Wednesday Devotion and Prayer – June 21, 2023 –
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Wednesday …
Month: June 2023
Monday Devotion and Prayer – June 19, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Monday Devotion and Prayer. June 19, 2023
“Overcome Worry?”
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. [11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”- Ephesians 6:10-11
When I’m stressed, my mind becomes a battleground, and the war occurs at night when I want to sleep. I counterattack with positive affirmations like I am enough, I can do this, and I don’t have to be perfect. And yet, the unwanted, discouraging thoughts keep coming like a tank bent on destroying my peace and confidence. Can you relate?
One of the original meanings of worry is to gnaw. Our family’s dog loved to gnaw on his bone, but the more time he spent outside his kennel, the less he gnawed on his bone. Sometimes when worrying, we spend too much time in our heads. We entertain “what-ifs” and “what-then,” creating made-up scenarios where my worst fears come to life. They play across the movie screen of our mind, and we try in vain to shut it off. Jesus gives us wise words about worry in Matthew 6:25-34. He doesn’t tell us it’s wrong to plan to provide for future physical needs. Instead, he addresses the worry that reveals a lack of faith in God’s love and care. Within this passage, we discover how worry prevents faith from growing. It stands in the way of seeking God and his righteousness with our whole hearts. When we focus on who God is and what’s important to him, we find freedom from worry.
A peaceful sleep free from worry brings rest, but what do we do when the battle rages in our mind, and we enter a war for our peace? Spiritual warfare may take place, but we are not defenseless. God gives us armor, and the Apostle Paul lays out the details in Ephesians 6. Our plans and strategies may fail us, just like my positive affirmations were inadequate against my middle-of-the-night worries. I am not enough for the tasks ahead of me, but God is. For example, the belt of truth is an allegiance to God’s truth, and his word declares in 2 Corinthians 12:10 that when we are weak, he is strong. Situations that task our strength allow you and me to see God’s strength on display.
I might feel alone, but God is with me. For instance, we have the shield of faith. This pictures the large Roman shield, covered in leather and often soaked in water to extinguish the flaming arrows from their enemies. Bold faith believes in God’s promises which help us deflect enemy attacks. When we hang onto the promise of God’s presence in good and bad times, we employ our shield of faith to extinguish the worrisome idea that God has abandoned us. I probably will screw up, but God doesn’t call me to be perfect. He calls me to obedience and to trust in him. This means I wage war in my mind and need the helmet of salvation. Being renewed in our minds and confident in our relationship with God protects us in these battles. It enables us to follow God’s strategy of victory.
Paul opens his treatise on the armor of God with these words, “Be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Worry is one of the devil’s schemes, but we don’t have to succumb to him. It is God who is strong, and it is his might flowing through us. We dress ourselves in his armor, and then we stand. We can bring him our concerns and surrender our desire for control over outcomes by exercising faith in his love and care for us.
Heavenly Father,
My worries keep me up at night. It feels like an onslaught of negativity, and I struggle to stand. Forgive me for looking to my strengths and solutions. It is only through you that I find lasting peace. I surrender my will and my ideas of how things should be. I give you my anger over situations I have no control over. I refuse to believe I am alone because you promise you are with me. I’m going to stand firm in you. I’m choosing to trust you. You are loving and kind, and I will focus on your goodness. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
“Overcome Worry?”
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. [11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”- Ephesians 6:10-11
When I’m stressed, my mind becomes a battleground, and the war occurs at night when I want to sleep. I counterattack with positive affirmations like I am enough, I can do this, and I don’t have to be perfect. And yet, the unwanted, discouraging thoughts keep coming like a tank bent on destroying my peace and confidence. Can you relate?
One of the original meanings of worry is to gnaw. Our family’s dog loved to gnaw on his bone, but the more time he spent outside his kennel, the less he gnawed on his bone. Sometimes when worrying, we spend too much time in our heads. We entertain “what-ifs” and “what-then,” creating made-up scenarios where my worst fears come to life. They play across the movie screen of our mind, and we try in vain to shut it off. Jesus gives us wise words about worry in Matthew 6:25-34. He doesn’t tell us it’s wrong to plan to provide for future physical needs. Instead, he addresses the worry that reveals a lack of faith in God’s love and care. Within this passage, we discover how worry prevents faith from growing. It stands in the way of seeking God and his righteousness with our whole hearts. When we focus on who God is and what’s important to him, we find freedom from worry.
