Lead Me On Level Ground

Mar 26, 2010 by Editor

Psalm 143:10
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

What of Today’s Verse

In this psalm, we cry out to God because we are aware of enemies who are set to attack us and of our personal sins that so easily entangle us in evil. On our own, we have no personal power to stand up under the weight of these two realities. Yet, our heart cries out to God asking him to teach us to do his will and for the Spirit to guide us to the place where we can walk on solid ground and live the life that pleases God. Rather than giving up in circumstances that seem insurmountable, we cry out to our Father in heaven and trust that the Holy Spirit brings his answer and his power into our lives and brings God’s blessing and God’s deliverance.

Let us Pray:

O Father, through your good Spirit, please teach me to do your will and live your life in my world

Words of Wisdom
World Peace

United in divine love, we walk a path of peace.

The words of a familiar song play in my mind as I dedicate myself to being a presence for peace: “Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me.”

Love is the foundation for peace. I pause to feel love for myself and for my family, my friends and my community. I further extend love to all people in every culture and country. Peace begins in me and encircles the world. Together we learn to respect one another’s differences and know that we are all children of God.

Let us join together in a pilgrimage of peace–one step, one prayer, one act of forgiveness, one outstretched hand at a time. Let us consciously unite in divine love and walk a path of peace.

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’”–John 20:21

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The New Covenant Of Life

Mar 25, 2010 by Editor

2 Corinthians 3:5-6
It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

What of Today’s Verse…

Unfortunately, most folks who claim to follow Jesus miss the incredibly radical claims of the apostle Paul. We are not under law. It’s not that the righteous demands of law are bad, but they have no power to change us — not down inside where the problems in our behaviours really reside. Instead, when we surrender our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us.

With the gift of the Spirit’s presence come both the power and the urge to be more like God — holy and righteous, gracious and compassionate. Written laws ultimately convict us of our failures, but this “law,” the principle of living by the Holy Spirit of God within us, is life-inspiring and enabling. Rather than a law demanding us to be holy, we have the presence of the Holy One inside us urging, leading, empowering, convicting, and transforming us to be like Jesus.

Let us Pray:

Holy God, I appreciate the Ten Commandments and the rules, regulations, and laws you gave your people through Moses. I hear your call to me to be holy — to be righteous and compassionate like you are. Yet I know, dear Father, that without the empowering presence of your Holy Spirit and the gift of your grace in Jesus, I would never measure up. I ask that you give me life, hope, holiness, joy, peace, passion, endurance, and grace as I seek to yield to the Spirit’s influence in my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Words of Wisdom
Faith

My faith is strong. I am confident.

If I find myself in a challenging circumstance, I remember to check my perception of the situation. My faith does not lie in the trouble that surrounds me; my faith lies in God. During a dry season, a tree’s roots grow deeper to reach water. Likewise, in times of seeming difficulty, my faith grows deeper as I seek connection with God.

I foster faith by focusing my thoughts on God’s powerful protection and limitless love. I feel divine love within and all about me. I see any difficult situation through new eyes, and my anxiety disappears. I move through the challenge with grace and ease.

My faith in God is strong, because I know that I am always enfolded in God’s peaceful, loving presence.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.”–2 Timothy 4:7

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His Breath Is My Life

Mar 24, 2010 by Editor

Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

What of Today’s Verse…

While these words are spoken by one of Job’s critics, they echo the truth of Scripture. We are made by God: intentionally, purposely, and personally (Ps. 139:13-16). God puts his breath in us and we live. God’s creativity is the handiwork of the Spirit – the same Spirit who hovered over creation waiting for God’s creative word to begin creation (Gen. 1:2).

This understanding should humble us, recognizing that God’s breath is what sustains us. This understanding should empower us — we are the personal and intentional handiwork of God’s Spirit. This understanding should awaken us to our purpose in the world. And as believers, those in whom the Spirit lives and those who are gifted by the Spirit, we understand all these things more fully (Eph. 2:10; 1 Cor. 12:7). Let’s use who we are to honour God and bless others!

Let us Pray:

O Father, I confess that at times I lose sight of my heavenly calling. I forget that you have made me and positioned me to make a difference in the circle of people in which you placed me. Make me more aware of your divine intention in making, your Spirit’s power that is shaping me and transforming me, and the strategic place you have put me to bless others with your grace. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Words of Wisdom
A Shift

God guides me through seasons of change in my life.

As autumn begins and temperatures cool, the most noticeable change is a colourful display of leaves. But there is also a shift within me–a sense of fresh energy and excitement.

Visible changes remind me that all is evolving. Seeing God’s transformational handiwork in nature triggers in me a deepening awareness of my potential for positive change. I find opportunities to grow closer to God and deeper in spiritual understanding.

Whether the changes I face are minor or monumental, I have the spiritual tools I need to meet them with confidence and faith. With trust in God, I am guided through the changes life brings.

