The Cause And The Cure Of Judging Others

When we are close to someone, we tend to expect lofty things from them in our minds. We imagine how they should be, but don't honestly see who they are. When these persons fail to live up to standards we have in our minds for them we judge them. Now, if this same person who renders judgment considers the love of God and trys to imitate that in their own life, they would see people for who they really are and not judge that person or give up hope in them. When we are separated ourselves from our own love for God we will likewise separate ourselves from others who we are close to.

Daily Prayer: Father thank you for loving me though I disappoint you by my conduct. Without your patience and loyal love I certainly would be condemned. By Your Spirit, create a clean heart in me. Allow me to show the love of God toward others, especially those whom I am closest to. Let me withhold judgment but be liberal with grace. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Clouds, Shadows, And The Knowledge Of God

God uses clouds as an actual symbol and as a metaphor for His presence among us. God does not present Himself unhindered in the open. Clouds come to us purposefully. The purpose of clouds is to have us unlearn something. God wants us to draw near with the simplicity of a child.
Shadows, on the other hand, are the people in our lives. People must remain as shadows because God expects first priority in our life. We must learn to interpret what God intends in the clouds and make others second to Him before we come to the knowledge of God.

Daily Prayer: Father, there are many clouds and shadows in our lives. We have much to unlearn and must commit ourselves to Your first place priority. We are a sinful people and we seek your forgiveness. We are but flesh and don't always understand You. Teach us by your Spirit and help us come to know You. By doing this, it will affect us in a good way so that the clouds that come may not have to be dark ones. In Your Name I pray Amen.

The Lord's Future For You Is Now

People, especially Americans, are goal driven. We see life as a process which leads up to a specific goal. Our whole life is preparation for one moment in the spotlight. This is not so with the Lord. It is not the goal that He seeks to accomplish. It is the process itself that He is most concerned with. He wants us to learn to utilize His power in our life so that in the midst of life's trouble, we are calm because our dependance is on the Lord. This confidence in Him is what brings Him glory, not a future moment in the spotlight.

Daily Prayer: Father, so often times we don't understand Your purposes. We sacrifice Your achievements for a moment in time which tends to bring attention to ourselves and not for Your glory at all. Forgive us Father. Set us on the path once again. Help us not to live more than one day at a time. Let us look to You for our sufficiency and no further. In Your Holy Name we pray Amen.

Spiritual Understanding

The way to spiritual understand comes through obedience. You are what you fill yourself up to be. If a person is a sports expert, he analyzes every statistic about the game. If a person desires understanding, it comes from the pattern of Jesus Christ who demonstrated to us obedience, even death on the cross. If we follow His pattern, the Holy Spirit will illuminate all things to us.

Daily Prayer: Lord, make it our heart's desire to know the hidden things of God. Let us be imitators of Jesus Christ and the great saints of old so that we prosper in our ways and are a delight to You. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Living The Fool's Paradise

The reason most people do not think of themselves as sinners is because they are convinced through their own ignorance that they are innocent. Jesus says, however, that what comes out of the mouth of a person reveals their true heart. Jesus says we are capable of all kinds of evil, whether acted out or not. This is the reason for feeding the inner man through the power of the Holy Spirit to transform us into the pattern of Jesus Christ our Savior. Innocense is without excuse for the Christian who have this revelation made known to them. We can give sway to the Holy Spirit by not grieving Him (avoiding intentional sin and confessing our sin) and not quenching the Spirit (by disagreeing with Him regarding our own sin). For the Christian, spiritual life begins and ends with dependance on the Holy Spirit and allow His work in our life.

Daily Prayer: Father, convict and convince us of our own personal sin. Forgive us our trespasses and give us the heart to forgive others. Build up our new life by having us yield to the Holy Spirit and allow His impartation of new life in our heart. In Jesus's name and for His sake I pray Amen.

