Praising the Lord for His awesome goodness to Alli & Andrew! He protected them in a near head-on collison w/ a drunk driver who was going the wrong way on I-26 near the Flat Creek Exit. The accident occurred at 9:00 p.m. last night. After being thoroughly examined, both are fine, just very sore. Andrew’s car was totaled. We are blessed beyond measure. Thanks to all who have prayed and sent notes of encouragement.
Month: February 2014
40 Days of Prayer and Fasting: Day #14
Focus on Christ: Preparing to Worship Today
Scripture Reading: John 4; 2 Corinthians 3:18
As you read John 4, you are reminded that every one who came into contact with Jesus did not stay the same. As you reflect over the past 14 days of focusing on God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, how have you changed? What is different this morning from yesterday morning because of time with Christ?
The way to a revived heart is seen in 2 Corinthians 3:18. Read it several times. Christ wants to change us from glory to glory. That means, He is developing in us the attributes of Himself that are communicable such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, . . . (Galatians 5:22-23). Look into His face, listen to Him speak, and you will leave different, changed as the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and tranforms us into the likeness of Christ one exposure at-a-time.
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #13
Focus on Christ: Preparing to Worship.
We were created to worship God (Exodus 20:2-6; Psalm 29:1-11; 86:9-10; 99:1-9; 100:1-5; John 4:21-24; Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 4:8-11). What an awesome privilege! With every privilege comes a responsibility. We must be intentional worshipers! Our God is worthy, and He deserves our best adoration, praise and worship. Since revived hearts desire to give Him the best, then we must be prepared to “enter into His gates” (Psalm 100:4) so we can be genuinely thankful and bless His holy name! Last Sunday’s blog post (Day 7) gave some tips on worship preparation for Sunday morning before arriving at church. Today, I want to share some ideas that will help you, your spouse and your family give God the best worship on Sunday by preparing on Saturday.
Practical Preparations [The purpose of the practical preparations is to limit distraction and decrease tension in the home, which often results in irritations and conflicts.]
1. Prepare Sunday’s meals. Have breakfast made and table set. Perhaps choose simple self-serve breakfasts such as muffins or fruit bread, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, etc. Avoid a high sugar, high carb meal that may lead to drowsiness. Prepare the noon meal as well.
2. Gas up the car
3. Pick out clothes and take care of needed ironing
4. Find Bibles (and shoes!) and lay them out
5. Set aside your offering (2 Cor. 9:7)
6. If you wear hearing aids put in fresh batteries.
7. Teachers: make final lesson preparations
8. Have children take baths
9. Get to bed early. Avoid late night Saturday activities as much as possible. Avoid television, video games, and fluffy books. Avoid anything that trivializes, or tends to put your mind in neutral. God’s thoughts are deep (Psalm 92:5).
Personal/Heart Preparations [The purpose of these personal preparations is to sensitize your heart and mind to meet the Lord in corporate worship. The goal is to go to bed with the Lord on your mind.]
1. Delight in the Word.
2. Read Psalm 32 or 51 and spend time in confession.
3. Read some Scripture about worship (E.g. Hebrews 12:18-29; Psalm 95-100).
4. For communion Sundays: read a Gospel account of the crucifixion; resolve interpersonal conflicts, seek forgiveness where needed (Matt. 5:23-24; 1 Cor. 11:23-34).
5. Read a chapter from a solid devotional-style book such as The Knowledge of the Holy (A.W. Tozer).
6. Devote yourself to prayer for tomorrow’s worship service and all participants: ushers and greeters, Scripture readers, musicians, choir, and songleader, preacher, nursery workers, Bible class teachers, visitors, unbelievers who may be present.
7. Bible teachers: pray for your students, other classes and fellow teachers.
8. Discipline your mind with song. Fill the house with worshipful music. Sing some hymns.
You know, the above suggestions can fit into the definition of fasting as you give up some things to remove the distractions. Just as we sing at Christmas, may our heart’s passion be, “O, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!” Looking forward to Sunday!!!
40 Days Goal of Prayer & Fasting: We want God to so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God!
(Hat tip to Paul Tautges for help with these ideas.)
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #12
Focus on Christ: Destination
Yesterday afternoon, my wife and I headed up the hill behind our house. The higher we went, the deeper the snow. The trek is further than you think. We kept on going because we had a destination in mind; we were going to enjoy sledding in the freshly fallen snow! Now, we could have sat in our warm home, for which we are sincerely thankful, and said, “Sure is pretty outside. Wish we could go sledding.” Or, we could do as we did. We put on our winter attire and headed out! We had a blast! What an adventure trudging through the snow, making a path, sledding down the icy hillside road and laughing all the way! You know why? Because we had a destination in mind and took the necessary action steps to accomplish it!