“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’”–Psalm 31:14

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The All-Sufficiency Of Christ

Mar 23, 2010 by Editor

Revelation 1:8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

What of Today’s Verse…

It is hardly needful to explain that these are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. They represent all the intervening letters which they enclose as in a golden clasp. This majestic announcement refers to the Eternal God. His Nature underlies the whole created Universe, all races of being, the entire work of redemption, the destiny of His children, and the ultimate victory of righteousness and peace. “Of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to Whom is glory forever and ever.” Let us, for a moment, join with the ceaseless chant of Heaven, saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which is and which was and which is to come.” We must never rush into His presence without due preparation and reverence of heart.

Jesus Christ is the Complement of our Need. From the alphabet of His Being we may obtain all the letters and words which will make good our own deficiencies. It is a question whether some of us would ever have learnt the fullness of Jesus, if we had not been brought face to face with the infinite needs of our own nature and condition. You may engage your guide in an Alpine village, but you only realise all the qualities that lie hidden within him when you have crossed the glaciers, bridged the yawning chasms, and escaped the descending avalanche through his knowledge and care. So as we walk with Jesus we find in Him the complement of our need.

Loneliness is an opportunity for Jesus to make Himself known as the Living One (Rev_1:17). When, like the beloved Apostle on the Lord’s Day in his lonely isle, you seem to hear songs and prayers on which you can only join in spirit, turn to the Lord Himself, and reckon on Him to bear you company. That loneliness constitutes a claim on Him! Call upon His Name out of the lowest dungeon. He will not hide His ear at thy breathing or thy cry. He will draw near in the day when thou call upon Him, and will say, Fear not! He will plead the causes of thy soul; He will redeem thy life. The site of Polycarp’s death is still visible above the Smyrna coast-line and harbour; but Jesus stood there with him, enabling him to be faithful unto death, and encircling his brow with the Crown of Life. Be thou faithful unto death; the First and the Last is with thee! “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me!”

Let us Pray:

Be Thou, O Lord, the Alpha and the Omega of every year, month, day, hour, and act of my life. Let all things be begun, continued and ended in Thee. AMEN.

Words of Wisdom
In Touch

I am in touch with all of God’s blessings.

Today I vow to stay in touch with God and all of God’s blessings in my life. I am in touch with family, and I thank God for the valuable contribution each member makes to the whole family.

I am in touch with friends. I bless each of my friends daily and provide companionship, love and prayers for them. I am in touch with the needs of others. I give of myself with my time, energy or resources to aid and support those who need a helping hand.
I am in touch with beauty. I gaze with admiration at a sunrise, count the stars in the sky and give thanks for God’s ever-present grandeur. I am in touch with God and all of God’s blessings.

“May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you.”  –1 Thessalonians 3:12

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Abiding In Christ

Mar 22, 2010 by Editor

John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

What of Today’s Verse…

Our Saviour’s perennial joy was due to His unceasing endeavour to minister help and blessing to others. He saved others; He could not save Himself. He said: “I am the true Vine,” i.e., the vine was made by Him in creation to represent a certain phase or characteristic of Himself. It is the reflection in the waters of materialism of eternal principles deep-seated in His own divine nature. The study of the vine is, therefore, specially precious in its teaching.

Behind the vine, as we know it, there is an immense pressure of energy. In the spring-tide, it seems as though the love of God were pressing for expression in the corn that supports life, in the oil that makes the face to shine, and in the grape that cheers. The vine cannot bear fruit, of itself; it is only the channel along which the energy of God flows in its endeavour to gladden the heart and life of man. So Jesus is the channel through which the life and love of God reach us, that we may pass them on in loving ministry, and in so doing we are creating and storing up for ourselves infinite joy.

Let each of us learn to abide in Christ with the heart open to Him on the one hand, and open to men, women and children on the other. Then let us trust Christ to pour His love and grace into our hearts, that the pressure within may lead us to perform acts of tender sympathy and helpfulness of which we would not otherwise have been capable. Let us resolve to let no day pass without doing something at cost to ourselves, to make the burden lighter and the path easier for someone else. Our willingness for Christ to do these things through us will always meet a response from Him; and His Spirit being in us will show us exactly what to say or do. It may be only a smile, a touch of the hand, or a word! Thus life will be filled with joy, and this will be perpetuated surely in that other life, when we shall awake and be satisfied. As we mingle with the throngs of happy spirits who have come out of great tribulation–the martyrs, prophets, apostles, and saints of every age—the greatest wonder of all will be that we are there. “Lord, when saw we Thee a hungered, and fed Thee? or athirst, and gave Thee drink? And He will say, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these.., ye did it unto Me.”

Let us Pray:

May I never forget, O Lord, that the best and happiest life must be lived in communion with the needs, sorrows, and trials of others. Give me closer sympathy with Thyself, who didst not please Thyself, but whose blessed life was perpetually laid down for others. Amen.

Words of Wisdom
Divine Love

I do all that I do in love.

Any activity or task can be sacred. Rather than acting absentmindedly, I stay present to the task at hand, and I do it with love.

Whether I’m completing a routine chore or spending time with someone dear, I infuse my words and actions with love. Routine activities are thereby transformed into sacred and meaningful expressions of God.

I focus my attention on one activity at a time, letting God’s love move through me as I complete the task. I am thoughtful, centred and at peace.

I approach all activities today from a place of love, feeling and expressing the peace of God.

“He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand.”–Mark 4:24

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