All Good Gifts

From James 1:16-17

“16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Lord, I am thankful for the gifts and the consistency that you provide. Your love is steadfast, and is not subject to change. Like a shelter we can rely on that love to protect us from whatever we have going on. Let us not take for granted this gift, because it provides the ultimate comfort. Also, we know that all good things come from you. For this how can we not give thanks? Father, protect us in all that we do. We rely on your intercession, and humbly serve at your will. Amen.

Lord of Peace and Strength

From John 16:33

“33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Father we know that in you there is peace. You have overcome death which is the worst thing this world can do to us. We are encouraged that being with you means that support is available. Let us lean on that support! Amen.

Renew our Spirit

From Psalm 51:10

“10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Father, we thank you for everything that you do. Your sovereign plan is architected with our best interests at heart. Lord, I yearn to be pure of heart and to have the Holy Spirit renew me. I want the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and my actions. Father, it is through your guidance that we best serve the rest of our church body. Commit my spirit to you Lord. Amen.

God’s Strength

From Psalm 46:1

“1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Lord, we thank you for all of your wonderful gifts. Father we seek you out in our time of need, and you offer us refuge and strength. You faithfully guide us through our travails through wisdom. Lord we rely constantly on your intercession and are extremely thankful for your protection. Amen.

Repent, and Forgive

From Luke 17:3

“3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.”

Father thank you for all of the many gifts that you give us. From the minor to the major we have it much better than we deserve. Thank you for the ability to repent. If I or someone else were to sin against someone we have the ability to humbly ask for forgiveness. Similarly, we have the ability to accept their apology and forgive them for whatever the transgression may have been. It is the ability to do both of these things that keep communities together. Lord, let us be thankful for our ability to engage in both of these activities. Amen.

Turn From Pride, Be Humble

From James 4:6

“6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.”

Father, let us not get pride from Earthly achievements. Rather our sense of self-worth should be drawn directly from Your love for us. Lord it is with a humble heart that we can best do your work. Being humble helps keep our eyes open, and our hearts focused upwards. Having open eyes and open hearts are critical to being in position to encourage others to ask for help. Lord, I yearn to do your work. I humbly throw myself at your feet, wanting to participate in your plan. Thank you again for all of the many gifts that you give. I will do my best to focus on being humble and avoiding the pitfalls of pride. Amen.

Our Mighty Warrior

From Zephaniah 3:17

“17 The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

I really like any scriptural references where God is called a Mighty Warrior. The thought of the most powerful person in the universe acting on my behalf, or your behalf, is so awesome. He is a mighty and powerful warrior that has our best interests at the front of his heart, but also takes great delight in you! What?!? This is, and should be the best thing that you hear today and every day. The most powerful force in the universe defends you and protects you, AND also takes delight in our activities!

So in the face of this knowledge from the word of God, how can we not feel empowered? We have the most powerful thing of all working for us, taking delight in us; let’s be motivated to do good!

Lord, you are awesome. Your power knows no boundaries, and your plan for us always has our best interests in mind. As our thanks for all of this, please put us in position to do your work. Deploy us in such a manner that we show your face of love here in the Earthly realm. Let our desire to do good burn like a mighty fire! In Jesus name we pray all these things. Amen.

Use Your Love to do Your Work

From Ephesians 2 4:5

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved”

Lord thank you for another magnificent day. We are thankful for your love and grace. We are loved so much that you gave up your perfect Son to make right the sin that the world commits. Father let us turn away from that sin as best we can and work hard to be more like Jesus. We are aware of all the gifts that we have. Let us use those gifts to encourage and lift up those who are not feeling well or unhappy. Using the grace that you give us we can help others around us. Lord let the good feelings of helping others energize us to do more of your work. Amen.

All Things are Possible

From Jeremiah 32:27

“27“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”

Father thank you for all of the opportunity to do more of your work today. We know that with you all things are possible. Lord, let us focus on your word where we will come to know that there is nothing that is impossible for you.

Perseverance is Needed

From Romans 5:3

“3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;”

Lord we give you thanks for everything, yes, even the sufferings. Father we know not the path so we are called to walk by faith. Perseverance serves a purpose. It allows us to continue when things are difficult. If the most gratifying things that we achieve take work and patience, then perseverance is needed. Father bless us with more perseverance so that we can carry out your will. Amen.