Daily Bread

"Give us this day our daily bread." -- Matthew 6:11

I saw a quote about motivation this morning and it got me thinking about prayer. Here's the quote: 

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -- that's why we recommend it daily." -- Zig Ziglar

Prayer is our daily bread and I recommend it daily, hourly, minute by minute, breath by breath.

Neck Attire

"Don't ever forget kindness and truth. Wear them like a necklace. Write them on your heart as if on a tablet. Then you will be respected and will please both God and people." -- Proverbs 3:3

We often take great care in picking out our accessories -- whether it be a necklace or a tie. Proverbs 3:3 instructs us to take greater care of kindness and truth. Never forget them; make them part of your daily attire; then you will be well-dressed for all occasions.

Navigate

"Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God." -- Isaiah 50:10

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." -- Proverbs 18:10

When you are stumbling in darkness (whether it be due to affliction or misery or something else), you can run to the name of the LORD and be safe. The phrase "trust in the LORD" means to navigate toward the light, which is the name of the LORD. Trust in the name of the LORD; not in yourself, nor in any creature, but in the LORD Himself; in the perfections of His nature, His mercy, His grace, and His goodness; in the name of the LORD, which is a strong tower, and in whom is salvation; in Christ, in whom the name of the LORD is, and whose name is the LORD our Righteousness; and to trust in Him, when in the dark, is a glorious act of faith; this is believing in hope against hope.

So, what is it you need today:

If healing, navigate toward Jehovah Rapha, The Lord Our Healer

If provision, navigate toward Jehovah Jireh, The Lord That Provides

If protection and guidance, navigate toward Jehovah Rohi, The Lord Our Shepherd

If victory in battle, navigate toward Jehovah Nissi, The Lord Our Banner
If pardon, Jehovah Tsidkenu, The Lord Our Righteousness

If cleansing, navigate toward Jehovah Mekadesh, The Lord Who Sanctifies
If security, navigate toward Jehovah Shammah, The Lord is There

If peace, navigate toward Jehovah Shalom, The God of Our Peace

Everything you need is in Him and in His name!

Excerpt from the song, Because of Who You Are (Judy Jacobs)

Because of who You are, I give you glory

Because of who You are, I give you praise

Because of who You are, I will lift my voice and say

Lord I worship You, because of who you are

 

Jehovah Jireh, you're my Provider
Jehovah Nissi, you reign in victory
Jehovah Shalom, you're my Prince of Peace

Jehovah Rapha, when I'm sick in my body you're my Healer
Jehovah Shammah, you're always with me

Jehovah Sabaoth, you're my strong deliverer

Because of who You are, I give you glory
Because of who You are, I give you praise
Lord it's because of who You are, I will lift my voice and say
You are worthy Lord, I worship you
Lord I worship You, because of who you are

This blog inspired from Shawn Baker's message, "The Eternal God and His Eternal Work"

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Drip Drip

"Let my words drip like dew, like gentle rain on grass, like showers on green plants." -- Deuteronomy 32:2

"My eyes drip [with tears] to God." -- Job 16:20

About a year ago I attended a session at Cincinnati House of Prayer. The guest speaker was Terri Terry from IHOP-KC (author of Silent Songs of Worship: God's Tabernacle Within Us). During her teaching she asked us to participate in a powerful exercise. She asked each of us to begin knocking on our chair and to continue knocking for one whole minute. When finished she said now, that's the equivalent of a continuous prayer movement. Your prayers should be a constant drip drip drip, filling the "bucket" in heaven and when that bucket is full it shall tip over and pour out the answers, the blessings, and the provisions.

Never stop praying because every prayer "drip" counts and you may just be one small drip away from tipping the bucket.

Leadership

"But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant." - Matthew 20:26

If you are a true leader you will not need to recruit followers. True leaders follow hard after Christ. They don't worry about building a flock of people to follow after them. Become a servant of Christ and the rest will fall into place.

"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility." -- Augustine

"True greatness, true leadership, is found in giving yourself in service to others, not in coaxing or inducing others to serve you." -- Oswald Sanders

Message

"Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message." -- Malcom Muggeridge

There is a message around every corner. God is speaking -- all day [and night] every day, every hour, every minute. 

I love how God speaks. I love that my daughter recognizes how God speaks. I love that just this week while we were in the middle of a text conversation, she asked me a question, and God beat me to the answer! Just as I was typing the same response, the television program in the background began singing the answer. You just gotta fall in love with the Creator every time that happens. And I'd just bet it happens more than we pay attention to; more than we know; and more than we can fathom.

Pete Repeat

"For God speaks once, Yes twice, though man pays no attention." -- Job 33:14

When my girls were younger they had a toy parrot called Pete, the Repeat Parrot. They received hours of enjoyment from pressing the button, speaking a phrase, and listening to Pete repeat it back to them. I was reminded of that toy during a prayer meeting last evening. God speaks once and even repeats Himself and yet man pays no attention.

When we press in we hear God more clearly and having heard His heart we become an echo of the very sound of heaven.

Today's prayer: "May thy kingdom come. May thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. May my life become an echo, a repeating, of all that You are! Amen."

The Blind See!

"John's two disciples found Jesus and said to him, John the Baptist sent us to ask, 'Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?' Then he told John's disciples, 'Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard -- the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.'" -- Luke 7:20, 21

At first glance, this picture may seem ordinary to you, but it is far more than that. This is my "formerly" blind husband cleaning windows. In fact, he was pointing out spots that I missed! Go and tell what you have seen and heard -- THE BLIND SEE!!!!

Advance!

There are 3 things that advance the Kingdom -- prayer, obedience, and persecution [Shawn Baker]. Now you might argue that all 3 carry some degree of pain or "inconvenience" and probably the degree of pain increases in that order.

Prayer is not painful, but it can feel inconvenient, especially to the person who hasn't quite grasped the "love" exchange between two friends. But since God's design is to partner with us in prayer, prayer is KEY! God always sets His people to praying when He's about to move mightily.

Obedience is a little more painful than prayer. It's that darn flesh that doesn't want to behave! Sometimes obedience can feel like taking a beating to the flesh, but obedience produces great joy in the end!

Persecution [for our faith] is something that most of us have not experienced; not like the early Christians, but as time goes on we can expect to see more of it. Paul says in Philippians 1:12-14 that his imprisonment served to advance the gospel. In fact, he goes on to say that even his brothers in the Lord were encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly because of his persecution. Verse 13: "As a result [of my chains], it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ."

Prayer + Obedience + Persecution = Advance!  After all, who wants to retreat?

Slow Me Down

A Prayer by Wilfred Peterson

Slow me down, Lord!

Ease the pounding of my heart

By the quieting of my mind.

Steady my harried pace

With a vision of the eternal reach of time.

Give me, amidst the confusions of my day,

The calmness of the everlasting hills.

Break the tensions of my nerves

With the soothing music of the sighing streams

That live in my memory.

Help me to know

The magical restoring power of sleep.

Teach me the art

Of taking minute vacations of slowing down to look at a flower;

To chat with an old friend or to make a new one;

To pat a stray dog,

To watch a spider build a web;

To smile at a child;

Or to read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me each day

That the race is not always to the swift;

That there is more to life than increasing its speed.

Let me look upward

Into the branches of the towering oak

And know that it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down, Lord,

And inspire me to send my roots deep

Into the soil of life’s enduring values

That I may grow toward the stars

Of my great destiny.