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THANKSGIVING

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GOD HEALS MY FAITHLESSNESS

Screen Shot 2016-03-28 at 6.13.10 AM…FATHER, You know what I’m thinking (Ps 139:2). You know what I need before I ask You (Matt 6:8) and You generously provide.

My faith is small but You heal my faithlessness (Jer 3:22). When my mind cannot fathom a good outcome to a situation, You do not leave me at that dead end. When I walk by faith, it does not have to be a blind faith.

Your countenance always shines light on my path ahead if I’m in Your presence. You never allow me to see the end of the situation, but You provide a way so I can take a forward step. I walk by faith in the light You provide; it is a seeing faith not a blind faith. This seeing faith is real to me even though I have yet to come to the end of the situation and experience it with my senses (1 John 1:7).

The light You provide directly in front of me encourages me and provides endurance (Rom 15:5) so I might continue walking in faith—this seeing faith solidifies for me that You are in the situation and will bring it to a good end. I thank You for helping my unbelief (Mark 9:24). How full of gratitude I am for You always provide enough faith for me to take one step forward.

AORATION

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GOD’S IMAGE

Screen Shot 2016-03-28 at 5.57.06 AM“BENIGN LORD, I praise thee continually for permission to approach thy throne of grace,…” (ref#76, p145).

FATHER, Your Son, THE CHRIST, is GOD, inseparable from deity, the second person of the Trinity (John 1:14,18). He is not merely an image or reflection of You, but absolutely the authentic representation of Your being (ref#96, p1813 [Col 1:15]). He comes out of You, the FATHER, as a Son (ref#21, p809, [Heb 1:2]).

CHRIST is “the Founder and Builder” of Your family (ref#21, p809 [Heb 1:2]). The seeds CHRIST propagates are ever being renewed and remolded into fuller and more perfect knowledge after the likeness of Yourself (Col 3:10).

Natural man can rule the animal and plant kingdoms (Gen 1:28-29), but he cannot rule the heavenly powers, especially Satan (Eph 6:10-12). He is unable to use his powers to reflect Your holiness (ref#56, p9, “The Image of God”). Only CHRIST, being the very image of Your Person (Heb 1:3), rules all powers on both earth and heaven. He triumphs, and the community united with Him triumphs over the forces of sin, death, and the devil (ref#56, p14 [Gen 3:15]). Thank You, FATHER, for sending CHRIST to live in me to reflect Your holiness (Gal 2:20).

THANKSGIVING

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“The most powerful worship will be among people whose minds…and whose hearts—whose emotions—are as near the fire of God as they can be without being consumed” Elyse Fitzpatrick (ref#75, p195).

PSALM 63

Screen Shot 2016-03-26 at 2.58.57 PMOh my FATHER, this is where I want to be. This is my most urgent prayer.

“O GOD, praise waiteth for thee, and to render it is my noblest exercise;…” says the Puritan (ref#76, p14). I must wait for You to pass by before I am able to offer up praise. I can’t just pick up my guitar or sit at the piano and sing praise songs anytime. O FATHER, compel me to wait near the fire of GOD.

Elijah came to a cave and lodged in it. There the word of the LORD came to him (1 Kings 19:9). The LORD passed by him and a strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but He was not in the wind. And, after the wind, an earthquake, but He was not in the earthquake.   And, after the earthquake, a fire, but He was not in the fire. But, after the fire the LORD came in a low whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12).

The LORD favors those who wait for His lovingkindness (Ps 147:11). Your name and remembrance are the desire of my soul (Isa 26:8). I will tie myself down and wait for Your low whisper.

“O God, you are my God;

earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,…” (Ps 63:1 ESV).

 

“…I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you” (Ps 63:2-3 ESV).

 

“…in your name I will lift up my hands.

…my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy” (Ps 63:4,5,7 ESV).

ADORATION

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THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Screen Shot 2016-03-26 at 2.36.30 PM…FATHER, as a Christian my life is an impossible life to live without drawing on Your SPIRIT for “The Spirit of God shatters every power in the world, the flesh and the devil, every power of sin and the domination of Satan” Oswald Chambers (ref#157, June 15th).

“The Spirit…is Christ without the limitations of the flesh and the material world. He can reveal what Christ could not speak. He has resources of power greater than those Christ could use, and he makes possible greater works than his” Samuel Chadwick (ref#161, p18).

“He is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of witness, the Spirit of conviction, the Spirit of power, the Spirit of holiness, the Spirit of light, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of help, the Spirit of liberty, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of revelation, the Spirit of promise, the Spirit of love, the Spirit of meekness, the Spirit of sound mind, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of glory, and the Spirit of prophecy” Samuel Chadwick (ref#161, p18,19).

