Thursday, December 31, 2009

VERSE:

VERSE:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
-- John 3:3
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=John+3:3&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
"Fast away the old year passes ..." But we can be new and fresh
and clean (cf. 2 Cor. 4:17). Kingdom people are those who have been
born fresh and new through the power of the Spirit and the grace of
God (cf. John 3:3-7; Titus 3:3-7; John 1:11). So as we close out
the old year, with its good things and bad, achievements and
failures, successes and disappointments, let's approach the New
Year as Kingdom people. God's mercies are new every morning and our
lives can be made new every day by the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Yes, we have been born again. But each sunrise offers us the
opportunity to be made new, to live in a fresh new way, as God's
grace rekindles our hopes and the Holy Spirit makes us new as we
trust in Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, you are holy and righteous. I confess that as
hard as I have tried and as much as I have wanted to be holy and
righteous, without your grace and the empowering presence of the
Holy Spirit, I fail. Thank you for your forgiveness. Please make me
new. As I stand on the threshold of a new year, please empower me
beyond my weaknesses and besetting sins. Open my eyes to your work
in the world around me and use me in your work of grace. Fire my
passion to live fully for your Kingdom and my King, Jesus Christ,
in whose name I pray. Amen.

FILLING THE EARTH WITH GOD'S GOODNESS

FILLING THE EARTH WITH GOD'S GOODNESS

Philemon 1-16
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Philemon+1-16

Dear Father, bestower of freedom,

Thank you for the love and the faith which you have put in your
people. Please help them share this with each other and with the
world. Let this promote the knowledge of all the good that is ours
in Christ Jesus. Put such joy in our hearts and such gladness on
our faces that people will want to know what makes us happy.

Help each of us to render such help and comfort, expressing our
love, that the hearts of all your holy people will be refreshed.
Help us not to make demands on each other, but to entreat, seeking
consent, so that the good we ask from others might not be given
through compulsion but through free will. Help us to bind up broken
relationships. Help us to be willing to step into the breach, to
enable others to make amends, even if it costs us money, effort, or
time.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with our spirits. In his name I
ask. Amen.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

VERSE:

VERSE:
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name...
-- John 1:12
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=John+1:12&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
Isn't it incredible that we are called children of God!? But
that is exactly what we are! (cf. 1 John 3:1-3.) We are God's
children. Our Father created the universe with its billions and
billions of heavenly bodies. Our Father paints a new sunset every
day and chases away the darkness every morning. Our Father not only
loves us, but he also claims us as his own and will bring us to his
eternal home. Why? Because we heard his message in Jesus. Because
we received his grace offered in his Son. Incredible! Glorious!
Grace!

PRAYER:
Abba Father, thank you for claiming me as your child through
Jesus, in whose name I praise and thank you. Amen.

WORKING TOGETHER

WORKING TOGETHER

Colossians 4:12-18
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+4:12-18

Dear Father,

Help us to remember each other earnestly in our prayers.

Help us to stand mature and to be fully assured in your will.

Help us encourage one another to carry our assigned works to
completion.

Help us fulfil whatever ministry we have received in the Lord.

Help us to remember those who are in prison, and those who suffer
in any way for your service.

May your perfect grace sustain and keep all of us.

In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.

Monday, December 28, 2009

VERSE:

VERSE:
No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
-- John 1:18
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=John+1:18&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
Jesus is God's greatest message. He not only proclaims and
declares God's love, mercy, and grace; he has made it known. Only
Jesus can display God to us fully, for he is one with the Father.
Yet when we "see" Jesus ministering in the Gospels, we see God. If
we want to know how God feels about us, all we have to do is look
at how Jesus ministers to others. If we want to know what God would
do for us, we can notice what Jesus does to bless others. Jesus is
our window to the Father's heart. So as this year winds down, and
as you stand in the afterglow of Christmas, why not make a
commitment to get to know Jesus better in this coming year by
spending more time with him in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John)? If you do, you will better know God!

PRAYER:
Thank you, Father, for giving me a window to your heart through
the life and ministry of Jesus. Please bless me as I seek to know
you better by knowing, understanding, and following Jesus more
passionately. I pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, my
Lord. Amen.
FULLNESS OF LOVE

Colossians 4:2-6
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+4:2-6

Dear Father, grantor of wisdom,

Help me conduct myself wisely toward outsiders, making the most of
the time.

Let my speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, and may I
always know how to answer.

Help me and all your saints to show ourselves to be a people who
live life to the fullest, because we live in the fullness of your
love shown in Jesus Christ!

In the name of Jesus I ask you to fill our lives with your holy
life and to claim all our motives and deeds as your own. Amen.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

UNCEASING PRAYER

UNCEASING PRAYER

Colossians 4:2-6
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+4:2-6

Dear Father, who answers our prayers,

Help me to be steadfast in my praying to you, even to stay awake
that I may pray!

Fill my life with thanksgiving to you.

O God, I pray for all your servants everywhere that you may open a
door for us to proclaim your Word, to declare the now-public secret
- Christ crucified, glorified, and coming - and to make the message
clear, as we ought to speak.

In the name of Jesus I ask you to fill our lives with your holy
life and to claim all our motives and deeds as your own. Amen.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

RELATIONSHIPS

RELATIONSHIPS

Colossians 3:18-4:1
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+3:18-4:1

Dear Father,

May Christian wives and husbands relate to each other as is
fitting in the Lord, with subjection and kindness.

May children obey their parents and may parents not provoke the
children.

May we work at our jobs in ways which will put honoring you above
trying to please someone.

