to be utterly hopeless. How can we possibly win the
victory? The simple truth is: We cannot. There is, however, a deeper truth: You, Lord, are with us - and ‘with God we shall win the victory’!
Psalm 109:1-31
Lord,
we come to You, recognizing that, without You, our situation is
hopeless - ‘I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I
fade away like an evening shadow’(Psalm 109:22). When our enemies are on
the attack, we are no match for them. What are we to do when the world,
the flesh and the devil are threatening to overwhelm us? We must come
to You, Lord, praying for Your help, asking You to save us - ‘Help me, O
Lord my God; save me in accordance with Your love’(Psalm 109:26). Help
us, Lord, to look away from ourselves and our own weakness. Help us to
put our trust in You and Your strength. You will not fail us. You ‘stand
beside’ us in our time of testing. You ‘save’ us from our enemies. Help
us to keep on praising You: ‘I will greatly praise the Lord with my
mouth. I will praise Him among many people...’(Psalm 109:30-31).
Psalm 110:1-7
‘The
Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand...’(Psalm 110:1). Lord, we
read these words, and we think of our Lord Jesus Christ: When ‘He was
taken up into heaven, He sat at the right hand of God’(Mark 16:19). When
Jesus ascended to Your Father’s right hand, the Holy Spirit was sent
down from heaven to fill our lives with Your blessing (John 7:37-39).
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our lives are changed: ‘In the Day
of Your power, Your people will come to You willingly...’. We come to
You, Lord, in our weakness, and You ‘renew our strength.’ We come to You
in our weariness, and we are ‘refreshed’ by Your ‘streams of living
water’(Psalm 110,7). ‘Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart
to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of
loudest praise.’
Psalms 111:1-112:10
'Praise
the Lord... To Him belong eternal praise... Blessed is the man who
fears the Lord... His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end
he will look in triumph on his foes...'(Psalm 111:1,10; Psalm 112:1,8).
Those who 'fear' You, Lord, have no need to live in fear of man. Those
who know that ‘eternal praise’ belongs to You, Lord, can face their
enemies with confidence. Our confidence is not in ourselves. Our
confidence is in You. We know how good You have been to us - ‘He provided
redemption for His people.’ We thank You that we have heard and believed
the Good News of Christ. We need not ‘fear’ any ‘bad news’ which the
devil sends our way. We 'trust' in You, Lord, confident that the ‘light
‘will triumph over the ‘darkness.’ We thank You that the Good News of
Christ will triumph over the devil’s bad news (Psalm 111:9; Psalm
112:4,7).
Psalms 113:1-114:8
‘The
Lord is high above all nations... Who is like the Lord our God, who is
seated on high?... Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, who
turns the hard rock into springs of water’(Psalm 113:4-5; Psalm
114:7-8). Lord, You are greater than we could ever imagine. There is no
greatness like Your greatness. All human greatness cannot even begin to
compare with Your greatness. Your greatness is not only the greatness of
Your power. It is also the greatness of Your love. When we sing,
‘How great Thou art’, we sing not only of Your power - ‘Thy power
throughout the universe displayed.’ We sing also of Your love - ‘And
when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce
can take it in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and
died to take away my sin...’
Psalm 115:1-18
‘Not
to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory because of Your
love and faithfulness’(Psalm 115:1). We thank You, Lord, that You love
us. You love us with a faithful love, ‘an everlasting love’, a ‘love
that will not let us go’. Your love ‘never comes to an end.’ Nothing can
separate us from Your love (Jeremiah 31:3; Lamentations 3:22-23; Romans
8:38-39). What have we done to deserve such love? Absolutely nothing!
We are ‘sinners.’ We do not deserve to be loved by You. We have done
nothing to earn Your love. Love begins with You, Lord. It comes from
You. How do we know that You love us? Have we proved ourselves worthy of
Your love? No! - ‘God shows His love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8). ‘To God be the glory!’
Psalms 116:1-117:2
‘I
love the Lord... I will call on Him as long as I live’(Psalm 116:1-2).
Our love for You, Lord, is to be a lifelong life. It is to be the love of our
life. What are we to do when our love for You grows weak? We must
remember Your love for us - ‘Great is His love towards us. The
faithfulness of the Lord endures forever’(117:2). When we find it
difficult to keep on loving You, help us to remember how much You love us.
When we feel like giving up on loving You, help us to remember that You
never give up on loving us. You love us when our love for You is
strong. You love us when our love for You is weak. In love, You reach
out to us. You bring us out of our weakness and into Your strength. May Your strong love reach us in our weakness and give us Your strength:
‘Loving Him who first loved me.’
Psalm 118:1-29
‘The
Lord is my Strength and my Song. He is my Saviour’(Psalm 118:14). We
thank You, Lord, that Jesus Christ is our Saviour. We thank You that He
gives us a song to sing: ‘Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine... This is my
story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.’ Help us,
Lord, to grow in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. May we
sing His song with strength, committing ourselves to His service,
earnestly seeking to win others for Him.
Thursday 18 April 2024
Bible Notes by G. Philip
For forty years, Rev George Philip (11th November 1925 - 16th February 2019) taught the Lord's Word faithfully and fruitfully at Sandyford - Henderson Memorial Church, Glasgow. On 1st March 2019, I attended a thanksgiving service for his life and ministry. We looked back, and we said, "To God be the glory!" Here's a link to George's Bible reading notes, which cover most of Scripture.
Wednesday 17 April 2024
Lord, You’re still speaking to us today. You’re calling us to listen to You.
‘The king
cut it with the penknife, and threw it into the fire’ (Jeremiah 36:23).
Help us, Lord, not to be like this king. He didn’t like Your Word. He
thought he could get rid of Your Word. What a fool he was! You saw what
was going on. The king’s attempt to silence You was utterly futile. You
would not be silenced. You continued to speak Your Word. Soon, the king
was hearing another Word from You: ‘You burned that scroll...’
(Jeremiah 36:29)! Lord, You’re still speaking to us today. You’re
calling us to listen to You. You’re calling us back from the way of
‘wickedness’, back from the brink of ‘disaster’ (Jeremiah 36:31). You’re
calling us back from the way of unbelief, the way that leads to ‘the
eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.’You’re calling us
to be ‘blessed.’ Help us to have faith in the Saviour - to receive ‘the
Kingdom prepared for us since the creation of the world’ (Matthew
25:41,34).
We wonder, Lord, ‘Is there a glorious future still to come?’
‘I
know the plans I have for you... to give you a future and a hope.’
Lord, this was Your long-term purpose for Your people. It was important
that they did not lose sight of this. There would be ‘seventy years’ of
captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:10-11). At times, they must have
wondered, ‘Will this ever end? Is there really something better still to
come?’ Our life on earth may sometimes seem like the ‘seventy years’ in
Babylon: ‘The length of our days is seventy years... yet all they bring
us is trouble and sorrow’! We wonder, Lord, ‘Is there a glorious future
still to come?’ In our times of ‘suffering’ and ‘sorrow’, teach us to
draw our ‘strength’ from Your Word. May we look forward to ‘the Day’
when Christ ‘comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be admired
in all who believe’ (Psalms 90:10; 119:28; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5,10).
Lord, living for You isn’t easy ...
Lord, living for You isn’t easy – Satan makes sure of that!
We try to escape his evil clutches – but he’s always there, and he’s up to no good!