Jesus, too, had a destination, a purpose. Read His very own words in the following passages:
Matthew 17:22-23 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.”
Matthew 20:28 The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
John 6:48 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Jesus clearly knew His destination. He fully understood the reason for His incarnation. His purpose was as He said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His conly begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:14-17).
When it comes to your spiritual life, your relationship with Christ, where are you headed? What is your desired destination? What actions will you take to arrive at your destination? You can sit in your house and wish for spiritual growth or you can take some action steps to arrive at your destination. The wonderful truth is you have all the grace you need to accomplish what God has in store for you (2 Cor. 9:8; 2 Peter 1:3-11).
Prayerfully answer the following:
1. Where does God want you to be spiritually in five years? One year? Next month? Next week? Today? What is your destination?
2. What action steps does the Lord desire for you to take to arrive at your destination? For example, “by this time next month, I will have memorized Psalm 34.”
3. Remember, you must be intentional in your action steps. Write them down. Have someone hold you accountable. What will you do next?
40 Days Goal: We want God to so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God!
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #11
Focus on Christ: Commitment to Biblical Change
Yesterday, I was invited to attend a very profitable meeting at Summit Leadership in Johnson City, TN. Mike Jackson, a local Christian businessman, made a statement that I want to share with you. “When listening to a sermon or a presentation, instead of taking notes, write down commitments.” I want to ask you to do that today.
1. Make sure you are in a place where you can listen to Jesus talk to you through His Word. Remove the distractions.
2. Read John 15:1-27 and record in your journal, not so much notes from the chapter, but commitments that lead to biblical change in your life today. Again, as the Word/Jesus reads you as you read it, what changes and plans of action need to be written in your journal?
Goal of 40 Days: Our goal, our heartbeat, our motivation, our joy for these 40 days is that God would so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God!
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #10
Focus on Christ: Full of Grace & Truth
Last evening, we finished the four-session, Marriage Matters, small group study at our home. These are always special times of growth and change. The Word is always profitable (2 Timothy 3:16). All four lessons this time dwelt with the subject of communication, and in particular, the final lesson drew our attention to the great need and supply of grace.
How marvelous is the message of John 1:14, 16, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. You see, when you received Christ as your Lord and Savior, He Who is full of grace and truth comes to dwell with you. And as you learn of Christ, talk with Christ, meditate on Christ, and imitate Christ (Matt. 11:28-30; 1 Cor. 11:1; 2 Cor. 3:18), you find that for every situation of life, there is grace upon grace upon grace upon grace upon grace. It flows like a river that never runs dry. There is no “fuel gauge” on grace. The more you behold your Savior, the more you understand, appropriate and appreciate that Christ is full of grace and truth and pours out upon us grace upon grace. Colossians 2:9 tells us that all that God is, is in Christ, and therefore, all that is in Christ is in us! When you have Christ, you have all you need (2 Peter 1:3-4).
Today’s Passages: Romans 5:17, 20; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 12:9; Ephesians 4:7; Hebrews 4:16
1. What does each of these scripture passages teach us about Christ and His grace?
2. What area or situation of your life do you need grace upon grace from Christ (John 1:16)?
3. Whatever the Lord reveals to you in reference to question #2, what “grace passage” listed above applies to your need?
4. Remember, our goal, our heartbeat, our motivation, our joy for these 40 days is that God would so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God! This will take grace . . . and there is sufficient grace; grace upon grace. Turn whatever you need to over to Christ.
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #9
FOCUS ON CHRIST
Yesterday morning, my wife sent me a Voxer message. “Dale, you have two typos in your blog post for today.” And then she proceeded to tell me where they were located in the body of the text. Without any further thought, I immediately got up from my reading and went to my computer. Those typos had to be corrected.
As I pondered my actions later on, I was reminded of something very important. When I read God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit points out a “typo,” a sin in my life, do I respond as quickly to change it? You see, to be honest, I did not want you to read my blog post and see any errors (not that these posts are perfect by any means). I was concerned what you would think. I wanted it to be right. “I’ve got to fix this right now!”
