Daily Prayer - I want your God!

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

 

I trust and pray that you are having a wonderful summer.

 

As I read this great devotional this morning, I felt led to share it.  Do you, like me, take the grace of God for granted?  Do we really “get” what He has done on our behalf?

 

This is written by Francis Chan.  If you aren’t familiar with him (and even if you are) I encourage you to go to Youtube and check him out. 

 

Thursday, July 17, 2014

"I Want Your God"

 

Key Bible Verse: You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)

 

Dig Deeper: 2 Peter 3

 

A few years ago my oldest daughter came home with a test she had failed.  That’s not permissible in my house.  There’s no excuse.  So when she showed me her test, she said, “What are you going to do?”

I told her, “We’re going out to dinner.  We’re going to go to a movie and out for ice cream.  I want you to experience grace.” I said, “Look, Dad understands grace because Dad did so many things that were just ugly in God’s sight.  Still he blessed me with your mom and with you kids.  I don’t deserve any of this. … I want you to see what it’s like to be blessed when you should have been punished.”

So we celebrated grace.

When my daughter came home from school the next day, she said, “I told my friends what you did. … They [said they] wish you were their dad.”  I’m not a perfect father, but I love the thought that in this case my daughter experienced grace to the extent that her friends wanted me to be their dad.

Can you imagine if we actually trembled at God’s Word [through the message of our Key Bible Verse]?  Maybe people would look at us and say, “I wish I had your God.”

 

     — Francis Chan in Passion

 

My Response: Are people attracted to God by the way I speak and live my faith?

 

 

Thought to Apply: Let the study of the Bible be central in your life – not just so you will know it, but that you will obey it. – Billy Graham (evangelist)

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

 

Lord, I know you are merciful. I've been taught that you provide grace and mercy in spite of my behavior and in spite of my sins. You are a good God that comes to those that need You, no matter what.

 

And Lord, I need you now in my life more than ever. I know that I'm not perfect. I know that my sins are not hidden from you. I know that, at times, I sin knowing it's a sin. I'm human, Lord, and while that's no excuse, I know you love me despite my human nature.

 

Lord, I need you today to provide for me. I need your grace in my life to provide strength, because I am weak. I face temptations every day, and I wish I could say that I always walk away. I cannot do it alone any more. I just can't. I need you to give me the strength and provide me with the guidance to overcome these desires to sin.

 

I need you to give me direction in darker times when I wonder if I can even face the next day. You can move the mountains that block my way in life. You can give to me what I need in my life.

 

Please, Lord, I ask of you to come into my life and offer your grace. I am open to it and ready to accept it. Allow my heart to always be focused on You and make my desire to live for You.

 

Lord, I know from the scripture that your grace is bestowed no matter what, so I just ask for it today. I may not always be perfect, but I strive to be better. Lord, help me be better. Help me see the clear, narrow path in front of me so I can walk in your ways and in your glory.

 

In your name, Amen.

 

(http://christianteens.about.com/od/Prayers_For_Every_Situation/a/A-Prayer-For-Gods-Grace.htm)
 

Daily Prayer - Job Description

Good Friday morning, my friends.

 

I think this message ties in nicely with the messages of the last few days:

 

Friday, June 27, 2014

Be Truly Human

 

Key Bible Verse: You are the ones chosen by God … to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. (1 Peter 2:9, The Message)

 

Dig Deeper: 1 Peter 2:5-10

 

Our job description has nothing to do with starting or growing churches, converting friends, or changing the political landscape.  Jesus modelled a life he wants us to live, and his hope for humanity is that you and I will learn to be truly human: earthy saints who reveal God’s glory to anyone who happens to be watching or searching.

 

Consider this e-mail I was thankful to receive:

 

Hey brother … Lindsey [a Starbucks store manager] said she is going to start coming regularly to Adullam,  She said she really liked that you admitted you weren’t perfect, you shared that you’re a different guy today than you were 20 years ago, you said the resurrection story is hard to believe.

 

In short, it was your humanity that made all the difference for her.  Just wanted to give you some encouragement and positive feedback.  Proud of my pastor today. – Jake

 

We matter in God’s incarnational kingdom.  We enjoy him, we reflect him, we bring glory to him, and we become more like him all the time!  And in the end, it is Christ in us who is the hope of glory, the hope of the world!  So go and be human and let God be God.

 

     — Hugh Halter in Flesh

 

Our job is to live.  To live truly human lives under the power of the Holy Spirit.  God will do the rest.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

*Note – this will be my last regular Daily Prayer message until September.  Over the next few months I may occasionally send out a prayer if I feel so led by the Spirit.  I would also love to send out your prayers and messages, should you feel so inclined.  Just send them along to me.  Have a wonderful summer, my friends.

