The good news of Christ
That confident Man who moved in Israel,
Aware of Heaven’s power at work in Him,
Confronted evil and gave Himself to die
At the hands of sinful men upon the Cross.
In that shadow I die, and in His light
I live to follow His lead — Humbly I step,
With knowledge that daily He saves my soul.
More, O God, make me to be like Him.
The idea for this prayer came from this quote.
Faithful, consistent, unfailing—this,
O Lord, is what you are and what
I want to be—never amiss
In duty, doing what I ought,
Loving, kind, committed—waste
Not, want not, nothing in the wind,
Feet firmly planted, no foolish haste,
Nor laggard, but with a focused mind
I’d serve, with never a selfish thought,
I’d daily heft my cross—with gladness,
Redemptive pain, approval sought
From you and only you—I’ll banish
Desire for shallow human praise—
Your truth my company’s colors to raise.
With selfies is the world obsessed —
Appearance — figures that look the best —
The eye sees only flesh and youth,
The painted nail, the whitened tooth;
From beauty’s love, O Lord, protect —
It fails to see the worth of the soul —
The Spirit’s fruit in me perfect,
Where Jesus’ face is captured whole.
Heavenly Father, make us like Jesus, for we strive to be like him. This is our goal, because we know he pleased you in all things and shared an intimate relationship with you.
Also, we want others to see him in us, so that they might be saved through our words and actions.
Empower us to remove any thoughts or behaviors inconsistent with his life. Continue reading “We want others to see Jesus in us”
Father, if clothes make the man, we want to put on Christ and be clothed with your love and compassion.
If accessories complete a wardrobe, we want to be complete in the Lord Jesus by not lacking in any attribute of his, as we imitate his example.
We want people to identify us by the attitudes and actions of him who saved us by his blood. Continue reading “If clothes make the man”
Teach me, O God, what it means to be a true and living sacrifice to you. Let me see in Jesus that complete offering of life to your will. I want to follow his example. Help me to be willing to go wherever that decision of sacrifice leads.
Your tender mercies are my motivation. Your love and kindness lead me to this spiritual service. Your goodness is my goad. Let your grace always occupy the space of my spiritual vision. Continue reading “Your goodness is my goad”