Dear Lord, Forgive

There is a hymn, An Evening Prayer, written many years ago by C.M. Battersby. As a child I remember singing it in our church in Woodstock, Georgia. Every time I have heard this song, it has reminded me how what I say or what I do can affect others.

If I have wounded any soul today,
If I have caused one foot to go astray,
If I have walked in my own willful way,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have uttered idle words or vain,
If I have turned aside from want or pain,
Lest I myself should suffer through the strain,
Dear Lord, forgive!

If I have been perverse, or hard, or cold,
If I have longed for shelter in the fold,
When thou hast given me some fort to hold,
Dear Lord, forgive!

Forgive the sins I have confessed to thee;
Forgive the secret sins I do not see;
O guide me, love me, and my keeper be.
Dear Lord, forgive!


Lord God, this should be my prayer at the end of each day. And each morning I should pray that my words and actions during the day would not hurt anyone else. I pray never to be hard or cold to anyone you bring into my life. I pray to always be the shelter you have called me to be. Lord God, I pray for this day to be yours only. I pray to be guided only by your voice and never my own will. I pray to see others you bring into my life as a gift to be cherished. May I always love with your love. May I always seek to understand who they really are, and recognize the need beyond their words. Help me to always see their potential in you, and yet not burden them before they can understand the wonder of it. Help me to always realize that your way is the best. If I follow you, and if I surrender myself to you everyday, I will understand the hope of your calling and the power of your resurrection. If I let go of my preconceived ideas about anyone, you can guide me, direct me, and teach me how you can use me in their life. So, Lord, I pray not to wound any soul today. Instead I pray to inspire with your hope, and share your Word with your power, and love completely with your love. In Your precious and Holy Name, Amen.

Giving

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood” (Isaiah 58:6-7, NIV)?

These verses in Isaiah instruct me to “fast” my own desires and to do whatever I can for those in pain and in despair: to help those chained up in poverty―to help those struggling to break the yoke of sin―to share with those accused unjustly―to provide respite for those with no place of rest. I am called to give myself away, but for my giving to be pleasing to God, my motive must be right. Both fasting and giving involve personal sacrifice. Fasting imparts spiritual vision to recognize need. Giving blesses not only the person who receives, but the one who gives.

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4, NIV).

If I need to make a public announcement following an act of kindness, I may appear to be altruistic, but I am really yearning for the recognition that such an act brings. In bringing attention to myself, I show that I give from a selfish heart instead of from a selfless one. There is pride instead of humility.

Why does a person need to declare he has given a gift? Why must he relate its value? He hungers for the recognition of man, and doesn’t consider that God wishes his hunger to be just for Him. Not only has this person missed the fact that giving in secret brings God’s reward, he misses another truth. When he quietly gives, he empties more than his pocketbook. He empties himself of the need for acceptance. Giving without recognition is not only an acquired trait. To be spiritually real and rewarded, it must always be spiritually fueled.

Do I give away my time and my money openly or secretly? Where does my acceptance lie? The Lord yearns for the lesson to take root in my heart. In selfless giving I spiritually receive a servant’s heart. Most importantly, I learn the greatest paradox of all―to die to self is to live unselfishly in Christ.

Now I can read the promise that follows in Isaiah 58:8-9. “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply” (NLT ).

“Here I am!” Isaiah cried in the temple (Isaiah 6). Isaiah gave all of who he was to God. If I give myself away unselfishly in His name, then I will hear God reply, “And here am I!” He will continually take care of me. Whether mental, emotional, or spiritual, my wounds will heal. If I live a surrendered life, He will lead and protect me. And when I call, He will always answer.

I WILL THIRST NO MORE

 

“Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

There has been I a time in my life when I didn't have joy. I have felt unfulfilled and longed to know my life had a purpose. I have known an emptiness inside me that no amount of activity or worldly pleasure could satisfy. Oh, I have been fulfilled for awhile with an activity or a possession that would bring happiness into my life. But the activity didn't bring fulfillment to a longing in my soul that was meant to be filled with only God. The possession didn't last long, and the newness of it finally dulled. My unfulfilled purpose eventually lost my interest, and my joy would fade. My purpose would pass. Even the pleasure of this world dull. At the moment when nothing brought satisfaction, Jesus Christ spoke to my thirsty heart that He had something that would give my life joy and a purpose that would never fade. He had something that would bring fulfillment to my life of constant searching and never finding.