Wow! Sadly for many, we are more concerned about what man thinks of us than what God knows of us. Today, as the Word of God reads you, and the Holy Spirit sheds light on your darkness, your heart, will you respond quickly to put off the old and put on the new? How long will it take?
Today’s Passage: Ephesians 4
Complete the Following:
1. Read Ephesians 4 slowly, prayerfully, and listen as Christ talks to you from verse 1 to the end of the chapter. Do not be in a hurry. Read a phrase or two, stop, listen. What is Christ saying to you? Be sure to record it in your journal.
2. As “Christ reads you” as you read His Word, what “typos” has He revealed to you? Use 1 John 1:9 right now and confess and forsake (Proverbs 28:13).
3. Remember, our goal, our heartbeat, our motivation, our joy for these 40 days is that God would so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God!
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #8
Focus on Christ
Let’s begin today with a reminder of the goal of the 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting. Our goal, our heartbeat, our motivation, our joy for these 40 days is that God would so revive and change us that we would both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God! Why did we gather at the altar and choir loft last night to pray for lost souls? That’s what the people of God do for the glory of God (Luke 19:10; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:1; Colossians 4:2-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-6). When your heart is revived, you love what God loves.
We need to be growing and changing as disciples of Christ. As we change, God wants to use us to be a catalyst for change using the resources God has given us. If that is to happen, we must be people with a burden who pray; who are advancing, not retreating; who have a purposeful plan and the courage to match it! We must be intentional! We must get uncomfortable! We must take risks. We must be revived! We must, we must, we must!!!!
So, this morning, my challenge to you to read Acts 4:1-31, and answer the following:
1. What testimony did Peter and John have before the Sanhedrin (4:13)?
2. How did “being with Jesus” cause Peter and John to be a catalyst for change as seen in this chapter? List them.
3. What affect has “being with Jesus” this morning had upon you? How can He use you today to be a catalyst for change for the gospel and God’s glory?
WE NEED REVIVAL!!!
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #7
Sunday Worship: Are You Ready to Meet With God?
This is the Lord’s Day, and Hebrews 10:24-25 and 12:16-29 gives us good guidance for the day. God considers corporate worship a most important part of your personal relationship with Him and others. Therefore, we need to be prepared to all for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31). Here’s some tips as you prepare for this great day!
1. Get up! Don’t be lazy this morning! This is the best day of the week!
2. Read and listen to that which will feed your soul. Leave the newspaper and social media until after the service. Listen to sermons and music that stirs your heart and lifts you to see the Lord!
3. Read back over your journal entries from this past week and be reminded of how God revealed Himself to you and praise Him for His wonderful ways and works.
4. Read a worship psalm (Psalms 95-100) and pray one of those psalms back to God in personal worship.
5. Pray for your family, your SS teachers, nursery workers, pastor, deacons, ushers, greeters, choir members, nursery workers, etc. Most of all, pray that the gospel will be proclaimed by life and lip!
6. Sing with your family on the way to church; go over memory passages; listen to soul-stirring music.
7. Arrive at least 15-30 minutes early so your heart and mind are ready to serve and listen.
Remember our goal for 40 Days: We want God to so revive and change us that we both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God!
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting: Day #6
Focus on God: Action
As you have gazed upon the beauty of God this week, and remembered His grandeur and greatness, and have spoken to yourself and others about Who God is, what affect has that revelation and knowledge had on your daily actions? For instance, none of us should have a problem with low self-esteem when you know you are eternally connected to the God you read about in Isaiah 40 and Psalm 103!!! You need not live in fear when you know you are a forever child of the God displayed in Psalm 27!!! Because of Who God is, and his revelation of Himself to you every day, we should live with purpose, act with purpose, and be daily revived!!
If we are to be revived and changed so that we have the courage, conviction and clarity to step forward and to both pray and act as the people of God for the glory of God, we must act with purpose.
Complete the Following:
1. A good example of daily actions with purpose motivated by Who God is can be seen in the well-known account of David and Goliath. Today, read 1 Samuel 17:17-54.
2. Take note of the actions and words of David based solely upon what He knew to be true about His God. List them in your journal.
3. Who or what do you base your actions upon? Are your actions today a reflection of your time gazing and remembering Who God is?
Pray: Use 1 Samuel 17 as a prayer guide to praise God for Who He is, as a prayer guide for your fellowship with Him and as a prayer guide for your petitions.
Meditate: Put into a sentence what God has revealed to you about Himself that you can meditate on today.
Note: Posting on Saturdays and Sundays for the 40 days
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