Entries for November 2014

KEEP GIVING THANKS

" Therefore by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifices of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15

There are times it may seem like it is not the right time or place to give thanks.

The context of this verse is an invitation to Golgotha, the place outside Jerusalem, where Jesus died on a cross for us. It was not a place of thanksgiving, but a place of bitter disgrace and shameful death. It was a dump for shattered hopes, broken hearts and bankrupt lives. There were no more courts to appeal, no further arguments, no second chances. The judgment was made. It was time to face the hard fact that it was over, finished.

Yet, the writer of Hebrews calls us to go outside where Jesus is. Why? Jesus, who went outside the city, had the last word. When he cried upon the cross, "It is finished!" He gave new meaning to the word finished. It was not the end, not all over... but it meant the sacrifice was completed, accomplished. Jesus was God's Lamb.

And the song of thanks began. ( to read more click on article title)

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PRAYER PARTNERS

"...in whom we trust he will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given to many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many." II Corinthians 1:10b-11

The Apostle Paul informed the Christians in Corinth how very much he appreciated their prayers. Paul's right to lead had been questioned by the very ones he had led to the Lord. He thanked those who prayed at that difficult time and expressed his appreciation of the gift sent to him.

Prayer partners, who know how to stand, or kneel, by you when you are under attack, are of high value in the kingdom of God. Never under-estimate the power produced by those who prevail for you not to fail. Prayer delivers God's servants in hard times.

BE THANKFUL: Let those who pray for you know how grateful you are for their help. They need to know you highly value them as partners with you in the Lord's work.

PLEDGE YOURSELF TO MORE EARNEST PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO PRAY FOR YOU.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for friends who pray for me. I am grateful for their love and faithfulness. Only eternity will reveal how much their prayers help me to do your will each day. I pray for them to abound in the same measure they have blessed me, and much more. In your name, Jesus. Amen

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UNSHAKEN

"For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken." Acts 2:25

Peter quoted the words from Psalm 16 in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Both David and Peter knew, although separated by centuries of Israel's history, what it was to have their faith shaken. They had to learn, when shocked by life's surprises, to see God at hand all the time.

Jesus' disciples had to learn the same lesson. The unexpected circumstances of Jesus betrayal and death on the cross shook them hard. Scattered and afraid, they failed to see God's purpose in anything. That is why, after his resurrection, Jesus stood among them, face to face, touchable, reachable.

Peter, along with the others, began to realize God had loosened the pangs of death and it was not possible for Jesus to be held by it. Jesus held death in his grasp. He had to rise, being what he was.

Learn to declare you are not shaken.

SEE THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE YOU. You will rise over every circumstance, including death. He holds the future, he has the present, the past rests in his all-knowing.

PRAYER: Oh Lord, what perfect peace and preservation! You are always before me. Nothing can remove my faith in you. I will not be unnerved by evil, nor unsettled by loss. I remain unshaken. Lord, I believe! Amen

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