Our Motives Should Be Simple & Childlike

Jesus rarely condemned another because of what they did. His accusations were against what people thought. This is why he said what a man eats will never condemn him. It is what he says which is the fruit of his heart which condemns a man. If you are a parent, you know your children do not always obey. It is the willful disorder that leads to our punishment, not the disorder itself. So it is with our Savior and our Judge. For the woman who was caught in adultry, Jesus says to her: "where are your accusers?" Her reply is that they are gone, so Jesus said He will neither condemn her, but go and sin no more.

Daily Prayer: Father, You know the struggles of our heart. When the truth is made clear, we are very selfish in motives and desires. Even though we have been saved from Hell, we are smoking like we have been there. Let us surrender to Your will, so that in the deep inner places of our minds and our hearts we become child like in our behavior and depend on You. In Jesus' name we pray Amen.

Those Who Are "In Christ" Are Already Sanctified

The Wisdom of God is not trying to "make" sinners into saints by effort and determination. Instead, God imparts new life into the believer so that the qualities of holiness of Jesus are now resident in the believer. Just as Jesus loved, was long suffering, submitted to the Father; these qualities too can be found in the believer. It is not imitation, but impartation. Imitation is to use Jesus as our example. Impartation means we are heir to His qualities so that the Father can receive us as Children of God.

Daily Prayer: Lord, we praise You for Your power and Your wisdom. Create in us a clean heart and a heart that is loved by God and honors Him in service. We pray in the name of the Triune God Amen.

Sanctification: Spiritual Warfare

In order to be sanctified unto Jesus Christ, one will go through spiritual warfare. Jesus says to "Come unto Me" while the powers of the world tell us to put our trust in ourselves. Salvation and sanctification both originate in the same place which is the trust in Jesus Christ's work on the cross. Salvation is a free gift, a work of Christ. Sanctification this side of heaven is painful for the believer, because it means the setting aside of all worldly treasure and identifying with Christ and the cross and dying to yourself so that you can live for Christ.

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, it is necessary and good to die to one's own self. In our flesh, we can do no good thing. Let us instead walk by the spirit, so that we do not fulfill the desires of the flesh. Amen.

When We Tell Jesus "I Cannot Possibly Keep Your Standards'" He Says Blessed Are You

With the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus fortold the Law of the Kingdom of God. If one ever though the Law of Moses was hard, it is not nearly as lofty as the standards of God's Kingdom.
Why would Jesus announce such high standards? These Standards we cannot possibly keep.
It is so that we will recognize our own limitations and come to him and say "I cannot possibly do what You require." He will answer "Blessed are the poor in spirit, they will inherit the Kingdom of God." God's kingdom does not have a foundation of merit, but it has one of poverty. Jesus is not saying to the church that these standards can be met my her. Instead, He is saying that these are the standards to which I will make you become. Sanctification is a positional purity based on the purity of Christ in our lives. In our lives to come, Christ finishes the work of sanctification by making us into the same holiness that He is and presents us to God as finished work. So blessed are those who realize their poverty, because for them, thy kingdom will come.

Daily Prayer: Oh, such great things You have in store for those who believe. Let us rest on Your promises and not become discouraged. Let us instead rejoice. Rejoice in the work and the plans you have for those who belong to You. Amen.

Our Relief When We Walk Before God

Walking is the outward sign of our enduring presence of God in our midst. The Hebrews walked until the cloud by day signaled them to stop. They did not proceed until the pillar of fire signaled them to move on. So it is in the life of the Christian. We do not have a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, but we do have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit within us and we have the power of prayer before us. No longer does a Christian have reason to stumble, but instead may rest in the power of the Most High.

Daily Prayer: Lord, whenever we feel anxious, remind us who we are. We are the children of God and need only depend on Him and His righteousness. Our sins are forgiven so let us walk in newness of life knowing it is not we who control our destiny, but the Lord of Hosts who cares for us. In Your Name we pray Amen.

The Nature And The Cause Of True Submission

Did you know that submission is not possible between two persons of unequal stature? For example, when a master commands a slave to a work, that slave is not obedient, but his counter part is a task master. Jesus does not operate as a task master. Instead, submission to Him comes as a natural result of our realization that He is worthy and we are not. When we realize our own condition, we then recognize our need for a Savior and Christ Jesus is our Savior. The mode of Jesus' operation is grace and it's result is salvation.

