September 7, 2020September 13, 2020

DEVOTION JOURNAL – AUGUST 2020 – DON MCDANIEL

August 2020 21 DAY STUDY OF PRAYER

8/1/20 PREPARATION 1

PREPARATION

Before we begin this journey of prayer and preparation and also a journey of discovery, I am inviting you to prepare with me for this life changing journey. Any athlete knows it is essential to “warm up” or get blood flowing to the muscles that will be used and stretched to their limit. No journey is successfully made without planning and preparation either.

But the journey we embark on is with our Creator and Lord and Savior and Sustainer, so it is He who needs to prepare us. Well, keep in mind He is already prepared. He has been prepared long before we were born and even long before creation. So, the preparation is not for Him but for you and me, for us.

So how do we prepare? Well, I’m sure the answer to that question would be somewhat different if we each searched and responded without interaction with each other, but since I’m writing and praying this introduction before the 21 days begin, I am asking that you read and reflect seeking His input so He will refine your preparation as He will mine.

I believe preparation includes a better understanding and awareness of who we are taking this journey with and who is guiding our journey. In other words, who we are praying with and Who we are praying to and communicating with. Jesus said, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” John 10:14. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” John 10:27.

I could spend the next three weeks just discussing John 10, as with any passage full of “red letter” quotes of Jesus, but for now I invite you first to recall and reflect on your Shepherd’s voice so your soul will recognize His voice and hear His words during our time in prayer to Him. But I also invite you to goal of developing and sustaining an attitude of openness and prayer during these days, so we will hear God’s voice and know His council and instruction even when we are not praying. In other words, be in an attitude of prayer while going about each day’s work and duties. “¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thess. 5:16-18. To have and sustain an attitude of praise and gratitude and an open communication line to Him during our waking hours is the goal. Well, with any worthy test of endurance, improvement / progress laced with neglect and distractions will likely soil our good intentions, but don’t allow yourself to give up or get discouraged. Those before us successfully made this journey with the same obstacles and setbacks too. Just remember, God goes with us and will pick us up or search out any straying – lost sheep that go astray. He has our back and side and front so we won’t fail if we reach out to Him when we, like Peter, reach out to Him when we begin to sink or fall or get distracted.

So, here is an overview as we prepare:

1. Reflect on the attributes and names of God (SEE BELOW)

2. Schedule at least 10-15 minutes each day (suggest first thing in morning and/or personal best time), but I would urge you and am compelling myself to schedule 30 minutes in morning and 30 minutes in evening for prayer and 5 minute pauses for prayer 2-3 times during the day so minimal distractions or schedule conflicts hinder us. At this point, I am not certain this schedule is sustainable for everyone or even for myself but would be better to clear schedules so adequate time is available than to struggle with distractions when God wants us to spend more time with us.

3. Be prepared to increase or move one or more prayer times in case God is not done revealing Himself and His insights to you or has another time in mind.

4. Be prepared by making a list of prayer answers to past prayers, things and people and circumstances you are thankful for, answers to prayer that come to mind, and some key verses that have touched you recently or repeatedly.

Stop and think, if you were going to meet a famous person, wouldn’t you write down some notes and prepare your thoughts and make sure your schedule was open? Well then, why not give our God that level of respect and attention and preparation.

5. When schedules and other conflicts or commitments create obstacles, give Him the same courtesy you would give that famous person. Tell Him about the conflict and ask if you should cancel or move the conflict or move your time with Him. However, giving God top priority of our time and moving other conflicts should be our first focus and goal. I think, if you do that, the right choice will become a lot clearer.

6. Keep in mind the journey is more than reaching a goal or a destination. Just as important is the experience and relationship developed with Him and with each other along the way. Also, important will be the interaction and nudging God will give us to impact positively others while on the journey.

7. Also keep in mind, the journey and practice may not end when camp begins. God might just ask us to continue the journey during and after camp?

8/2/20 BUT DON’T FORGET 2

BUT DON’T FORGET, THE NEED FOR REPENTENCE – FORGIVENESS – OBEDIENCE – PRAISE AND WORSHIP OF HIM.

ATTRIBUTES OF GOD:

God is infinite (past-present-future) w/o origin or dependency

God is immutable – never changes

God is self-sufficient – needs nothing outside Himself

God is Omnipotent – all powerful

God is Omniscient – all knowing

God is Omnipresent – always everywhere

God is all wise – full of perfect unchanging wisdom

God is faithful – infinitely, unchangingly true

God is Good – infinitely, unchangingly kind and full of Good Will

God is Just – infinitely, unchangingly right and perfect in all He does.

God is Merciful – infinitely, unchanging compassionate and kind

God is Gracious – infinitely inclined to spare the guilty

God is Loving – infinitely, unchangingly loves us

God is Holy – infinitely, unchangingly Perfect

God is Glorious – infinitely Beautiful and Great

God is our Intercessor

God is our Head of the Church

God is Our Father

God is Our Comforter

God is Full of Grace

God is Wrathful

God is Sovereign

God is Transcendent – the most High above all others in all ways

God is: Jehovah-shalom (God of Peace)

Jehovah-jireh (God who provides)

Jehovah-rophe (Jehovah heals)

Jehovah-M’Kaddesh (God who sanctifies)

Jehovah-ElShaddai (God Almighty)

Jehovah-Adonai (Master or Lord)

Jehovah-Elohim (Strength or Power)

WAYS GOD WORKS FOR OUR GOOD:

He provides

He changes hearts

He Protects

He Empowers

He Befuddles the Enemy

He Strengthens

He Builds our Character

He Heals

He Develops Wisdom

He Gives Purpose and Direction

He Gives Eternal Life in a Eternal Home with an Eternal Body with Himself and All His Followers

He saves – forgives – redeems – gives opportunities, fresh starts, life, abiding help and council to all who seek and ask with an open and penitent heart

He teaches us faith and trust and confidence in following Him

8/3/20 DAY 1 A JOURNEY BY SCOOTER 3
Did you have a scooter as a child or youth? I am looking at a old solid tired scooter my sister received as a young girl in 1952 and was passed on to me a few years later. I see many Amish youth and even an adult using a similar scooter, but with pneumatic tires traveling along the back roads commonly. One foot is planted securely on the scooter and the other moves the scooter forward while both hands steer. I remember using my shoe heel on the back tire to stop that scooter but today hand brakes are the norm on modern scooters.

That scooter allowed my sister and me to go faster and farther than our feet could take us. It could take us to places we were instructed or permitted to go and some we were not. That scooter was enjoyed by friends too. It doesn’t look as pretty or shiny as it did then but works just as well

So, what does this scooter have to do with our preparation? Take some time to reflect on a simpler time you remember when people had a deeper faith and enjoyed worship together and were kind to each other and enjoyed each other’s company and enjoyed the simple things in life. When they noticed and enjoyed God’s provisions. A beautiful sunrise or sunset and the beauty of fresh layer snow and spring’s flowers.

This first day I invite you to stop and reflect and open your mind and soul to let God show you His hand at work in His people, your ancestors, and in your young life. I accepted Christ at 10 and remember the revivals and family and church gatherings of those days. I remember the life changing stories my parents and grandparents shared. Stories of lives changed by God’s redeeming grace. Testimonies should be current but this first day let’s focus on past days of God’s moving spirit in our home church but also in Pleasantville Family Camp.

While doing so, let’s also prayerfully recall those memories praising and in conversation with our Lord and Savior. Let’s praise Him and thank Him for those memories and the impact those days and changed lives impacted us even today.

Reflect also on how God reached and touched us even before we believed. How He influenced those who taught us as children both within our families and within our church family. Let God remind you, refresh some of those memories and possibly share insights you might not know or have forgotten.

Let this first day be a day of waiting and seeking God’s presence and conversation. A day when prayer is all about Him instead of about us or our needs or agenda. A day of reflecting on those who touched our lives while we were infants and children and youth and young adult s and along our working career.

Also reflect on those times we were spared from sickness or danger that could have taken our lives.

Also reflect on some of those past prayer times when God revealed Himself to you and your perspective and outlook changed.

Ok, linger as long as God lingers and close this time with Him asking Him to return and seeking His input on the time.

I do not mean to discourage you from seeking Him and His help in dealing with urgent or pressing situations that are weighing on your mind and soul.

Should you have this time of prayer alone or invite one or more to join you? I think the answer is yes (both), but need to seek that answer yourself as we continue this journey.

I am inclined to spend some time alone with Him before coming together with others to pray and worship. That may mean getting up earlier for your alone time with Him first and then with one or more, keeping in mind Jesus said “For where two or three gather in my Name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

AMEN.

8/4/20 DAY 2 – A JOURNEY OF SURRENDER AND REPENTANCE 4

A JOURNEY TO DESIRE GOD’S WILL ABOVE ALL

Today we begin by praying the prayer Jesus taught:

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN.” Matthew 6:9-13

Today we are going to focus on Hallowing His Name and praying God’s Will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Also just stop and imagine what it would be like if God’s Will was done on earth as it is done in heaven. How wonderful that would be. Well, remember that come is coming, but not before all have the opportunity to choose Him instead of satan’s lies and deceptions.

Let’s begin our time of preparation and prayer focusing on worship and praise expressing our love and gratitude to Him, seeking His presence and fellowship. Linger here a few minutes allowing Him to prepare us to come before Him.

Take your time before moving on to seeking Him to implement His will in the world but also in our own lives. Reflect on those things we are certain to be His Will:

Jeremiah 29:11 prosperity – hope – a future

1 Timothy 2:3-4 all saved and know truth

1 Thess 5:18 all giving thanks for all

circumstances

1 Thess 4:3 all sanctified and avoid sin.

Heb 13:20-21 equip all to do what pleases

God.

Luke 9:23 daily following Jesus example

Psalm 119:105 All feed on God’s Word and

follow the path He shows us

James 1:5 Seek and follow God’s

Wisdom

Prov. 3:5-6 Trust God and follow His path

1 Peter 2:15 All do good and silence words

of foolish people.

Matt 6:10 God’s will be done on earth as

is in heaven

Eph. 5:15-20 All live and act wisely doing

God’s will with a joyous and

grateful heart

2 Peter 3:9 All repent and none perish

1 John 1:9 All repent and receive His

forgiveness and allow Him to purify

them of all unrighteousness

Micah 6:8 all act justly and love mercy and

walk humbly with God

Heb. 10:36 All persevere in being obedient

and faithful to Him

Worship together is a wonderful privilege Christians are deprived of in many parts of the world. Satan knows there is power and strength when Christians gather to worship but also knows we are weaker when we are alone, so will do his worst mischief trying to divide us from each other and isolate. So when we argue and divide into smaller denominations, as has been happening since the first century church, guess who inspired that. It wasn’t God! Satan has repeatedly brought false teaching and indifference and luke-warm teaching into the church and then motivating some to split off of that church to start a new denomination. God’s will is for the One church to be healthy, not for one to wither and die off and be replaced by another. I’m not saying good didn’t come from protestant church denominations branching out from old catholic church, but that wasn’t God ‘s first choice. Many of our established protestant denominations have wondered from their roots and the faith of their founders too. God’s first choice is revival in existing congregations and churches but when they refuse, He will start a new church with those willing to repent and follow Him.

Well, we are still a long way from God’s Will being done on earth as it is in heaven, but that is going to change quickly and dramatically when Christ returns to rule. God’s side is the WINNING SIDE and those who join with Him will win. Timing is unknown except by the Father, but the outcome is certain and indicators (signs) are pointing to that return is soon.