FATHER, all Christians have the SPIRIT resident in them but I desire to be “full” of Him—desiring He control me to the point that I am “distinct and observable in some way” to others (ref#161, p109). When I feel my heart warmed with joy, and I’m supported in peace, and established in obedience, let me give Him the praise due Him (ref#35, p422).

SUPPLICATION

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NON CHRISTIAN – Pursuers

[We all have friends and family that sit in our churches but only act like they are Christians.  It is up to us to pray for their salvation.  Here’s an opportunity to pray for them.  Fill his/her name in the blanks.]

JESUS’ DEALING WITH FLESH

Screen Shot 2016-03-26 at 2.10.18 PM…FATHER, “…everything a man naturally inherits from his parents belongs to the flesh” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p71). Therefore we are naturally hostile to You, for we do not submit to Your laws, indeed, we cannot (Rom 8:3,7). That which is born of the flesh is flesh (John 3:6).

“God…does not try to alter man’s flesh; He instead gives man a new life in order to help put it to death. The flesh must die. This is salvation” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p73).   “…By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:3-4 ESV).

But, man “does not understand God’s Word and so he tries continually to refine and reform his flesh” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p73). Because I see no consistent spiritual fruit in ____, I pray, FATHER, that You provide (him/her) with a deeper understanding of You. I observe ____ is not willing to make (himself/herself) uncomfortable doing good works which makes me believe (his/her) actions are the actions of (his/her) selfish, not-regenerated-yet, flesh.

FATHER, this flesh is so predominate that even Your regenerated easily revert back to utilizing their sinful flesh to deal with daily situations (Gal 3:3). So I pray also for my fellow Christians as well, that they continue depending on Your SPIRIT as they did at first.

“Though He cannot alter our flesh God gives us His life. Man’s flesh remains as corrupt in those who are born anew as in those who are not. The flesh in a saint is the same as that in a sinner. In regeneration the flesh is not transformed. New birth exerts no good influence on the flesh. It remains as is. God does not impart His life to us to educate and train the flesh. Rather, it is given to overcome the flesh” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p76).

FATHER, unsettle ____ until (he/she) longs to walk by Your SPIRIT so (he/she) will not gratify the desires of (his/her) flesh (Gal 5:16). May (he/she) “experience less failure battling with sin and more success battling with self” Watchman Nee (ref#33, p79).

CONFESSION

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INFORMATION NOT ENOUGH

Screen Shot 2016-03-26 at 1.55.46 PM…FATHER, when Moses went back to Egypt to lead the Israelites to the promised land, he knew exactly how the situation would play out for You told Him specifically ahead of time:

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Ex 4:21 ESV).

Yet when this happened Moses became downcast as if he had never heard You say Pharaoh would not let Your people go:

“Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, ‘…Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name,…you have not delivered your people at all’” (Ex 5:22-23 ESV).

Moses didn’t even have to have faith. He could have relied on what You had told Him, but he was unable to even do that. I am that feeble, too. I am just like Moses. I “know”; Scripture tells me, yet I do not do it (James 4:17). I don’t apply Your words when the circumstance presents itself.

Moses proved that he couldn’t retain spiritual knowledge but had to call upon You in the “now” to get himself back on track with You. FATHER, impress upon me my frailty. Even when You clue me in beforehand Your past Word does not have the ability to guide me in the present. Teach me to tune my ear for Your continual voice behind me (Isa 30:21). I cannot live on any knowledge obtained in the past but must live moment by moment completely depending on Your SPIRIT for direction.

VALLEYS TO MOUNTAINTOPS

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THE MEASURE OF MY LOVE TO GOD

1/31/2016

Screen Shot 2016-03-26 at 12.56.23 PMI sighed to my husband on the way home from church, “If I could just go through the day like I feel right now.” The adrenalin-filled morning was over but the adrenalin had not completely dissipated. I wasn’t tired, I didn’t hurt and I felt like I could accomplish what I wanted to without struggling. But the reality is that I’m here at the computer just three hours later feeling physically miserable and mentally and spiritually empty.

I fell asleep reading, I developed a headache napping, forced myself out of bed but then fell back asleep in the chair trying to pray. Some Sabbath. Suddenly my Sunday private time with GOD loomed more difficult than speaking spiritually to my brothers and sisters at morning church.

There doesn’t seem to be anymore to record in this journal entry. I sit here wondering what I can do with myself in the nine more hours of this Sunday?

***

Well, the bit of reading I did accomplish, “I sensed God was saying to me through a thought planted in my mind” (ref#192, p134), from Jerry Bridges that: “…the extent to which we realize and acknowledge our own sinfulness, and the extent to which we realize the total forgiveness and cleansing from those sins, will determine the measure of our love to God” (ref#192, p126).