Satan is such a determined enemy. Help us to remind him that he’s a defeated enemy.
We’re often tempted – and we feel so weak.
Help us to tell Satan that Jesus is Lord – and we belong to Jesus!
Satan wins some battles with us. He gives us a hard time. Often, he gets the better of us.
Help us to remind him that the final triumph belongs to Jesus.
Beyond
our present conflict, there is His final triumph; “This day the noise
of battle, the next the victor’s song” (from “Stand up, stand up for
Jesus”).
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has come to be with us so that we may go to be with Him.
“Immanuel
… God is with us” (Isaiah 8:8,10). Lord, we read these words – and we
thank You that Jesus has come to be with us so that we may go to be with
Him. He has come from heaven to earth so that we might go from earth to
heaven. He died for us so that we might live with Him. Thank You, Lord,
for Jesus, our great Saviour.
Lord, everything seems so hopeless ...
Lord, everything seems so hopeless - when we take our eyes off You!
Help us to keep our eyes on You. Fill us with fresh hope.
Sometimes, we can be optimists. Often, we’re pessimists.
You’re always “the God of hope” (Romans 15:13). You’re always saying to us, “There is hope” (Jeremiah 31:17).
Lord, real hope comes from You. It’s more than human optimism. It’s Your gift to us. It’s Your “gift of eternal life” (Romans 6:23).
Lord,
real hope comes from You. It’s more than just “hoping for the best.”
It’s being lifted up by You, Lord – the God who raised Jesus from the
dead (Acts 2::24).
You
lift us out of our hopelessness. You give us strength to face the
future with confidence – the strength which comes from knowing that You
are the God of hope.
Far too often, Lord, we say, ‘I can’t’ when we really mean ‘I won’t’.
‘The
Lord is the everlasting God… He gives strength to the weary and
increases the power of the weak… those who wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength…’ (Isaiah 40:28-31). Far too often, Lord, we say,
‘I can’t’ when we really mean ‘I won’t’. ‘I can’t’ – This, Lord, is an
insult to Your power of God. You call us to do something special for
Him. We say, ‘I can’t’. What are we really saying? We’re saying – ‘Lord,
I don’t believe Your promise – “Those who wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength”’. Help us, Lord, to stop saying, ‘I can’t’. Help
us not to get so busy with other things that we fail to wait upon
You, Lord, and renew your strength. When You call us to serve Him, help
us to say, ‘Yes, Lord, I will wait upon You. I will renew my strength. I
will do Your will’.
Lord, help us not to rest content ...
Lord,
help us not to rest content with going through the motions of religion.
Beyond religion, there is redemption. Beyond ritual, there is reality.
May our faith in Jesus, our Saviour, be a real faith, a living faith, a
faith that changes us, a faith that brings glory to You.
I will help you.
‘Do
not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I
will strengthen you and help you… I am the Lord your God who… says to
you, Do not fear; I will help you… I Myself will help you, declares the
Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel’ (Isaiah 41:10-14). When,
Lord, we have something important to say, we repeat ourselves. We want
to make sure that our message gets across. We say, ‘Do you get the
point? Do you see what I mean?’ This, Lord, is what You are doing. Three
times, You say, ‘I will help you’.
You want us to get the point. You want to leave us in no doubt.
You want us to be sure of this: ‘I will help you’. You don’t want us to
go around thinking, ‘I wonder if God will help me?’ You really do want
to help us. You say it once. You say it twice. You say it three times:
‘I will help you’. Thank You, Lord.
Lord, we thank You that You are always with us ...
Lord, we thank You that You are always with us – even when bad things are happening to us.
Lord, You're calling us to grow in Christ.
Lord, You're calling us to grow in Christ. You're calling us to be
changed - changed in our way of thinking, changed in our way of living.
You're calling us to be less self-centred - and more centred on You.
May there be less doing our own thing - and more following Jesus, less
living in the weakness of the flesh - and more living in the power of
the Spirit.
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, has taken our sin upon Himself.
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, has taken our sin upon
Himself. We thank You that He brings Your salvation to us. With Jesus
as our Saviour, we cannot remain the same as we were before we met Him.
Jesus changes us. He makes us new. Help us, Lord, to live in the power
of this new life which Jesus gives to us. Help us to live in His power
- the power of His love.
You call us, Lord, to lead a life worthy of Your calling.
You call us, Lord, to "lead a life worthy of Your calling" (Ephesians
4:1). We say, 'I can't.' You say to us, "I have blessed you, in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3). Why we do allow our
lives to be controlled by our own weakness when we can be transformed by
Your strength? Help us, Lord, to think of all that You have given to
us, in Christ, and to rise up, with new strength - Your strength - to
live for You day-by-day.
What, Lord, is most important to us ... ?
What,
Lord, is most important to us – the person who leads us in worship, the
place where we worship, or the God whom we worship? We know what our
answer should be – but, often, our lives tell a very different story.
Help us, when we worship, to learn that nothing and no-one can ever be
more important than You. May our lives start catching up with the
lessons that we learn when we are reading Your Word.
Loving You, Lord, is more important than anything else ...
Loving
You, Lord, is more important than anything else – but it’s not always
the most important thing in our lives. Sometimes, other things get in
the way of our love for You. Help us to love You more truly and more
fully – and help us to show our love for You by sharing Your love with
our neighbour.
Help us, Lord, to give ourselves to You.
Help
us, Lord, to give ourselves to You. May there be less Grudge-Giving – “I
have to”, less Duty-Giving – “I ought to”, and more Thanksgiving – “I
want to.”
Lord, give us wisdom.
Lord, give us wisdom (1 Kings 4:29). Help us to share this wisdom with others (1 Kings 4:32-34). What, Lord, is wisdom? Is it knowing a lot about history, geography and science? No, Lord, true wisdom is knowing Jesus, knowing that He is our Saviour, knowing that He shows us what life is all about, knowing that His love is the greatest love of all, the love that changes everything, the love that changes us. Help us to share His love with others. This is wisdom – knowing Jesus, knowing that He loves us, being changed by His love. Christ is “our Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Help us to rejoice in Him – and to share His love with the people that we meet.
Teach us, Lord, to obey Your Word. Lead us on the pathway of blessing.
‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end!’ (Ezekiel 7:2). Why, Lord, did You say, ‘This is “the end? ”’You had been taking a good look at what was going on among His people: ‘the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive Me far from My sanctuary’ (Ezekiel 8:6). You came to this conclusion - ‘This is the end of the road. It’s the end of the time of blessing. It’s now time for judgment’: ‘The end is now upon you and I will unleash My anger against you. I will judge you according to... all your detestable practices...’ (Ezekiel 7:3-4). Why did You say, ‘This is “the end”’ - the end of a time of blessing, the beginning of a time of judgment? The answer is clear: If there is no obedience, there can be no blessing. Disobedience can lead to only one thing - judgment. Teach us, Lord, to obey Your Word. Lead us on the pathway of blessing.
Lord, we thank You that ‘the fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream.’
Lord,
we thank You that ‘the fountain of wisdom is an overflowing stream’
(Proverbs 18:4). We read the joyful testimony of Paul: ‘The grace of our
Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ
Jesus’ (1 Timothy 1:14), and we say, in our hearts, ‘This is the
“wisdom” we must seek – the wisdom which receives “salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). True wisdom finds its
overflowing joy in the Saviour: ‘The Name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe’ (Proverbs 18:10). We rejoice in
Jesus. He is Your Son – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus. He will be
great, and will be called the Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:31-32). He
is our Saviour – ‘You shall call His Name Jesus, because He will save
His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). He is ‘the Friend who sticks
closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24). Help us, Lord, to be wise.