When I was young, I was certain His return would be long before I retired. But now I’ve been retired nearly 8 years. Signs of His return are becoming more obvious as we approach His return. Will I see death before His return? That is becoming more likely as time passes, but scripture tells us to prepare because He will come so quickly that we won’t have time to repent if we wait too long or think we can do so when we see Him return.

8/5/20 DAY 3 – A JOURNEY SEEKING GOD’S PROVISION MEETING OUR NEEDS MORE THAN OUR WANTS. SEEKING GOD’S PROVISION FOR NEEDS OF OTHERS TOO 5

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN.” Matthew 6:9-13

Take some time to make 2 columns, the left column being the list of your needs and second being your wants.

Needs are essentials like life – food – air – water – warmth / shelter – clothes – family – love …

Wants are luxuries we desire but can do without like a newer car – a better or nicer home – wealth …

Have any of your needs changed to wants since Covid 19 because of urgency of other needs? Are there any wants that have faded as well. Difficult times and situations have a way of helping or forcing us to let go. Let go of things we hold too closely or consume more time and money to acquire or maintain than they deserve. How often do we humans spend more money or borrow more money than we should to acquire things we do not need and then require more time to maintain than we can afford to spend. Result is robbing from God’s tithe or family expenses. Robbing from blessings God would have us share with others if only we would have deprived ourselves from indulging in some of those wants.

Philippians 4:19 “God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in heaven”. If He knows our needs and promises to provide for them, then why do we need to pray for them? But notice this portion of the Lord’s prayer doesn’t say “Give me this day my daily bread” but “Give us this day our daily bread”. He expects us to look beyond ourselves and see resources to provide for more than ourselves and even our families, doesn’t He?

Well, if He is going to effectively do that, then we need to be aware and know the difference between wants and needs of not only ourselves but others within our field of influence and seek His help and council and insights as we contemplate not only what of our needs to use His resources provided but how to use additional resources He provides wisely too. We pray this prayer so we choose wisely as He provides. Notice we only ask for today’s resource and leave tomorrow until tomorrow. Walking and growing in faith requires one step exercise of that faith. When we use and share God’s daily provision wisely, we open the door to greater opportunity to be a blessing. Take some time to reflect on personal examples and see if that rings true for you.

So, focus your prayer in only your needs and trust God to choose which wants to give you and which to withhold. But spend some time also reflecting on needs of others. Seek His insights into ways He would have you spend or share some money or things or time you were hoping to spend on some of your wants that should be better spent elsewhere. It doesn’t need to be big and expensive to make a big difference in the lives of others. It can be a very modest choice. Think about the little boy’s lunch Christ used to feed a great multitude.

We can either honor or dishonor God by our worship and praise and tithes, by our conduct and character and conversation, by what we spend our income and time on, by what we don’t spend our money and time on, and …??? Also take a few minutes to reflect on any insights God puts on your mind and heart as you reflect and pray. There is much more on this subject I think God wants to reveal to you and me, but I’ll leave it there for now. AMEN? AMEN!

8/6/20 DAY 4 – SHOW GRATITUDE FOR GOD’S MERCY BY FORGIVING OTHERS WHO SINNED AGAINST OR OFFENDED US. 6

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven[P1] . Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN.” Matthew 6:9-13

Today we take some time again to make a list with 2 columns. First is list of past sins God has forgiven us. Then list the sins or offenses others have done to us. For every sin you have been forgiven, scratch a line through it and then do same for one of the offending sins of another. If list of other’s sins is longer than yours, go back and add more to your list. Keep this up until you have many more sins on your list forgiven than others offended you with.

Today our focus is on seeking God’s forgiveness for our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Jesus used the parable of the servant who owed a massive debt to the king. The king heard the servants plea when the king demanded payment. The king forgave the entire debt. Then that servant left and demanded a small debt be paid by another but then had him thrown in debtor’s prison when he couldn’t pay. The king learned of the deed and changed his decision and then demanded that unforgiving servant to pay back his huge debt.

Why did Jesus use this parable to make His point and why would He make our forgiveness conditional to our willingness to forgive others? Well, the response most of us would give is that the magnitude of our sins against God is infinitely large in number and severity than any offense or sin others would do to us. That is true but what about some pretty bad ones like parental abuse or molestation or the Nazi guards responsible for suffering and death of 6 million Jews? What about the victim’s survivors like Cory Ten Boom who led one of those guards years later to Christ?

Forgiveness has no limits when God forgives us because God is able and willing to completely forgive us. However, our willingness and ability to forgive does have limits. So today’s study is a reminder to us to reflect on level of forgiveness and price that Christ paid for which we enjoy and take for granted.

His forgiveness is so complete that it becomes easy to take that forgiveness for granted. But how sad for us and sad for God when we do because He misses out on the praise and appreciation and love we should be motivated to express and respond back to Him with. We then miss out on receiving and enjoying added blessings from God due to fellowship He willingly gives to those who open themselves to receive from Him.

One of those added blessings is joy of forgiving. God wants to inspire and teach us how to forgive others. To love as He loves and mentor as He mentors. Jesus disciple for 3 years but the Holy Spirit abides in and mentors each Christian for a lifetime. By doing so, He not only reminds us to forgive others and importance to us to do so, but guides and mentors us on what that looks like and how to do so by being there to council us with our conscience, with scripture, with example of other faithful Christians, and even with life example of those who don’t.

Forgiveness was not easy or uncostly for Christ. It shouldn’t be for us either. What about those who repeat offenses after asking forgiveness? WWJD (What would Jesus do?) is a good way of discovering the right answer. To forgive but not empower or entitle or encourage continued sinful behavior.

Forgiveness is intended to give a fresh start and desire to do better and share God’s healing and forgiveness motivated by the life and love and joy He provides for each of us.

So what do we do when someone takes advantage of our generosity? What should we do in order to stop or discourage or protect ourselves or others from sinful behavior? How do we show and practice forgiveness without empowering or encouraging poor or sinful behavior? Think about some examples or even some personal examples. Well, the answer to that question may be a bit different depending on individual and situation, but a good result or outcome is vital.

I’m going to let you ponder on that for a while because there may be a specific situation you are in the middle of that needs specific council. Council be sought from God and received from Him.

Praying for God’s insights and council but also praying for God’s involvement in the lives of others is key. Doing so opens us to hear and obey God’s council and allows God then to use our obedience to touch and motivate and positively impact others, both those we pray for and others able to help too.

For example, an 8-acre local cemetery that was associated with our home church 120 years ago was nearly bankrupt because of high cost of contracting mowing. We prayed for God’s council and help. I felt lead to start volunteering mowing but told trustees I would only be able to do a portion of weed eating and rest would need paid. First our grandson and now our granddaughter helped me mow (a 10 hr. job) and local “handyman” did week eating.

This year God provided a wonderful resolution. By dividing up cemetery into sections and assigning volunteers to take ownership of one section, trimming is done by all volunteer help and we now have 3, myself – our granddaughter- one other man, volunteering mowing and time to do so is 3hrs per mowing maximum.

Added blessing is bond with each other and enjoyment of working together in a peaceful – beautiful surrounding, and noticing tombstones of those who we knew well and were positive influences on us years ago.

When we worship and fellowship with God, when we do His Will and follow His instruction, blessings for us but for all we influence and those He enables us to cross path with begins unfolding and blossoming. Our imagination is not big enough to see what God plans for us when we follow Him. Forgiveness for sin is our eternal changing start, but forgiveness is only the beginning. The beginning of life and life eternal.

By contrast, unforgiveness and sin only has one destination. A destination not visible but disasterous. The destination of death – eternal death.

8/7/20 DAY 5 – DETERMINING TO FOLLOW CHRIST WHILE FACING AND AVOIDING TEMPTATION 7

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN.” Matthew 6:9-13

When we contemplate temptation, consider Job’s experience. God did not tempt nor expose Job to temptation or suffering but did allow satan to tempt and torment Job within defined boundaries and limits. God used satan’s mischief on Job to teach and strengthen Job’s faith and resolve to be faithful to God and also gave Job a greater testimony and credibility with his neighbors and community. God restored His wealth and family after Job’s time of testing and teaching were finished. The reason for testing wasn’t known until it was over. Keep in mind God did not tempt nor lead Job into temptation but only permitted satan to tempt him within limits.

God does not tempt us but allows us to be tempted, so the Lord’s prayer is asking God to spare us exposure to satan’s mischief or at least to keep Him away as much as His plan and will allows. We are also asking His help to empower and motivate us to avoid satan and not seek out temptation as we humans are so prone to do and then wonder why we fail to resist temptations.

Take some time to reflect on our weaknesses and where and when and circumstances we encounter them. Lift them up to Him seeking His help both in resisting and avoiding them.

Satan has had millennia to practice and polish and learn his skills of temptation and deception. He knows he has nothing to offer but is skillful at making us believe he has. He is more powerful than we are but he is also a creature of habit and tries the same old tricks and lies and lures, but is also bound by the same restrictions God has placed on him since Adam. History and scripture both records satan’s past successes and consequence on those who yielded to his temptations as well as success of those who turned to God for help and forgiveness and resisted satan followed by the blessing God showered on those who resisted temptation.

Why does God allow satan to continue to do his evil mischief? Why didn’t He stop and judge him long ago? Well, we don’t know but clues He gives us in scripture help us realize He still is creating humans that need to make their own choice of either following God or rejecting God’s mercy and blessings by following satan. He wants our love and faithfulness and obedience but not because we have to but because we want to. He can’t do that without letting satan continue to try to deceive us.

Well, it is tragic how the world is following satan’s lead, but scripture warns us that in the latter days evil many will be deceived. Not God’s will but is God’s opportunity to give us the same gift of life but also the same gift of choice He has given every generation before us.

Christ tells us the time of His return is only known by the Father, but is determined by the level of destruction man will inflict on himself because of his sin. Christ will come and intervene to stop man from destroying himself and then judge those responsible for that evil intent and path.

Following God should be a “no brainer” but every human alive struggles with obedience and faithfulness to some degree, so we all need to seek His help and p presence to make and keep us alert to satan’s influence so we will be and remain wise and determined in following Him and sustain that faithfulness. This statement in the Lord’s Prayer is a reminder to us to seek and accept God’s help – to put and keep our eyes on Him instead of ourselves, our circumstances, and just our resources and options. After all, He never intended for us to live the Christian life alone or without His constant help. AMEN? AMEN!

8/8/20 DAY 6 – WE WORSHIP AND SERVE AN AWESOME GOD 8

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. AMEN.” Matthew 6:9-13

COMMENTS:

The Lord’s Prayer has guided us as we focused on worshipping the Creator and Sustainer and Ruler of us and all He has and continues to create. The Lord’s Prayer has guided us identifying our needs and letting go of our wants, trusting Him to provide for our needs and prioritizing provision for some.

I Peter 5:7 specifically talks about casting our wants and concerns on Him so we don’ t end up being ungrateful or selfish. So, what does this act mean and represent and tell The Lord’s Prayer has guided us to realizing just how much God has forgiven us us? Also, how much temptation do we deliberately expose ourselves to beyond what He allows us to? Well, He intends His authorized temptations to strengthen us by drawing us closer to Him seeking His help to overcome. Temptations we expose ourselves to are intended by us (and satan) to give us opportunity to enjoy sin “just one more time before fully surrendering to Christ”. So, it is likely that these are the temptations that get us into trouble and cause us needless difficulty and struggle to overcome. Not because God doesn’t not provide strength to overcome them too but because we turn from God seeking them and away from His council and helping hand that His Holy Spirit has close by and accessible 24x7x365.

