VOTE

1 Peter 2:16 (NLT)
     …you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

Father you remind us that freedom is not the right to do wrong but the responsibility to live wisely, discretely and with accountability. Wise in our approach to life, discrete in our life decisions and accountable because of how our lives affect others.

 
Thank you Father that the freedom we enjoy includes the right to vote for those who will serve you and us in the still honorable venue of public service. Help us to exercise this peculiarly glorious freedom in a way that enables better leadership for our nation and a better legacy for our children.

Amen

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MORNING MISTAKES

Ever wake up and the first thing out of your mouth is a mistake, and you want to take it back, but it's too late.  Like toothpaste ~ once it's out of the tube there is no putting it back.  Life can be messy like that, can't it.  (Guess you know how I woke up this morning.)

". . . .As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent. . . . "  Revelation 3:14-22

What's He saying to you today?

To live a life that pleases Christ.

It's crucial to obey His voice;

When He reveals our sin to us,

Repentance is the wisest choice.

Repentance restores and renews our intimacy with the Lord.  Thank you Jesus.  I love You.  Amen.

Amen

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Prayer

Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
   Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Father there are times when the load of suffering is so heavy that we cannot bear it alone. And there are people today who have lost loved ones through murderous assaults that have no reason except for the hatred of the perpetrators. For those in the agony of grief heavier than they can bear, we pray for your grace to sustain them in their loss, strengthen them in their faith and guard them with your peace. It is especially for times such as these that prayer can have such a profound effect and your grace make such a personal difference.

Thank you Father for hearing our prayer and for your gracious compassion. In Jesus name, Amen.

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prayer and faith

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much"

(James 5:16)

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Faith and true prayer are like two sides to the same coin - they are inseparable!

Man can certainly pray and have no faith, but it is almost unthinkable that man should have faith and not pray. 

Whatever God can do, faith can do, and whatever faith can do, prayer can do when it is offered in faith. An invitation to prayer is an invitation to omnipotence, for prayer engages the Omnipotent God and brings Him into our human affairs. The bible tells us that we have not because we ask not. It doesn't take much wisdom to determine our next move. It is to pray and pray again until the answer comes! Not necessarily the answer we are looking for, but the answer that is God's perfect will for our lives. Let's be effectual and fervent prayer warriors!

"Thank you, Father, that You are a God who welcomes dialogue with His children! Help us to continually remain in a state of prayer with You and move in our lives in significant ways today!

(Adapted from 'Mornings with Tozer" devotional)

Amen

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In Thy will, O Lord is my peace;
In Thy love is my rest.
In Thy service is my joy,
Thou art all my heart's desire.
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee.
I love you.  Amen.



Amen

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Friend

Isaiah 41:8 (NLT)
   “But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend,”

Father, it is almost incomprehensible that you would call any man friend. I sense the inadequacy of the Psalmist who said: “What are people that you should think about them, mere mortals that you should care for them?” Psalm 8:4 (NLT)

Yet it was of a mere man you said: “…… Abraham my friend…. How extraordinary this man must have been. And yet this special relationship is within our reach through the same faith that Abraham exercised.

James 2:21-23 (NLT)
   ²¹ Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. ²³ And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.

Father it was through Abraham’s faith that your friendship with him was formed. As I meditate on the word friend this acrostic comes to mind:

Faith is the trust of a friend. Reliable is the consistency of a friend. Intimacy is the passion of a friend. Educate is the learning aptitude of a friend. Not perfect is the honesty of a friend. Dedicated is the abiding strength of a friend.

Father through our faith in you we desire to be such a friend. And thank you Father that this friendship is possible and personal through our relationship with your Son Jesus, our Savior and Friend.

Amen

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prayer is worship

"Be careful for  nothing; but in everything 

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

 let your requests be made known unto God'

(Philippians 4:6)

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The word prayer in this passage of scripture is the  Greek word "proseuche". It is a general term for making requests to the LORD.

It also denotes the following definitions: to pray to God; to pray earnestly; to make prayer; supplicate; worship

So many times, we focus on prayer being a time to run to our Father and ask Him for things. We run to Him and make requests of Him. We do this when we are in crisis or have a deep need for something. 

I think it is highly important that we look at the last definition of the word prayer.  Worship. Prayer should always carry with it the idea of adoration, devotion and worship. Prayer ought to be our first course of action. Our first instinct. But not prayer in the requesting sense, but prayer in the sense of worship. 

We need to practice running to our Father and desiring to get into His Presence simply to do one thing. Worship Him for who He is. Worship Him to see His goodness and His mercy and His grace.  We need to eagerly approach His Throne with deep reverence for His power and sovereignty and with grateful hearts for what He has already done for us in our lives. 