Help us to invite Jesus, Your Son, to be our Saviour and our Friend.
We look, Lord, for happiness ...
We look, Lord, for happiness, but we cannot find it. Why do we keep
missing happiness? We’re looking in the wrong place. We try to find
happiness in ourselves. You’re saying to us, “You’ll only find happiness
when you come to Jesus. Only Jesus can fill the God-shaped blank in
your heart.” Teach us, Lord, to listen to Your voice, speaking to us of
Jesus, calling us to come to Him and receive from Him Your gift of
salvation. Help us to rejoice in Jesus, to be glad that He is our great
Saviour.
We thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful promise and Your clear command.
We thank You, Lord, that we have Your wonderful promise - "The Lord your
God is with you" - as well as Your clear command - "Be strong" (Joshua
1:9). Without Your promise, the command is no use. Again and again, we
fail to keep Your commands. Again and again, we need to be reassured.
You are still with us.This is what we need to hear. This is where our
strength comes from. It comes from Your promise. It comes from knowing
that You never fail us. You have never failed us. You never will fail
us.
Jesus is our Forever Friend.
“A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). Help us, Lord, to look
beyond human love and human friendship. Help us to see Jesus. His love
is the greatest love. He is our greatest Friend. Thank You, Lord, for
Jesus. Thank You for His love. He’s our Forever Friend. May we know, in
our hearts, that His love is ‘always and forever’ love.
Lord, we’re being pulled in two different directions ...
Lord,
we’re being pulled in two different directions. You’re drawing us to
Yourself. The world is pulling us away from You. Help us to confess our
sin – we need to be better than we are. Help us to trust in Your power –
You’re the only One who can make us better than we are.
Where does victory come from?
Where does victory come from? Does it come from ourselves? No! It comes
from You, Lord. You give us the victory. We give You the glory: "To God
be the glory! Great things He has done. So loved He the world that He
gave us His Son ... Praise the Lord!"
How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?
‘No
Surrender’ - Lord, was this the way forward for Your people? ‘No
Surrender’ - What would happen if Your people adopted this attitude?
Jeremiah speaks Your Word to the people. He calls them to make their
choice. They can ‘surrender’ and ‘live.’ They can say, ‘No Surrender’ -
and face certain death (Jeremiah 38:17-18). Captivity in Babylon would
not be easy. They would be heartbroken as they recalled happier times -
‘By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.’ It
would be so difficult to keep on praising You - ‘How shall we sing the
Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:1,4). Life in Babylon would
be difficult - but ‘it would not be the end of the world’! They could
still look forward to the fulfilment of Your ‘gracious promise’: ‘I will
come to you and bring you back to this place’ (Jeremiah 29:10).
Search me, O God ...
‘Egypt’ was to
be a place of punishment. Lord, You speak to those who remain in the
the place of rebellion. You say to them, ‘I will punish you in this
place.’This is Your Word of warning. We don’t need to remain in the
place of rebellion and punishment. We can ‘return’ to ‘Judah’, the place
of obedience and blessing (Jeremiah 44:28-29). This is not about places
we will find on a map of the world. It’s a call to look into the secret
places of our hearts. Teach us, Lord, to search our hearts. What will
You find when You look into our hearts? Will You find rebellion? Will
You find obedience? You want us to leave the place of rebellion and
punishment. You want us to return to the place of obedience and
blessing. ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart!... See if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!’ (Psalm
139:23-24).
Lord, help us to listen to all that You say to us - and not ‘only hear what we want to hear’!
‘Is there any Word from the Lord?’ -
‘Yes! There is a Word from the Lord.’ Lord, Your Word wasn’t exactly
what the king wanted to hear - ‘You will be handed over to the king of
Babylon’ (Jeremiah 37:17). You were going to bless Your people - but
they would have to be patient: Things were going to get an awful lot
worse before they would get much better! Before their restoration - “I
will bring them back and restore them to this place’, Your people faced
captivity - ‘They will be taken to Babylon.’There was bad news - a
captivity of ‘seventy years.’There was good news - the captivity
wouldn’t last forever (Jeremiah 37:27:22; 29:10-11)! Lord, You speak of
Your blessing - ‘It will certainly come’, but You also say, ‘Wait for
it’ (Habakkuk 2:3). Help us to listen to all that You say to us - and
not ‘only hear what we want to hear’!
Not my will, Lord. Your will be done.
"It
is Solomon your son who shall build My House (1 Chronicles 28:6). Lord,
this was the Word that You spoke to Your servant, David. what a Word of
hope this was! David had heard the words, "You are not to build a House
for My Name" (1 Chronicles 28:3). His heart sank - but You lifted him
up again. It wasn't all about David - and it isn't all about us. It's
all about You. You do things Your way - not our way. May we learn to
say, "Not my will, Lord. Your will be done."
Help us, Lord, to pray that the future will be “greater” than the past.
No-one
goes on forever. We read about David’s reign coming to an end, about
David being replaced by Solomon (1 Kings 1:30). Help us, Lord, to pray
that the future will be “greater” than the past (1 Kings 1:37,47). In
all of life’s changes, help us to remember this: You are the living God
(1 Kings 1:29) – the God who remains constant when everything else is
changing, the God whose love is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable.
Lord, there are times when it seems nothing is going right for us.
Lord, there are times when it seems nothing is going right for us: ‘I am the man who has seen affliction...’ (Lamentations 3:1-3). In such times, Help us to remember this: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end.’ When we find ourselves in circumstances of great distress, may we learn to look beyond the things that are happening to us. Teach us, Lord, to look You, and say, ‘Great is Your faithfulness.’ We don't find it easy to see You at work in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong. Teach us to be patient, as we wait for Your blessing return to our lives. May we put all our hope in You, Lord. Teach us to trust in Your precious promise: ‘The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord’ (Lamentations 3:22-26).
Lord, You've called us to be the Bride of Christ.
Lord, You've called us to be the Bride of Christ: "a pure Bride", a
Bride beautifully dressed" for our Saviour - "the Bride, the wife of the
Lamb" (Ephesians 5:25-33; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 21:2,9). May
we hear the voice of Jesus, saying to us, "You are beautiful, my love."
May we worship Him: "You are beautiful, my Beloved, truly lovely" (Song
of Solomon 1:15-16).
Joyful, generous and wholehearted giving
Joyful,
generous and wholehearted giving (1 Chronicles 29:9) - Where, Lord,
does this kind of giving come from? It comes from You, Lord. It comes to
us when we're learning to worship You, when we're learning to say, from
deep in our hearts, "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power,
and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty" (1 Chronicles 29:10).
It's this kind of worship that inspires our giving. When we're learning
to worship like this, our giving will become a joyful privilege rather
than a legalistic burden. Our giving will become thanksgiving - "Our
God, we thank You ... Everything comes from You. We give only what has
come from Your hands" (1 Chronicles 29:13-14).
Lord, may our lives be an echo of the words of Jesus ...