The Lord’s Prayer is now guiding us to go back to worship and praise and marvel prayerfully and reverently receive and meditate and implement instruction Christ is giving. I also encourage you to receive new insights that this study reveals to you. I can only imagine but don’t have a clue other than insights He is revealing from my own life.

Christ wants so to prepare us for next and coming work and opportunities and temptations that are awaiting us. He is preparing our reward in Heaven. Yes, He wants to prepare us for Heaven but also the work and opportunities that await us there.

I like Erwin’s statement below. We don’t desire heavenly rewards to feel pride or to gain praise of our piers, but we simply want to hear Jesus tell us “Well done good and faithful servant.” Nothing else will matter. So laying our crowns at His feet will renew in heaven our commitment and pledge to be faithful completely and eternally to Him. We need to start, so laying our earthly crowns and possessions at His feet while on hearth is appropriate too. Maybe that would be a good idea to downsize and let go of some of our “stuff” to free up resources and focus to follow His direction more completely. Agree? AMEN!

“We do not desire rewards for the reward itself, but because rewards are a reflection of Christ’s approval of us.” Erwin W. Lutze

8/9/20 DAY 7 – PRAYING FOR OTHERS AND PRAYING FOR OURSELVES 9

On day 3 we identified both our needs and wants. Today we are focusing on separating the needs and wants of others. We identified the things we know to be God’s Will for each of us. Remember, His perspective is eternal. Enduring short term hardship is reasonable to Him if result is a receiving an eternal home with Him and fellow followers.

When we gain this perspective, we begin to realize what our true needs are and how unnecessary so many of our wants are. When we pray for others, we should also have such a perspective so we can pray for them in closer alignment of what God ‘s desire and will is for them too.

Praying for others is such a great responsibility and obligation God has entrusted to us. When we allow our own needs to get in the way, but even more when we let our wants get in the way, we consume precious time and spiritual energy that we have in limited supply and yet is needed to spend in prayer for others.

Such a precious privilege we are so unprepared to do. To pray for others. Why does God want us to pray for others? Well, that is one of many great mysteries. But what we do know is how much and how passionately God loves each of us and enjoyed being with and sharing His heart with each one of us. He enjoys answering prayers and He enjoyed the fellowship and communication our prayers develop as we draw closer to Him and embrace His Will and love for others. He only desires good for us:

Jeremiah 29:11-14 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will gather you from all nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.”

This scripture was written to encourage Israel during the Babylonian captivity but also applies to you and me and everyone since Christ died so we can be forgiven and adopted into His family and chosen people too.

We are so unworthy but so loved by Him!! Don’t even take that for granted but don’t forget He loves others just as much as He loves you and me. This means we should take very seriously how important it is for us to pray for others.

So what about praying for ourselves. Yes, we need to do that too for the same reason. He loves us and want to prepare us to receive and use wisely and enjoy properly all He provides for us too.

So, what happens when we pray for others?

We become more aware of others needs and begin seeking ways to help
We start seeking God’s council and will in preparing for and providing answers to those needs.
We start building stronger and deeper relationships with others, both those in need and those capable of helping meet those needs.
We start building a stronger and deeper relationship with God through our prayers and actions.
We gain a more balanced perspective of our own needs and wants, moving towards holding onto material resources more loosing and trust God’s provision more completely.

There is so much more I could say, but let’s leave it to just planting the seed with you and let Him speak and reveal His heart to you directly. Then if you care to share some of those insights by emailing me back, I will prayerfully seek His council on how and when to add to our study. That way we all can be blessed by each other even without meeting together. AMEN? AMEN!

8/10/20 DAY 8 – WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SOME TO SUFFER WHILE OTHERS HE SPARES? 10

There are times our prayers are rich and full of emotion and joy and God seems so close and His love seems so real and powerful. Then, there are times God seems far away and our prayers seem to bounce back off an invisible ceiling. What is different and why do seekers and seasoned followers experience both? Why does God answer prayers and grants miraculous healings to some and remains silent other times to other people and sometimes to the same people miracles were given?

These are common questions at times sincerely asked by even seasoned Christians. Joni Eareckson Tata has enduring pain and physical limitations of being a paraplegic for over 50 years. She endured many early years in her journey of suffering pleading for healing and then for the relief of death, but both were denied her. Then to endure cancer on those of that seems so overwhelming. Job’s suffering was much worse but was only for a short time, not 50 years. Yet Joni’s suffering still continues. Why?

Why do sincere seeking Christians endure serious sickness and death while others receive miraculous healing? Is it just a matter of faith or is there more God considers? As we prepare for prayer today, let ‘s reflect on these questions as we again lift us our needs and the needs of others.

Before we discuss these questions, we need to consider God’s perspective or at least the portion He has revealed to us in scripture. Jesus tells us that He is preparing a wonderful eternal home for us. Job, as one example, reveals that God only permitting suffering and sickness and temptation within limits and for a time and purpose before He will say enough and sends satan away. Those who follow satan will be sent away for judgment with him. Those who follow Christ and receive His redemption will enter the home He has been preparing with those through the ages who were faithful too.

God’s eternal perspective is long term. He endures our suffering with us, so He knows and understands how we feel but He also knows the benefits of that suffering. The positive impact on us and those who know us. He knows the eternal benefits that will overshadow what is endured short term.

God will help us see and understand His perspective if we seek and enter fellowship and relationship He longs to have with us. There are few Christians that demonstrate the depth of relationship and strength in character and demonstration of their faithful walk with Christ like Joni Eareckson Tata, but her faithful walk of obedience in the midst of great suffering has transformed her from being a self-centered shallow Christian to being “a woman after God’s own heart” There is a cost and sacrifice necessary in order to be so transformed. He still hasn’t granted Joni a fully healed and restored life but has granted her a long life far beyond what others with similar injuries have lived and endured.

So when you and I ask questions like “why me?”, we should instead ask “why not?” Yes, it is good to ask for healing for ourselves and for others and be persistent in prayer. But when God responds, recognize He may say “not yet, I need you to trust me and endure for a time, but I will endure your suffering with you”. When that happens, consider God is entrusting a time of suffering to us so we can be an example to others – encourage them – strengthening our own faith and theirs.

Keep an eye on the perspective and eternal goal God has. Then pray accordingly. AMEN?

8/11/20 DAY 9 – PRAY WHILE CONSIDERING GOD’S PERSPECTIVE AND VIEW 11

To see and understand God’s perspective and goals is not within our capability but we can gain a better or closer view and understanding if we are open and seeking. Scripture gives us solid clues. If go back and look over all the scriptures noted above giving things God’s desires and Wills, they will help us understand better and give us direction of how better to pray when we say “Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Every living being is completely reliant on God and every living being is at His mercy, no matter if he or she knows and believes and admits it or not. The evidence of God’s handiwork and continued involvement in His creation is evident everywhere all the time. Every heart beat – every breath – every movement of hand and limb and muscle – every word and thought and sight – every comprehension. Gravity, life, light, heat, all elements that life depends on are the result of His involvement and grace.

Why does He give life with all its sustaining earthly elements to the just and unjust alike? Why does He bless the just and unjust alike?

Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

God’s love is a wonderful mystery and miracle. His love and grace are showered on all because His will is that all would come to Him for mercy – forgiveness – fellowship. But God’s time of Grace is not infinite. There is coming a time when judgment will be rendered and justice will prevail. As with the torment satan administered on Job, God only permitted that torment for a time and within limits and finally God told satan enough and restored Job’s blessings.

Jesus is preparing a wonderful eternal home for us, only permitting suffering and sickness and temptation within limits and for a time before He will say enough and send satan away. Those who follow him will be sent away for judgment with him. Those who follow Christ and received His redemption will enter the home He has been preparing with those through the ages who were faithful too.

God’s eternal perspective is long term. He endured our suffering with us so He knows and understands how we feel but He also knows the benefits of that suffering. The positive impact on us and those who know us. He knows the eternal benefits that will overshadow what is endured short term.

So how can you and I also be transformed from self-centered individuals prone to worry and even panic when difficult or dangerous times come, into faithful – joyful followed who sustain a joyous faith during the darkest times. There are few who have but those who have stand out and didn’t reach such a level without much sacrifice but even more prayer and devotion to His Word.

Such growth doesn’t happen in peaceful – prosperous – good times but during crisis. Are we ready to accept, let alone embrace, dark times inflicted by physical disease or a life changing accident inflicted personally or to a beloved family member? Would we be willing to accept what Job endured or so many first century Christians hunted down and executed by determined Roman soldiers, or even in modern times by devout Muslim followers or Communist – militant soldiers.

Well, I sure hope you and I will be spared such suffering and gain deeper fellowship and growth more gently, but we serve a loving and faithful Savior who will not allow us to endure more than we can bear and never to bear any suffering without Him next to us hand in hand. That is how past followers, and many current followers are able to endure amazing circumstances while retaining their Joy and Hope.

The best time to seek Him with all our heart is during peaceful times so when hard times come, we will be better equipped to respond to His instruction. Preparing for battle requires training and exercise and learning the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses. Also, to know and understand our marching orders too.

So as we pray today, continue to seek God’s Will and ask His Will be done knowing it is not ours nor necessarily what we desire. Today let’s stretch our faith a bit more and stretch our trust and confidence in Him and seek more deeply His Will and ask for it to be accomplished, even if it means our own sacrifice and suffering to be accomplished. Pray for sufficient faith to trust Him enough to pray His Will be done. AMEN? AMEN!

8/12/20 DAY 10 – PRAY FOR YOUR HOME COMMUNITY. PRAY FOR THE FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS TO BE GOOD EXAMPLES THAT WILL BE A POWERFUL INFLUENCE TO OTHERS. PRAY YOU WILL BE TOO. 12

One of my biggest struggled in writing for this prayer devotional is separating thoughts and insights into 21 separate days while resisting temptations of including all insights in each day’s portion. So, today let’s begin by focusing on God ‘s Will in the souls of those in our circle of influence. Pray God’s Will for those He is encouraging and nudging to coming to church but still resisting or allowing personal conflicts or circumstances to hinder or deter them from coming. Reflect on the positive impact past church and family and youth camps have been and interaction from other believers like-minded in seeking God’s Will too. Consider value of setting life’s cares and obligations and responsibilities aside and focusing on spending time with Him and with His people. Don’t miss out on special blessings and a time of preparation God has scheduled for you and me. COME TO CHURCH. COME TO GOD. COME. ALL COME….

Well, when I started working on the first draft of this study, Covid 19 was not on my mind nor even in my vocabulary, as the above words imply. Study was intended to help all participating to prepare for camp and encourage others to.

But, even though worship and fellowship in our churches may not be as it was a year ago, God is more than willing to meet us when we begin moving toward Him and reach out to Him. Worshipping and fellowshipping with Him and each other is commanded and life giving by Him, so we need to come. So our study is even more important and valuable in today’s world of Covid 19, injustice, violence and hatred towards others, wars, disease and devastating weather, and ….

I was asked to write this study for our annual Free Methodist Family Camp that meets in late July for 7-10 days for worship and study and growth and fellowship. Covid 19 prevented camp from being as it normally was, but God was there and blessed those who did come and work and worship in smaller – safe gatherings.

So, we still need to pray for our church leadership and volunteers – for supporters financially and laborers and encouragers. Also pray for each other. Pray for God’s influence and guiding Holy Spirit to continue in and through all the above and more.