Whatever our tasks, help us to work heartily, serving you.

Help us all to treat each other fairly in all our relationships.

In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

IN CHRIST, THE FULLNESS OF DEITY

IN CHRIST, THE FULLNESS OF DEITY

Colossians 2:8-9
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+2:8-9

Dear Father,

May I never be impressed with the philosophy and empty deceit that
comes out of human traditions which do not agree with Christ.

Keep me from being enticed by teachings that root their knowledge
in the elemental spirits of the universe, the laws of nature, and
in scientism, but not in Christ.

Help us to understand what it means that the very fullness of
deity dwells in our Lord bodily and that we have come to the
fullness of life in him and that he is the head of all rule and
authority.

Help us to hold fast to Christ, who is our head, in whose name I
pray. Amen.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

YOU MADE ENDURANCE POSSIBLE!

YOU MADE ENDURANCE POSSIBLE!

Colossians 1:23
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+1:23

Dear Father,

Help me to continue in the faith by holding on to what you have
given and by being stable and steadfast.

Don't let anything move me away from the hope of the Good News
which I heard, which was proclaimed throughout the whole creation
under heaven.

You make my endurance possible by filling me with your Spirit.
Fill me more and more! And thank you for being my Father.

In the name of Jesus and by his authority I ask. Amen

Monday, December 7, 2009

FILLED WITH KNOWLEDGE

FILLED WITH KNOWLEDGE

Colossians 1:9-10
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+1:9-10

Dear Father,

Help me and all of your people everywhere to be filled with
complete knowledge of what you want, in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding.

Keep stirring up my spirit to make me want to lead a life worthy
of the Lord Jesus Christ, a full life because it is fully pleasing
to him.

May I bear fruit in every good work. May I daily increase in my
knowledge of you.

In the name of Jesus, our awesome Lord. Amen.

In Need of a Savior

In Need of a Savior
Alan Riley
David Miller, a ministry friend of mine relates the story of the birth of his first child. When his son was born, David was sure that there had never been a child born to man and woman to compare to this special child. "But it wasn't long after we brought him home from the hospital," David relates, "that we realized that the chain of sin was still unbroken!"

We laughed when we heard David tell that story, but he makes an important point. His child was born with a sinful nature. You and I were, too. We all were. It is a legacy passed down from Adam. Each one of us at some point in our lives makes a conscious choice to disobey God and sin, but that is because we were born with a sinful nature, a bent toward sinning, if you will.

People sometimes get upset with you if you tell them they are a sinner. They think we are judging them, but in reality that is something that we have in common with them. The Apostle Paul said that he was the "chief of sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15). John reminded us that if we say we have not sinned we are a liar (1 John 1:8).

The late Rich Mullins (writer of "Awesome God" and "Sing Your Praise to the Lord") told the story of getting stranded at an inn while on a hike. To meet back up with his party would require a ten mile walk and he was already spent from the day's hike. He struck up a conversation with a man at the inn and in the course of the conversation, Mullins shared that he was a Christian musician. The man offered to give Mullins a ride to meet his party, but said there was something he needed to tell him first. "I am gay" the man told him. Rich chuckled and replied that he still needed a ride to the drop off point! As he took Rich to meet up with his hiking companions, the man was silent for most of the trip.

Finally he turned to Rich and asked, "Does God hate me?" Mullins wrote that the question, and the heart cry behind it broke his heart. He turned to the man and said, "God loves you as much as He loves me! Yes, God hates the sin in your life, but no more than he hates the sin in my life." The man realized that in Rich Mullins he had found a friend, not a judge. That is how we need to relate to those around us, many of whom are struggling with sin. We aren't better than them, we're just forgiven. When I share Christ with others, I am just one beggar telling another beggar where I found food.

We tend to want to rank sin in order of severity, but God doesn't make such distinctions. It's true that in the Old Testament (Proverbs 6) there is a list of things God despises, but included on that list are lying and sowing discord among brothers. Ever lied before? (If your answer is no, read 1 John 1:8 again!) Sin is sin. It is all rebellion against Him. We are all in need of saving. We are all in need of a Savior.

That is what we celebrate this Christmas season. We need to look beyond all the hype and the materialism of the holiday and focus in on the baby in a manger in Bethlehem. The only child who ever chose to be born. The one who left the glory of heaven to save us from our sins.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 1 John 1:10-14 (NKJV)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

VERSE:

VERSE:
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God…
-- Philippians 2:5-6
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Philippians+2:5-6&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
Jesus did not hang on to his heavenly glory, but surrendered it
to save us. Now he asks us to follow his example and share his
heart. He wants us to treat each other as he has treated us,
thinking of others' needs and God's will before our own. Now that's
one revolution I hope I get to see fully happen!

PRAYER:
O Father God, please transform my heart and mind by the power of
your Holy Spirit. I want my thoughts to be your thoughts. I want my
heart's desire to reflect the passions of your Son. I want my will
to be guided by your Spirit. Please forgive my tendency to
ruthlessly hang on to my own importance, my own will, and my own
self-justification, even when I know it is not right or best. Make
my mind more like the mind of your Son. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.

SOWING FAITH, HOPE, LOVE

SOWING FAITH, HOPE, LOVE

Colossians 1:3-5
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Colossians+1:3-5

Dear Father, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

We thank you for every brother and sister, young and old, who has
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and who is learning to love all your
saints because of the hope that is laid up for us in heaven.

Thank you for letting us hear about this abiding faith, hope, and
love in your word.

Thank you that your Word was proclaimed to us.

In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.