Lord,
may our lives be an echo of the words of Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon Me ... " (Luke 4:18-19). We look at what we are, and we
ask, "How can we become more like Jesus?" It begins with the death of
Jesus - "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
It continues with the gift of the Holy Spirit - "the Holy Spirit has
been given to us" (Romans 5:5). we look at Jesus, our Saviour. We look
at the Holy Spirit. What do we see? we see Your love(Romans 5:8 and
Romans 5:5). It's Your love that changes us. It's Your love that makes
us more like Jesus.
Lord, we are, so often, dragged down to the world's way of living.
Lord, we are, so often, dragged down to the world's way of living.
Again and again, we fail to respond to "the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). We fail to rise to the challenge of
walking with You on "the high way of holiness" (Isaiah 35:8). When we
rejoice in Your gift of forgiveness, help us, also, to choose the way
of holiness.
Far too often, Lord, we keep our distance from You. You're calling us
into a closer walk with You - but we draw back from You. You're seeking
to change us - but we're quite content to stay the way we are. Forgive
us, Lord, and deliver us from our self-centredness. Make us the kind
of people that You want us to become.
Lord, we are called to fear You - and to love You.
Lord, we
are called to fear You - and to love You. We tend to think that fear
and love are opposites. You teach us something else, something very
different. Fear and love belong together. You are the holy God, the God
who cannot look upon our sin (Habakkuk 1:13). We fear You. You show us
our sin so that we might be brought to Jesus, our Saviour. We come to
Jesus. We learn how much You love us - and we begin to love You.
Lord, You give us Your promises and Your warnings.
Lord,
You give us Your promises and Your warnings. You show us the better way -
and You say to us, "Make sure that You don't go back to the old way of
living, back to the world's way of living, back to the way of life that
will never satisfy."
Sometimes, Lord, we don't feel like the sun is shining upon us.
Sometimes,
Lord, we don't feel like the sun is shining upon us. When we feel like
this, help us to know that the light and love of Your Son is always
shining upon us. When we're feeling down, help us to remember that You
raised Jesus up - "Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o'er
His foes." This is what we need to hear. This is what lifts us up: up -
into Your presence, up - out of our sin, up - into Your salvation'
upwards and onwards - to Your eternal glory.
Sometimes, Lord, our lights are switched off.
Sometimes,
Lord, our lights are switched off. Sometimes, they're switched on. The
light of Your love is never switched off. It's always switched on. Your
love is 'all the time' love. There is no love like Your love for us.
It's the only 'always and forever' love. Thank You, Lord, for the light
that never stops shining - the light of Your undying love. This is the
only light that is always shining.
Often, Lord, we come to Your House with so little expectation of Your blessing.
Often,
Lord, we come to Your House with so little expectation of Your
blessing. Where does this attitude come from? - It doesn't come from
You. You are the great God. You fill our hearts with 'great
expectations.' When Satan comes to us, filling our hearts with apathy -
the 'couldn't-care-less' attitude, help us to tell him that You are the
great God (Psalm 135:5) - great in holiness, power and love, the
faithful God who comes to us with great promises of blessing. When,
Lord, we are blessed by You, help us to give all the glory to You.
There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin ...
‘Listen! I am
going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I
pronounced against them, because they were stubborn and would not listen
to My Word’ (Jeremiah 19:15). Lord, You're warning Your people. You're
calling us back from the way of sin and disobedience. You're calling us
to return to You. You're looking for people who will take You seriously.
You're calling us to live in obedience to Your Word. You're calling us
to worship You with the dedication of our lives and not only the words
of our lips. Sometimes, we wonder, ‘Will Your blessing be lost forever?
Is there a way of rediscovering Your blessing in our lives?’ ‘There’s a
way back to God from the dark paths of sin. There’s a door that is open
and you may go in. At Calvary’s Cross is where you begin, when you come
as a sinner to Jesus’ (Mission Praise. 682).
Help us, Lord, to keep on worshipping You and witnessing for You - especially when the going gets tough.
‘Cursed
be the day I was born!... Why did I ever come out of the womb to see
trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?’ (Jeremiah 20:14-18).
Lord, we read about Jeremiah. We see that he is deeply depressed. He has
been preaching Your Word. He’s getting nothing but abuse in return:
‘The Word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long’
(Jeremiah 20:8). We thank You, Lord, that he didn't stop preaching. He
kept on going. He felt like giving up: ‘If I say, “I will not mention
Him or speak any more in His Name”’. We thank You, that he was driven on
by a greater Power - ‘His Word is in my heart like a fire’. No matter
how much he tried to keep silent, he could not do it (Jeremiah 20:9). We
thank You, Lord, that he moved forward in triumphant faith: ‘The Lord
is with me like a mighty warrior’ (Jeremiah 20:11). We thank You that he
called upon Your people to worship You: ‘Sing to the Lord! Give praise
to the Lord!’ (Jeremiah 20:13). Help us, Lord, to keep on worshipping
You and witnessing for You - especially when the going gets tough.
Help us, Lord, to start seeking You today
‘Perhaps
the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past...’ (Jeremiah
21:2). Lord, we read about "times past" - and we say, "That was then.
What about now?" Help us never to assume that You will always bless us.
May we never forget that yesterday’s blessing belong to the past. Teach
us not to live in the past. Keep us from saying, ‘He has blessed us in
the past. He will keep on blessing us.’ Help us to ask ourselves the
searching question, "Do we really want to keep on enjoying Yours
blessing?" Help us to keep on seeking Your blessing. If, Lord, we do not
seek You, there will be no promise of blessing. We will hear a very
different Word from You: ‘I have determined to do this city harm and not
good... I will punish as your deeds deserve’ (Jeremiah 21:10,14). May
we never take Your blessing for granted. May we never forget that we
could be ‘in for a rude awakening’ - if we do not start seeking You,
Lord. Help us to start seeking You today: ‘You will seek Me and find Me
when you seek Me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:13).
Lord, You're speaking Your Word to us. Are we listening?
We
thank You, Lord, that Jeremiah kept on speaking to people who had given
up on worshipping You (Jeremiah 22:9). His message was clear: ‘O land,
land, land, hear the Word of the Lord?’ (Jeremiah 22:29). Lord, You're
speaking Your Word to us. Are we listening? You're looking for people
who will listen to You. You want us to pay attention to Your Word. Your
Word is like ‘the sound of a trumpet.’ It demands our attention. Many
people say, ‘We will not listen.’ Your Word shows us ‘the good way’ and
calls us to ‘walk in it.’ Many people say, ‘We will not walk in it.'
What about us, Lord? What do we say to You? What is our response to Your
Word? We thank You, Lord, for Your Word of warning: ‘I am bringing
disaster on this people... because they have not listened to My Word.’
May we not bring this judgment on ourselves. Help us to listen to Your
Word and walk in Your way (Jeremiah 6:16-19).
Help us, Lord, to become better people – not bitter people!
Help
us, Lord, to learn from the failure of King Uzziah. He began well – “He
did what was right in the eyes of the Lord … He set himself to seek
God” (2 Chronicles 26:4-5). He lost his way – “When he was strong, he
grew proud, and he was false to the Lord his God” ( 2 Chronicles 26:16).
Help us, Lord, to become better people – not bitter people!
Lord, let "rivers of living water" flow out from our hearts to others.