Take some time today to reflect on the positive memories of previous church and youth / family camp gatherings, of those involved who greatly influenced our lives and family’s lives and give Him praise and gratitude. Also pray for safety of all in our family – church family – camp family – community – country – … Pray for a sweeping revival in our community and state and country that will transform the world. Pray it begins in you and me. I know, all this is too much for us to get our minds around. We do need to pray specific so God can guide us to participate in specific ways as He implements His answer and timing. But praying beyond our limited vision is not only ok but valuable too, BECAUSE GOD IS NOT LIMITED AS WE ARE AND CAN USE OUR LIMITED PRAYERS TO PREPARE US AND OTHERS FOR MUCH GREATER MIRACLES FAR BEYOND OUR VISION OR HOPES OR EXPECTATIONS.

Yesterday we reflected on the impactful lives lived of those who remained faithful through great trial and suffering. Today, lets seek God’s help preparing us for what our future holds and for those who will be facing trials this coming year. Pray God help us to truly believe like Paul that to “live is Christ and to die is gain” Philippians 1:21.

Pray as though you are preparing for camp, pray with expectation, pray with an open and seeking mind and soul, pray – pray – pray! Pray in private – pray with family – pray with church family – pray through!

Pray for your need (not wants), pray for other’s needs, pray for things we know are God’s Will like salvations – revivals – restored families – transformed lives – prodigals returning to Him.

8/13/20 DAY 11 – ALIGNING OUR EXPECTATIONS WITH GOD’S W ILL 13

Do you believe God knows and is in control of the future? …in control of our personal future? Are you convinced enough to trust Him completely? Enough to stay true, like Daniel, to face a den of hungry lions? You and I will not likely face a lion’s den but life will bring real dangers and threats to our faith.

So let’s begin seeking and praying to discover what God wants to show and teach us and change us. What attributes and characteristics and insights does God want to impart to us? What changes does He desire to make to us?

Are you about to make a major decision taking you on an unknown or uncertain path and destination. Is your soul fearful of a looming “den of lions” or is your anticipation making you wonder how things could be any better? Those are the two extremes and suspect everyone or nearly everyone would say they are coming somewhere in between those two extremes. But seek Him asking Him to reveal where He judges you to be and desires to prepare you for. Seek Him to prepare you for service too.

So, what is God’s Will? Then how do we shift our thinking and desires to want God’s Will over our own Will and His plan and timing over our own?

Matthew’s account of Gethsemane is recorded in Matthew 26:37 and Luke 22:44 Jesus prayed seeking God provide another way and spare Him. It was Jesus’ humanity being overwhelmed with the task at hand. But JESUS DID NOT SIN! HE DID NOT DISOBEY THE FATHER! HE FULFILLED HIS MISSION! His resolve was “Father, not my will but Thine be done.” It wasn’t that He didn’t want to do the Father’s Will nor that He had changed His mind about wanted to save the world. It just had become too hard for His humanity to endure. But endure He did because the Father did grant His request for additional strength to endure before separating Himself from Christ while Christ was bearing all our sins.

Jesus knew at Gethsemane that He was about to do His greatest battle against satan and that He must do it with all His human weakness and limits. He must do that enduring the weight of all our sins weighing on Him. BUT HE DID AND HE WON!! SATAN IS DEFEATED AND HIS DOOM IS SEALED! HIS SENTENCE IS SURE AND WILL BE IMPLEMENTED SOON – VERY SOON! AMEN? AMEN!

“Thy way is always best, O let that way be mine! In this my soul shall rest, not my will, Lord, but Thine!” From an old Methodist hymn

So, how do we sincerely pray “Thy Will be done” as Christ prayed at Gethsemane?

Well, a good beginning is to ask Him to search us and know our heart and thoughts and to forgive and remove any evil from us by leading us to the way eternal. PSALM 139:23-24 “²³Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: ²⁴And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

SO, IS PRAYER ALL ABOUT YOU OR IS IT ALL ABOUT HIM? FOR HIM IT IS ALL ABOUT US, BUT FOR US IT NEEDS TO BECOME ALL ABOUT HIM! WHEN OUR PRAYERS ARE PRIMARILY SEEKING TO PLEASE HIM AND ASKING HIS HELP TO ACCOMPLISH THAT GOAL, THEN START FOCUSING MORE ON HIS GOALS AND LESS ON OURS….

Another step is to begin truly forgiving others as He forgives us.

MARK 11:25 – “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you, your trespasses.”

Make praise and worship and gratitude a center part of every prayer. He deserves our praise and gratitude but we need to give Him that praise and gratitude even more.
Keep your mind and attention on Him more and more of the time. Include Him as you go about daily tasks and interactions with others, so seeking and knowing Him will be more accessible and quickly accessed. 1 Thess. 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Seek to see eternity from God’s perspective and envision goals God has based on eternal impact on each and every one of us. Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” To love as He loves, to forgive as He does, to sacrifice in order to bring His light to others, to be the man or woman after God’s Own Heart.
To trust God deeply enough to endure hardship and sickness and tragedy for a time knowing God will use such for eternal life changing good and let Joy and fulfillment and peace in, leaving no room for fear and anxiety and worry and doubt and anger – bitterness.

I am sure there is much more needing said but I ask you to seek God directly and let Him share with you directly.

8/14/20 DAY 12 – SEARCH ME OH LORD 14

PSALM 139:23-24 “²³Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: ²⁴And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

I invite you to read the entire chapter of Psalm 139, but we will include vs 23-24 in our prayer today. Approach your time in prayer with God with an open heart seeking God’s revealing and penetrating spirit. To open ourselves to God’s Spirit shouldn’t bother us because God knows us better and more completely than anyone else does or could. We can’t reveal any private or personal secrets to Him that He doesn’t already know. When we ask Him for forgiveness, that forgiveness is complete, including those things hidden in secret places.

But, He knows we need to expose ourselves for His searching light to reveal those dark places to ourselves so He can bring healing and transformation more completely to us. We need to forgive ourselves. Also, we need to surrender to Him so He can enable us to share with others also needing His healing spirit as well.

The psalmist did a wonderful job describing his seeking soul and longing of his soul. His passion was to be more like His Lord. He wanted to please Him and be more obedient. Can you feel the psalmist’s passion in his words? Can you make his words your desire and passion as well? I invite you to join me in making this ancient prayer your own to your Lord and Creator and Savior too. It is His Will that you and I become more like Him and enjoy being in fellowship with Him. So, any barrier to God answering this prayer favorably lies with us and not with God.

We are living in a time when history is being rewritten to suit the world view and ambitions of a few, especially when it comes to history recording God’s divine providence in the lives of those instrumental in battle and organizing governments.

When we view history recorded in scripture, we soon discover that God is most interested in guiding the lives of those who seek His council and accept His help. Those who deny God and follow their own ambitions and world views often seem to succeed and prosper but their doom is sealed and repeated generation after generation, but not before causing many to suffer and many to follow these satan led leaders to their doom too.

In contrast, God’s blessings on those who follow God and obey His decrees and instruction find peace and prosperity for as long as they sustain obedience. This cycle has been repeated over and over again in Israel’s history and other countries who followed God. USA is one of those countries.

Well, with God being taken out of our school, with our universities openly denying God’s existence and shaming those who believe in Him, what has been the result? Immorality is judged in society as acceptable and abortion encouraged thereby denying life God calls sacred. Anger and hatred and resulting violence are rampant inspired by instigators preaching equality with fruit of harm and death to those innocent of the inequality they preach against.

God is not sought, nor His solutions considered. As in bible times, prophets and preachers of God’s Word are more and more ignore or silenced or worse.

So what can we do? PRAY! LOVE OUR ENEMIES AND THOSE WHO TRY TO HURT US! LIVE LOVE BY EXAMPLE AND LEAVE IT TO GOD TO PUNISH AND FIGHT OUR BATTLES, AS FIRST CENTURY CHRISTIANS DEMONSTRATED AND EXAMPLED SO WELL IN THE MIDST OF TERRIBLE PERSECUTION AND MARTYRDOM.

Granted, wars become necessary to defend the defenseless and protect our loved ones, but entering such battles without first seeking God’s council and letting Him reveal those hidden areas just as sinful to God as those we would war against us. If we want God to bless us and bless our homes and country, we must let Him change us first before we can seek Him to change our loved ones and especially our enemies. After all, without Christ living in our souls, without growth in Christ-like character and conduct, without Christ showing us areas needing His cleansing and us allowing Him to clean and remove sin disease from those areas, then we too are still His enemy too.

So pray seeking His searching light to expose remaining sin in our lives and then receive His help removing it. Removal will probably be painful, especially if has been a long time resident in our soul. But the benefit will be life eternal and our prayers will carry more weight to Him, His answers will be more impactful to us, and we will be making an eternal difference in the world whether we notice or see it or no.

I am talking about more than just a one-time repentance of sin and receiving salvation, as important as that is. I’m talking about daily surrender to His searching spirit with the goal of being more Christ-like today than I was yesterday and tomorrow than today. I am also talking about sharing and encouraging others to do same.

What would Clintonville or your community be like if every Christian did this? What would our country be like if every Christian in USA did this? Read about some of the great revivals of old and find out? I can only imagine since most were experience by my grandparents and older. We are long overdue. AMEN? AMEN!

8/15/20 DAY 13 – FORGIVING OTHERS COMPLETES GOD’S WORK OF FORGIVENESS IN US 15

MARK 11:25 – “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you, your trespasses.”

You and I have held grudges or ill feelings for those who offended us by word or action or tried to do us harm in some way. Those who told lies or those who revealed confidences that caused us or someone we care about harm in some form. Yet when we reflect on the harm and grief we have and continue to bring on our Savior, how can we help but not forgive the modest offense from our brother or sister?

If you cannot recall such unforgiveness in your heart, let’s make sure and agree to reach out to our Savior today to reveal any offence we still hold against anyone or any restitution remaining we have failed to make to someone we have hurt… How about seeking any restitution God may desire for us to make to Him? We normally don’t consider that and by and large Christ offers His mercy and forgiveness without condition. Yet, even in the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6 and Luke 11), Jesus revealed the condition that God will forgive us to the degree we forgive others. Each passage then following the prayer itself goes on to underscore the importance of fully forgiving others and also to provide aid for others in need even when inconvenient. Why? Well, because He commands us to, but also because our forgiveness requires it. Seek His help in prayer to prioritize our resources and time as well as our attitudes so being generous and forgiving will become part of our nature and passion. A way to worship and praise Him and bring Him joy.

Yesterday, we discovered what sincerely asking God to search us and reveal to us those areas needing His transforming Grace. Forgiveness is foundational to revival and transformation personally and in our community. Truth is, do we trust God’s and His Will enough to let go and let Him decide how justice should unfold to those who hurt us or our loved ones. To declare war on satan instead of on those who were deceived by satan.

A WAR CAN NOT BE WON UNTIL THE ENEMY’S LEADER IS CAPTURED AND CONQUERED. TO DEFEAT ENEMY FORCES AND ALLOW LEADER TO ESCAPE WILL ONLY MEAN NECESSITY TO FIGHT THAT ENEMY AND Its LEADER AGAIN. UNTIL WE FOCUS ON SATAN AS OUR ENEMY AND ON CHRIST, WHO IS ONLY ONE EQUIPPED AND AUTHORIZED AND ABLE TO BATTLE AND DEFEAT SATAN, THEN SUPPORTING OUR HEAVENLY FATHER’S STRATEGY AND WILL IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN BE TRULY ON THE WINNING SIDE THAT WILL PERMANENTLY STOP SATAN’S EVIL WORK FOR ETERNITY.

