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How Should You Live in the Present?

Text:

1 Peter 4:7 (NLT)

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.

Observation:

How do we spend the present? In reality, we only have the present; the past is gone, and tomorrow is not promised.

Therefore, it behooves each of us to think seriously and soberly about the present.

Life may be difficult, but we still have a charge to keep and a purpose to fulfill. The time to do that is today and not tomorrow.

We would do well to be earnest and disciplined in our prayer life. Through prayer, we are able to see God’s perspective on our problems. When we read and meditate upon God’s Word we get a new perspective on our problems.

In the midst of our problems, we take them to God in prayer. Our prayers bring us into the presence of the Lord. In God’s presence, we receive His power and His peace.

As we are more earnest in prayer we go deeper into the Word and we are able to see God’s perspective and God’s purpose begins to be revealed in the midst of our problems.

In spite of our struggles and suffering, we begin to experience the unfailing love of God and God’s sufficient grace for our current circumstances.

As we look higher and go deeper with God our pain and suffering are transformed into praise and thanksgiving to God. The Word of God and prayer changes everything, and most of all it changes you and me.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for being the God of the present. We are so grateful that when we live in the present, and in Your presence, we get a new perspective on life.

Father, infuse our lives with a burning desire to be earnest and disciplined in our prayer life. O how we need to live in Your presence continually. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

—

1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

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Why Am I So Discouraged?

Text:

Psalm 42:5 (HCSB)

5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:11 (HCSB)

11 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Observation:

Why is the Psalmist so depressed? He asked the question not two, but three times; twice in Psalm 42, and in Psalm 43.

Psalm 43:5 (HCSB)

5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Could it be that the Psalmist was not living daily in the presence of the Lord? Notice what he says in his cry to God for help.

Psalm 43:1-3 (HCSB)

1 Vindicate me, God, and defend my cause against an ungodly nation; rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.

2 For You are the God of my refuge. Why have You rejected me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy’s oppression?

3 Send Your light and Your truth; let them lead me. Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling place.

Why does the Psalmist feel that God has abandoned Him? Could it be that the Psalmist has abandoned the Lord? Notice God’s promise to His people.

Hebrews 13:5 (HCSB)

5 Your life should be free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

Do you believe God, or the devil? Do you live by faith, or by fear? Listen to your heavenly Father.

Isaiah 41:10 (HCSB)

10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for Your promise to never leave us or forsake us. Father, help us to remember Your promises.

James 4:8 (HCSB)

8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!

Father, draw us nearer to You, and help us to rely upon Your presence every moment of our life. Help us to remember this gift you have given us.

Romans 8:9 (HCSB)

9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Father, we thank You for Your presence, peace, power, and provisions. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
¹¹ So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

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Do You Really Know the Lord?

Text:

Exodus 33:12-14 (ESV)

12 Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’

13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”

14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Observation:

What is your purpose for being alive? What has God gifted you to do? Who is your source for help in accomplishing your purpose?

The Lord gave Moses a huge assignment. Moses talked to the Lord, and the Lord talked to Moses. Do you have a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord?

Let’s examine some of the elements of the relationship that Moses had with the Lord.

Psalm 103:7-8 (ESV)

7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Notice that the Lord made known his ways to Moses. The key for Moses was his habit of talking to the Lord, and trusting in the Lord.

If you are willing to look to the Lord, He will give you the strength you need to accomplish your purpose.

Philippians 4:13 (ESV)

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Let’s go to the Lord in prayer; trust in Him, and ask Him to exchange our weakness for His strength. Then take the next step in doing what the Lord tells you to do. Don’t forget, that you are never alone, and you always have everything you need to do God’s will.

Hebrews 13:5-6 (ESV)

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Prayer:

Psalm 62:5-8 (ESV)

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

—

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Living in the Moment – – Keep Moving Forward

Text:

Philippians 3:12-14 (HCSB)

12 Not that I have already reached [the goal] or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

Observation:

I initially wrote about this topic over two years ago; the date was February 16, 2014. It was brought to my attention by a report in Google that someone recently viewed it.

Life is lived one day at a time, and we all have the same amount of time. We start each week with 168 hours. So, it is not a matter of the quantity of time we have, but how we use time.

We can’t manage time, but we can manage ourselves. It begins with knowing your purpose for being alive; knowing this will supply the passion to get it done. Talent and skills are important. However, they are not enough; you need to have endurance.

The race of life is not a sprint; rather, it is a marathon. To receive the prize, you must finish the race. Therefore, like the Apostle Paul, we should make it our goal to run to win.