We
read, Lord, about the reign of King Josiah. There was spiritual revival
(2 Chronicles 34:33). Where did this spiritual revival come from? - It
came from You. It came from the rediscovery of Your Word. Where was Your
Word found? - It was found "in the House of the Lord" (2 Chronicles
34:15). Beyond the written Word, there is Jesus Christ, the living Word
of God. When Your Word is preached to us, help us to listen for the
voice of Jesus Christ, the true and living Word of God. Open up our
hearts to Your Word. Open up our hearts to Your Spirit. Let "rivers of
living water" flow out from our hearts to others (John 7:37-39).
Help us, Lord, to make a new beginning with You - and a new beginning for You.
Very
quickly, Lord, good work can be undone (2 Chronicles 33:1-3). Bad work
can be undone - if we will make a new beginning with You (2 Chronicles
34:1-4). Help us, Lord, to make a new beginning with You - and a new
beginning for You.
Lord, You call us to 'return' to You.
Lord,
You call us to ‘return’ to You (Jeremiah 3:14,22). You call us to make
our response to You. You invite us to say, ‘Yes, we will come to You,
for You are the Lord our God’ (Jeremiah 3:22). How are we to come to
You? We are to come to You, confessing our sins – ‘We have sinned
against the Lord our God’ (Jeremiah 3:25). We are to come to You,
trusting You to save us – ‘Surely in the Lord our God is the salvation
of Israel’ (Jeremiah 3:23). We thank You, Lord, for all the blessings
that You give to those who return to You. You are ‘merciful’ to us.
You do ‘not treat us as our sins deserve’ (Jeremiah 3:12, Psalm
103:10). We become Your children. We call You, ‘Father’ (Jeremiah 3:19;
Galatians 4:6). You ‘cure us of our backsliding.’ ‘In Christ’, we become
‘a new creation’ (Jeremiah 3:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Thank You, Lord.
Monday 15 April 2024
Lord, Your Word was written many centuries ago - but it still has a great deal to do with us!
‘The day has come to destroy all the Philistines... The Lord is about to
destroy the Philistines... Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh
are destroyed’ (Jeremiah 47:4). That seems like ancient history -
nothing to do with us! What about this? - ‘A curse on him who is lax in
doing the Lord’s work!’ (Jeremiah 48:17). Lord, Your Word was written
many centuries ago - but it still has a great deal to do with us! We
miss the point if we read the Bible as no more than a book of ancient
history. Lord, You’re still speaking to us through your Word. You’re
still calling us to sit up and take notice. You’re still demanding our
attention. Help us not to be lazy in Your work. Teach us to be Your
faithful servants. ‘Always give yourselves fully to the work of the
Lord... your labour in the Lord is not in vain’ (1 Corinthians 15:58).
We thank You, Lord, thatJesus sets us free with His Word of truth.
We
read, Lord about slaves being ‘set free.’ We think, "This is great!"
Then, we read about things going wrong - ‘Afterwards they changed their
minds and took back the slaves... and enslaved them again’ (Jeremiah
34:8-11). What, Lord, do You have to say about this? - ‘You have turned
round and dishonoured Me... You took back the slaves... You forced them
into slavery again... You have not obeyed Me’ (Jeremiah 34:16-17). We
thank You that Jesus isn’t like these slavemasters! He doesn’t only
promise us freedom. He gives us our freedom: ‘If the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed’. He doesn’t come to us with ‘a pack of lies’ -
promising this, that and the other, and then breaking every promise. We
thank You that He sets us free with His Word of truth - ‘You shall know
the truth, and the truth will set you free’ (John 8:36,32; Psalm
119:45).
When we’re down in the valley, the mountain-top experience seems a long way off.
We read,
Lord, about ‘the Valley of Vision’ (Isaiah 22:1,5). You are to be our
Vision: ‘Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to
me, save that Thou art, Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking
or sleeping Thy presence my light.’ When we’re down in the valley, the
mountain-top experience seems a long way off. What are we to do when
everything seems to be hard-going? When there seems to be no way out of
the valley, no way back to the mountain-top, help us to keep on ‘looking
to Jesus’ (Hebrews 12:1-2). When we’re in the ‘valley’, help us to
say, ‘My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, nor even blessing, but
Himself, my God’. May our ‘valley’ become Your ‘valley of vision’, the
place where we are learning to ‘turn our eyes upon Jesus.’
Is there any hope for our nation?
‘Look
at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account!’
(13). We read these words, Lord, and we wonder, “What about our nation?
Is there any hope for our nation?” To the nation which turns to
You, Lord, You speak Your promise of blessing – ‘Blessed is the nation
whose God is the Lord …’ (Psalm 33:12). To the nation which turns away
from You, You speak Your warning of judgment – ‘For lack of guidance a
nation falls’ (Proverbs 11:14). We must choose. Help us, Lord, to choose
to listen to You, to submit our lives to You,, to follow the guidance
You have given to us in Your Word. Your way leads to blessing –
‘Righteousness exalts a nation.’ The way of self leads to judgment –
‘sin is a disgrace to any people’ (Proverbs 14:34). Raise us, Lord,
above the way of “the Babylonians” – to the better way, the way that
brings glory to You: ‘They will see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:16).
Marvellous things ...
‘O
Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name… You have
done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what You, Lord, have
done for us. You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. We
rejoice in Jesus. He died for us. We rejoice in Jesus. He rose again for
us. We look forward to His Return. We look forward to the Day when You,
Lord, ‘will swallow up death for ever.’ On that Day, ‘the Lord God will
wipe away the tears from all faces.’ On that Day, we will look back and
say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us.’ On
that Day, we will ‘rejoice and be glad in Your salvation’ (Isaiah
25:8-9). Here and now, help us to ‘trust in’ You. May we know that we
can trust in You ‘for ever.’ You are ‘the everlasting Rock’ – ‘the Rock
of our salvation’ (Isaiah 26:4; Psalm 95:1).
Jesus - our Saviour and our Lord
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Saviour
– ‘Lord, You establish peace for us’; ‘We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ’. We cannot save ourselves. We can only look away
from ourselves to Jesus – and be saved by Him: ‘all that we have
accomplished You have done for us’; ‘By grace you have been saved
through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God’
(Isaiah 26:12; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8). We thank You that Jesus is
our Lord – ‘Lord, our
God… You alone are our Lord’. How are we to live once we have received
salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? – ‘Just as you received Christ
Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him’. Help us not to ‘keep on sinning
so that You, Lord, can keep on showing us more and more kindness and
forgiveness.’ Help us to live a life of ‘good works’ (Isaiah 26:13;
Colossians 2:6; Romans 6:1; Ephesians 2:10).
We forget You, Lord. You don't forget us.
‘Woe
to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in
chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!’ (Isaiah
31:1). Lord, we can so easily forget You. We try to go it alone, and we
forget to look to You for help. Even when we forget You, You do not
forget us. When we turn our back on You, You call us to ‘return to You’
(Isaiah 31:6). You remind us that our true help is found in You: ‘Our
help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm
124:8). We need not look around here, there and everywhere for an answer
to the question, ‘Where does my help come from?’ There is only one true
answer to this question: ‘My help comes from You, Lord, the Maker of
heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121:1-2). Thank You, Lord, that You are our God
– our Maker and our Helper.
