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“and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills”        Exodus 35:31 (NIV)

We can tap into the ‘Spirit of God’ by admitting our limitations and continually asking Him to live through us. My favorite prayer is, “I can’t, but You can, Lord”.

If we think about it, God is the designer of people and how to live. The Holy Spirit came so that God, the designer, could start to live through us. The skills to live are at our disposal.

An interesting side note is that the ‘skills’ mentioned in the following verses have to do with actual artistic abilities. So we can even depend on Him for the strength and ability to create, express and perform.  Perform artistically, at work, athletically, in our communication…

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I am asking You to live through me. Keep giving me wisdom, understanding, knowledge and ‘all kind of skills’ as I depend on You more and more. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father…”  James 1:17 (NKJV)

God has so many good gifts in store for us. Not only does He offer eternal life through His Son, Jesus, but the Bible is filled with generous promises in this life. He wants to bless us and supply all our needs (not necessarily our “wants”). But more importantly, He wants to fulfill our insides by molding our hearts and minds.

He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. So, if we strive to know and talk to Him, He will meet those needs and help us in our struggles.

Some of us are experiencing the hurt of a relationship, the overwhelming dread of going to work, financial stress, guilt from bad choices, low self-esteem… Hand it over to Him and look for those gifts and relief.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your ‘good and perfect gifts’. Help me to work on knowing You more, so You will meet my needs, mend me, and change wrongful attitudes. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“We love because he first loved us”  1 John 4:19 (NIV)

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies..
Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials…the most money…or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving and caring to the point that You had Your Son die on the cross for me. Now show me to care about others. In His Name. Amen.

“I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil”  Romans 16:19 (NIV)

We need to take time to think and not just go through our day just reacting to everything that comes our way.

The late basketball coach, Jimmy Valvano, gave a speech in his final days of fighting cancer. He was imparting his final advice as he was preparing to die. One point was to take time for thought. Think and reflect daily. To ponder our past,  where we came from. Where we are. And then, what we want to become or where we want to end up.

If we are to be ‘wise’ about ‘what is good’, we must take time to think and pray. Turn off the TV, radio, ipod and cell phone for a quick “thought-vacation” each day.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, remind me to take time for forethought. Guide my times of thinking and praying. Make me wise. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Join me in my struggle by praying to God for me”                    Romans 15:30 (NIV)

Paul was asking the believers in Rome to pray for him. He knew the importance of being prayed for.

The interesting thing about this verse is Paul telling them that praying for him ‘joins’ them in his ‘struggle’. It partners them in what God will do in his life. It teams them together in influencing everyone that he was reaching out to.

We can join missionaries in changing lives for Christ in far off places. By praying for our pastor, we are a part of impacting our congregation and community. Talking to God on behalf of our family members will allow God to build and help them.

Before they were born, my wife and I prayed for our children; that they would have significant lives, have a heart for God and others, and also prayed for their spouses. We ‘joined’ them, before they even joined us!

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing me to ‘join’ others in their ‘struggle’ to have a meaningful and fulfilling life by praying to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

” do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh”               Romans 13:14 (NIV)

This verse isn’t just telling us to stay away from ‘gratifying’ our shady desires, it is saying to not even ‘think about’ how we are going to ‘gratify’ them. If we really want chocolate cake, we can think, plot and pursue avenues of achieving our goal. Most likely, we will find cake!

It’s the same way with immoral pleasures, getting in a fight, stealing, or even finding things to criticize others about. If we really think, rationalize and scheme, they will come to us. Acting on what we find feels good, but will damage our hearts and character.

When we find ourselves dwelling on and justifying impure activities, say a quick prayer and realize that “sin is never worth it”. Your flesh will argue and disagree, but be convinced that “sin is never, ever worth it!”

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, next time my mind and flesh are looking to be ‘gratified’ by bad stuff, let the words “sin is never worth it” ring in my head. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn”  Romans 12:15 (NIV)

There’s an old saying that states; “Blessing shared, double the blessing. Burden shared, half the burden”.

A good indicator of how selfish vs. selfless we are being is the ability to apply this verse. There are times we are feeling sorry for ourselves and the last thing we want to witness is the success of others. Along the same lines, we can find some weird sense of comfort in the bad news of others.

When this happens, it is a short-lived gratification, and we could be “suffocating” in selfishness. God helps us live and “breathe freely” when we are selfless and feeling for others.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I can’t “do” this verse, but You can. Keep developing me. Thank You for the abundant life that follows a selfless life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”  Romans 12:12 (NIV)

Here’s one of those short verses that are packed with implications.

We can be ‘joyful’ because ‘hope’ means that all things work out for the follower of Christ (unfortunately not always in our timing, and sometimes not till heaven).

Therefore, be ‘patient’ in the midst of hard times. Let it work out. Did you know that if you help cut open a cocoon for a baby butterfly working its way out, that butterfly won’t be strong enough to survive. It needs that struggle.

Finally, if you aren’t ‘praying’, depending, trusting in God with all these things, then you can “forget about it”. And you will rob yourself of great blessing and fulfillment.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, remind me and train me to lean on You, especially when times get tough. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good”   Romans 12:9 (NIV)

I have to admit, I hate some things that are evil. But some things really intrigue me. I can laugh at crude humor, thoroughly enjoy a movie that blatantly glorifies an adulterous lifestyle, chime in on seedy conversations…

I’m not endorsing this stuff, but I am probably not ‘hating’ it. I know it is probably numbing my sense of good and bad, and needs to be monitored. Like eating tons of junk food feels good when I am on a run of bad food choices (especially during the Holidays).

But when I’m eating right, a large hot fudge sundae with peanut butter and whipped cream can seriously disrupt my whole being.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heaven Father, help me cling to good and pull me away from bad stuff. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect”   Romans 12:2 (NLT)

Our culture shouldn’t dictate our thinking and behavior.

For instance, the ‘world’ says to “get” we need to take. And to “live” we have look out for ol’ number one (ourselves), and to grab for all the pleasure we can.

But the Bible is clear that in order to “get” we must give. And to “live” we must die to self and help others. It is “upside-down” thinking. It doesn’t make logical sense.

But, I know from my experience, selfish and self seeking people may have more “stuff”, but aren’t happy. Show me someone living an immoral lifestyle, and I will show you a miserable person on the inside.

It’s like chasing our shadow. If we pursue it, it goes away from us. If we walk away from it, it pursues us.

PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I want a full and happy life. Give me the strength to pursue Your ways to make that a reality. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.