To attack Him alone or only battle his pawns only opens us to being outsmarted and outmaneuvered and overwhelmed. Satan is stronger than you and me but is no match to Christ. Difference is Christ will fight our battles and help us if we seek and ask Him.

God’s will be for us to enjoy His forgiveness but also to enjoy the freedom and life that comes from forgiving others. Doing so is a vital beginning to the eternal life and “Christ-like” transformation He desires and has planned and prepared for us. Prayer – His Word – His Holy Spirit all compliment to make us stronger and more like Him. Unforgiveness builds a wall between us and God but forgiveness builds a bridge to Him. Will we build a wall or a bridge? A wall to imprison us or a bridge to freedom and eternal life? It is our choice.

8/16/20 DAY 14 – SUSTAINING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATEFUL PRAISE AND PRAYER 16

1 Thess. 5:16-18 ” Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Achieving an attitude and sustaining that attitude all our waking hours and each and every day is an impossible but worthwhile goal. A goal not attainable without God’s help and involvement. A goal that requires much effort and discipline on our part and regular spiritual exercise to progress and gain stamina and focus necessary. I must confess I have made some progress in my senior years but still falling infinitely short of attaining that goal. Imagine deciding to journey from New York City by foot to San Francisco along I-80. Each step makes progress but the goal is still far beyond reach. If the goal of 1 Thess. is likened to this journey, I dare say I have yet to leave New York State. When I see Jesus face to face at His return or at my death, He will transport me the rest of the way, but so much to be gained in the meantime if I stay focused on reaching that goal. Let’s pray for God’s help and strength and council in that quest and journey. Pray that God make prayer so natural to us that it is like breathing and taking nourishment or water and just as strong an absence to us when we neglect doing so.

How much gratitude is enough? What does God expect of us in response to His gift of salvation? When have I satisfied sufficient payment in praise and thanksgiving to Him? Have you ever asked such questions or wondered? Do you know anyone who has?

To do so is asking a wrong question but can be useful in helping us discover the purpose of praise and worship and gratitude and benefit for the giver even more than for the receiver. Well, the better question(s) and real answer may be best discovered in realizing that God made us in His image and try to discover what that means.

God made humans with the ability to reason and think and communicate. But, we can see some evidence of that in many animals.
God made humans with ability to love and protect their loved ones but can also see some evidence of that in many animals too.
How about ability to see danger and sacrifice to bring help or remove others from danger? Well, we see evidence of this in many animals too.
How about ability to love and show affection? That too is demonstrated to some extent among certain animals.
The Bible tells us man has an immortal soul that will live forever. Well, that sets man apart from the animal world, but there is an unanswered question whether there is or will be any animals in heaven. I’m not going to try to attempt to answer that question but do note that prophecy speaks of Christ returning riding on a horse, so there is reason to hope some animals will be included. Also, we are told children will be safe with dangerous animals like lions.

So many unanswered questions but salted with just enough of a clue to allow us to wonder and let our imagination wonder a bit. However, God gives us clear answers to questions we need answered while on earth dealing with life’s problems and temptations and struggles, most of which are not caused by God but by satan.

We do have the capacity to communicate with each other but we also have a unique capacity to communicate with our creator and Lord, what is the most wonderful and amazing capability God has given us. To communicate and express love and thanksgiving and worship. To communicate seeking help and council and wisdom and encouragement. To know God and not just read about Him and talk about Him.

When we love and care about someone:

We are concerned about their well-being and want them to be happy.
We want to know and understand and be with them more.
We want to please and bring joy into their lives and help them grow and become better persons.

The list is much longer but basically a human love relationship, which is different between spouses and with siblings and with friends and with co-workers and between parents and their children and grandchildren, enables us all to sustain a level of kindness and cooperation and encouragement that has long range benefits.

The same is true in our loving relationship with God. He has the capacity to love and communicate with each and all of us equally and all at the same time. The big difference is God is the source of perfect pure love. Christ demonstrated and lived that love and God through a relationship with us wants to instill that perfect love in us, which only is possible if we surrender our will to invite Him to teach and transform us with that love.

So, God not only loves and cares for us and enjoys our company, but gives us capacity to love others and Him far more deeply than we can imagine. He has designed us to be in relationship with Him and gain joy and life and wisdom and understanding and peace and capacity to love and be like Him … through worship and praise and thanksgiving… through prayer.

So, prayer is much more than communicating with our God. Prayer is as much a life giving act we do as breathing and eating. Love, God’s pure perfect Love, is the fuel and motivator and spark that make the engine of our soul come to life and live. Why? Well, it is because we are praying to the Creator and giver of life and the source of perfect and pure love! AMEN? AMEN!

“The love of Christ influences every decision we make and everything we do; His love becomes our way of life and not mere emotion.” Ed Stetzer

8/17/20 DAY 15 – GOD PUTS OUR TEARS IN HIS BOTTLE 17

God cares for us so deeply He records our sorrows. Psalm 56:7-8 says: “7In spite of such sin, will they escape? In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations. 8You have taken account of my wanderings; You have put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? 9Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side”

In some way God captures our tears in His bottle and our pain in His Book. In other words, He cares for every heart pang. If He has captured your tears in His bottle, then let the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit bring comfort to your heart. And if He has written your hurts in His heavenly book, open His earthly Book and find a promise. You will receive one wave of divine grace after another.

Prayer is a 2-way street. We desperately need to communicate with God because He is the source of our life and infinite wisdom. Because He has designed us to be in fellowship with Him. Because His Will and His command is for us to fellowship with Him. But you and I don’t have a clue just how deep and passionate God’s love for each of us is. Not only is God capable of loving us as if we were the only human but He passionately desires one on one fellowship with each of us. His love for each of us is genuine and unfailing.

So, why does He allow us to suffer? Why do we feel so alone at times? Why is life so hard? We blame God because we believe He is in control and has the power to change things and circumstances and people. If His will is for our good, then why doesn’t He simply make that happen all the time?

Well, experience teaching us in time that what is best for us isn’t always the most pleasant or appealing. We can’t live on ice cream and candy. We can grow in maturity and in faith and in character and integrity if we don’t encounter dangers and challenges and even grief and tragedy at times. Good times and prosperous time do not build integrity and stamina in our faith any more than relaxation and sleep alone will build physical endurance. No, we need painful exercise to build physical endurance and we need spiritual trials to build spiritual integrity and stamina and character and to build faith in Him. God suffers when we suffer. He grieves when we grieve. He experiences our pain and sadness. He doesn’t desire that we suffer but there is one who does. He even records and cherishes each tear we shed. Well the, who does desire for us to suffer and die? Who is responsible for our suffering even though God uses our suffering to exercise our spiritual muscles? The guilty – responsible criminal is satan and his demons. They work 24x7x365 to draw us as far from God as he can and tempt us with pleasurable things and then delivers pain and death.

Who inspires wars and hatred and divorce and crimes of all types? Who invented all pagan religions and compels people to worship idols or things instead of the one true God. IT IS NOT GOD, BUT SATAN!

So what should all this mean to us? It should cause deep love and gratitude to well up for Him. The tears we should shed should mostly be tears of joy and compassion towards Him. He cherishes our tears of grief but He treasures tears of Joy we shed for Him. When is the last time you took a significant period of time just to express your love and gratitude to Him without asking for something? When is the last time you lingered just to enjoy His company and listened and waited? We break God’s heart when we sin, but we also break His heart when we neglect Him. The story of the prodigal confirms that especially when told to us by Jesus Himself. So let’s start spending more quality time with Him not just because we need to but because doing so brings Him great joy. Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah’s court and are numbered with “the most sublime strains that reach the majesty on high.” Charles H. Spurgeon

AMEN? AMEN!

8/18/20 DAY 16 – PRAYING FOR A DEEP AWARENESS AND APPRECIATION FOR GOD’S CONTINUAL PROVISION AND FAITHFUL GUIDANCE 18

Scripture: PSALM 56:1-8 “Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; Fighting all day he oppresses me.²My enemies would hound me all day, for there are many who fight against me, O Most High.³Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.⁴In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?⁵All day they twist my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.⁶They gather together, they hide, they mark my steps, when they lie in wait for my life.⁷Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, O God! ⁸You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?”

Why does He give life with all its sustaining earthly elements to the just and unjust alike? Why does He bless the just and unjust alike? Well, His mercy and longsuffering is great as is His love for everyone. But His forgiveness can only be given to those who accept it. God’s judgment is promised on those who reject His forgiveness but God’s passionate desire is that all would repent.

Well, when we start noticing just how God faithfully provides each and every day, we start to realize how close and passionately and completely He does provide every day. Truth is, as was the case in scripture in old testament times, God blessed even pagan nations due to their treatment of the Israelites. I dare say, God’s blessings on the world and our nation specifically is influenced by how the world treats Christians, and Jews for that matter. But more important, He has promised to be faithful to all who put their trust in Him – accepting His forgiveness and submitting to His Will.

Even when people try to harm us, telling or writing lies about us, trying to instill hatred for us in others, or persecute us falsely because of our faith in Christ – belief in His teachings and commands – and faithfulness in practicing our faith and beliefs. God doesn’t always spare or remove such from us, but does limit intensity and duration. Stop and think, how does a few years of hardship compare to an eternity in heaven with Him. That is what fueled such courage and sustained such faith in our ancestors and contemporary Christian brothers and sisters who endure so much especially in many Communist and Muslim countries where being a Christian is illegal.

Matthew 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

God will help us see and understand His perspective if we seek and enter the fellowship and relationship He longs to have with us. There are few Christians that demonstrate the depth of relationship and strength in character and demonstration of their faithful walk with Christ like Joni Eareckson Tata. It has been her 50 plus years enduring pain and physical limitations of being paralyzed and having cancer that has transformed her from being a self-centered shallow Christian to being “a woman after God’s own heart” There is a cost and sacrifice necessary in order to be so transformed. He still hasn’t granted Joni a fully healed and restored life but has granted her a long life far beyond what others with similar injuries have lived and endured.

So today, lets seek God ‘s insights and help in making you and me “A man or woman (or boy or girl) after God’s Own Heart” AMEN? AMEN!

8/19/20 DAY 17 – A TIME TO PRAY OR A TIME TO FIGHT? 19

Today we will shift our focus from individual needs to national needs and concerns. The nation we enjoy and live in has a wonderful Christian legacy left to us by our founding leaders and family ancestors who came to this country for personal freedom to worship and to pursue goals and dreams. They prayed and lived and worshiped and even fought to establish and preserve these freedoms for their families and future generations, of which you and I are one. During times of war doing battle against formidable enemy armies – diseases – evil influences all bent on destroying our country and her Christian heritage, what made the critical difference was not the size of our army or fighting skills, but those skills and might were necessary. One mind in heart and resolve was necessary too. But, what was even more important was God’s people praying and seeking God’s help and guidance into battle.

Old Testament history repeats example after example of God establishing and blessing and preserving the nation of Israel. Israel prospered when she honored and worshiped and obeyed God and suffered captivity and foreign rule and misery when she didn’t. God’s protective hand was on Israel as He is on our country, USA.

Reflect on such a miraculous example recorded in 2 Chronicles 20:1-31 “ It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites,^[^a^] came to battle against Jehoshaphat. ²Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from ^[^b^]Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). ³And Jehoshaphat feared, and set ^[^c^]himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You Not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? ⁷Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? ⁸And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ⁹‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ ¹⁰And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— ¹¹here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. ¹²O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”¹³Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.¹⁴Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the ^[^d^]brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”¹⁸And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.²⁰So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.”²²Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they ^[^e^]had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.²⁴So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the ^[^f^]dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. ²⁶And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of ^[^g^]Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. ²⁷Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.³¹So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem.”

