Monday Devotion and Prayer. May 29, 2023
                                     “Peace and Fulfillment in Our Lives”

“The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” -Psalms 34:10

Would you say you’re content? With many things in life, our contentment seems to ebb and flow. At least this has been true in my own life. I’ll think I’m content, and then the Lord shakes things up and removes things, and I quickly find myself wrestling with being content. But, like joy, contentment does not come and go based on our circumstances. Contentment is something that happens despite our circumstances.

When Paul was in prison, he wrote to the church in Philippi, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:11-13

Sometimes the Lord allows us to endure very challenging situations. It could be a number of things. You are in a loveless marriage, your health is declining, your children are struggling, you feel you’ve waited long enough for your ideal career or spouse, or you’ve been praying desperately for a child. In life, we always want something else we don’t have. The key to contentment is getting our eyes off the “one thing” we don’t have and onto the “One thing [i.e., Jesus]” who will always be enough. Of course, it takes a while for our emotions to line up with this truth, but it is true.

Psalm 23:1 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. “Additionally, the Lord is our portion (Lamentations 3:24). His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). He is our hope (Psalm 62:5). He is our help (Psalm 33:20) and our sustainer (Psalm 54:4). Because we are human, we are prone to selfishness. The more we think about what we don’t have, the more we want what we don’t have. However, the opposite can be true. When we think about how much we have already been given, we find how much more we have.

When we look around, instead of at ourselves and our situations, we will begin to see the needs of others. Someone will always have it better than you, but someone will always have it worse. Find the one who has it worse than you and serve them! It will inevitably get your eyes away from you. If we are to walk like Jesus walked, as it says in 1 John 2:6, we are called to serve and not be served (Matthew 20:28).

Have you ever asked God how you can serve Him? Sometimes we find ourselves so desperate for the one thing we don’t have we lose sight of why we are here. That’s to serve the one who made us and gave us life! God is worthy and so well deserving of everything we have and everything we are. It’s also important to remember that God loves us more than anyone else could. If He is saying “no” this season, it is for your best. 2 Samuel 22:31-32 says, “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. For who is God, save the Lord? and who is a rock, save our God?”

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for another day of life. Thank You for waking us up. Thank You that despite our circumstances, Your truth anchors us to You, our sure and steady Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Father, we are sorry our eyes have been on our circumstances and what we don’t have instead of on You. God, we are so prone to selfishness. Please help us to lift our eyes to You. Thank You that You don’t withhold any good thing from us (Psalm 84:11).

Lord, I also pray that we would be useful to You and prepared to do any good work (2 Timothy 2:21). Please guide and direct us to where You want us to be. Help our ears to be attentive to what You have to say, and help us to be quick to obey. Lord, we are nothing without You (Galatians 6:3), and we can do nothing apart from You (John 15:5). Please help us to be more like You. Help us to love You and others more because then we are the most filled. We need You. Thank You for being attentive to our prayers. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!

                            Saturday Devotion and Prayer. May 27, 2023
                                              “Contend for the Faith”

“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” – Jude 1:3

The book of Jude is a small but powerful letter to believers. Tucked right before Revelation, this one-chapter book is easily overlooked. But one would be remiss if they didn’t study Jude and soak in its powerful message of perseverance in the faith and gospel reminders of our eternal hope. Jude understood the spiritual war that wages in our minds and acknowledged the daily battle that wears on our souls. He wrote to a group of believers under immense spiritual attack and being fed false teachings. I can relate to these early saints because while my heart is fully committed to serving the Lord, the battle between my ears is a constant drum of doubt, half-truths, and full-on lies that I must surrender to our Heavenly Father daily. Jude loved the Church and desperately wanted to remind them of their salvation and strengthen them as they resigned to follow Christ. And how does one contend for their faith, to stand firm against spiritual attacks, seen and unseen?

We turn away from evil and meditate on God’s word.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” -Psalms 1:1-2

We renew our minds daily to conform to God’s will.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12:2

We fellowship with other believers.

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” -Proverbs 27:17

Staying committed to our faith among life’s trials, spiritual attacks, and difficult circumstances takes work. But, as children of God, we can be encouraged and driven by our salvation in Jesus Christ to keep contending for the faith ( 2 Timothy 4:7).

