Joy, May 12, 2008
Joy, May 12, 2008 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance...
And you became followers ... of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of joy in Your presence. 1Thessalonians 1:5-6, Acts 2:28, www.solascriptura.com
Father, Your words to us are unlike the words of the world. Your words enable us to change our lives and our eternal destination. Your words have life changing power. Even if we receive Your words while we are suffering, we know that afflictions are going to be replaced with eternal joy.
You have revealed the secrets and mysteries of life to us if we but read Your word. You would not have us remain as children, understanding only the milk of the word. Help us to come to You daily and to joyfully receive Your light into our hearts. We pray these things in Jesus' Holy name. Amen. Bruce Caldwell
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Prayer, May 11, 2008
Prayer, May 11, 2008 God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us.
That Your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
Let the people praise You, O God; let all the people praise You. …pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Psalms 67:3, 1Thessalonians 5:17-18, www.solascriptura.com
Father, when You shine upon us You illuminate our hearts and You are a light unto our path. Help us never to go forward in darkness, without You, Your counsel, and Your love. Father, You give us light that Your word might go throughout all of the world. We praise You for equipping us to serve You.
We are asked to pray without ceasing. Teach us this day how to implement that teaching. Help us to include You in everything we do and think. It is Your will that we enjoy the fruits of Your Holy presence (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control), constantly. Our fleshly instincts take us in the opposite direction, too often. We seek to be like You, more and more. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen. Bruce Caldwell
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Revenge, May 10, 2008
Revenge, May 10, 2008 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21 Jesus, we know that You personally taught Paul the wisdom that he brings to us. What a reassuring thing it is to find complete consistency between his words and Yours. Here we learn that when we are kind and gentle in the face of someone who is angry with us, it confounds them and our kindness, undeserved, actually disarms them. We take no credit for the fruits of the Spirit manifested in our relationships and we do not seek praise from men for being patient and full of self-control. Teach us today what it means to say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me". Help us this day to overcome evil with good. In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen. Bruce Caldwell
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Mind of Christ, May 9, 2008
Mind of Christ, May 9, 2008 ... "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
"not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
"None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Hebrews 8:8-13, www.solascriptura.com Father, we see that the old covenant, based upon the promises to Israel if they obeyed the law, was replaced by the new covenant. Why? You tell us that Israel did not continue in Your covenant. They sinned and You disregarded them. But thank you Father that was not the end, it was the beginning. You sent Your only Son, Jesus, to live for us and teach us and He died for our sins. Now every person lives under the new covenant, one in which You have placed Your truth upon our hearts. We no longer need to be taught by man, You are our teacher. We have equal status before You. If we but acknowledge our sin to Jesus and ask for His Light to shine upon our hearts, You have promised to remember our sins no more. Help us this day to rejoice over the new covenant, one which permits us to have the mind of Christ, in us. In His precious and Holy name we pray, amen. Bruce Caldwell
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Law of God, May 8, 2008
Law of God, May 8, 2008 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Romans 13:1-4, www.solascriptura.com
Father, these words of Paul lead us to know that nothing that goes on in this universe is outside of Your control. An evil person would not draw his first breath if You did not allow it to be so and a king is not a king unless You have allowed it to be so. You have taught us that those in authority, who You have permitted to be in authority, are those we must respect and to the extent that we obey the laws of the land we will not be subject to the penalties of enforcement.
We also know Father, that if the governing authority asks us to deny You and to follow them that we are authorized to resist, even unto death. Help us to be good and to do good because we know we will be seldom punished for being obedient to those You have allowed to be in power. They, if they err in their leadership, can sometimes be voted against but more importantly, they answer to You. Give us a trusting spirit in knowing You are ultimately in charge and that You will love and protect Your children from evil consequences. Trials will come but we know You are the final authority. We pray for wisdom in this matter. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen. Bruce Caldwell
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Prayer, Part 2, May 7, 2008
Prayer, Part 2, May 7, 2008 Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.
Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray.
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up. I love the LORD, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. Psalms 5:1-3, 116:1-2, www.solascriptura.com Father, when we pray, we know that if we seek Your will for our lives, You listen. Help us understand that You desire to lead us and love us and that Your response to prayers for leadership in our lives is positive and our requests are welcomed. You know our needs better than we do! We are encouraged to pray early, Father, just as Jesus did so many times in the Scriptures. Praying about everything all day is Your stated will, but setting aside time with You each morning gives us an opportunity to start the day right, seeking Your blessings and direction. Father, we give so much time to activities that do not include You. Help us today to resolve to seek Your will, early each day, and to look up and know You are waiting for us to call to You. To whom else can we turn? In Your Holy name, we pray, amen. Bruce Caldwell
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Peace, May 6, 2008
Peace, May 6, 2008 Flee... youthful lusts... pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 2 Timothy 2:22, Hebrews 12:14, www.solascriptura.com Father, some of us are far too old to still be pursuing youthful lusts. Will Satan ever stop tempting us? We know the answer. Not only will he persist and we also know that You permit the temptations to come. But, at the same time You promise to get us through the temptations of life, if we will but turn to You and trust You (Go to I Corinthians 10:13 and memorize it!). There will come a day when Satan is restrained and Your joy will reign in the hearts of men (The Millennium) and there will be an even better day when Satan and his allies are destroyed forever. Then, in heaven, we will find out what is like to enjoy Your peace, happiness and joy eternal. We seek Your Holiness here, today, knowing that if we are unholy, we will never stand in Your presence. Lord, bestow upon us Your gifts today that we may be like You, now and forever. We pray in Jesus' Holy name, amen. Bruce Caldwell
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