It seems prudent as I sit here flat-lining as a result of the morning adrenalin rush to compile two lists, (1) of besetting sins I struggle with and (2) ways GOD works to forgive my sins.

As I begin this list I am thoroughly convinced that I sin lots and lots and, through CHIRST, GOD deems me forgiven for them. This is simply a fact in my head. However it seems quite possible that if I don’t review how I came to believe that statement I will eventually wonder how I ever believed it. Yes, indeed, if not reviewed that truth will fade over time. So, let me contemplate and make my two lists:

After spending a half hour or so making the lists, I am no longer tired. I listed 14 sins. I would call them folders of sins because each word represents an explosion of specific sins in specific circumstances.

I listed 34 facts about JESUS the CHRIST—facts that remind me of His character on earth and now in heaven. The list makes me realize how intent He was to His FATHER’s calling on Him—how perfectly He accomplished it—and how much now He lives for me, one of His very own. I see how easily and freely and with so much compassion He forgives my sins. The audacity of me to entertain the thought of carrying any guilt because of my sins. He so convincingly has made an end of them. I have complete freedom to love Him and love Him more than ever because I have spent a pleasurable time in my mind and in Scripture reviewing His attributes.

SUPPLICATION

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SICKNESS – LIFE THREATENING

[The majority of our prayers concern physical health.  We all know someone who is dealing with a life-ending disease.  Here is an opportunity to pray for them.  Fill their name in the blanks.]

LOSING FAITH (Lamentations 3)

Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 4.19.53 PM…FATHER, the worst affliction does not only come from “the power and malice of the enemy,” but from You also (ref#112, p654, [Lam 3:1]). When Your hand is turned against ____, surely (he/she) can think that Your heart is turned against (him/her) also (ref#18, [Lam 3:3]).

____’s suffering has extended so long she may have forgotten that in You there is everlasting strength, and You are (his/her) never-failing hope (ref#18, [Lam 3:18]).

Teach (him/her) to cultivate thankfulness; soften (him/her) with such activity so (his/her) heart is prepared for the truth the SPIRIT expresses. Is this tribulation, in at least some part, a consequence—a result triggered by a hard heart?

“It becomes us to have humble hearts under humbling providences, and to renew our penitent humiliations for sin upon every remembrance of our afflictions and miseries” (ref#18, Lam 3:19]).

May ____ come soon to realize You never change—that Your steadfast love never ceases and Your mercies never come to an end (Lam 3:22). Only You can cause (his/her) thoughts to move off (his/her) acute suffering and onto confidence in Your character and past mercies (ref#56, p1138, [Lam 3:22-24]).

THANKSGIVING

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ETERNAL BLESSINGS

Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 4.10.20 PMYou have called me according to Your purpose, and predestined me to be conformed to the image of CHRIST JESUS (Rom 8:28-29). Your words do not return to You void (Isa 55:11). No matter how You infuse Your goodness into me, it cannot be snatched away.

When misunderstandings come in relationships and I am deeply hurt by trusted friends who have been a great conduit for Your mercy to me, Your mercy remains even if the relationship is destroyed. Ultimately the relationships You work through to conform me into the image of CHRIST is of no lasting consequence —only the conforming matters. My earthly relationships will always be tainted with sin, misunderstandings will abound, but Your Word that comes to me through those relationships will remain forever (1 Pet 1:25).

FATHER, my life here is fluid—forever changing. I ebb and flow as Your great seas. But You are my foundation—never changing, never. Anything that is spiritually attested is eternal. As You subject me to fluctuating circumstances of this earth, I thank You for protecting the Christlikeness You have already poured into me and the Christlikeness You will continue to pour into me.

CONFESSION

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PANIC

Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 4.03.06 PM“ …if…you will not do all my commandments…then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic…” (Lev 26:14-16 ESV).

FATHER, as naturally and surely as Your lightening starts forest fires and hurricanes produce devastation, disobedience brings panic. The cause will always yield the same results. Whether I am presumptions or naive about disobeying the result will be panic.

FATHER, it is frightfully easy to move myself from Your rule back to operating under my rule. Not paying attention is enough to do it. Problems start when I go days not realizing I’m hearing nothing from You to obey. When I’m not in Your Word, or in accountable fellowship, or in honest prayer, I am not exposed to Your commands and thus, not obedient to them. But, ignorance of the law is no excuse whether it’s civil law or Your law. Forgive me for walking away from You.

Whenever I deduce I can’t handle a present or upcoming circumstance, FATHER, remind me that it is because I have drifted away from Your care and power over my life. Call me back, blanket me in Your presence, cause me to delight again in obedience. Only You can dissipate panic.