All in Daily Devotional
We consider Jesus to be many things; we call him the Son of God, our Lord, Savior, Redeemer, the Dove of Peace, Lion of Judah, Prince of Peace, Bread of Life, and so many other things, but who was Jesus if not a missionary to the world? That is the thought I would like for us to consider this morning, and bring to the forefront of our attention. This is something He was proclaimed to be in ancient prophesy, and at the moment of His conception.
Our devotional study this morning is on what our church should be called, and it is centered on the words Jesus spoke as He was throwing the money changers from the temple...
I read a short devotional message nine years ago, on this very day, that thrilled me. It was called "A Sacred Place" and it couldn't have been more relevant to my life at that time, and continues even now. The scripture verse used was from 1 Thessalonians. I gave this verse, a prayer of intercession and blessing, much thought, and I found that it went hand in hand with the prayer, consecration, holiness, and sacredness of my own life. I hope it does this for you too, and opens your awareness of the sacred places in your prayer life where God’s love sanctifies you through, and through. Today I reprint what I wrote that morning…
One morning in 2015 I was reading a devotional and preparing for prayer. The subject was the absolute perfection of Christ and the compassion which leads Him to intercede for us. The accompanying verse was Hebrews 4:15, and it was so encouraging to me. Jesus understands us and what tempts us as men, and this gives Him the ability to intercede for us in prayer from a place of experience and a knowledge of our circumstances. Do we completely grasp the degree to which He is like us? Do we pray for others as Jesus prays for us; with empathy that is born of understanding and experience?
Living in a country where each man and woman has a vote, makes it hard for us to understand the true concept of sovereignty. We tend to think that each of us has the ultimate say in most everything we do, but that is not true. We might cast a vote on Election Day, but beyond that one vote all else is God’s will. He is truly sovereign, and we can see this very clearly in His selection of those He calls, as opposed to those we elect. Let’s explore His Sovereignty today.
This morning we are reading, and considering, the words that Jesus spoke regarding praying for more people to work in God's fields, and the great commission of taking the gospel abroad. I believe that the church would do well to take this seriously, but as individuals we should pray for these things as well; especially as we are called to them ourselves… Perhaps we will find that we are praying “Lord send me.”
I was reading Lamentations 3 today, and there was one verse, Lamentations 3:22, that captured me; it reads: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail." This verse made me take pause, and to think about God’s great love for each of us and how, despite our unworthiness, He found it worthwhile to send His Son Jesus to die for us. I thought of all the sinners I pass each day and how their worthiness of forgiveness, prayer, and salvation is no different than mine was when I too was lost in sin, and walked each day in their shoes.
Our scripture reading this morning is from Matthew 7 and leads us into our study. It speaks of judging others; seeking God's Word and will; then doing the things that He has asked of us. Praying within God’s will is more than simply speaking words, because it is not just giving lip service through speech and fancy oration, and calling it a prayer. If we pray from our heart, and within the will of God then He will recognize what we say as prayer, reward them, make our prophecy true, and before Him on judgement day, Jesus will acknowledge us, and not say "I never knew you, depart from me". Are we prepared to yield ourselves to the will of God? Let’s begin our journey towards true prayer.
As I read my devotional this morning and concluded by reading James 2, it became clear to me that the compassion of Jesus plays a major part in translating our faith into action, or as it states in the bible… works. It leads us to not only ask God to come to someone's aid in prayer, but softens our hearts, prompting us to exhibit that selfsame mercy by helping them as well. Do we demonstrate the compassion off Christ in our everyday lives?
Have you ever been on a flight and after takeoff the pilot came on the intercom to say something like "welcome to flight 1974 to Boston. We should have a smooth flight and our trip will be 30 minutes shorter than planned due to having the jet stream at our backs. So relax and enjoy the flight"? Traveling in God's will is much like that; we are carried along with little to no effort because we are walking within the very breath of His will for us.
The subject of my devotional reading this morning was spiritual compassion, and the scriptural reference used to lead into this topic was Psalm 112:4. This Psalm begins by speaking about the characteristics of a man that fears the Lord and upholds His commandments. The psalmist lists things like prosperity, righteousness and fearlessness, and then builds to the apex of the message which is compassion. At this point the Psalm goes on to define a "good man" and each illustration given centers on compassion. Compassion is the true message of Psalm 112, and goes hand in hand with righteousness.
Trust and obey... What a message regarding prayer! We have noticed certain themes throughout our study of praying... trust, obedience, compassion, persistence, and consecration, among them. We learned that these are the tools of prayer. Then, as we exercised them in praying, we witnessed divinity, and received its products which are a flourishing of faith, holiness, righteousness, relationship, power, wisdom, understanding but most of all... a dispensations of grace and mercy; all of which culminate in our salvation, and an eternal existence with God. We have found that as we were taught to use these tools in our prayers we received the Lord’s peace, and the other products of His divine nature.
I love the Bible verse we will contemplate in Philippians this morning, It leads us into the promise of eternity in a wonderful way. But before we speak of it, we must first remind ourselves to concentrate on seeking Jesus more every day. Coupled with the idea of obedience and the increase in faith it brings, we should strive to live our lives just as verse 12 speaks...
This morning we study "Compassionate Prayer" as it was taught in Matthew 9:36. I thought to myself that this was a very appropriate topic, since this is Missions Month at many churches. Beyond delivering the gospel, there are situations at home, and around the world, where we can physically provide aid to others, or pray for them through a situation; but there are quite a few others that are beyond our ability to resolve, and we must depend on a miracle, and entering into "Compassionate Prayer", is our only course of action.
I was reading and contemplating the words of Pastor E. M. Bounds this morning, and as I read his devotional message regarding the close relationship between faith and prayer, I drifted into thought on the subject. I thought about all the times my faith had been strengthened as I prayed and slipped into deep conversation with Him as His Spirit gave me remembrance of His Word. I contemplated the scripture that He revealed to me on those occasions, I recalled how my faith was bolstered as I had prayed in it, and how my prayers fed on my faith, and my faith was nourished by my prayers. Asking in prayer prompts us to seek, and seeking prompts us all the more in our asking.