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am unworthy to be called your friend, yet you call me your friend.
Lift me up by the power of your grace to lead a worthwhile life honoring you as my Savior. In your holy name I pray Amen.

God Controls Everything, Even The Smallest Details

The sign that you have Christ formed within you is your ability to trust God in all circumstances.
There is no need for friendly advice, counselors, or great men of wisdom so long as the Sovereign God is on His throne. God never rests, never sleeps, never forgets, and is never unfair. Jesus tells us "Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you." We have two choices. We can trust ourself and our own resources or we can trust God and His resources. We are taught to cast all of our cares on Him, because He cares for us.

Daily Prayer: Father, let us drop our guard and believe without waivering that you are our True Father and we can trust in You. Keep us from the Evil One who tries to get us to trust ourself which leads to ruin. Draw us near to you lest we fall into temptation. By Your Spirit, convince and convict us of Your truth and then let us tell others of what You have done in our life. In Your Holy Name we pray Amen.

Jesus Christ Is Our Creditor

Paul wrote in 1 Cor. "You are not your own. You were bought with a price." He also referred to those who were saved by the blood of the lamb that we are His bondservants. We are only free to the extent that we use our useful lives for the proclamation of the gospel so that other's may come to the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. This is why were are referred to as broken and poured out for His sake.

Daily Prayer: Lord, instill in me the passion to make Your gospel known to others. Make it my first priority to begin to repay the debt that I owe you for saving me from my sins and eternal punishment. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.

Never Look For Justice & Never Cease To Give It

If we who are Christians want to demonstrate of the Son of God in us, we will not revile our enemies, but instead be just with them. It is not a tooth for a tooth. Jesus when He was taken to the cross never fought back. A great example of showing the God who dwells within him is Martin Luther King Jr. Though he was mistreated and spat on, he did not return evil for evil.
He became an American legand by doing what the world does not do which is loving God with all his mind, heart, strength and might and loving his neighbor as himself.

Daily Prayer: Lord, it is much easier to return to the world what it has coming. Instead, let vengence be Yours, but for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord. Amen

Never Be Co-Dependant

Some people put all of their faith into mortal man or woman and not into the Eternal God-Man.
This is very risky because we are to put our faith in the Lord alone as grounds for our eternal life. When people become a stumbling block to our relationship with God, He will remove them from your life so that He fills that need and no one else. If you are born again, God will fill that void in your life and He will occupy first place alone for the believer.

Daily Prayer: Father, strengthen our faith in You so that You are our only sufficiency. Let us return the love You are worthy of and rely on no one else but You. Amen.

The Invisible Chruch

The invisible church is the collective body of believers globally. It is not a congregation, denomination or an assembly. It is not ethnically distinct, gender sensitive, or contemporary. It is the collection of men, women, and children who seek Jesus and have received Him as their Savior. Our responsibility in the collective church is to know Jesus. By knowing Him, He will form Himself inside of you so that you love Him and listen to Him.

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to put away our own agendas no matter how well meaning they are. Instead let us seek You so that we may know You. By doing so, we can carry out Your Perfect Will. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.

In All Things, Christ Is With Us

The reason why the spiritual saint can walk through the valley of life is because he knows Jesus. He knows Jesus in the city, and in the church, at work and while driving his car. In all things, Jesus is present. You need no mountain top experience with the Lord. All you need is your conscious awareness that He is with you in all things, and in all things you glorify Him.

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, do with us as what seems good to You. Let us not grow weary of doing good, knowing that by doing so, we glorify You. Amen.

Spirituality and the World

It seems many Christians confuse Christian activity as opposed to an active and dynamic relationship with Jesus. Tell me which is more spiritual? First, the withdrawl from the world to seek Bible reading time at home. Second, the going out and telling of Jesus to your neighbor. What would Jesus do? He would go and tell. Withdrawl from the world is the exact opposite of Jesus Great Commission. We are to "go and to make disciples of all nations," Jesus says. This is also why we assemble as a church. Together we are stronger than by our own selves. It is as the saying goes: "We need to be a thousand voices being heard as one. We also need to be one voice being heard as a thousand." This is Jesus command to us.

