Stand Strong...

Lord, that I may bring honor and glory to Your Name through the things I do and say. That I may continually be growing my faith and my relationship with You. That I may always be obedient to You and be able to live up to Your expectations of my life by living out each of Your purposes. That I may always be demonstrating Your love through kind words and acts to other people, always remembering them in my prayers. To You my Lord and my God be the glory.

A prayer written during my Small Group study on 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Be Devoted To One Another...

Romans 12:9-10 NIV
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

This is difficult to do, to honor others above myself is tough. Too often I find myself in prayers for me, leaving little room for other people. "Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as a bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of broken bread and poured out wine." - Oswald Chambers, Utmost (7/15). Jesus wants me to pray for and serve other people. That is being a humble servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. My Love must be sincere, not done out of obligation, but as a true sense of desire for other people and for my Lord.

Help me Lord to sincerely love others above myself. To truely live out of desire to express Your love. That I may be devoted to my family, my friends, and other people in prayer and in service. To humbly put them above me in my actions and in my available time. To You my Lord be the glory.

No One But You...

Lord, that I may live a "life of salvation" in preparation for Your anticipated return. That I may live in ever deepening relationship with You, that I may serve other people with the talents and life You have given me, that I may continually express Jesus and His grace to other people. That my life might be a complete expression of worship and devotion to You my Lord, my Savior, my God.

Lord, that You will provide protection of my "life of salvation" when I put on the spiritual breastplate of faith and love which covers my spiritual vital organs of character and soul against the attacks of temptation leading to sin. And when I put on the helmet of hope in salvation may it protect my eyes leading to my vision of You God, my tongue to speak love, and my mind to be in continual, deepening relationship with You my Lord (see 1 Thessalonians 5:8). "In all the world there is no one but You, dear God; there is no one but You." (Oswald 7-11).

To You my Lord and my Savior  be all the glory.

...from my reflective prayer in the Small Group study of Thessalonians.

Abound in Love....

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 (SG Bible study)

Lord, protect me from the lust of the flesh and from sexual immorality. Help me to "abound in love" for my wife and to reflect on Prov 5:18,19 - "rejoice with the wife of your youth"

Help me Lord to "abound in love" for other people. To be kind, to listen to them, and to pray for them. To invite Your Spirit to my work place to help me execute this.

That I Lord may honor You in all that I say and all that I do. To You my Lord be the glory and the honor.

On Your Behalf...

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13
Lord, thank you for this revelation from Paul's life. Help me to realize that the difficulties I face in life will benefit my character and I will grow as a result of enduring them. Help me to remember that you are always present to help me and to strengthen me.

Lord people are always watching me, please help me to remember this and to deal with my difficulties in a way that will glorify you and be a good witness to then on your behalf.

Motives in Ministry...

When opposition comes, just as Paul did, I must trust in the power of God and stay obedient to His calling. See 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-20.

Lord, help me to REFINE myself to be more accountable to You and Your guidance to me. Help me to deny my pride and to be more submissive to Your Truth. Help me to release my need to control people and things in my life that I cannot and should not control.

Lord, I want to be fully confident in Your power so that my commitment to Your Truth will be increasingly reflected in my life.

To You my Lord and my Savior be the glory in everything I say and everything I do.

My All...

Acts 21:13 NIV
"Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

To be ready to be bound and to die for the Lord Jesus. This is truely the greatest sacrifice I can give my lord. But to die might not mean to stop life, it might mean to live life, to give everything to Jesus, my time, my money, my affection, my all. I am far from being prepared to be bound for my Lord let alone to die for him. Yet to be his disciple I must. I must put everything I consider dear aside and give my all to Jesus.

My Lord, on this wonderful Sunday in the beauty of your nature, I commit to you my all. Help me to prepare to be bound for you, to be ready to die for You, to give you my all in all. Lord to you be all the glory.

To Overcome...

Acts 20:29 NIV
"I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock."

How often do I hear a good message in church or during quiet time only to set it aside in the hours thereafter. As Paul says,"after I leave savage wolves come" when I am vulnerable, I must be vigilant, I must stand strong in the world, in the face of savage wolves. Satan is lurking, he is looking for the opportunity to wreck me. But if I dwell in the nugget of truth that I recieve daily, I will be able to overcome.

Lord I need your help in the face of temptation. I need your help to keep your word strong in my heart. Spirit reign in me, flow your strength into me, so that I can be your man. To stand strong against Satan's wolves. "I can overcome anything through Him who gives me strength." To your my Lord be the glory.

Me and My House...

Acts 16:30-31 NIV
He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

It's a simple formula, believe in the Lord and you will be saved, you and your family. Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, this passage might be considered complete, and I might be inclined to move on. But, salvation has three parts: 1) Gods complete forgiveness of all my sins, 2) life eternal with God in heaven, and 3) living a life of Gods purpose. The first two are gifts that I receive when I (and my family) become believers; the last is something that I (and my family) work out because of my gratitude and my love for Jesus as my Savior. I must continue my salvation each day I am alive; me and my household. To love God (worship) and people (fellowship), to serve and help others, to grow in my relationship to God (maturity), and to tell others of their opportunity with Jesus in the center of their life; me and my household. I must not only do this myself, I must, as the priest of my home, encourage my family to do the same.

Lord thank you for this nugget, thank you for reminding me of this special message that I would have missed if I did not write it down. Lord help me to implement a life of salvation for you, to live out your purposes for your kingdom; help me to do what you want me to do and to help my family to do the same. Through my modeling, and mentoring a purpose driven life, let my family see and develop a desire to do this as well. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." To you my Lord and my Savior be the glory.

House of Mourning...

Ecclesiastes 7:2 NIV
"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart."

From the movie "The Secret of Jonathan Sperry". Too many people die without knowing Jesus. When I am in "a house of feasting", I become insensitive to the spiritual needs of people. I get caught up in the folly of the moment; and the real need goes unnoticed. But when I go to "a house of morning" the only thing present is spiritual need; and I am reminded of what the Lord expects of me, which is to tell others of a destiny that could be theirs through Jesus Christ.

Lord I thank you for this reminder, through the movie and through my scripture reading today. I pray Lord that you will give me the courage and wisdom to speak for you. To be boldly subtle in telling of the destiny that awaits everyone through Jesus Christ. To use the movie as a possible "icebreaker", and to encourage others to speak of you as well. To you Jesus, my Lord and my Savior, be the glory.