“If you drink of the water that I provide,” He spoke to my emptiness, “You will never be thirsty again. My water not only soothes your shattered spirit, but it heals you completely because it is living water.” He promised that if I took Him into my heart I would never feel empty or thirsty again. I would have a purpose that was always fulfilled. I would have a joy that would never fade. I would have a meaning to my life that nothing in this world could match. I would know Him, and He would be enough. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness," He whispered, "they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). My hunger and thirst would be filled if I thirsted for Him instead of the things that would never bring fulfillment.

"Oh Lord," I cried, "just as a deer pants for streams of water, my soul pants for you. My soul thirsts only for you." He came and satisfied my longing thirst. My life has purpose and meaning. My life has joy and a passion that is new and fresh each morning when I awake. My thirst has been satisfied with His living water. This is a thirst that shall always be filled. It shall always be satisfied. I will never let go of Christ who saved and rescued me from my own pursuits that had no meaning. He has brought not only fulfilling passion to my life. He brings His promise of never-ending unconditional love ......His joy that the world can't give..... His peace that is more than whatever the world can manufacture...... His patience is longer than any I might have. He brings the promise of kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control into my life. If I daily live in Him, He will live in me. And I will be complete.... thirsting no more for the things that only destroy who I was created to be.

The Inside Becomes the Outside

“Baby, It's Cold Outside” might be a song title made famous by Bing Crosby decades ago (for younger ones it was sung in the movie “Elf”) but that song title perfectly describes what this morning feels like. Seven degrees! It is cold outside! And for Southerners it is REALLY a frozen morning. Thank heavens it is warm inside!

This kind of describes how we are sometimes. Except our description is backwards to this one. Our “outside” often is not the one that is frozen. Our facade....our smiles.... our gestures... our outward appearance might appear warm and friendly, but our “inside” sometimes claims a frozen and stony heart. We can appear to be filled with joy. We can appear to be forgiving. We can appear to be what our heart says we are not. We can “walk the walk and talk the talk”, but inside we can have a heart that needs to be melted by the Holy Spirit.

At sometime in your life you will face a stony heart about something. You will be living your life joyfully in Jesus Christ, and sharing your warm heart with others. And then suddenly something happens to you. It might be a circumstance that is hurtful or fearful. It might be someone of something that reminds you of a pain in your past. It might be a friend that misleads you or betrays you. It may be a loss. Whatever it is, your heart, which was once soft and moved by the Holy Spirit, becomes hard and as cold as ice.

It is what you do with that stony heart that speaks either life or death. If you hold on to it, it will kill Jesus' life in you. The minute your heart hardens is the moment you must fall on your face before the Lord. It is the moment that you must seek His heart to help you forgive. It is your moment of decision whether you let the Holy Spirit melt whatever gives you a stony heart or hold on to it as a monument in your life. 

“I will give you a new heart,” says the Lord, “and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). He will give you a new heart and a new perspective and a new attitude and a new spirit....His Spirit. He will remove your hurt that makes your heart hard. But you decide to let it go. You pray for His love to invade your heart and set it free. You ask Him to come and bring you His freedom.

He is faithful to you. Just like this hard seven degree freeze will gradually dispel until it is completely gone, so will be the melting of your heart. It may come in steps as you release your pain to Him. When you seek, you shall find. When you let go, He will come and take away that coldness that has claimed your heart. And joy will come. When you smile, it will be genuine. When you listen to someone else, it will be with your new heart. When you praise Him, it will no longer be an act, it will be real as He is in you. 