Lord, Your blessing comes to us through the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
‘Blessed
is the one who always fears the Lord. If you harden your heart, you
will be ruined’ (Proverbs 28:14). Lord, Your blessing comes to us
through the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Saviour: ‘The Gospel is the power
of God for the salvation of everyone who believes’. To those who refuse
to come to Christ and receive His salvation, You speak solemn words
of warning: ‘Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart,
you are storing up wrath against yourself for the Day of God’s wrath,
when His righteous judgment will be revealed’ (Romans 1:16; Romans 2:5).
You call us to receive ‘salvation’ through faith in Christ, ‘the Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world’. May we not be among those
who reject Christ and His salvation, those who must face ‘the wrath of
the Lamb’ (John 1:29; Revelation 7:10; 6:16).
Whatever the world may say, may we never forget this: ‘Without holiness, no-one will see the Lord.’
What
blessings are given to those who draw near to You, Lord - ‘Your God…
will come and save you’ (Isaiah 35:4). The Good News of Christ comes to
us as a call to faith – ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be
saved’ (Acts 16:31). We have been saved through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. We cannot remain the same. You have called us to live a new
life. You call us to travel on the Your ‘highway’ – ‘the Way of
Holiness’ (Isaiah 35:8). This is ‘the Way’ which leads to ‘everlasting
joy’ (Isaiah 35:10). This ‘Way’ is so different from the world’s way.
The world has no time for those who seek to live a holy life. Help us to
remember what Jesus says about the world’s way of life: ‘the gate is
wide and the way is wide that leads to destruction’ (Matthew 7:13).
Whatever the world may say, may we never forget this: ‘Without holiness,
no-one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14).
Lord, You call us to ‘draw near’ to You.
Lord,
You call us to ‘draw near’ to You. You want us to ‘pay attention’ to
You. Help us to ‘listen’ to His Word (Isaiah 34:1). Your Word is not
always what we want to hear. It will always be what we need
to hear. ‘The Lord is angry with all nations’ (Isaiah 34:2). We don’t
like to hear about Your anger. We prefer to be told ‘You’re doing fine.’
We need to hear about God’s anger. We need to hear about how far we
have wandered away from God – ‘We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us turned to his own way.’ We are sinners. We have turned away
from You, Lord. We have chosen our own way rather than Your way. We must
hear this ‘bad news’ before we can really appreciate the ‘Good News’ –
‘the Lord has laid all our sins on Jesus’, ‘Christ died for us while we
were still sinners’, ‘Christ died for our sins’ (Isaiah 53:6; Romans
5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3).
Lord, let Your love come to us, new every morning.
‘O Lord…Be our strength every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble’
(Isaiah 33:2). Help us, Lord, not only to pray to You ‘in the time of
trouble.’ Help us to pray to You ‘every morning.’ May we not keep You at
a distance, calling on You only when things are going badly. When we
keep You at a distance, our life tells its own sad story – ‘O what peace
we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear – all because we do not
carry everything to God in prayer.’ When we draw near to You, Lord,
You draw near to us, and everything becomes very different – ‘What a
Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a
privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!’ (James 4:8). Lord, let
Your ‘love’ come to us ‘new every morning’ – ‘fresh as the morning , as
sure as the sunrise’ (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Help us, Lord, to give a friendly welcome.
Help us, Lord, to "give a friendly welcome" (Hebrews 11:31). What a
difference the friendly welcome makes! It's the word of encouragement
that makes us feel loved. It's the act of kindness that lets us know
that love is more than words. Lord, You are our Father. Help us to be
like You - "when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke
15:20). What amazing grace! Before the confession of sin - "Father, I
have sinned... " (Luke 15:21), there is the friendly welcome. It's Your
grace that inspires our confession of sin. It's Your grace that leads us
into the joy of Your forgiveness. It's not only joy for us. It's joy
for You - "my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found. And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:24).
More about hard times ...
We think, Lord, about Jerusalem’s fall into hard times. This wasn't ‘just one of those things that happens.’ Your people brought it on themselves. They didn't take You seriously - but You continued to take them seriously. They ignored You, Lord, but You didn't ignore their disobedience to You. They sinned against You - and You were angry with them: ‘How the Lord in His anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!’ (Lamentations 2:1). This was not just a case of glibly saying, ‘The good times will come again.’ They needed to recognize why the bad times had come: ‘The Lord has... carried out His threat’ (Lamentations 2:17). Lord, You had warned Your sinful people. Judgment was on its way - if they refused to listen to You. Now, in the time of You judgment, You are still calling us back to Yourself: ‘Cry aloud to the Lord!...’ (Lamentations 2:18-19). Help us, Lord, to return to You.
We confess our sins to You, Lord. We look to You for forgiveness.
We
confess our sins to You, Lord - ‘We sinned... All of us have become like one
who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’. We
look to You for forgiveness - ‘Do not remember our sins for ever’
(Isaiah 64:5-6,9). We know that You hear and answer our prayer. Jesus Christ
is Your Answer to our prayer. He has ‘come down’ from heaven to earth.
‘The Son of the Most High’ has been ‘born’ into our world. Jesus Christ
is Your way of saying ‘Here am I! Here am I!’. He is ‘God with us’
(64:1; 65:1; Luke 1:32,35; Matthew 1:23). ‘The blood of Jesus, God’s
Son, cleanses us from all sin.’ Help us, Lord, to ‘confess our sins.’ ‘The blood of
Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin’ - Help us to come to You with
faith, believing that You ‘will forgive our sins’. (1 John 1:7,9). May we rejoice in Jesus, our Saviour!
Help us, Lord, to keep on making our choice – to become the kind of people that You want us to be.
We read about Solomon – he built “his own house”, and he built “the House of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:37-7:1). Which was the most important to him? Which is most important to us – pleasing ourselves or serving You? Help us, Lord, not to be “lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure”. “Lovers of God” – this is what You call us to be (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Help us, Lord, to keep on making our choice – to become the kind of people that You want us to be.
May we rejoice greatly when Jesus stands among us as our loving Saviour ...
Lord, You want to “establish Your Word” among us (1 Kings 6:12). Do we “rejoice greatly” when we hear Your Word (1 Kings 5:7)? Help us to welcome Jesus Christ, “the Word made flesh”, the living Word who “dwells among us, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Help us to welcome Him as “Emmanuel – God with us” (Matthew 1:23). May we rejoice greatly when Jesus stands among us as our loving Saviour, when He comes to us as the risen Lord, when He speaks to us as Your living Word.
Before we can speak for You, Lord, we must take time to listen to You.
‘I
did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I
did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied’ (Jeremiah 23:21).
Before we can speak for You, Lord, we must take time to listen to You.
Teach us that we dare not attempt to speak for You if we are not
prepared to spend time listening to You. Everything could have been so
different - if ‘these prophets’ had taken time to listen to You: ‘If
they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My
people and would have turned them from their evil ways’ (Jeremiah
23:22). Lord, You don't force us to listen to Your Word. You invite us
to listen. The choice is ours. We can allow other things to become more
important than spending time with You. Help us, Lord, never to become
‘too busy’ for the ‘one thing’ that is more important than anything else
- listening to Your Word (Luke 10:41-42).
Lord, You are not only ‘the Holy One of Israel’. You are ‘the God of the whole earth.’
Lord, You are not only ‘the Holy One of Israel’. You are ‘the God of the whole
earth’ (Isaiah 54:5). We thank You that the Gospel is for ‘all nations’. The ministry of Christ’s
apostles began in ‘Jerusalem’. We thank You that it did not end there. The Gospel was
to be taken ‘to the ends of the earth’ (Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8). Taking
the Gospel out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth was not easy.