 

 

Father, You have called us out as ambassadors for Christ, and in so doing, we make the proclamation of the gospel known not only with our words, but also with our lives.

 

As we approach each new day we’re given a set of challenges.

 

Some that will last only a day but others that will require endurance for years, even a lifetime.

 

The way we deal with those “things” will bring You glory or may be a stumbling block to faith for those who observe.

 

Father, You make Your appeal through us so it is our heart’s desire to trust You in all things – knowing they work together for our good and for the good of the kingdom.

 

Remind us that You are working out Your purpose in our lives so that we will not be consumed with the smoothness of our plans, but rather the unfolding of Your Kingdom plans recognizing and acknowledging that You are good.

 

Through all circumstances God, You are good – period! 

 

It is in the name of Jesus that we give You thanks and praise. Amen.

 

(http://adailyprayer.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/a-prayer-proclaiming-gods-goodness/) 

Daily Prayer - How far in are you?

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

 

My wonderful wife, Rosemary, sent this to me this morning.  It looks a little daunting, but trust me it is worth the read.  As you do, contemplate how far inside the door you are.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

*NOTE: After this week I will be taking a break from sending out the "Daily Prayer", probably until September.  I may send out the occasional message if I come across something that strikes me deeply.  I would also love to have "guest bloggers" - you!  If you have a prayer, either from one of my messages or from elsewhere (perhaps one of your own authoring), please send it to me with a note that I can share with the group so that we can encourage each other.

 

 

I Stand By The Door

by Sam Shoemaker

 

I stand by the door. I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out. This door is the most important door in the world. It’s the door through which men walk when they find God. There’s no use my going way inside and staying there when so many are still outside. And they, just as I, crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find is only a wall where that door ought to be. They creep along the wall like blind men with outstretched groping hands feeling for a door, knowing that there must be a door, yet they never find it.

 

So I stand by the door.

 

The most tremendous thing in the world is for men to find that door, the door to God. The most important thing any man can do is to take hold of one of those hands, and put it on that latch, the latch that only clicks and opens to that man’s own touch. Many die outside that door as starving beggars die on cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter, die for want of what is within their grasp. They live on the other side of that door. They live because they have not found it. Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, and open it, and walk in and find God.

 

So I stand by the door.

 

Go in great saints, go all the way in. Go way down into the cavernous cellars and way up into the spacious attics in its vast roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements of withdrawals, silence and sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms and know the depths and heights of God, and call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is in there. Sometimes I take a deeper look in. Sometimes I venture in a little further. But my place seems to be closer to the opening.

 

So I stand by the door.

 

There’s another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid lest God and the zeal of His house devour them. For God is so very great and asks all of us. And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia, and they want to get out. “Let me out!” they cry. And the people way inside only terrify them even more. Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they’re spoiled. For the old life they have seen too much. Once you taste God, nothing but God will do ever again. Somebody must be watching for the frightened who seek to sneak out just where they came in, and tell them how much better it is inside.

 

The people too far in don’t see how near these people are to leaving, preoccupied with the wonder of it all. Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door but would like to run away.

 

So, for them too, I stand by the door.

 

I admire the people who go way in, but I wish they wouldn’t forget how it was, before they got in. Then they would be able to help the people who have not yet even found that door, or the people who want to run away again from God. You can go in too deeply, you can stay in too long, and forget the people outside the door. As for me, I’ll take my old accustomed place, near enough to God to hear Him, and know that He is there, but not so far from men as not to hear them and remember they are there too. Where? Outside the door .. Thousands of them. Millions of them. But more important for me, one of them, two of them, ten of them, whose hands I am intended to put on the latch. So I stand by the door and wait for those who seek it. I’d rather be a doorkeeper.

 

So I stand by the door. 

Daily Prayer - Missing the point

Good Tuesday morning, my friends.

 

I received this thought provoking devotional today:

 

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Missing the Point

 

Key Bible Verse: “These people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13)

 

Dig Deeper: Mark 7:1-23

 

When we deny our humanity and try to become more clean, or more pure, or more sanctified, we end up on the wrong end of that work.  The work instead becomes sanctimonious, and it means we hide our true human struggle and become self-righteous, smug, holier-than-thou, pious, pompous, and a few other lovely terms that describe humans trying to appear more godly than people around them.

Many Christians base their personal sanctification on whether they had a devotional time that day, avoided swearing, and went to church.  But while they may feel great about their “walk with God,” they have not loved their neighbours as much as they love themselves, they haven’t cared for or [even considered caring for] the needs of the sick or the poor, and there’s been no focus toward unbelievers in their lives.