If you have a yielded will, God always gives a new heart, and puts His forgiving and loving and joyful spirit in you. He gives it again and again as you live a surrendered life in Him. When you heart is soft, life is all about Him. It is peace and joy. Every moment is an expectation of wonder. And the beauty of your inside becomes the real beauty of your outside.

In Intimacy Receive

Do you know that I yearn for those times that you just wait for me? I long for the moments that you long only to be with me. I long for an intimacy with you that your mind cannot even comprehend. When you are quiet with me, and rest in my presence, my peace fills your heart. Far too often you sacrifice your peace because of your need for answers. Intimacy with me is lost so many times because of your needs. Seek me first, and take in the joy of my presence. Be content for awhile and wait expectantly for me. I promise to meet with you. In this time of quiet fellowship, receive my spiritual power which will strengthen you to conquer the strongholds in your life. 

I may be the God who parted the Red Sea, but I am almost your Savior who knows every hair on your head. I impart that which is my heart's desire to you. Know me as your life. Know me as your heartbeat. Know me as your next breath. Life in me is radiant and filled with abundant joy. I refresh your life over and over with my living water. There is only joyful expectation and promise in what I have prepared for you. If you live in me, I will live in you. Heart to heart, and spirit to spirit, you will know me. I am your God. Your greatest friend. Your creator. Your healer. In this intimacy, ask the desire I place in your heart, and you will receive. 

Psalm 46:10, Isaiah 26:3, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 139, Hebrews 10:35-36, Matthew 7:7.

His Word Sent to Me

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-12). “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” Timothy 3:16).

If I have Jesus Christ in my life, I am never alone. If I believe in Him, do I also believe Him? If I believe in Him, I must believe in His Truth.....God to us revealed through His Word. If I believe His Word is His Truth, then I must believe in what it says. I must never say I believe in Him, and not believe what He gives as Truth. God's Word existed before all creation (John 1:1). He speaks the Word through divine revelation in the Bible. His Word goes forth to accomplish His purposes. He states that it will accomplish what He desires and will achieve the purpose for which He sent it. This is straight from His Word and it is His promise of Truth.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). His Word is alive. It is living and breathing right now. Its Truth holds me accountable for what I think, and reveals if I am living as He instructs. It uncovers the attitude of my heart...... if there are any selfish motives or anything that sets itself up against God's Truth or if I am His in every corner of my heart. It shows me what must be crucified in my life, and it gives what I need to accomplish it.

The Word's purpose is to teach me God's Truth. It disciplines me. It rebukes what is sinful in my life. It corrects wrong thinking, and transforms my mind. It teaches me that godliness is not just an action. Godliness is what I need to have in my heart. The Word exposes all that I must change. It reveals His call in my life. It give me His divine promises so that through them I may participate in His divine nature. His Word breathes in me, and as it does, I discover all of the promises for which He sent it to me.

Captivated by God's Truth

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). 

Do you have a stronghold in your life? You will most likely fight one at sometime. A stronghold is a lie that comes against God's truth. It is an argument which may at first appear as truth, but when it holds you tight, you are bound to its lie. You are unable to make your mind focus on God's truth, and His promises for your life. You yearn to experience freedom from that stronghold's strangling grip, but your mind is bound up in what the enemy wants you to perceive and ultimately believe. Instead of experiencing God's love and what He wishes to impart to your mind and heart, you are held fast by your stronghold. You are captive to its lie.

We are instructed in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 to take every thought captive. Your weapons to tear down your stronghold are found in God's Word. Your weapons have divine power. Their purpose is to take your thoughts captive by God's truth. If you don't want your mind to be held captive by your stronghold, then your mind needs to be captivated by the Word of God. You overcome a lie with truth. Whether your stronghold is an addiction or unforgiveness or feelings of rejection or despair over a loss or whatever stronghold binds you, freedom from its grasp is found in the God's truth. His truth is His Word, and praying His Word...praying His truth...will destroy strongholds in your life.