A peaceful sleep free from worry brings rest, but what do we do when the battle rages in our mind, and we enter a war for our peace? Spiritual warfare may take place, but we are not defenseless. God gives us armor, and the Apostle Paul lays out the details in Ephesians 6. Our plans and strategies may fail us, just like my positive affirmations were inadequate against my middle-of-the-night worries. I am not enough for the tasks ahead of me, but God is. For example, the belt of truth is an allegiance to God’s truth, and his word declares in 2 Corinthians 12:10 that when we are weak, he is strong. Situations that task our strength allow you and me to see God’s strength on display.
I might feel alone, but God is with me. For instance, we have the shield of faith. This pictures the large Roman shield, covered in leather and often soaked in water to extinguish the flaming arrows from their enemies. Bold faith believes in God’s promises which help us deflect enemy attacks. When we hang onto the promise of God’s presence in good and bad times, we employ our shield of faith to extinguish the worrisome idea that God has abandoned us. I probably will screw up, but God doesn’t call me to be perfect. He calls me to obedience and to trust in him. This means I wage war in my mind and need the helmet of salvation. Being renewed in our minds and confident in our relationship with God protects us in these battles. It enables us to follow God’s strategy of victory.
Paul opens his treatise on the armor of God with these words, “Be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Worry is one of the devil’s schemes, but we don’t have to succumb to him. It is God who is strong, and it is his might flowing through us. We dress ourselves in his armor, and then we stand. We can bring him our concerns and surrender our desire for control over outcomes by exercising faith in his love and care for us.
Heavenly Father,
My worries keep me up at night. It feels like an onslaught of negativity, and I struggle to stand. Forgive me for looking to my strengths and solutions. It is only through you that I find lasting peace. I surrender my will and my ideas of how things should be. I give you my anger over situations I have no control over. I refuse to believe I am alone because you promise you are with me. I’m going to stand firm in you. I’m choosing to trust you. You are loving and kind, and I will focus on your goodness. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Saturday Devotion and Prayer – June 17, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Saturday Devotion and Prayer. June 17, 2023
“Fathers Who Missed the Mark”
“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” – Colossians 3:21
Maybe you have a father who failed you? One who let you down wasn’t around or chased you away. Because God is our Father, He takes fatherhood seriously. It’s the role He created and lives out as our heavenly Father. Sadly, there are an estimated 24.7 million children under the age of 18 living without a father at home.
There are a variety of reasons for this national fatherlessness. Culture isn’t offering many incentives for men to step up to be fathers, instead finding ways to discourage, displace, and devalue a father’s role in a child’s life. Sadly, some fathers walk away and turn their back on their kids, thinking they don’t matter or will never make a difference in their children’s lives. Some children grow up without a father because their mothers have shut them out of their kids’ lives. There are also women choosing single parenting over marriage by having babies via donors, and others creating homes with two moms. God doesn’t take this void lightly but fills it, caring deeply for the fatherless and encouraging them to look to Him as their Father to fulfill this role. As Psalm 68:5 describes, He becomes a Father to the fatherless.
Failing Fathers
Adult children often struggle with unforgiveness, anger, and disappointment towards imperfect fathers, along with severe abandonment issues, abuse, and absentee fathers. Likewise, grown individuals often struggle to move past their dad’s failures, weaknesses, and life choices that deeply affected and wounded them growing up. Imperfections range from a father who didn’t show affection or offer verbal affirmation to a dad who missed his kids’ major life events like sporting events, graduations, and much more. Yet Matthew 6:14 encourages, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:l.”
Fathers Afraid to Come Back
Television shows like “Long Lost Family” work to reunite estranged family members and reveal stories of fathers who are reluctant to reach out to their families, bound by shame and regret for their actions. As a result, many believe they don’t deserve a second chance or will be rejected if they try to reconnect. Although their lack of effort in contacting and restoring relationships is often seen as not caring about their families, the opposite is usually true. Many care very deeply.