The writer of Hebrews said this concerning running the race of life:

Hebrews 12:1-2 (HCSB)

1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

So, stay in the moment. Taking just one small step forward will move you toward accomplishing your purpose and goals in life. Make it your aim to run with purpose; to run with endurance, and to never give up. The process may be hard, but the prize is worth it; embrace and enjoy your life.

What I wrote then spoke into my heart today. I pray it will speak into your heart the day you read it.

Prayer:

Father God, my dear Father, I am so grateful that You give Your people the wisdom, and the power to go, grow, and glow.

Father, I am so thankful for the grace and strength that You provide to help us keep on keeping on. O, how I look forward to sitting at the feet of my Savior, and live in the Father’s house forever. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

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Are You Able to Fulfill Your Purpose?

Text:

Psalm 85:10-11 (HCSB)

10 Faithful love and truth will join together; righteousness and peace will embrace.

11 Truth will spring up from the earth, and righteousness will look down from heaven.

Observation:

There is nothing more persuasive and powerful than the heart that has been filled by the presence of the Holy Spirit of God; the presence of the the love of God in our heart.

Is the love of God present in your life? This is God’s promise to all who believe in Jesus, and have received Him.

John 1:12 (NLT)

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Romans 5:5 (HCSB)

5 This hope will not disappoint ?us?, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

There is nothing that the child of God lacks. We have everything that we need to fulfill the purposes of God for our life. If God be for us, who can be against us?

Luke 1:37 (HCSB)

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Prayer:

Father, I exalt Your name, and give You the praise and thanksgiving that You alone deserve.

Father, I am persuaded that I have everything that I need to fulfill the purpose for which I was born, and born again. Father, I am persuaded that the God who lives in me is greater than any difficulty, danger, or disappointment that I will ever encounter in my walk through this world.

Father, I am so glad that I am on my way to heaven, and that this world is not my home.

Father, thank You for bringing heaven to earth by sending the Holy Spirit of God, who is love, to live in my heart forever. Let all those who agree say, Amen.

—

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What Do You Need to Fulfill Your Purpose?

Text:

Philippians 1:1-2 (HCSB)

1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Observation:

Today, I look back at three of my favorite verses from Philippians, and I have heard from some of you that one or more of them are your favorites also.

These verses will encourage you as you seek to be all that God created you to be. God’s purpose for your life is that you would bring glory to Him, and that you would be a blessing to others.

Philippians 4:11 (HCSB)

11 I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Philippians 4:13 (HCSB)

13 I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:19 (HCSB)

19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

In Christ, you can be who you are supposed to be, you can do what you are supposed to do, and you can have what you need to finish strong, and win the prize.

Philippians 1:6 (HCSB)

6 I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Prayer:

Father, I am so thankful for the purpose, potential, and power that You give to Your people to be who You made us to be, and to do what You want us to do.

Father, help us to remember that the victory comes when we look to You as the source for all of our needs. Lord, give us a faith that will not falter or fail; so that we will finish the race, and receive the prize. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

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Daily Bread

Title: The Potential and Power of Prayer

Text:

Philippians 4:6-7 (HCSB)
⁶Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Observation:

We only have to look at the life and ministry of Jesus to see the importance he attached to prayer. The scripture records numerous instances where Jesus prayed. I ask myself the question, If Jesus had to pray, then what about me?

Mark 1:35 (HCSB)
³⁵Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there.

I believe that we do ourselves the most good when we saturate our prayers with praise and thanksgiving to God. I have also discovered that praying for others more than we pray for ourselves also results in getting my needs met without me even asking. However, we should not neglect praying for ourselves because Jesus prayed for himself. Notice how Jesus set the example for prayer in John chapter 17.

John 17:1-5 (HCSB)
¹Jesus spoke these things, looked up to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You,
²for You gave Him authority over all flesh; so He may give eternal life to all You have given Him.
³This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent—Jesus Christ.
⁴I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do.
⁵Now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with that glory I had with You before the world existed.

Prayer is the means that God has provided for His people to communicate with Him. It is through prayer and the Word of God that God’s people are able to align our will with God’s will. It is the means by which we get the power to fulfill our purpose, and reach our potential.

Who wouldn’t want to exchange worry for the peace of God? You can have it when you pray; Prayer is the key to God’s storehouse. There is no scarcity in God’s storehouse; nothing you need is ever out of stock.

“What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!”

Source:

http://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn.php/h/789#ixzz2bByM6HRr

Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I extol You, my God, O King, I bless Your name, and give You the praise that You alone are worthy of.

Father God, I am so grateful for the potential and the power of prayer. Father, Your love is so amazing, and Your cup of grace, mercy and forgiveness is bottomless.

Father God, I will bless Your name forever and ever; every day I will bless You, and never cease to cast all my cares upon You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.