First, Father, we know that You and Jesus are as one and that our election, our predestination was known by You. You would not be omniscient if You did not know that we would respond to Your love for us, personally. You knew we would accept Your invitation, Your grace and Your mercy.
Problems abound; God is your solution, forever.
Father, we can see that this simple promise is the key to our salvation. If we draw near to You, You will draw near to us, The opposite probably is true as well. If we distance ourselves from You, You will distance Yourself from us. We know from many scriptures that our sins grieve You. It seems our neglect of You, as we live our lives, does the same.
Judged individually? I thought it was a group membership deal.
Father, Your law reveals Your will for us. When we stand within Your law we stand in liberty. Forgive us O’God when we sin. Deliver us from temptation, constantly, because it is ever upon us. As we proclaim our faith, help us to do good works that verify our words.
Lord, lunatic or liar, a true trilemma…(C.S.Lewis)
Father, The beloved apostle John was a disciple, witness and friend of Jesus. John saw Jesus, listened to Him speak and touched Him. Here we learn again that Jesus was with You in the beginning and that He was a manifestation of You to us. Father, we know that Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father”. Thank You Father for providing us with a tangible reality, Your living Son.
My son, if your heart is wise, my heart will rejoice
We pray that our children will never envy sinners and we are happy when they honor their mother and father. Help us, today, to set a good example for our children. We are so imperfect as parents that few of us can say, “Do as I do”.
The pain of birth, the joy of an eternal future
Jesus, You taught Your disciples of Your impending crucifixion and they, at first, did not understand. We now stand on the other side of that event. You likened the depth of Your pain to childbirth, in that while it seemed unfathomable, shortly thereafter the joy of birth turned the pain into rejoicing in a new life, a child created in Your image. Jesus, You have gone through pain, disgrace and separation for each one of us and have emerged our risen Savior. Your suffering has led us to the portal of eternal life, to our Spiritual birth. Now we rejoice, not in the suffering, which we too will occasionally experience, but in the resurrection and redemption, first of You, then of us.
The moment has come. It is time to glorify Jesus.
Jesus, we acknowledge You as the Son of God, our personal Savior and our Advocate at the time of judgment. We have confidence that our love for You, by the grace given to us by God to be His chosen children, will result in our being with all believers in heaven, rejoicing forever.
Parents plus children…guaranteed stress!
Father, such wisdom seems obvious to us but we do experience both grief and joy as parents. Help us, today, with those circumstances wherein children are alienated from us as parents. We are so tempted to blame the child when they misbehave but it is the heart of the child that has lost focus.
Perfected but not perfect…what?
Being perfect is our goal and we know that is Your will for us. In the meantime, teach us and guide us, every moment to observe Your Presence. Your thoughts towards us exceed number. Help us to respond by drawing near to You knowing that as we do, You draw nearer to us.
Are you able to turn your challenges over to God?
Father, if we could just realize that you are offering us relief
from carrying loads You want to bear for us, it would allow us move forward in Your wisdom and strength.