The apostles faced much opposition. We thank You that they stood upon Your promise: ‘No
weapon formed against you shall prosper’ (Isaiah 54:17). When, Lord, we face opposition,
help us to take our stand on Your Word: ‘If God is for us, who can be
against us?’ (Romans 8:31). Even when our words seem to fall on stony
ground, give us the strength that we need to keep on speaking the Word of Your love: ‘With
everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your
Redeemer’ (Isaiah 54:8).
Lord, You call us to return to You.
Lord,
You call us to return to You: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found...’
(Isaiah 55:6-7). No
one seems to be listening. What are we to do? Help us to remember Your
promise: ‘My Word will not return to Me empty’ (Isaiah 55:11). We do not
see all
that You are doing. You are doing much more than we realize - ‘My
thoughts
are not your thoughts...’ (Isaiah 55:8-9). We may be feeling very
despondent -
‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything’ (Luke
5:5). You still come to us with His Word of encouragement: ‘You
shall go out with joy...’ (Isaiah 55:12). Before there is joy, there may
be many
tears. When there seems to be nothing but disappointments, help us to
remember Your promise: ‘Those who sow in tears will reap with
songs of joy...’ (Psalm 126:5-6). When we feel discouraged, help us not
to ‘judge before the time...’
(1 Corinthians 4:5).
In Jesus, Your Perfect Son, we see Your love and Your faithfulness. Thank You, Lord.
‘In
love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a Man will sit on it
– One from the house of David…’ (Isaiah 16:5). Lord, we read these
words, and we look beyond David – to Jesus, ‘the Son of God’ (Romans
1:4). David was the king of Israel. Jesus is the King of kings. In
Jesus, Your Perfect Son, we see Your love and Your faithfulness. Thank
You, Lord.
Help us, Lord, to let Jesus be our first love, our only love – for the whole of our life.
‘You have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge’ (Isaiah 17:10). Lord, we find it so easy to forget – and so hard to remember. You have loved us so much. We should remember to say, ‘Thank You, Lord’. Very often, we forget. When Jesus healed ten lepers, only ‘one of them came back’ to say ‘Thank You’. Far too often, we are like ‘the other nine’ (Luke 17:11-19). We forget to thank You for Your love. We take Your love for granted. We should be celebrating. We should be letting You know how much we love You. We forget ‘our first love’ (Revelation 2:4). Help us to let Jesus be our first love, our only love – for the whole of our life.
Good News of great joy for all nations and all generations - Thank You, Lord.
Lord,
we read the words of prophecy – “To us a Child is born, to us a Son is
given … ” – and we rejoice in the fulfilment of prophecy – “Today in the
town of David, a Saviour has been born to you.” What a great Saviour
Jesus is – He is our “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:11). Lord, this is “Good
News of great joy” – for “all the people” and for “all generations”
(Luke 2:10; Luke 1:46-50). Thank You, Lord.
May we ‘be filled with the Spirit’ and may ‘the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.’
‘Keep
your heart on the right path’ (Proverbs 23:19). Lord, we read these
words, and we wonder, ‘How are we to do this?’ Help us to seek ‘truth,
wisdom, instruction and understanding’ (Proverbs 23:23). Help us to give
our hearts to Christ. He is ‘the Truth’ (John 14:6). Help us to open
our hearts to Christ. He is ‘our Wisdom’ (1 Corinthians 1:30). Opening
our hearts will mean opening our Bibles. Giving our hearts to Christ
will mean giving time to reading Your Word. As we read ‘the Scriptures’,
we will receive ‘instruction’. We will learn about ‘salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus’. We will receive ‘instruction for right living’
(2 Timothy 3:14-17). Help us, Lord, as we read Your Word, to pray that
the Holy Spirit will give us ‘understanding’ (1 Corinthians 2:9-13). May
we ‘be filled with the Spirit’ and may ‘the Word of Christ dwell in us
richly’ (Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16).
We thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin.
We
thank You, Lord, that Your salvation is greater than our sin. We look
at Christ's sacrifice - He gave Himself in death for us. We are glad
that He is our Saviour. He has taken our sin upon Himself. He gives Your
salvation to us. Thank You, Lord.
Lord, where have all the years gone?
Lord, where have all the years gone? Five years becomes ten years. Ten
years becomes twenty years. Twenty years becomes forty years …. Is there
something more than this? – We thank You that You are the eternal God.
In all the changing circumstances of our life, help us to remember this:
“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting
arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). You are the eternal God. Your love is
unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. This is our encouragement – when
everything around us is changing. We are encouraged. Lord, may we also
be challenged: How much of our life is bringing glory to You?
Thursday 11 April 2024
Help us, Lord, to build our life on Christ, ‘the solid Rock.’
We
thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus Christ, is ‘the precious
Cornerstone’. He is ‘the sure Foundation’ (Isaiah 28:16). Jesus is the
Name of our salvation – ‘Salvation is found in no-one else… there is no
other name… by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:10-12). There is only one
‘Foundation’ for our faith – ‘Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 3:11). He is
the ‘chosen and precious Cornerstone’ – ‘to you who believe, this Stone
is precious’ (1 Peter 2:6-7). Help us, Lord, to build our life on
Christ, ‘the solid Rock’ - ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’
blood and righteousness; no merit of my own I claim, but wholly trust
in Jesus’ Name. When weary in this earthly race, I rest on His
unchanging grace… When earthly hopes are swept away, He will uphold me
on that Day. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand. All other ground is
sinking sand’ (Matthew 7:24-27).
Yes, Lord! I want You to be my salvation and my strength.
‘In
returning and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your
strength, but you would have none of it. You said, “No!”’ (Isaiah
30:15-16). Lord, You want to bless us. You want to be our ‘salvation.’
You want to be our ‘strength.’ How do You bless us? How do You become
our ‘salvation’? How do You become our ‘strength’? We must want Your
blessing. We must want Your ‘salvation.’ We must want Your ‘strength.’
We must return to You and rest in You. We must quietly listen to Your
Word, putting our trust in You. There is no ‘salvation’ without
‘returning and rest.’ There is no ‘strength’ without ‘quietness and
trust.’ You, Lord, do not force Yourself upon us. We can say, ‘No! I
will have none of it’. You want to bless you. Help us, Lord, to say,
‘Yes, Lord! I want You to be my salvation. I want You to be my strength.’
The one true wisdom - faith in "Christ crucified."
‘The
wisdom of the wise will perish’ (Isaiah 29:14). As, Lord, we read these
words, may we know that there is another ‘wisdom’, a ‘wisdom’ which
shall not perish, a ‘wisdom’ which is ‘wiser than man’s wisdom’. Christ
is ‘the Wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24-25). May we know that, with
Christ as our Saviour, we ‘shall not perish.’ Through faith in Him, we
receive the ‘wisdom’ which brings ‘salvation’ (John 3:16; 2 Timothy
3:15). He is ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’ (John 14:6). He is the
Way to true wisdom. He is the Truth upon which true wisdom is based. He
is the Life which is based on true wisdom. He is
true Wisdom. Help us, Lord, not to seek wisdom apart from faith in
Jesus Christ – ‘the world did not know God through wisdom.’ May we know
that there is one true wisdom which does ‘not rest in the wisdom of men
but in the power of God’ – faith in ‘Christ crucified’ (1 Corinthians
1:21-23; 2:1-5).