Today’s scripture is a powerful testimony to God’s engagement and faithfulness to those who surrender to His Will and put their trust in Him. Take a moment to imagine a huge invading army pressing down on King Jehoshaphat. His army was no match to the invading forces but the prophet Jahaziel received and gave God’s instruction. That instruction was to stand back and sing praises to God and watch God fight their battle for them. They were not to prepare for battle with armor and sword and bow-arrow but with voice. Would the king obey God’s command without preparing his defenses? The story would have ended badly because God would not have defended them if they had doubted and disobeyed God’s instruction. But king Jehoshaphat chose to trust God and do exactly as Jahaziel told them. He selected the choir to sing and remain defenseless without weapons. But, oh the weapons they took up and the victory they witnessed! Their weapon was God Himself and their preparation was choosing the music and practice of voice for the battle.

That great choir began to sing as the invading army advanced invading Judah from the south. King Jehoshaphat had no way of offending the capital, Jerusalem. He felt panic as he saw the invading army approach but responded by summoning those present to pray. He led prayer for those with him. He said “We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (vs 12). When he finished praying, the prophet Jahaziel shouted, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (vs 15)

The next day, Judah’s armies marched to battle but with an unlikely military strategy. The musicians were in the front leading Judah’s army towards the invading army. They witnessed God’s mighty hand of judgment and protection. They witnessed His faithfulness. They witnessed and discovered how God helps and protects those who are faithful to Him. God gathered them to not do battle but to witness His faithfulness.

The next day, Judah’s armies marched into battle, but, in an unlikely military strategy, the musicians went first, praising the Lord, singing, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (verse 21). The armies of the enemy were plundered, and God won the victory.

As we reflect on this story, lets direct our prayers toward prayer for our beloved country, it’s leaders, it’s enemies working hard to hinder or destroy God’s influence and handiwork. Let’s pray God’s Will be done in our hearts – the hearts of our friends and family and neighbors. Let’s pray God’s Will be done in the hearts of our enemies and adversaries. Let’s pray God’s Will be done in the hearts of those who have neglected their first love (Christ), those who have not heard nor received Christ’s mercy and redemption, those who deny God or His existence or His involvement and influence in our country and world. Let’s pray for each other too that we be faithful to Him in these last days before He return. Let’s pray He prepare us for a time of persecution and trial. Let’s pray our families be and remain faithful too and not fall prey to satan, the deceiver, nor to his followers and pawns. Let’s pray we and they will be found faithful when He returns or at the time of our death.

Let’s also pray that when danger or sickness or other crisis comes our way, and it will, that our first and continual reaction will be to fall to our knees and pray seeking His council, His help, His strength, and then go and do as He instructs. To not follow our own wisdom first ahead of Him.

8/20/20 DAY 18 – A TIME QUIETLY AND SILENTLY WAITING ON / FOR HIM 20

One of the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease I have been noticing more and more is how hard it is becoming to sustain focus during sustained conversation and increasing difficulty I’m encountering to do so.

Recently I took a good friend and his young son to an appointment. He was talking and engaging me pretty intensely when I found it very difficult to keep the car on the road. I had to immediately tell him to stop talking or we’ll go off the road. I had previously warned him that normal things like driving or walking or using my hands or legs for work or even recreation require concentration to do. Doing multiple tasks like playing the piano and singing or even singing and standing are becoming more difficult. Our last choir cantata during Advent required that I sit while singing to avoid falling due to wavering balance. That is, because singing “on pitch” requires more concentration than just talking.

Fortunately, he complied without being offended. I apologized anyway but driving became much easier when I could give task full focus.

I must say Parkinson’s has and continues to teach me so many vital lessons and continues to draw me deeper and deeper in fellowship with my Savior. He desires and wants my full and focused attention when I pray and study His Word, and He is so faithful to bless when I do.

I am very reluctant to share this with you, mostly because I don’t want you to misunderstand my motives nor have any sympathy. In fact, Parkinson’s has been a blessing drawing me much deeper and closer in fellowship with Christ – learning to rely and depend on Him more and appreciate all He does more too. In fact, He is enabling me to write without hindrance and play piano for worship at 2 church services every Sunday and volunteer mowing at local cemetery, which is motivating others to volunteer time and resources too.

We are living in dangerous and unprecedented times. Covid 19 is responsible for keeping us from weekly worship and gathering with even fines issued to violators while demonstrators for other causes are applauded while refusing to gather in a safe way. Now spread of covid 19 is increasing again since such demonstration and other gatherings without regard for medical consequences have increased. Hostility toward Christians is increasing all over the world, but especially in communist and Muslim ruled countries.

Even in USA and other free countries where Christian values and moral standards were respected and overall widely accepted 50years or less ago now are much less popular and even hostility against those who teach them is increasing.

At this rate of degradation of society, one generation from now we might just be face persecution like first century church Christians did and Christians are already facing every day in China and North Korea.

So what are we to do? II Chronicles 7:11-22 tells us “¹¹When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹²the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.¹³“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ¹⁵Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. ¹⁶I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.¹⁷“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, ¹⁸I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’¹⁹“But if you^[^a^] turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you^[^b^] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. ²¹This temple will become a heap of rubble. All^[^c^] who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²²People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Again, what are we to do? We should do our part to share the Gospel and by our vote and giving support those who teach Christ and reveal deception satan is spreading. Our enemy is not those to tell lies about us or even persecute us falsely, but our enemy is satan. Likewise, living and sharing our faith 24×7 and faithfully praying for our leaders and country and ourselves and others – confessing our sins and seeking God’s truth revealing light to shine and turn from our sins is way we open opportunity for God to restore and bless.

You see, God’s protective hand has been on USA especially because of her faithfulness in evangelism and preaching Christ and because of the faithful lives of Christians, but it is pretty evident that protection has been removed. 911 and Covid 19 are two examples of peril our country is facing because of disregard to God’s commands and law, disregard for life God holds precious, including life not yet born yet, disregard for scripture, for life example of past Christians and of Christ Himself, disregard for warning God is giving us by modern evangelists and preachers like He did through the prophets of old.

Then we also have the Daniel’s of old who endured God’s judgment but remained faithful and enjoyed God’s special blessing unique to him and his faithful friends. Well, prayer is where our lifeline is. We need that lifeline today more than ever. We need the stories of old and words of Christ and Psalms and Paul’s letters and … now more than ever to council and guide us sin these time so we choose wisely and find and follow His path.

Scripture tells us in the latter days satan’s deceptions would be so persuasive that without God’s guiding Hand even the elect could be deceived. Matthew 24:24 “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

So don’t worry, pray instead. Don’t let the news persuade you, let God be your guide. Remember, 100 years from now (and for most of us a lot sooner) all the cares and dangers and temptations and evil bearing down on us will be long gone and we will be with Him forever.

WE ARE SAFE IN HIS HAND NOW! IF WE DIE, WE GAIN! IF WE LIVE, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE FOR HIM AND SHINE HIS LIGHT ON OTHERS AWHILE LONGER…

You and I are still building a legacy, so don’t give up yet. WE are on the winning side and our enemy knows his end is near so he’s pulling out all the stops but not for much longer. CHRIST IS COMING SOON!

So today let’s go to Him without a list of requests or topics to discuss and simply quiet our minds and all outside distractions and let Him control the conversation and priority. AMEN? AMEN!

8/21/20 DAY 19 OUR HOPE IN TIMES OF CRISIS – TRAGEDY – FACING DANGER OR…. 21

Everyone faces loss and grief and even tragedy during their lifetime. What loss have you endured? Take some time to reflect and notice how your faith and God’s abiding presence and friends and family have all made a wonderful difference helping you get through and recover. The coronavirus is a reminder that we are not in control but God is! He is Sovereign. He always has been and He always will! As Daniel and his 3 friends discovered and believed, whether we live to a full old age or die as a youth. Whether we gain great success or die destitute. Whether we live a long healthy life or endure 50 years of poor health or severe handicap and pain like Joni Earickson Tada. What makes all the difference for eternity and what we do today that will matter 100 years from now is not what consumes most of our time today. What will matter will be the time we spend with God, how well we obey Him; if we have accepted His offer for forgiveness and redemption (a gift he paid dearly to make available) and how diligent we lived to encourage others to accept Him too.

When you and I face life’s losses and challenges, it is human to blame others and complain or feel sorry for ourselves. But what those before us did that reveals their depth of faith in Him love for Him is the price they were willing to pay or what they were willing to give up to remain faithful. Don’t forget what He has done and continues to do for you and me. Don’t forget what awaits us when we die or when He returns. Don’t forget what others will face without Him.

Yesterday we approached the subject of God’s judgment replacing God’s protection on individuals and countries who reject His Gospel message and Sacrifice and follow their evil desires. God’s judgment and Christian persecution are two different circumstances. God’s judgment is for unforgiven evil and is just while Christian persecution is suffering faithful Christians endure unjustly inflicted by people under influence of satan.

We have no clue when Christ will return to rescue His people and judge the world for following satan. Even though we don’t know when, there are but a few times in history that matches the “signs of the times” spoken of in bible prophecy. The nation of Israel is now established and growing in strength and number. Christian persecution globally is greater than any other time in history. Wars, violence, immoral behavior, severe weather, earthquakes, floods, global pandemics, increasing popularity of humanistic – atheistic world views, evangelism spreading globally in spite or because of increasing persecution. All this and much more are clues Christ’s return is near.

BUT OUR SAVIOR AND LORD IS STILL ON HIS THRONE AND WILL PREVAIL IN HIS TIME AND ACCORDING TO HIS PLAN. Whether we live a short or long life. Whether we die of disease or accident or even deliberate murder at the hands of evil men at a young or old age, our future is sure and Christ and loved ones will be there to greet us at heaven’s gates if we follow Christ and accept His redemption. We have so much to be grateful for. Our future is bright and eternal.

So today, lets focus on expressing our gratitude and ask Him to use us. Reflect and pray for family – friends – neighbors – coworkers – even our enemies or those who mistreat or dislike us. Pray God put us or others in their path equipped to show and tell them of His love. Pray God make us a blessing and show it. Pray God teach and empower us to love like He loves. AMEN? AMEN!

8/22/20 DAY 20 TIME TO FOCUS ON SEEKING GOD’S AGENDA AND TIMING 22

After spending this time writing and sharing, I am wondering what I’ve missed or which day’s focus needs more time and attention, so maybe the best option is to use the last 2 days of our study to reviewing topics and seeking God’s input. That is what I’ve been contemplating today and suggest you do the same. I would also be grateful if you would share what God has shown or how He has guided you during this time so can share with fellow believers who took this journey with us.

For me, these 21 days of study and prayer has revealed:

1. Prayer is a broader and deeper journey than I knew or realized.

2. Prayer has far more layers and stages and discoveries than I realized.

3. Prayer is more precious and life giving and enjoyable and, yes, more work than I can comprehend.

4. Prayer does not need to have an end, which is part of reason God tells us to “praying without ceasing”.

5. Prayer is life changing but also is life giving because it is God’s gift of communicating and being in relationship with His creation, with you and me.

6. Prayer is work that requires just as much work now as it did the day of my salvation. Maybe more work.

7. Prayer without ceasing will be fulfilled completely and sustained in heaven.

8. Prayer is necessary to become more Christ-like and develop a more meaningful relationship with Christ and with His people.