Daily Prayer: Lord, let us not be spiritual hermits. Instead, let us be bold and tell others what you can do in their lives and be Your witness. Amen.

To Triumph In This Life, We Must Let God Be Our All In All

God told Israel that He did not make them the country of choice because of their strength. Not at all. It was because they were the smallest and the weakest. God did not chose David because he was the strongest, largest, or oldest of Jesse's sons. He chose David because he was the youngest and a shepherd over sheep. God declares that His strength is perfected in our weakness. This is why we need to rely upon God and the Son and the Holy Spirit for all things, because apart from them, we can do nothing.

Daily Prayer: Lord, apart from You, there is noting I can do. Take control of my mind and my will so that "in Christ" I can do anything. Give me wisdom to reject the flesh since it is at war with the Spirit and give reliance and confidence in You for all things. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

The Believer Must Choose For Themselves

Joshua put the question to God's people "choose for yourself today to follow God." Later, Elijah on Mt. Carmel told the priests "choose for yourself to follow God." The New Testament has that same abiding question to choose for themselves who they will serve. It is a matter of eternal importance and one where if you declare faithfulness to God you are your own witness in the matter.

Daily Prayer: Father we must deliberately choose You in all matters of life. Nobody is greater than their teacher and creator. I choose to be your follower and bear witness to myself. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.

Are We The Potter's Clay Or Have We Gone To The Valley Of Humiliation?

God has a vision for you and for me. He has plans for our life that He shares with us. At times, those plans seem far off. We have entered a fork in the road. To our right we can go to where the potter will shape us and whirl us about until we come to a place where we are that vision. To our left is the Evil One who entices us to hurry up the process of the potter. He tells us to skip necessary steps because they will take too long. He offers us the same vision, but with a short cut. If we go to our right, we will live out God's plans in our life, but the short-cut leads to the Valley of Humiliation.

Daily Prayer: Father, it is all a matter of trust. Jesus was offered the kingdoms of this world without the cross, but he chose the cross because it mattered to him who was the giver of such kingdoms. Let us be so wise in our own life. There are no short-cuts to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Amen.

Commit Your Way To The Lord

This is another way of saying that you should not make plans without first seeking God's council.
There are many things that we do that we only consider to be common sense. For instance "Plan for a rainey day."These kind of innocent plans are indeed evil plans. They totally leave the Sovereign God out of the end result. They also put Him to the test as a sufficient provider. Israel was fine when they followed a of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They never hungered or thirst. When they had kings planning their future, they ended up in exile. Our plans from the greatest to the least should be commited to the Lord, because only He can do something about them.

Daily Prayer: Lrod we never intended to be evil in our plans, but I can see we have been. Forgive us. Let the Spirit of God renew us and lead us into all truth so that we can benefit from being a Child of God. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.

For The Love Of The Son

Discipleship is different in the Christian arena. In the world, discipleship one who adhere's to the teaching of another. In the Christian life, it is devotion and love of another, that being Jesus Christ. If adherence to rules makes a disciple, the the Pharisee would have been an excellent canidate. They felt that is was how they live verses who do I love that makes the difference. Jesus was quick to clear that up calling all people to Come to Me.

Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, we do not love in the same way that You do. By the Spirit of God, plant in each of us the love that You first pour out for us. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.

Pay What You Ought To Pay

On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells a parable of the borrower who owed money to his creditor. Jesus warns that if you do not pay, you will be thrown into prison until you pay what you ought to pay. In a word, Jesus is refering to sanctification. The Bible teaches us to be holy, because God is holy. Paying our debt is a reference to our surrender of our personal will to our creditor who is God. He warns us not to holdback on Him or we will surely pay all that we ought to. This is true for everyone and everyone will pay in time, but the wise will surrender early.

Daily Prayer: Father, let us do all we ought to do, not to pay the debt, but out of love.
In Jesus name I pray Amen.