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Although in context, this verse reminds us not to fall into legalism by imposing non-scriptural rules and regulations upon ourselves or others about what we can or can't eat, or what we should or should not drink, in its wider application, this is a life-challenge to all believers. This verse reminds us that Everything We Do Should Be Done To The Glory Of God. And whether we find ourselves to be alone or in the company of others, whether we are thrust into the business of every-day life or quietly confined to the isolation of a sick-bed, our attitudes and actions should be such that they are a positive reflection of God's glory. But there is a further reason that whatever we do should be done to the glory of God, and this verse reminds us that it is connected with a loving concern for others. Brothers and sisters in Christ who are weaker in the faith, may find that their consciences prohibit them from practicing something which although quite 'lawful', could cause them to stumble in their Christian life. Whenever we are faced with a choice in life, there are two important considerations that should help guide our behaviour. Firstly, does my conduct or choice glorify the Lord and secondly, could my action or attitude negativity impact my Christian testimony or have a detrimental effect on my fellow man. Perhaps a simple way to avoid falling into legalism or license, is to follow Paul's simple instruction to do everything to the glory of God; to reverently and honestly ask the question, 'Is my behavior honoring to Him? Do my actions and attitude bring glory to God or am I tarnishing His holy name?' May we take to heart this simple instruction from Paul: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  Our United Prayer:
Oh Lord my God, how we long to be ones whose lives are a living testimony to Your goodness and grace and whose only desire is to live our lives to glorify You. Take our lives, Lord, and may Your will be done in all we say and do today. Use us as vessels to Your praise and glory in such a way that You increase, and we decrease, until it is Christ living in and through us, to His praise and glory. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. In Isaiah chapter 40 we hear of the promised Shepherd of Israel, Who will graciously tend His flock like a shepherd and gather the little lambs into His arm. Here we discover the One Who will carry them in His bosom and gently lead those that are nursing their young. The God of the Old and New testaments is the same yesterday, today and forever. His Word Stands Fast Forever and His truth never changes. As we journey through the 66 books of the Bible we see a beautiful unfolding of God's gracious character and plan of salvation. As we trace the story of redemption through its precious pages.. The Shepherd of God's people is fully and finally revealed in the face of Jesus Christ - and the chapters of Isaiah seem to be a beautiful unfolding of this never-ending story of GRACE. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word and the truth it contains. May we read, mark, learn and inwardly digest all that You will teach us and may we grow in grace and in a knowledge of You so that we may not be ashamed when we stand before Your throne, in Jesus name we pray, AMEN. Though all Scripture is the divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God, which is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, Luke makes it very clear that accurate historical research and the testimony of reliable witnesses of that day, contributed to the authority and authenticity of its content. Throughout the centuries, the enemy has employed many strategies to discredit the truth of the Word of Almighty God. Even in these early years of the fledgling Church, there were many false writings, false teachings, false doctrines, false gospels, false prophets, and false witnesses that were flooding into the early Church. The salvation message of Luke's Gospel is: "Good Tidings Of Great Joy To All People," and the core content of Luke's Gospel is that Jesus Christ has come to seek and to save that which was lost, both Jew and Gentile, male and female, young and old, rich and poor. Satan continues to employ strategies to discredit the truth of God's Word, and the continuing, ruthless attacks on the gospel of our risen, ascended, and glorified Christ is accelerating today in our post-modern society - so that if possible it would even deceive the elect of God. Let us be sober and vigilant, for the enemy as a roaring lion is seeking to dismantle the gospel of Christ and cause our faith to flounder. Hold fast to that which you have, knowing that the Lord Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that in Him we have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting - to His praise and glory. so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the good news of the gospel of Christ and for salvation which is ours by grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You for the truth of Your Word and for the wonderful message of grace that is extended to all who trust in Christ for salvation. Help us to hold fast in the evil days, knowing that Christ is returning to take us to be with Him. To Him we give our praise and glory, AMEN. The final book in Holy Scripture is the full and final revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to the risen, ascended Lord Jesus Who in turn gave it to the aging apostle John through an angelic messenger, to show His bond-servants things which must soon take place. And as soon as John had completed his greetings to his readers, we read: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Jesus, the virgin-born Seed of the woman and second Person of the Trinity, rightfully claims equality with the Father, for He is the visible image of the invisible, triune God, sent by the Father to shed His perfect, human blood as the single, sacrificial offering for the sin of the world so that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. No matter what we face in life, we can be assured that Jesus is always with us and that He is in control. When we are struggling in our walk with Christ, it is important to remember that Jesus is the source of our strength. He Is Our Rock And Our Refuge; He is our Strength and Shield; He is our Defense and our Defender; He is our Good Shepherd; He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Let us not be afraid, but rather let us put our trust in Him and rely on Him for our strength and guidance. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. Praise His holy name.  Our United Prayer:
Great are You, O Lord, and greatly to be praised. There is no end to Your greatness and in awe and wonder, We praise You. In Jesus' name we Pray, AMEN. Christ's glorious Second Coming to earth to set up His Millennial Kingdom, which God promised to Abraham and his seed forever, is the focal point towards which God's wonderful plan of salvation has been continuously and consistently moving since the creation of the world (and when the human race was corrupted, through sin). This glorious Second Coming of Israel's Messiah is not to be confused with glorious Rapture of the Church for which we eagerly await today, for we are the Body of Christ and we are not appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are the Bride of Christ who are waiting in eager anticipation for the voice of the angel and the trumpet call of God. Israel will have endured a grievous time of trouble, the likes of which has never been seen throughout the history of the world, for God's righteous indignation and holy wrath must be poured out for a brief span on a God-hating Christ-rejecting sinful world. But God's mercy and grace endures forever, and the time of Jacob's sorrow will be cut short, by the grace of God. And on that day, men and women, young and old, Jew and Gentile alike who have trusted Christ as Savior in that coming terrible time of tribulation, will cry out in rapturous harmony: “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we praise and thank You for Your wonderful plan of redemption. Thank You that we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ and thank You that the wrath of God was poured out on Christ in our stead. We know that a terrible time of trouble is coming on the whole earth when Your righteous wrath will be poured out on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world, but we pray that many would come to faith in Jesus during that time of great distress. Thank You that the Millennial reign of Christ is coming soon, when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. in Jesus name we Pray AMEN. In this verse, we have a peep into The Goodness And Grace Of God towards His errant people, for He promised: "Rest and repose for the weary." However, this beautiful promise is immediately followed by the shocking response of God's rebellion nation, for we read: to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and, “This is the place of repose"— but they would not listen. The loving-kindness and suffering of the Lord is beautifully expressed in this little verse, but the final part of Isaiah's utterance is very disturbing: "BUT they would not listen." The nation whose God is the Lord, is Israel. But despite their great privileges and precious promises they would not harken to the Word of their God, listen to the warnings of Isaiah, nor change their ways when admonished by other prophets of God. Because they would not harken to the simple Word of the Lord, Isaiah prophesied that God would send a foreign army who would speak an alien language they could not understand. This invasion into their beautiful land would be a sign of God's judgement upon them. The offer of rest and respite for the weary was refused and would be replaced with severe punishment - and God would use a foreign army to administer His certain judgement upon them. As we consider the rebellion of Israel in the book of Isaiah and their refusal to listen to the Word of the Lord, each one of us should challenge our own heart and consider our own response to the Word of God. Do we listen to His voice or shut our ears to His leading and guidance? Do we go to the One Who says, "Come to Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest," or do we choose to go our own way?  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the lessons we can learn from the testimony and prophetic writings of Isaiah and other prophets of God who warn against disobedience and encourage us in our faith. May we open our ears to all that You have to say. Help us to stand fast on the Word of God, which gives life and health to the repentant sinners. In Jesus' name, AMEN. Jesus is going to set up His eternal rule on earth. But like us, Christ's disciples had to learn that the Cross precedes the Crown - Calvary is before the Kingdom. But in between those two mountain peaks, nestles the dispensation of the grace of God, which includes 1) The Church age in which we live, which was hidden from the prophets in time past, but also 2) A time of great judgement (the time of Jacob's Trouble - the coming Tribulation Period) about which the prophets of old wrote. The Day of the Lord will first come as a thief in the night when for seven years, the wrath of God will be poured out in fullest measure on a God-hating, Christ-rejecting, sinful world with its prime objective to open the eyes of a blinded to the identity of their promised Messiah and to save a multitude of Gentiles without number: "So that the nations will KNOW that I AM THE LORD and there is NO other." As foretold by many prophets, in that day the LORD of hosts will become A Beautiful Crown and a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people. But before the Lord returns to earth in the splendor of His majesty and in power and great glory, the little remnant of Israel will first acknowledge the Lord Jesus as their Messiah-King and God of the universe, shouting in harmony: "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! In that day the LORD Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that Your plans and purposes will never fail and that nothing happens in our lives that is not known or permitted by You, for our eternal benefit and to Your greater praise and glory. Until that great day when Jesus comes in the clouds to rescue the us from the wrath that is to be poured out on a Christ-rejecting, sinful world, we pray that we may be salt and light to those whom You place in our path. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. This final book of the Bible is an unveiling of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and through its pages, the Holy Spirit gives us a peep behind the scenes of the glorified Christ in heaven and how He will complete God's plans and purposes for mankind. Revelation is an open book for all who will read and take to heart the things that it contains. For those that walk in spirit and truth, it reveals God's hidden purpose for mankind, which is that Christ is all in all. But for those that seek to divorce the Person of Christ from the prophecies that are signified in this final book of the Bible, it becomes difficult to understand. As children of God, We Are His Heavenly People, sanctified unto God to offer our souls and bodies to be a spiritual and living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. And this is our honorable service to our Lord and Savior, for His unspeakable Gift. Let us contemplate these glorious truths that are ours by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and let us conclude that He is worthy to receive all power, riches, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under Your table and yet you have chosen us to be part of Your heavenly kingdom. Thank You that we are in Christ and have become part of His Body. Thank You that, together with all believers, we have been sanctified unto God, chosen to become a royal priesthood, holy nations, and a people for His own possession. Lord, we offer our bodies, our lives, our all, to be living sacrifices to You. May we live to Your praise and glory from this day forward. In Jesus' name we Pray, AMEN. We are reminded that Righteousness And Peace Embrace Each Other and that the fruit of righteousness is God's perfect peace; peace with God and the peace of God. And it was at Calvary that righteousness and peace kissed each other in Christ, without righteousness there can be no peace, and without peace there is no righteousness. We are called to trust in the Lord, our Righteousness, forever and ever, and the Son of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. We are called to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not to lean upon our own understanding, because the Lord our God is our everlasting Rock. He is our Fortress in times of trouble and He is our exceedingly great reward. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your never-failing goodness and Your promise of peace and righteousness in Christ Jesus our Lord. Keep us looking to You, depending upon You, and trusting in You every day of our lives. We love You, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN. The Lord hears and responds to every spoken and unspoken prayer, every whispered cry, every word of grateful thanks, every prayer petition that is pleaded in the inner sanctuary of the heart. He hears every intercessor who pleads the blood of Christ in his prayer closet and every little prayer arrow that is quickly shot into the throne-room of grace. God responds to the heart-cry when those sudden emergencies engulf our peace, He has promised to be with us always - to hear and answer the cries of all his children. We rejoice to know that He is with us in every action, every place, and every decision we make in our lives. The prayer that is offered to God in faith proceeds from a heart that is pleasing to the Lord. Empty prayer from a heart of unbelief or the insincere prayer of pretense avails little, without faith in the God to Whom we are praying it is impossible to please Him, whoever comes to God in prayer must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently search for Him. Similarly, pleas that flow from a double-minded person who uses prayer as a good-luck charm or as a means to manipulate the Lord, are displeasing to Him. Our prayers to the Lord should come from a heart that is an open book to our Father, the Prayer of a man or woman after God's own heart Is Powerful And Effective. Let us approach the throne of grace in humility of heart, for He is faithful to hear and answer the prayers of His children. LORD, hear my just plea! Pay attention to my cry! Listen to my prayer, since it does not come from lying lips.  Our United Prayer:
Loving Lord, thank You that You are a God who hears our every sigh and knows our needs before we even ask. May our prayers flow to You from hearts that trust You implicitly, hearts that are open and clean before Your throne of grace. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN. Perhaps one of the more important areas in most lives is relationships - our communion with God and relationships with others. The book of Proverbs contains a wealth of advice and information on maintaining fellowship with the Father and our relationships with one another. Here, we discover that the one who loves purity of heart and is gracious in their speech is a friend of the King, and honors the Lord. Despite its simplicity, this verse supplies an abundance of wisdom that can place our feet on the path of purity and the road of righteousness. Both Purity Of Heart And Graciousness Of Speech are character traits we should all seek to develop, but neither are possible in our own strength. Purity and grace only comes through the power of the Holy Spirit, but in Him we have everything we need for life and purity, goodness, and grace. One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, what a wealth of truth there is in the book of Proverbs. Thank You for reminding us that You desire purity of heart and graciousness of speech in Your children. May the words of our mouths, the meditation of our hearts, the actions we undertake, and the motives behind all we do, be pleasing in Your sight. Purify our hearts we pray, so that after we have been tried, we may come forth as gold. We pray that all our words may be seasoned with salt and spoken in love for Your greater praise and glory. This we ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. What comfort and strength has poured forth from the book of Psalms into the hearts of so many believers, down through centuries of time. The love and devotion that spills out from this beautiful verse, in Psalm 16, warms the heart of all weary wanderers. The blessed hope that is set before us, gives each of us an abundance of those same eternal pleasures. Assuredly, this is a truth that must rejoice the heart of all God's children - a truth that each one of us can treasure in our hearts and rejoice with singing, as we look for our blessed hope and journey towards our heavenly home. Christ's Fullness Of Joy is not simply contained in a future hope, but is firmly established in this present time. The fullness of God is a truth that is embedded in so many of our Father's precious promises. Sorrow may well be our lot in this life, for we have been told that in this world we will suffer trials and difficulties, but we must be of good cheer, we have His indwelling Holy Spirit... and as we focus our hearts and minds on our risen Savior, we receive His fullness of joy, love, and His peace - not only in the world to come, but every day of our earthly life. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we praise and thank You for Your great goodness towards us, and the many blessings that You shower on each one of us day by day. Be with us each step of the way, and help us to keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus. We thank You that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness, and pray that we may experience the fullness of joy we have all received in Christ, not only in the world to come, but as a daily experience in this present world. Thank You, Father, that You have made known to us the path of life in Christ Jesus our Savior, in Whose name we pray, and thank You that in Your presence is the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, AMEN. David was a man after God's own heart and many of the psalms he penned foretold of Jesus... the coming Messiah Who would rise from the dead, ascend into heaven, and sit at the right hand of the majesty on high, until God finally places all His enemies under His feet. This hymn of David describes the Lord delighting in His saints and details God's children joyously celebrating their fellowship with the Father. It portrays God as the portion of our inheritance, and we discover in this Psalm. Just as David's was a man whose heart was right towards the Lord and who stood in stark contrast to those that worshipped other god's... and upon whose heads God will pour out great judgement and wrath... even so, Christ's earthly life is the exemplification of a man Whose heart was perfect before God - a life that demonstrated that the pathway to life and joy only comes through Him. Through the prophetic pen of Israel's king David, we see Christ, Who is the example of the perfect Man Whose heart is sanctified unto the Lord, and Who lifted up His voice in humble prayer and obedient praise to God for His guidance and counsel. May we seek to set the LORD continually before our own eyes, knowing that He is forever at our right hand and By His Grace We Will Never Be Shaken. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we rejoice in the joy of our salvation and celebrate in the truth that Christ - our risen, ascended, glorified Lord, is seated on the right hand of the Father in heavenly places. Thank You that by faith in Him, we too might have life eternal and enjoy fellowship with the Father, despite the inevitable difficulties and dangers that we face in this fallen world. Thank You that He is continually before us. May we never be shaken, knowing that Christ is seated on the right hand of the majesty on high, and by death has conquered death and given life-eternal to all who believe in Him. In His name we pray, AMEN. We are instructed that in order to have friends, we need to show friendship towards other people, while in the latter, we are informed that having a lot of 'fair-weather friends' can make us vulnerable, because their loyalty towards us may fluctuate with feelings or change with circumstances. We would be wise to heed the sound advice contained in this text of Scripture, and apply them to our own lives and the friendship choices we make. There is a friend who displays such loyalty towards us that no matter what we say or do they will remain loyal to us. They will support and encourage us, help and counsel us, comfort and warn us, and they will love us no matter what happens. Such Friends Are Rare Indeed, but even the sting of death can remove such a good and loyal friend from our lives in a split second of time. But whether we are graced with a loyal friend or not, every believer in Christ can state with certainty that JESUS is a friend that sticks closer than that of a brother. He is the Companion Who will never leave us nor forsake us. He is the Comforter that will always be there in those times of deep sadness. He is the One who will always support and encourage us, help and counsel us, comfort and warn us - and He is the One Whose unconditional love will be poured out upon us without measure, through time and into eternity. One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, how we praise and glorify Your name, that the Lord Jesus is our best and perfect friend. Thank You that in Him, we live, and move, and have our being. May we live and work to Your praise and glory, in the power of the Holy Spirit, through time and into eternity. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN. As believers who have been born from above.. We Are Positioned In Christ and we are clothed in His own righteousness and our joy and delight should be to walk with integrity, to work the works of righteousness and to speak the truth in our heart. The fool may say in his heart that there is no God but the born-again believer is the one who by grace through faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit is enabled to walk with integrity, and work the works of righteousness.. to speak truth in their hearts - to guard his words and tame their tongue. They are the ones who do good and not evil to their neighbors and who think of others as better than themselves - they are the ones who avoid evil and seek to do good. They are the ones who lives reflect honesty, truthfulness, trustworthiness and grace.. and they are the ones who put on the whole armor of God and stand fast in the Lord and in the power of His might. The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart;  Our United Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the truths that are contained in the Psalms and the many lessons that we can learn from them. Thank You that by faith we have been positioned in Christ and are seated with Him in heavenly places. We pray that we may give the honor due to His name by walking in integrity and righteousness all the days of our lives and we pray that we may speak the truth in love in the power of Your Holy Spirit.. to Your praise and glory - this we ask in Jesus name, AMEN. |
Prayer
We are a growing group of people praying daily for and with others. We were led to start an online ministry to deliver what is needed more now than ever, a place where you can go to easily to submit a prayer request or requests involving others to pray for your needs. The Power of Prayer. Matthew 18:20- For where two or more come together in my name, there I am among them. You are never alone in prayer. The Power Of Numbers Praying.
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