Fear God and keep His commandments.
“Fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Lord, we
read these words, and we wonder, “How can we even begin to fear You and
keep Your commandments when our hearts are full of sin?” We ask, “How
can our hearts be cleansed from sin?” We cannot do this for ourselves.
Only You can do this for us. Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, You give us
such great blessings: “I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart
and put a new Spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:24). Thank You, Lord.
Help us, Lord, not to miss out on Your blessing.
‘So
that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you’
(Proverbs 22:19). Lord, there are many people who say, ‘It’s not for
me’. They know that others have been greatly blessed through reading
God’s Word. Still, they do not take the trouble to read Your Word for
themselves. They can’t be bothered. Receiving God’s blessing doesn’t
really matter that much to them. Help us, Lord, not to miss out on Your
blessing. Your Word is for every one of us. It’s not just for somebody
else. To each one of us, You say, ‘It’s for you – ‘even you’.
Some people say, ‘I’ll read God’s Word tomorrow’. When ‘tomorrow’ comes
around, they’re still saying the same thing – ‘I’ll read God’s Word
tomorrow’! Sadly, their ‘tomorrow’ never comes. They never get round to
reading God’s Word. They’re missing out on so much. Help us not to
say, ‘I’ll leave it till tomorrow’. Help us to read Your Word ‘today’.
We thank You, Lord, for Your ‘Good News.’
We
thank You, Lord, for Your ‘Good
News’ - Help us to ‘shout for joy’. As we receive ‘Good News’ from You,
may we sing ‘songs of
joy.’ We thank You for the Good News of Your reign - ‘Your God reigns’
and the Good News of our redemption - ‘The Lord has redeemed’ us. Help
us not to keep the Good News to ourselves. This ‘news of happiness’ is
to
be shared with everyone. May we let ‘all the ends of the earth see the
salvation of our God’. ‘Christ died for our sins’ - This is Good News.
Christ was ‘raised on the third day’ - This is Good News. ‘Jesus is
Lord’ - This is Good News. This is the Good News we must ‘pass on’ to
others. In our world, Lord, there is so much bad news. Help us not to
let the
Good News be drowned out by the bad news. Help us to make sure that the
people hear the Good News - loud and clear (Isaiah 52:7-10; 1
Corinthians 15:3-4; Mission Praise, 249).
We thank You, Lord, that You have given to us words of prophecy ..
We
thank You, Lord, that You have given to us words of prophecy, wonderful
words that point us to Jesus Christ, crucified for us - ‘the
Lord has laid all our sins on Him’ - and risen from the dead - ‘After
the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life’ (Isaiah
53:6,11). ‘Were
you there when they crucified my Lord?’ (Mission Praise,
745). We might put this question to Isaiah. In one sense, he wasn’t
there. He lived long before the time of Christ. In another sense, he was
there. You, Lord, opened his eyes. You gave him a glimpse of what was going to
happen in the future. ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ In
one sense, we weren’t there. These things happened long before we were
even born. In another sense, we were there. It was our sins which Christ took with Him to the Cross. It was our
sins which He left behind Him when He rose from the dead (Romans 4:25).
Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our Saviour. Thank You for all that He has
done for us.
Satan is much more powerful than we are. He's not more powerful than You, Lord.
"Satan
stood up against Israel ... " (1 Chronicles 21:1). Satan is much more
powerful than we are. He's not more powerful than You, Lord. Satan
prevails against us. He does not prevail against You. Help us, Lord, to
come to You - and receive Your prevailing power. In our own strength, we
cannot stand against Satan. In Your strength, we shall stand against
him - and we shall triumph over him.
What joy, Lord, there is for us when we return to You.
You
call us, Lord, to return to You. You promise to welcome us (2
Chronicles 30:9). Where does our returning come from? Where does our
rejoicing come from? They both come from You. You put it into our hearts
- to return to You (2 Chronicles 30:12). What joy there is for us when
we return to You - "The good Lord pardons every one who sets his heart
to seek God" (2 Chronicles 30:18-19).
Lord, we have walked away from Your House ...
‘I have loved you
with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness’
(Jeremiah 31:3). So often, Lord, we have been like ‘the prodigal son’
(Luke 15:11-24). We have walked away from Your House. We have wandered
off into ‘the far country’. We feel that we are far from You, yet still
You draw near to us. You, Lord, are at work in our hearts. You are
bringing us ‘to our senses’. You are reminding us of Your love. You are
drawing us back to Yourself. In love, You are calling us home again. You
are speaking to our hearts. You are saying to us, ‘I have loved you
with an everlasting love’. As Your love reaches our hearts, ‘the
prodigal son’ becomes ‘the returning son’: ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son’. ‘Bring me back, let me come back, for you are the Lord my God!’
(Jeremiah 31:18).
Help us, Lord, to be active for You and to wait upon You.
Help us, Lord, to be active for You - "the people who know their God
will be strong and take action" (Daniel 11:32) - and to wait upon You -
"those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength" (Isaiah
40:31). We need both - prayer and action, seeking Your will and doing
Your will. Give us wisdom to know Your will, and courage to do Your
will.
We thank You, Lord, that victory comes from You.
We thank You, Lord, that victory comes from You - "I have handed Jericho
over to you" (Joshua 6:2). Help us to receive Your victory by faith -
"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down" (Hebrews 11:30). We don't
achieve this victory in our own strength. You give us Your promise of
victory. Help us to believe Your promise - to receive the victory as
Your gift, to stand upon Your promise and claim the victory that You
give to us.
You call us, Lord, to seek You - and You also call us to serve You.
You
call us, Lord, to seek You - and You also call us to serve You (2
Chronicles 31:20-21). Where does our seeking and serving come from? It
comes from Your salvation. We read the words, "The Lord saved Hezekiah" (
2 Chronicles 32::22) - and we think of our salvation. We rejoice in
Your precious promise - "All the ends of the earth, turn to Me and be
saved" (Isaiah 45:22). We rejoice in our gracious Saviour - Jesus
Christ, "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42).
Lord, You are the God of love ...
Lord,
You are the God of love. You are also the God of holiness. We like to
hear about Your love. It makes us feel good. We're not so keen on
hearing about Your holiness. You are the holy God. You are the God who
calls us to be holy. Help us, Lord, not to be content with the
half-truth, contained in the words, "All you need is love." We do need
love - but we also need holiness. Help us to "strive ... for the
holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
Lord, we make everything so complicated.
Lord,
we make everything so complicated. We go our own way - and everything
gets very messy. Everything would be so much simpler - if we kept our
eyes on You. When we are tempted to turn away from You, help us, Lord,
to keep on looking to You - and to know that we are "loved with
everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3).
Lord, we thank You that You are in control ...
Lord,
we thank You that You are in control of the things that are happening
to us. We do not always understand what's going on - but you do!
Sometimes, Lord, we wonder what it's all about!
Sometimes,
Lord, we wonder what it's all about! When we feel like this, help us to
know that You love us. Help us to see that You are working in us - to
teach us to love You.
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Lord, help us not to say, ‘I will follow You’, and then change our mind.
‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey My words?’ (Jeremiah 35:13) - ‘Jonadab, son of Rechab, ordered his sons not to drink wine and this ...
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Lord, may there be less trying to get our own way - and more walking in Your way.