9. I can’t survive long without prayer, but I soon loose passion and longing for prayer when neglect prayer. It is unsettling to realize how weak and vulnerable and easily blind-sighted I am still capable of being, yet how passionately God still loves and pursue me. I’m so glad He does, I need Him and I need to pray even more now than I did nearly 60 years ago when I first believed and prayed while beginning to discover what those strange words mean in the King James “Rainbow Bible” my parents gave me. Those words are clearer now but I’m still am discovering deeper and unrealized meaning and depth to even those same words I read that first night I surrendered to Christ’s as a child. How about you?

10. God is still on His throne and nothing satan does or evil that man imagines surprises God nor isn’t already known by Him. He is fully prepared and ready, so we can do no better than to draw close to Him during trying and dangerous times. There is no better way to prepare for coming times of trial and hardship and suffering than to draw close to Him and heed His instruction and council and accept His hand of help and comfort. James 4:6-8 “God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”^[^c^]⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

11. Anticipation is building in me to discover what God has prepared and has waiting for us. Maybe we won’t be gathering at camp and worship together and hear anointed preaching like most years but God will meet us at camp if we prepare and seek and listen for Him. I pray you are experiencing that same anticipation too, for God is already there preparing to welcome and receive us. AMEN? AMEN!

8/23/20 DAY 21 PRAYER – OUR LIFELINE TO THE ONLY SOURCE OF ETERNAL LIFE 23

Well, it saddens me to say today concludes our 21-day study and journey of prayer. There are countless books written on prayer and many scholars have written on this subject over the centuries. Scripture is an even richer source of teaching and instruction. However, the best and most effective way to learn to pray and gain guidance on what and how to pray is simply to do it – to pray often and regularly but certainly every day. To pray when we feel like it and when we don’t. Pray when we have time to but especially when we don’t.

Abraham Lincoln said “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening my axe.” He knew the importance of a sharp axe to cut efficiently. Prayer is a lot like sharpening our axe, enabling us to manage and choose wisely how we spend our day, by seeking God’s council first and then following His direction.

Today we are seeing the consequences of God being removed from society and even from recorded history. History books are being revised to omit any mention of God or His intervention in history. Yet, there is little awareness that leaving God out of our lives is the reason for evil being inflicted by men on men. The reason why floods and wars and pandemics invade the lives of so many. Have you ever noticed how satan uses and hatred and even pride? He persuades some to think they are better or more valuable than others and, therefore, justified in privilege or rewards. Then they lay blame for injustice and tragedy at the feet of others. But God is trying to show us that our enemy is not each other or another race or followers of another religion but the source of that hatred and prejustice and pride – satan himself. Satan lures us into sin and then blames us for sinning and blame for consequences of sin. Any trick to get people fighting each other and rejecting God is his goal. The sooner we realize that and conclude who our real enemy is, the better.

So what does prayer change?

Prayer helps us confess and accept responsibility for our own sins, to recognize Christ as our source of life and satan as the source of death.
Prayer guides us to repentance and redemption and a hunger to be like Christ.
Prayer guides us to make wise – good choices and shun and reject evil.
Prayer opens our hearts and minds to hear God’s council and instruction and truth He reveals. God’s Will and timing is set but when we open our hearts and submit to His Will, we will see God’s Will moving forward on earth as it is in heaven. Our prayers do make a difference by moving our wills towards being like His.
Prayer let us see heaven and long for it. To see Jesus and long to be like Him

I think we all know prayer is important but priority to pray each day, rain or shine, takes determination.

Well, prayer isn’t us trying to convince God to do our will, but needs to be us opening ourselves to know and understand God’s will and trust Him enough to say and believe “Thy Will be done” instead of mine, even when we don’t know or understand His Will.

That is what my ambition and goal is and hope it is or will become yours too. AMEN? AMEN!!

8/24/20 10 Verses about Fear and Anxiety to Remind Us God Is in Control 24

Fear and Anxiety are life and joy robbing tools that satan uses to separate us from Christ’s life giving fellowship and presence. Fear causes us to look at our circumstances and dangers and temptations satan lies before us instead of at Jesus. Just as Peter took his eyes off Jesus while walking on water and looked at the water and storm all around him, so do we all too often. Then we begin to sink, like Peter, until crying out to Jesus for help. So how we respond makes all the difference when the temptation to be anxious and fearful tries to take hold of us.

Fear and worry go hand in hand. Danger’s power isn’t bad enough. Satan makes it worse by adding worry of “what might be” to make fear seem overwhelming.

But we serve and have a wonderful Savior who knows and understands what we go through because He has been there and experienced all satan’s powerful tricks and lies Himself. Therefore:

Christ is our Sacrifice who died and paid for our redemption so we can experience complete and eternal forgiveness.
Christ is the One and Only Advocate worthy and qualified and Worthy to approach the Father on our behalf
Because of Christ, we may approach the Throne of God as a forgiven – beloved – child of God.
Because of Christ, fear and worry need not and should not have any place in our mind or soul. Why? Because Christ sent the Holy Spirit to abide in and with and through us, providing God’s help and protection and council and power to overcome any and all temptations satan has for us.
Because of Christ, we know our future and is brighter and more wonderful than we can imagine.
Because of Christ, even when we fail or yield to temptation after accepting His forgiveness, Christ is near ready to forgive again and pick us up and clean us off again. How many times will He do that? AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES!

So, the next time you let the “what if’s” cause you to worry, or when we or our loved ones fall prey to satan’s lies and temptations, remember who’s child you are and Who is with you now and always.
I know, every place we go and at every turn , all we see and hear today involves wars, conflicts, persecution, violence, crime, natural disasters, terrorism, economic uncertainty, unemployment, divisions, disease, death. We fear for our children’s future, we fear for our families, we fear for our financial future, we fear for our safety. The list goes on…long. There actually is a lot we could potentially worry about.

BUT SO WHAT! OUR GOD IS BIGGER THAN ALL THAT. HE IS ALREADY PREPARED TO DO BATTLE AND HAS TOLD US THE OUTCOME IN REVELATION. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS REACH OUT AND KEEP OUR EYES ON HIM. HE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST. WHAT LITTLE HE WILL ASK OF US WILL BE LITTLE COMPARED WITH WHAT HE HAS AND WILL DO.

WE ARE ON THE WINNING SIDE – CHRIST’S SIDE!

So, here are 10 verses to help encourage you and me the next time satan tempts us to worry or become fearful – when we takes our eyes off Jesus even briefly:

1. Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

2. 1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

3. Psalm 94:19

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”

4. 2 Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

5. Psalm 23:4

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

6. Proverbs 12:25

“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”

7. Matthew 6:34

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

8. 1 Peter 5:6-7

“Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time. Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.”

9. Isaiah 35:4

“Tell everyone who is discouraged, Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue…”

10. Mark 6:50

“Immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’”

8/25/20 PRAYER PARTNER 25

Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I came to you. Holy Father, keep through your Name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.. JOHN 17:11

Recommended Reading: JOHN 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil”

COMMENTS: Christ is not only our “Intercessor” or “Go Between” to the Father, but also is our “Prayer Partner”. He knows the power of temptation and all the emotions and hardships and emotions and pain we endure and experience because He has experienced them all as a human. So when He prays for us, He prays with the passion of loving us with all of God’s love while having all the compassion and understand of knowing what we are going through. Since He is one with the Father, there is no real issue of Him trying to convince the Father to forgive us, but the fact that He does pray for us means everything to us in helping us realize how precious we are to the Triune God and how complete His help is.

8/26/20 Some Scriptures related to prayer: 26

Psalm 66:18: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

Psalm 34:15: “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.”

Daniel 9:18: “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.”

Psalm 5:3: “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

1 John 5:14: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

James 4:3: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Matthew 26:42:“He (Jesus) went away a second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.’”

Mark 9:24: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

James 5:16:“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 ~ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land

Ephesians 6:18 ~ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Proverbs 15:8 ~ The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

Romans 12:12 ~ Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Luke 11:2-4 ~ 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ”

Matthew 6:9-13 ~ 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

Proverbs 15:29 ~ The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Matthew 7:11 ~ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Romans 8:26 ~ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Colossians 4:2 ~ Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

1 Timothy 2:8 ~ Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.

1 John 1:9 ~ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 ~ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 4:8-10 “⁸Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.⁹Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.¹⁰Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

8/27/20 THE HAIRS OF YOUR HEAD 27

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Scripture Reading: MATTHEW 10:27-31 “What I tell you in darkness,that speak ye in light: and what ye hesr in the ear; that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and bodyin hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall to the groumd without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

COMMENTS: It is human nature to value possessions based on importance they have on our lives and how easily replaced and in what quantity and cost. Clean drinking water is much more precious in the desert than next to a fresh water lake. Not so with God. You and I are just as precious to God if we were the only two people on earth as we are as 2 of many billions. Each is equally precious to Him and He died and rose for each and every one, but not many accept His precious gift of salvation and redemption.

So what should you and I do with such realization? How should it affect our relationship with each other and with God? How should it affect how we think about ourselves? About each other? We only need to study and discover how Jesus lived and what He taught to answer these and many more applicable questions. The parable of the prodigal tells us how important a daily relationship and fellowship is with God. How important obedience and doing His Will is to Him and should be to us too. Our fellowship with Him is our lifeline to God and to eternal life. A lifeline that is Joy to Him and joy for us but also Life to us.

Since God knows us so well as to have our hairs all counted, and still loves and desires to care for us, then at least we should get to know Him too. To know Him is to love Him and want to follow and obey His commands.

8/28/20 PEACE WITH GOD 28

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ROMANS 5:1

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE COLOSSIANS 1:21-22 – “ And that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.”

COMMENTS: We live in a world full of conflict. A world where conflict is not only common but normal and lack of conflict or peace is rare and abnormal. There would be nothing reported if conflict was not dominating the news. But wait, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of good in the world that could and should be reported. Acts of kindness and sharing towards neighbors and strangers. A few such cases were reported at height of Covid 19 to help encourage. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if such was all there was to report? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the news only reported God’s miracles and influence? It isn’t that God isn’t at work everywhere and all the time, but just ignored and unnoticed because He is unwanted by most.

So, let’s begin noticing God’s handiwork and acts of kindness many are inspired to do and become so inspired too. It might just be doing so will inspire others and start a movement of revival that will result in replacing conflict with peace – Peace on Earth where God’s Will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

But it needs to begin with you and me – with our relationship with God and daily commitment to prayer and devotion and spending time listening for His instruction and council. Being open and looking for those opportunities to show kindness to those we cross paths with, who God causes us to cross path with each day.

8/29/20 OUR GO BETWEEN 29

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Romans 8:34 RECOMMENDED READING: REVELATION 12:10 “ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven , Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

COMMENTS: Scripture says Christ is our intercessor. That means His sacrifice authorizes Him to be our “go between” with the Father providing the required price for our forgiveness and redemption. Above scripture also says satan not only is responsible for tempting and persuading us to sin, but blames us for sinning or accusing us before God. So Christ, innocent of any sin takes our punishment and argues for our redemption while satan, who is guilty of leading us into sin blames us and tries to persuade the Father to give us His full punishment

The example of Job shows us satan arguing against Job.

Be glad we have Jesus as our intercessor. Without Him is no hope. But millions are lost facing judgment without Jesus simply because they haven’t invited Him into their lives and accepting His gift of redemption and payment for their sins. Good news that is too good and too important to keep it to ourselves.