If you don't know what to even call your stronghold and where to find Scripture to battle it, I suggest Beth Moore's book, “Praying God's Word.” My daughter gave it to me years ago, and it has been invaluable. It can help you identify what holds your mind and heart in bondage. But it is not her book that sets you free. It is just a tool (and there are other tools like “The Battlefield of the Mind” by Joyce Meyer). None of these have any power to set you free from your bondage. Only God's Word has that power. Pray His Word. He gives you the power through its truth (which claims your mind) to destroy your stronghold. 

Be captivated by God's truth. Be captivated by its power. You are an over-comer because of it. Find freedom and experience His joy. Pray His Word.

HIs Power in Agreement

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew: 18:19-20),

This is a powerful promise that when two or more of His followers agree in prayer, He is there with them. He meets with them in prayer. He connects their spirits in prayer. He joins their hearts in prayer. Their desires become one. He binds them together to achieve this most powerful promise–that if two agree about what they ask for, it shall be done.


It is true that He is with you when you pray in your private closet. It is true that He is the lover of your soul. But when two of his lovers meet together to seek His face, He is with them in the greatest power. When He becomes their total focus....when they seek His desires.... when they agree together in prayer...when they reach to Him together in faith, He promises that whatever they ask for will be provided.


We limit God when we hesitate to believe. We limit the power of agreement when we do not come together believing and trusting, and applying faith. We may not exactly understand the why of His answer but He always answers in accordance with His will. If two are truly united in prayer in the bond of the spirit, their prayers will ask in accordance with God's will.


Always claim this promise of agreement. Never limit it. When two are together in His Name, united by one purpose in His Spirit, He is also there. He joins spirits and prayers in agreement. We become one in prayer with Him, and nothing can hinder the power with which God answers.

Have Reasonable Goals

Many times we start a new year with a list of goals we want to achieve without considering that growth just doesn't happen. We need to consider the value of having reasonable expectations.

Are your expectations attainable? Or are they so high you get easily discouraged? Sometimes a goal is so high you need to take the steps to get there one by one. Just thinking of a high goal can be terribly discouraging, and makes it seem impossible. You might give up. But if you take a little step at a time, and just concentrate on that step, the next step becomes easier. Then the next, and the next. Suddenly you may discover you have met your high goal, and you can look back and see how God has strengthened you the whole way. Always consider that a high goal may only be found through the accomplishment of smaller reasonable goals.

Others are watching you. On the way to your goal you might slide back a step or two. “Now the Lord is the Spirit,” Paul writes, “and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (II Corinthians 3:17). Be humble enough to admit when you’re wrong or fail or don’t have an answer. Trying to be “perfect” only creates disappointment when you make mistakes...not only for you, but maybe for those who are learning from your journey. Let your mask down. A willingness to be vulnerable invites vulnerability in others. It inspires honesty, but, greater still, opens each person’s heart to the healing presence of the Holy Spirit. Be honest when you make a mistake. Ask for forgiveness and forgive yourself. Then try again.

Never hold on to your failure. Examine it. Realize the lesson; apply the lesson and then give it to God. Don’t dig it back up. It’s gone. Forgiveness for your own mistakes and for those of others is consciously rendered. We decide to move on, and trust the Lord for the strength with which to accomplish it.

All things are possible with God!

From Whispering Hope to Conquering Promise

He whispers hope to me when I am discouraged and defeated. He whispers hope of His abiding presence. He whispers hope through the lessons He teaches me. He whispers hope of strength that becomes mine as faith grows. He whispers hope of peace in any turmoil that arises. He whispers hope of joy that cannot be expressed in any words. He whispers hope of His conquering promise.

He will not fail me. I will not fail if I trust Him. I will receive His conquering heart and steadfast mind. My attitude must be that of a conqueror. I will stand, and having done everything, I will stand. I will conquer my foes, my fears, and my obstacles, because He is not just with me. He is in me, and He gives me the strength to rise to greater victories. I become more than a conqueror. I walk in newness of life and freedom from the past, from fears and circumstance. I walk above that which would destroy me. And in Him there is no failure. There is only victory.

His whispering hope has become my conquering promise.

Joshua 1:7; Ephesians 6:13; Romans 6:4; Romans 8:37-39