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of salvation. We are so undeserving of Your grace and mercy, yet, while we were still sinners, You sent Your son to die so that we could have eternal life. In immeasurable love for Your Children, before the beginning of time, You created a way for us to be redeemed and restored; thank You. This life offers many distractions, illusions of happiness, and false promises of peace and joy, we ask for strength to pursue the eternal over the temporal. Let us not waver in our faith like shifting sand but instead firmly plant ourselves on the solid rock of Christ. Lead us as we seek to be the salt and light of this world, guide our paths, and direct our words and actions, bringing You glory and honor.

Lord, if anyone in our lives doesn’t know You as a savior, we ask that You send Your Spirit to draw them to the Father. We are vessels, use us for Your service, grant us the words to say, the courage to boldly proclaim the Gospel, and grace and mercy for those who mock or persecute us. Give us discernment to distinguish Your Truth from those who engage in lies. May we easily recognize those sent to deceive and cause doubt and confusion among the people. Forgive us when we fall short, help us to be more like You today, show love to all, and extend grace and mercy. In Your son Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

                            Wednesday Devotion and Prayer. May 24, 2023
                                                 “Seeking Acceptance”

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36:26-28

We all have a deep need to belong and fit in. We have an inner desire to feel accepted, flaws and all. But what does it really mean to “be accepted?” The word accepted, by definition, means to be highly favored, to be given approval, or to show recognition of being correct. Here within lies a slippery slope. When we seek acceptance, we merely seek approval for “our view,” not God’s. Let me clarify. What is acceptable if I think something is okay or even good, but you think it is not okay or even terrible? In this case, acceptance becomes a personal tool to cast judgments and labels.

This played out in the Old Testament when the Israelites were held in captivity in Babylon. This resulted from their disobedience, turning away from God while hardening their hearts. They had become selfish and stricken by the ways of their flesh, worshiping false gods, living out sinful lifestyles, and priding themselves on accepting their own truths. This sounds a little similar to the current climate of our society today. While we all crave acceptance, it often derives from our own sinful nature and view of acceptance. But our God, full of compassion, showed His mercy and grace upon the people of Israel by targeting their hearts. He softens their hearts by leading them back to the truth of His acceptance. God’s acceptance is covered in His unfailing love. And friend, our God can do the same for us!

The truth is when we put faith in Jesus, our stone-cold heart that seeks after our own desires and acceptance is redesigned by our good and gracious Father. God softens our hearts, promising never to cast us out of His family. While we will still bend to the ways of our flesh, with God, we can be fully known, fully accepted, and deeply loved. However, as His children, that doesn’t mean He accepts our sins. He loves us too much to be confined by those unbearable chains. In our transformation from our old self to our new self, God plants within us a heart that desires to seek His will and His way. As our Creator, He is continually pursuing our hearts and chiseling away at our rough edges to make us more in the image of Christ. So, rather than seeking acceptance from others, which will bend towards our sinful nature, we need to seek God’s acceptance through His unconditional love, which will cover a magnitude of sin.

Heavenly Father,
We are so thankful and abundantly blessed to be called Your beloved children. Please help us seek Your acceptance and walk in a way that honors You, Lord. Thank You for Your faithfulness and compassion for Your chosen people of Israel. It can give us the reassurance we need to know that even when we may fail and fall into sinful patterns, Your mercy is greater, and You still pursue our hearts, calling us back to Your acceptance.

This world currently seems to be giving way to seeking their own personal form of acceptance, so with humble hearts, we ask that You please shed light in the darkness. Reveal that Your acceptance is filled with goodness, mercy, grace, and unconditional love. We lift our hurting nation to You, O God. We are in a very similar place to the people of Israel. We need to change course and need You to awaken people by softening hearts. Recreate a love for Your Word and Truth. Place bold convictions within the walls of our congregations and lead us back to the path of righteousness. O Lord, we want to desire Your acceptance and seek Your will and way for our lives. It is in Your son Jesus’ Holy and Precious name, I pray, Amen.