“There is no way of obtaining favor from God but through the intercession of Christ” JOHN CALVIN

8/30/20 OUR HOPE IS IN CHRIST 30

The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I hope in Him!”
-Lamentations 3:24

Lamentations was written by Jeremiah. As he sat down and looked over the smoldering ruins of his beloved Jerusalem, his voice rose to the wail of sorrow, a lament. That is why the book is called Lamentations, which was a funeral dirge over the City of God. Inspired by the Spirit of God, this serves as a message of encouragement that the next time things crash and burn in your life and your whole world is falling apart-family, health, finances, emotions–look to God as the God of hope!

The theme of Lamentations and this middle chapter agree: “Great is Your faithfulness, almighty God!” The Lord taught Jeremiah that no matter how the world was falling apart, personally or nationally, he could still hope in God. And that is why we can find living hope for the end of days!

For an even clearer picture, let’s go back to where we started in Lamentations. Meet Jeremiah. With his life in shambles–his friends all dead, and the smoke and stench of destruction all around everything he had ever held dear–Jeremiah wrote the poem that explains the pathway of hope.

The Pathway of Hope: Have you ever felt that life was too painful to even go on? Jeremiah did, and without the benefits and blessings we have in this church age. He persevered with living hope in the midst of that pain. In Lamentations 3, we can see the pains God uses, manages, allows, and, most of all, handles for us. Note how Jeremiah trusted and endured through the pain of these stresses.

Broken physical health:He has aged my flesh and my skin, and broken my bones (v. 4).
Deep emotional strain: He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe (v. 5).
Periods of dark depression: He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago (v. 6).
Desperation and the burden of being trapped: He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy (v. 7).
Feeling out of touch and distant from God: Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer (v. 8).
Frustration and confusion: He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked (v. 9).
Anxiety and sadness: You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity (v. 17).
Physical weakness and hopelessness: And I said, “My strength and my hope have perished from the Lord” (v. 18).
Bitter affliction and aimlessness: Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall (v. 19).

If Jeremiah were to stop with verse 19, we might feel discouraged as we face our own trials. But his list of woes actually crescendoed until it broke forth into overflowing hope in verses 21-26. After praising God for His daily compassions and great faithfulness, Jeremiah testified: The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord (vv. 25-26, emphasis added).

What a God we serve! Just as He offers hope in Lamentations, allow Him to be what you need to make it through life on a hopeless earth. As we speed toward the end of days, God offers living hope to each of His children. Let Him weave your weaknesses, like fragile fibers, in with the countless strands of His promises. Let Him stretch and twist you into waiting hope. And then, when troubles increase, let Him bring you a fresh portion of His hope and goodness as you wait enduringly with hope in Christ. “DISCOVER THE BOOK” – devotion

“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Ps 82:3-4).

8/31/20 I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART 31

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; . . . I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”-Ezekiel 36:26-27, emphasis added

Ezekiel saw God’s glorious majesty. All these sights–“awesome gleam of crystal . . . glowing metal . . . like fire [like a] rainbow” (1:22, 27-28 NASB)–were given to Ezekiel to remind him of how awesome, how glorious, and how indescribably majestic God is! Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. [For] the Lord sits as King forever (Psalm 29:2, 10b).

Ezekiel saw God’s final authority. Seeing God’s throne taught him that He was in control (1:25a). Ezekiel was a prisoner of war; he was surrounded by numerous enemies who had vandalized his home, dragged him away, and savagely ended the lives of thousands of his people. Yet, in the midst of even that, all the fears of life melted in the radiance of God’s sovereign throne. And because God is on His throne, the words of this well-loved song hold true: When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like the sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, “It is well with my soul.”

Ezekiel saw God’s absolute supremacy. The term “high up” really spoke to him because the throne of God is atop all else (1:26b). As Ezekiel saw the destruction of his nation he learned that God is not thwarted by man’s disobedience. Though God is grieved and saddened, His plan will not fail. Nothing is beyond His throne or above it. God reigns!

Ezekiel saw God’s unveiled glory in Christ. The sight of Christ “like a man” (1:26c) reminds us that our Lord Jesus Christ is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3, NASB). Ezekiel got to see Jesus Christ, and now you and I get to see Him in His Book, the Bible.

Ezekiel saw God’s unchanging promises. “Like a rainbow” (1:28) is given by God as a sign that He keeps His Word. What He says, He will do.

Clearly, we can see that God’s servants submit to Him: The word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the Lord came upon him (Ezekiel 1:3, NASB).

Did you know that the Word of the Lord can expressly come to you? I don’t mean visions; He wants to talk to you through His Word. Will you let Him speak to you today? If you are God’s servant, you will be open to God’s Word. This means being attuned to His “still small voice” so that you can obey His directives as Elijah did on the mountaintop after the wind, earthquake, and fire of 1 Kings 19:10-12. Otherwise, you might miss a real treasure from the Lord!

Ezekiel waited for the hand of the Lord to lead him–like these angelic beings who followed the Lord’s leading exactly, and were in concert with Him: Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels (Ezekiel 1:20, NASB). I would not want to go anywhere if the hand of the Lord was not on me. Would you? That is what God’s servants are like.

Ezekiel demonstrated being in concert with the Lord through the loss of his lovely wife (16:2) who died (24:16-18). God in His sovereignty took her life as a preaching illustration for Ezekiel to Judah. Though saddened, Ezekiel followed the God of the new heart’s lead to show these people that they needed a new heart. “DISCOVER THE BOOK”

Well, so concluded August 2020’s devotional journal. I pray this study of Prayer has been a blessing for you. It certainly has for me. I have discovered so much I had forgotten or never realized that prayer is and does for us. But then again, we have only scratched the surface. I am praying about another study am hopeful will be able to include in September journal. We’ll see what God reveals and has in mind, so stay tuned. God willing, we will continue next month.

God’s blessings,

Don McDaniel

Email: dmcdaniel12@zoominternet

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Don McDaniel - Who am I? Hello everyone and welcome to my devotional journal blog. In order to get acquainted and help you get to know me a bit better before considering following my blog, let me give you some background. I am a 74-year-old male and a retired engineer. I worked for a major supplier of underground mining equipment for nearly 40 years before retiring in 2012. Arlene and I have been happily married since April 1978 and have two grown – married children, one granddaughter and 2 step grandsons. I joined the local United Methodist church at age 12 after accepting Christ as my Savior at age 10 during revival services in that same church in 1961, so I have been a “Born Again” Christian all my teen years and adult life. Christ has helped and guided me all that time. He guided me in choosing my wife and life’s career. My life journey has included regrets and failures, but God has picked me up and protected and spared me from life threatening consequences and dangers more times than I can recall or count. But many I do recall and encourage and motivate me to trust and follow Christ with more passion than ever. Christmas 2011 our daughter gave Arlene and I each a devotional journal. Journals were books with devotion for each day and space to give personal impressions and thoughts related to each devotion. Her desire was to have a lasting legacy she could refer back to and share with her children and grandchildren especially after we are gone. I was touched by that gesture. My parents and Arlene’s were devout Christians, so we would have greatly treasured having that from them, so we felt a sense of urgency to honor her request. I finished my journal first and returned it to our daughter the following Christmas. I’m glad I did it then because Parkinson’s has caused my hand writing to deteriorate since then. The exercise was such a blessing for me. Discipline of keeping journal helped me gain a deeper walk with Christ and greater discipline in honoring my time of prayer and devotion with Him each day. So, I decided to continue the practice but since I could not find a paper journal I liked, I decided to create my own. I had already been receiving electronic devotions by email every day from several sources, my favorite being “Turning Point” from Dr. David Jeremiah. What I decided to do was to include devotional scripture but add my own thoughts and comments only so there would be no issue of copyright infringement. Creating and maintaining journal by computer also addressed my deteriorating handwriting ability. I started an electronic devotion journal January 1, 2013 and have been faithful to that practice every day since. I prayed about method and level of distribution. My initial intent was to only share it with my two children by email, but quickly discovered others in my family, my church, and friends from work (both retired and still working) who knew me and wanted to be included in distribution when they learned what I was doing. I now distribute by email my daily journal at the beginning of each month to over 150 friends and relatives. God has richly blessed and encouraged me. I am concerned with the state of our church and nation, and world for that matter, believing we are living in the end times the prophets of old and Christ have talked about in scripture, so time is short. I desire to be true to my Savior and a witness to help others come to a saving knowledge of Him and equipped to share His Good News too. If my journal can encourage and help others, I believe God wants me to share it. I struggled, for a time at first, because I know many others keep similar journals but only for their own edification and do not want to share them because they are private. However, Christ has stirred my heart to share it as a witness tool. Our son and daughter have a long-time friend who grew up with them who we also befriended nearly 25 years ago. He had a lot of family problems, so would gravitate to our family as a refuge and eventually thought of us as his adopted parents and he as our adopted son. We lost contact with him for some time when he grew up and left home. He traveled around the U.S. and eventually ended up in Ukraine where he resided for next 10 years. He had to return to the US to renew his visa and took opportunity to recommend I begin a blog of my devotions and helped me set it up. He is also an active blogger and has been an email subscriber to my journal for several months, so he has been suggesting I expand my distribution by starting a blog to get broader exposure. After reflection and prayer, I concluded God was in this, so he is helping me set up my blog site. This brief autobiography is my first entry. He returned to Ukraine, then resided there until circumstanced made him decide to move back to US with his young son. This biography was my first post February 29, 2016 . I have published 600 posts from 2016-2023 automatically sent to all my Facebook friends, published on WordPress to be accessible to anyone curious or seeking a deeper walk with God. I decided to take a sebatical to prepare for a new chapter. In 2014 I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease which affects patient ability to walk, drive, do physical work, and eventually talk. By mid 2023 it became evident our home for last 42 years (previously owned by my parents for previous 44 years and by my mother's grandparents for 39 years before that) would eventually not meet my needs so we decided to sell it and move into 1st floor of a duplex we also owned that was the town school from 1855-1913. Likewise, the property was requiring more maintenance that I was no longer able to keep up with. 2023 involved selling our home and moving into apartment next door and then in early 2025 an opportunity to move closer to our daughter and granddaughter in Kentucky which was completed in May 2025. For a number of months I have been seeking direction seeking God's direction and timing to return to blogging as my journey with Parkinson's continues to unfold with God's guiding hand in mine. I hope and pray my devotions will continue to be a blessing for you. God certainly has become closer and more real to me since started this blog in 2016. I have spent time with Him studying scripture and praying and listening and writing this journal. I will continue seeking God’s help and will welcome your input to make this site as meaningful as I can and true to God, who is motivating me to create and maintain it. I will also welcome input in order to make format more meaningful going forward. Don & Arlene McDaniel In His Service, Email: mcdanieldonald769@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Don1951 If you wish, you can access my blog at “https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com“. There you will find 600+ blog posts I have made plus a link to my devotional journal material archives from 2013 to present (https://donsdevotions.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/link-to-dons-devotional-journal-entries-2013/ ) You may also access my Facebook page and request to be my friend and automatically receive my daily journal publications daily. My Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/Dondevotionals/ Many thanks to a pastor and dear brother in Christ in Nepal who set up the above Facebook page to help and encourage and give opportunity for more to explore and use my devotional blog materials. View all posts by donsdevotions

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DEVOTION JOURNAL – AUGUST 2020 – DON MCDANIEL

8/13/20 DAY 11 – ALIGNING OUR EXPECTATIONS WITH GOD’S W ILL 13

8/16/20 DAY 14 – SUSTAINING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATEFUL PRAISE AND PRAYER 16

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8/13/20 DAY 11 – ALIGNING OUR EXPECTATIONS WITH GOD’S W ILL 13

8/16/20 DAY 14 – SUSTAINING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATEFUL PRAISE AND PRAYER 16

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