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So many options and opportunities

Father, create a climate for your gospel to grow in this place. May government officials allow us to live in peace. Help us to be good citizens. Let our proclamation of Christ to each person have good results and contribute to a more just society. Bless us that we might be a blessing to others.

Father, there is so much to be thankful for, all from your good hand.

  • Thank you for so many options and opportunities.
  • Thank you for wisdom to use our time properly.
  • Thank you for your Spirit who gives us self-control.
  • Thank you for boldness in Christ to show the way through kind and true words.
  • Thank you for like-minded brothers and sisters who live by your will and pray at all times.
  • Thank you for a clear mind, a sound body, a tender soul, a seeking spirit.
  • Thank you for making us participants in the grace of salvation and in the mission of Christ.
  • Thank you for knowledge and wisdom to walk before you in love.
  • Thank you for providing for needs and for making your provisions always available to us.
  • Thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus the Lord who gave himself in our place, for our forgiveness.

Let my tongue be loosed today, so that it may speak of your goodness and love. Father, let the seed of truth bear fruit that remains to eternity.

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Rethink Your Religion

Recently my wife and I attended a high school musical to support some of her students involved.  We asked a teacher selling tickets how it was, and her answer was “It’s so good, it’ll make you rethink your religion.”  This drastic measure is similar to the southern expression, “It’s so good, it’ll make you slap your Mama.”  Here, the food someone is eating is so delicious that the eater will be forced to strike his mother because her homemade cooking doesn’t compare.  While it was not intended to be a personal slight against our faith, ‘religion,’ in the first expression, is recognized as something intensely meaningful to people.  And so, to describe how good she considered the show, she said the experience would make us reconsider our core values–even the gospel that brings salvation!

I. Colossians 2:6-23.  The postmodern world we live in doesn’t believe in God and so has severed itself from Him and His Word as a standard for our lives.  It desperately seeks meaning and purpose and so grabs onto emotion and experience to futilely try to quench that need.  Sadly, many churches believe they must infuse their worship with the “hollow and deceptive philosophy” of the world as they have missed the deep and sufficient meaning and purpose in the gospel of Christ.

II. Acts 9:1-22.  There is a time to ‘rethink our religion.’  Saul, who became Paul, encountered such a time on the road to Damascus as he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.”  When he realized he was persecuting Jesus who not only gives eternal life but a second chance on life, he was baptized and became a powerful preacher in the early church, who was willing to be persecuted for Jesus instead (Philippians 3:10-11).

III. Acts 18:24-28.  Complacency or misdirected zeal is another reason to ‘rethink our religion.’  There was no doubt that Apollos was a bold preacher already, but his knowledge was insufficient.  After Priscilla and Aquilla took him aside and “explained to him the way of God more adequately,” God used him to debate and prove from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.  A similar story happens with those still called “disciples” that Paul encountered that didn’t know about the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-7).

Although the acting and musicianship of my wife’s students were superb, we didn’t much care for the worldly message of the musical.  The good and enjoyable experience was not enough for us to ‘rethink our religion,’ and we left sad for the wonderful packaging wrapped around ungodly themes but still holding onto our core values of the gospel of Christ.  What else could compare to it?

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April Fools! He is Risen!

Of course the Bible tells us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on every first day of the week, but many are looking for a particular emphasis on this topic on the cultural (and religious) holiday many call ‘Easter.’  It doesn’t happen very often, but this year that day falls on April 1.  So, just who were made fools because Jesus was raised from the dead?

  1. Hebrews 2:14-18.  Perhaps Satan was the biggest fool.  Because of our sin, he held the power of death and reveled in our fear of death.  On that Friday Passover so long ago, it certainly appeared that Satan and the grave had won.  All of mankind were sinners and had earned death by our sins.  Jesus denied any power that God in the flesh could have wielded and in weakness died a criminal’s death.

2.  Romans 1:18-32.  Sinners are next.  These are people who do not retain the knowledge of God although God’s eternal power (the resurrection) and divine nature are clearly seen from what has been made.  Without excuse, these unrepentant sinners plunge willingly into their various sins, while believing themselves wise, enlightened “Christians.”  God gives these “fools” over to their sins.

3.  Psalm 14:1.  God calls atheists fools.  In their book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, Geisler and Turek argue that in the face of such overwhelming evidence for the existence of God, great faith is needed to hold to the untenable position of disbelief.  Beyond that, how sad that atheists let go of any hope for eternity that comes through Jesus’ resurrection overcoming sin and death.

We should not be fooled by Jesus’ resurrection.  Rather, that He was risen ought to help us prepare.

 

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Keep us from playing the negative “What-If” game

Father of spirits and God of fulfilled plans, keep us from playing the negative “What-If” game. Help us to root out all forms of worry and anxiety.

Ground us in today, that we might live fully in this moment, knowing that you have set our future in the brightest terms. Open our eyes to possibilities and opportunities. Shut down our fears with your promise of blessing and joy.

Stand us upon those spiritual realities we possess. Reroute our thoughts away from needs and what is missing in our lives. The gospel is ours; let us endure privation with gratitude for participation in your mission.

May you be praised for your wonderful gift of life, which sets us in your glorious presence and turns us toward the heavenly hope.

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Our Thanks We Give

Father, thank you for rain to refresh the earth,
And for the Spirit to reaffirm our worth;
We thank you for the moist and nurturing soil,
And for a heavenly purpose behind our toil;
Our thanks we give for sun and moon and stars,
For time to make the blessed gospel ours;
To you we owe all praise for life and health,
For freedom from our sin and carnal filth;
Blest be the God who made the ocean waves,
And brought to man the Son who fully saves.