If we spent more time on our faces praising Him, we wouldn't have to spend nearly as much time on our knees making requests of Him. Simply put, prayer is Worship. Let's practice that and be ready to be astounded at the change in our hearts and our lives!

Amen

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Autumn Prayer

Father, thank you for the beauty of the season, the colors and the smells. As the weather changes, we are reminded that we will soon be celebrating the birth of our Savior. As we gather with family and friends to celebrate the changing of the seasons, help us to remember that all the beauty we see comes from you. Amen

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To Remove Blinders | Praying Psalm 10

Why, O Lord, do you seem to stand far away and hide yourself in times of trouble? Why do you allow the arrogant the wicked to hotly pursue the poor? Bring justice and let the wicked be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

In their pride the wicked does not seek you; all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Though it is folly, the ways of the wicked prosper at times; yet your judgments are on high, out of his sight. He foolishly says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

Lord please turn the heart of the wicked from cursing to blessing ... from deceit to integrity ... from oppression to compassion ... from mischief to obedience ... from sin to righteousness ... from murder to love ... from covetousness to generosity.

Open the eyes of the wicked to see the folly of saying “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it” and “You will not call him to account” ... remove the blinders from their eyes dear Lord.

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.

The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.

O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Amen

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Patience Beyond Our Need

Nehemiah 9:29-31 (NLT)
   ²⁹ “You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. ³⁰ In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. ³¹ But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!

Father, degenerate, deplorable, despicable, disgusting, and destructive fittingly describes the attitude and behavior of your people who were the beneficiaries of your miracles, mercy and abundant grace. They forgot your goodness and were mired in their greed. This consequence of self-centeredness is the result of their own choices.

Yet in your grace you did not abandon them and in your mercy you forgave them. The greatness of your love is truly infinite and your patience reaches beyond our need. Help our nation to remember the source of our blessing and to never take them or YOU for granted.

Amen

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Prayer for Faith and Faithfulness

In our gathering yesterday morning, we prayed this. It's adapted from a prayer by Scotty Smith.

The most fundamental change we need is to become like you, Jesus. With the knowledge that one day we'll be as lovely and as loving as you, we gladly surrender to the work of the gospel in our lives. You are making all things new, right now--right before our very eyes, if we have eyes to see and a heart to accept. Because of your life, death, and resurrection, we're destined for a place, family, and eternity in which everything will be the way it's supposed to be, forever. Hasten that magnificent Day. Until then, Jesus, may we love you with abandon, trust you with gladness, and serve you with passion. In your name. Amen.
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A Stronghold for the Oppressed | Praying Psalm 9

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

I rejoice that the enemies of my soul turn back in your presence.

You rule the nations O King of kings. You rule with righteous judgment. You are Lord over the nations. You are just in your reign.

Though nations rise and nations fall and man remembers them no more, you O LORD are enthroned forever. You have established your throne for justice. You judge the world with righteousness. You judge the peoples with uprightness.

Yet you LORD are a stronghold for the oppressed, a fortress in times of trouble and those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

We sing praises to the LORD who sits enthroned over all. We remember you and give testimony of your deeds! For you are for us God and are ever mindful of us - you do not forget the cry of the afflicted.

Be gracious to me, O LORD! See my affliction from those who hate my soul, O you who lift me up from the gates of death, that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the faithful I may rejoice in your salvation.

I look and see that the nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid their own foot has been caught. You LORD have made yourself known but all nations that forget God shall stand before their Maker.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations bow before you! Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men!

Amen

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True Leadership

Nehemiah 4:14 (NLT)
   ¹⁴ Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!”

Father, as I think on the life and times of Nehemiah I long for that kind of leadership today. His character, his courage and his counsel were invaluable for the hope and future of his people. He was truly a man who understood the challenges that confronted him, a man of encouragement. reminding his people who God is, and a man who inspired others by offering the motivation needed for defending what was most precious to them.

Father, in Nehemiah you have given us an example of true leadership that excels in having the right priorities of God, family and home security.  Please Father raise up men like him for us. How we long for such noble leaders.

Amen

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all things

"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, 

or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God"

(1 Corinthians 10:31)

Father God, our prayer today is that we will do all things for Your glory and Your glory only. Hide us behind the Cross. Help us to deny ourselves and keep you as our priority and our first love. Help us to live Holy and pure and godly lives. May we bring honor and glory to Your Name in all that we say and all that we do and all that we are. We love you, Oh, Lord, and our desire is to praise you and worship you for all eternity.

Amen

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