On the other hand, there are many other people who swear and sometimes don’t get their devotional time in but who wake up and spend their entire day doing the very works of God in the world.  They throw parties for their friends, they take a few hours and help with practical needs, or they spend time with people whom most of the world would never touch.  Which do you think Jesus prefers?

 

     — Hugh Halter in Flesh

 

My Response: How do I measure my personal sanctification?

 

 

Thought to Apply: Hypocrisy can plunge the mind of a man into a dark abyss, when he believes his own self-flattery instead of God’s verdict. – John Calvin (French theologian, pastor)

 

 

I know I can be quick to judge those in the Church who "break the rules" - swearing, partying, whatever - oblivious of their witness in the community.  Meanwhile my own personal prayer, devotional and Bible reading time may be doing little to further the Kingdom.  Tough to swallow.  But a good lesson.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

*NOTE: After this week I will be taking a break from sending out the "Daily Prayer", probably until September.  I may send out the occasional message if I come across something that strikes me deeply.  I would also love to have "guest bloggers" - you!  If you have a prayer, either from one of my messages or from elsewhere (perhaps one of your own authoring), please send it to me with a note that I can share with the group so that we can encourage each other.

 

 

Father, we’re grateful for those throughout history who chose to be men and women of faith,

whose hearts were fashioned in Your image,

for those who served Your purpose in their generation.

 

We also want to serve Your purpose in our generation. 

 

Help us to stay steadfast and strong as we run this race set before us. 

 

Thankfully, in this race, we’re not in competition to be the only prizewinner.

 

Instead we take hold of the hands of those who run with us and invite those on the sidelines to join us. 

 

We want to cross the finish line together so that we will all receive the grand prize of life eternal with You. 

 

May we never give up! Amen.

 

(http://adailyprayer.wordpress.com/2014/06/20/a-prayer-for-serving-god-in-our-generation/) 

Daily Prayer - Summertime

Good Monday morning, my friends.

 

It's summertime.  So many things to distract us.  Good things and not so good things.  Let us pray to be distracted by what matters.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

*NOTE: After this week I will be taking a break from sending out the "Daily Prayer", probably until September.  I may send out the occasional message if I come across something that strikes me deeply.  I would also love to have "guest bloggers" - you!  If you have a prayer, either from one of my messages or from elsewhere (perhaps one of your own authoring), please send it to me with a note that I can share with the group so that we can encourage each other.

 

 

Good morning, good God...

 

It's summertime, Lord,

but life and work go on and, as always,

I need your help...

 

The week ahead promises to be a busy one

with its own difficulties

and, I'm sure, some challenges...

 

As I walk through this week, Lord,

stay by my side,

keep me on the right path

and lead me where you'd have me go...

 

As we walk together, you and I,

help me see through your eyes

the people I meet and work with

and the circumstances I encounter;

help me see what on my own I'd surely miss

and keep me from distraction

over what's a waste of time and unimportant...

 

With you as my companion, Lord,

help me speak as you would speak:

help me say what others truly need to hear;

give me your word with its comfort and compassion;

and keep watch over the words of my lips

lest my speech mislead or hurt...

 

Lord, be my colleague and companion,

my patron and my partner,

my guardian and my guide...

 

Be with me, Lord,

and keep me by your side this Monday morning

and through the week ahead...

 

(http://concordpastor.blogspot.ca/2014/06/monday-morning-offering-june-23.html) 

Daily Prayer - Simple

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

 

Sometimes the simplest prayers are the ones that most connect us with God.  Take your time with these two word prayers and allow His power and presence to fill you.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

Calm me, quiet me, settle me...

Steady me, balance me, ground me...

Plant me, root me, embed me...

Support me, sustain me, protect me...

Forgive me, pardon me, free me...

Refresh me, restore me, heal me...

Enfold me, embrace me, hold me...

Lord, hear my prayer today!

 

(http://concordpastor.blogspot.ca/)

Daily Prayer - May I be there for them...

Good Friday morning, my friends.

 

What opportunities will God give you, and me, to server others today?  Are we willing to accept these?

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

 

Folks will cross my path today and

    ask for my time,

    seek my company,

    lean on my shoulder,

    beg me to listen,

    share their story,

    reach for my help,

    pour out their grief,

    request my prayer,

    look for a smile,

    shed a tear,

    need a friend,

    and lift my heart...

 

May I be there for them, Lord,

    as you are always there for me...

 

(http://concordpastor.blogspot.ca/2014/06/pause-for-prayer-friday-613.html)