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We breathe your air

Lord God, you are sovereign over all creation. You spoke absolutely everything into existence with the word of your mouth. You planned it all and brought it all to fruition. You sustain the universe and keep planets and galaxies in line. All life depends on your moment-by-moment, constant care. We breathe your air. We eat food you cause to grow. We move within a protective bubble of atmosphere, gravity, earth, weather, seasons, and water, with perfect conditions for our well-being. You are to be praised and thanked every day, time and again, for all you have done and continue to do for us.

We’ve no idea what might happen today. Misfortune may fall. Time and chance occur in our lives. Disaster and death may invade our routine. Things we consider blessings may happen as well. Plans will most certainly go awry. We confess that we do not have control over our world or our surroundings. But you know all things. You are in control. We cannot blame you for anything, for you intend only our good. Often, we suffer because of sin. This world has been affected by it. We must cope and work in between Eden and Heaven. We trust in you. We want to live by the power of the Word and the strength of your Spirit. Glorify the Lord Jesus in us.

Give us courage to speak and act like your people. Help us to live out the Good News. Put words into our mouths to speak to those in need, from the outflow of holy Scripture which we have stored up in our hearts. You do not offer us religion, but life. In the Way is love, hope, goodness, joy, and peace. Let us speak constantly of these and possess them in our hearts.

The world is in need of them as well. Thank you for folding us into your plan of salvation, for making us a part of this great mission to save souls. The responsibility awes us, we feel the weight of the work before us. Such an eternal impact that we can make causes us to rejoice. We can do something that truly will last forever. As we also do when we pray for others’ salvation and for our brothers’ effort to teach about Jesus’ death.

  • Bless plans of some brothers to travel to China and teach.
  • Give good results to our friends in New Zealand, Britain, Belgium, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ireland, Bolivia, South Africa, South Sudan, and Japan.
  • Bring the gospel to the Bind people of India, who as far as we know have no one to work among them.
  • Bless the efforts of our good friends Randy and Kathy Short in Recife, Brazil.

Father, you give your children unity of purpose, mind, and heart. Help us to speak the same language. Cause the Good News to give us one voice. May we be known for our love for one another. May the truth shine forth, and not opinions or personalities.

Make this day a moment of victory, whatever happens. Bless our families and our marriages. Lead our children and our siblings to your love. Give our parents your blessing for their patience with us. Let friends and neighbors be touched through your presence in us. Glorify yourself in us, may your name be praised in every way.

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You know my weaknesses and strengths

Lord God, you know my weaknesses and my strengths, my struggles and my thoughts. There is nothing you do not know about me and about the whole universe, for you made it all and give life to all things.

Give me humility, help me to be small in my own eyes, break the pride that remains. Let me trust in you and place you in front of my life—my God and my Lord!

Make this month a time of reflection and purpose, a period of mindfulness and opportunity. If it will serve the kingdom, let us reset our faith and firm up our determination by “reinventing” ourselves, as the author of one book suggests. Let that activity be toward the image of Christ, in the power of the Spirit, according to your word and will.

  • Please bring quietness and peace to the country of Honduras, in their presidential elections.
  • Make a solution surface for N. Korea, at the same time opening that country to the gospel. Let our brethren prepare for that moment.
  • Open China further to working there for the gospel’s sake.
  • And give us more workers here in Brazil for the fields.
  • Make our own work effective, bring forth fruit that will spread the word across our region.

Bless our families with faith and vitality and resilience. Make them strong to meet the challenges, loving to serve their neighbors, compassionate in their dealings with everyone.

Give to all your people faith and love and hope. Use me to encourage, to instruct, to motivate toward good works.

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The success of the gospel

Lord, thank you for the success of the gospel.

  • For reaching hearts that are searching for truth and purpose.
  • For establishing true community and fellowship among disparate people.
  • For breaking down barriers that the world and sin have raised.
  • For giving a spiritual family to those who have none, or whose natural family is dysfunctional.
  • For creating hope in the hearts of those who have no future.
  • For empowering the weak to change and be transformed.
  • For folding every rescued soul into the mission of saving others.
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Eyes and ears

Lord, how much we’re affected by negative thoughts and worldly conversations around us! How badly we turn to bitterness, anxiety, resentment, worry, and selfishness! Renew our minds daily. Put the word in front of us. Remind us that we have every reason to rejoice.

Thank you for the gift of forgiveness in Jesus Christ, meaning that we can enjoy your presence and blessing. Thank you for the gift of the spiritual family, who befriends us in Christ and prompts us to grow. Thank you for your gift of the Spirit, who dwells in us and produces that spiritual fruit which remains forever.

Help us to use our eyes and ears for spiritual gain. Help us to learn wisdom. Help us to see our neighbor’s need and hear the emptiness of his heart. Help us to speak that word of encouragement, that message of salvation, that he has yet to obey.

While the world rants about politics, corruption, and injustice, let us give example of righteousness, self-control, and honesty. Thank you for the possibility of doing this through your strength and character.

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The wonders of the gospel

Lord of love and life, we thank you for another day to serve and learn. Let us forget ourselves in order to occupy ourselves with your glory and with our neighbor’s need.

Turn our attention to the wonders of the gospel, both for our own benefit and growth, as well as for those who have not yet heard the truth.

Fill our hearts with grace, and satisfy us with your presence.