“It’s quite likely your father is aware of how he’s hurt you over the years. However, it’s likely he doesn’t know how to face it with you.” As adults, we should encourage sons and daughters to bring things up, not as accusations but as issues to discuss and forgive. “It will be something they will likely appreciate. They will also respect your strength and leadership in bringing it to the surface.” Doing so will do a great deal in strengthening your relationship with your father and could lead to other healing conversations.
Heavenly Father,
Millions of adult children have grown up fatherless, meaning millions of men have also failed as fathers. Lord, so many fall short of Your plan for fathers to walk in Your ways and teach their children to love You. Help me, Father, to forgive my father for his failures and shortcomings and how he hurt and disappointed me. I also ask You to help him to receive forgiveness for his falling short in my life. Soften his heart, Lord, to turn towards you and receive forgiveness.
Let us both walk in the forgiveness You give to us. Help me forgive him for his failures in my life, and help my father to find forgiveness for how he failed me. Pour out your love over us, O Lord, to bring healing and reconciliation into our relationship. Help me to recover from the wounds of the past and to be willing to open my heart to forgive my dad for the past. Strengthen both of us to move forward to restore our broken relationship. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Friday Devotion and Prayer – June 16, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Friday Devotion and Prayer. June 16, 2023 …
Thursday Devotion and Prayer – June 15, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Thursday Devotion and Prayer. June 15, 2023 …
Wednesday Devotion and Prayer – June 14, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv.
Wednesday Devotion and Prayer. June 14, 2023
“Stand Up for Righteousness”
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Micah 6:8
Many are choosing a corner to stand in, and the four corners presented are – your way, society’s way, the church’s way, and God’s way. Truthfully, we are faced with this choice every single day. Begs to question, where would you stand?
Each corner looks enticing and has its own appeal. They all hold different worldly viewpoints and various perspectives. However, as believers, there is only one corner to stand in! Sounds easy enough, right? Yet, in saying that, there are so many times we don’t even realize we take a stand for our own way, bending to the way of society, or falling into a misconception of what the church offers, dismissing the whole truth.
Friend, we are in strange times, unchartered territory. God’s laws are all but removed in most places or sadly being replaced with personal narratives and motives. It is not only happening within the walls of nearly every public building, including our schools, but it is sadly happening within the walls of our congregations too. Currently, our society is easily bending and swaying to the ways of the flesh, which costs the safety of many, especially our innocent children.
So, what do we do? We choose to stand up for righteousness by getting in God’s corner! But, with all the misinformation and misleading truths out there, how do we know it is truly His corner? We must know Him – deeply. We can tell His way apart from the others because it has His Word written all over it. It acts justly, loves mercy, and walks humbly (Micah 6:8). If we really want to take a stand for righteousness and speak out for injustice, we need to be submerged in His Word and etch it in the depth of our hearts (Proverbs 3:3).
Our actions must show others that our God is a God of law and order and that He craves justice. We act justly by speaking out for what is true, noble, and right in God’s eyes, all while repenting and seeking forgiveness of our fleshly desires. We share that God’s love is full of mercy and grace and that forgiveness is wrapped in freedom. And lastly, we walk in humility, knowing God has our back as we boldly posture our hearts towards Him rather than our abilities or the ways of this world. Will you join me in standing up for righteousness?
Heavenly Father,
You are a righteous God, and we are so thankful that You provide us with an instruction manual on how to live this life. Help us etch Your precious Word into our hearts. Give us the courage to stand firm in our convictions and stand up for what is true and right. Give us the wisdom and words to speak out against the evil surrounding us daily, and lead us back to Your corner! Help us act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly while submitting to Your will and ways.
Please forgive us where we fail You and have grace upon us. Lord, direct Your church and people to the truth in Your Word and help us stand on that bedrock and not depart from it. We love you, Lord, and praise your Holy name. In Your son Jesus ‘ name, I pray, Amen.
Tuesday Devotion and Prayer – June 13, 2023
By: Bishop Dr. Etta Mhoon-Walker, PhD., DDiv. Tuesday Devotion and Prayer. June 13, 2023 …
