Let Us Pray
James 5:13-16 13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
If we ever wonder why we should pray for one another, James offers a few reasons in these verses. You see, God loves corporate confession, corporate petition, and corporate praise. There is something powerful that occurs when God’s people come together in praise, worship and intercession.
The term righteous means we are in right standing before God. It does not mean we are holier than others, but instead that we have surrendered our whole selves to God. When we are surrendered, we understand the importance of spending time in prayer for ourselves and for others.
May we reach out to others and up to God as we seek to live according to His will.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Working Out Our Salvation
Philippians 2:12-13 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Have you noticed that some scripture, at first reading, makes little sense? Today’s scripture says we are to work out our salvation. What is there to work out? God sent His Son, He saved us by His blood, it is a free gift by grace, and that’s it, right?
Yes, salvation is free, but it is the way we live out our salvation that must be worked out.
We have each been given spiritual gifts, granted to us through the Holy Spirit, and aren’t you thankful for these gifts designed for the building up of the saints and the edification of the Church? Depending on the nature of the gifts and the person who has received them, these gifts are grown and used in various ways. So it is our individual responsibility to allow the Spirit to direct us in growing, developing and then applying our gifts to the body of believers.
May we each seek out the beauty of His face as we allow Him to grow us in His beauty and His grace. And may we work out our salvation according to his will.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God Has This
Isaiah 40:28-31 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
I like to say verse 31 as a prayer, ending wit the plea, “teach me, Lord, to wait.”
Is waiting as hard for everyone else as it is for me? Depending upon what the wait is for, I find myself either engrossed in anticipation or on the verge of worry.
Why do I say I am on the verge of worry? Because I know, understand and believe that whatever the circumstance God will take care of me. If He had not proved Himself to me over and over, I would still believe. But He has.
May we start each day with thanksgiving, knowing that whatever happens, God has this!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:14-19 (NIV) 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation
Reconciliation means to be reunited, brought back, being restored. I once heard it said this way. God demands holiness, but we are sinners and cannot achieve holiness. Yet, God cannot lower His standards. So because of His great love for mankind, He fulfilled His requirement by allowing Jesus to take on the sins of the world and die in our place, thus reconciling us to Him.
The above scriptures have always been some of my favorites. When we receive the free gift of salvation, everything changes. As we become molded into the image of our Savior, we then become ambassadors of the faith. Isn’t that wonderful? We receive salvation by grace through faith, but we become disciples when we answer the call to follow.
May we each become reconciled to God through Jesus, and may we understand that one of our highest callings is to become ministers of reconciliation so that others might be saved.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Majesty of God
1 Chronicles 16:23-27 (NIV) 23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his dwelling place.
In today’s scripture, the Hebrews are once again in possession of the Ark of the Covenant, and David is instructing the priests on worship. He has borrowed from multiple psalms to extol God’s majesty.
How often do we remember God’s sovereignty? And why is it important to acknowledge God as the supreme power and ruler? If we fail to recognize and exalt God as the One who created everything from nothing, the One to whom we owe worship, then we can fall into the trap of self-reliance. One of the most cringe-worthy phrases I’ve ever heard is “self-made man.” Many of us began our lives with very little—few resources, even less money, and sometimes no emotional support. But God—
I was raised in church and I don’t remember a time when I did not believe, but there were times when I did not follow. I foolishly made decisions, asking God to bless my choices because, after all, I was a good little Christian. But God—regardless of where my path took me, always brought me back to the pathway of holiness.
May we be quick to offer Him our praise and our worship, and slow to make decisions on our own.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Seeking Holiness 