Quicken Me, O Lord

Have you ever felt so parched and weary that you could literally feel the life draining out of your body and soul? 

Overwhelmed with the black defeat of sorrow, grief, misery, anguish, despair, hopelessness, despondency or depression, you simply wanted to crawl under some rock and die.

The Psalmist felt this way. His soul was so troubled that he begged the Lord to quicken him, to revive him, to bring him back to life (Psalm 143:11). He lifted up his soul to God and pleaded for revival (Psalm 119:149).

Being dead in trespasses and sin, we were quickened and brought back to life by the Spirit of God at the instant of our heart-felt repentance (Colossians 2:13). We passed from everlasting damnation to eternal life (1 John 2:25; John 3:16-18).

If we continue to live according to the dictates of our fleshly, carnal, human desires, our body and soul will die a little more each day; but if we take up our cross daily and crucify the sinful cravings of our flesh, the Lord will quicken us and we shall live (Romans 8:11-13).

The Word of God is living, powerful and extremely sharp. It is able to divide the carnal desires of our soul from the divine aspirations of our spirit (Hebrews 4:12-13). As we refresh our spirit in His Word, we come to know God and Jesus, whom He sent (John 17:3).

Rather than dying under a rock, we hide in the cleft of the Rock of Christ, our source of living water (Psalm 78:15). We see the joy in everything and we never thirst again (James 1:2-8; 1 Corinthians 10:4; John 4:14).

Regardless of our circumstances, we are saved from the troubling world in which we live. We count our blessings rather than ruminate over our sorrows.

We live in inexpressible joy, which if full of the glory of God (1 Peter 1:7-9). We experience the magnitude of His love and we are filled to the brim with His eternal presence (Ephesians 6:19).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us the secret to a happy life: one focused on You and Your blessings rather than on the depressing circumstances we are facing (John 16:33). Remind us to thank You even in the bad times, through our faith which is strengthened by Your constant provision in every area of our life; for when we do, we experience far less devastation from our trials.

Revive us by Your Spirit in our spirit, soul and body and enable us to strengthen others with the same comfort You give to us (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). When we mourn, You lift us to safety (Job 5:11). We do not fear, because You lift us up in Your right hand (Isaiah 41:10). Oh God of hope, fill us with Your joy and optimism, through the power of Your Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Thought for the Day:

Wait on the Lord, and He will strengthen your heart as you hope in Him alone. - Psalm 27:13-14

​A New Creation – Part 1

As a child, I felt insecure and fearful about tomorrow. I desperately attempted to control my life in order to feel as safe as is humanly possible. I did not want to leave anything to chance, because it usually turned out badly. I focused inwardly and took care of my own business.

Introverted and analytical, I lived a very cautious life with intense self-discipline and attention to details, so I would not cause anyone to get upset with me. I disliked change of any kind and I reacted in anger when my security was threatened in any way.

My favorite activity was to sit in our giant China-berry tree in our back yard, engrossed in a book until sunset. I also enjoyed crafts of all kinds. My mom and grandmother taught me to do needlework, and I learned to do many other crafts from the instructions in library books.

Throughout childhood, I was way too sensitive, felt too deeply and cared too much. I had no real friends except my cousins and my Girl Scout troop. I had no dreams or aspirations, except making it through the day in relative peace and calm. These traits followed me all through high school.

In adulthood, my loyalty to God, friends and family served me well as a Born Again Believer. I do not need many friends, but I am merciful, caring and loyal to all of my acquaintances. I am still easily embarrassed and shy. I feel overwhelmed in a group and I prefer talking to people one-on-one.

However, God impressed on me the importance of stepping out of my shy persona and allowing His Spirit to minister to people through me. Ironically, He called me to serve Him as a greeter in social gatherings, and as a Pastor’s wife, living in the limelight under microscopic scrutiny.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for using these years of my life to transform me with the mind of Christ. My penchant for perfectionism made me, and everyone around me, tense and uptight, until You mercifully delivered me from that demonic plague. You taught me that doing my best was all that anyone could ever expect from me. Then, You took it one step further and encouraged me to walk in Your Spirit as You transform my life into a new creation.

Thought for the Day:

In Christ, our old personality is dead and we no longer live for our self, because the Spirit of God abides within us and we are buried in Christ and raised to walk in a new life. – 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4

In the Presence of Our Master

God is a kind and gentle Master who loves us enough to take on the form of a human being and pay the penalty of our sins. He blesses our family, our place of employment and our church for our sake. He bestows favor on our soul and gives us peace and joy as He showers us with His love and care. He always returns to us, in abundance, anything we surrender to His safe keeping.

God is willing to bestow all of His blessings on the totally surrendered soul. He even orchestrates the negative aspects in our life to bring us advantages, which we would never have without going through these inconvenient circumstances. With our life in God’s capable hands, we have no need for even an ounce of anxiety about any part of our life. Every trial brings us a blessing.

As we trust God for everything we need, He will give us peaceful rest and multiple advantages. We will live in contentment and fulfillment because we will lack for no good thing; and we will have an abundance of physical, financial, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits (Psalm 103:2). God will even provide more than we need, so that we can bless others.

We start each day in the presence of our Master and we serve Him in the areas, which He provides for us each moment of the day. We give Jesus total possession of our life, including our thoughts, attitudes and emotions. We relinquish every negative aspect to Him and we accept the fruit of His Spirit in their place. God will use us in proportion to what we surrender to Him each day.

Prayer:

Father God, with each new day we put our family, home, job, friends, church, vehicle, possessions and aspirations in Your capable hands. We know that You have our best interest in Your heart and that You will work out everything for our benefit (Romans 8:28). There is a seed for a miracle in the midst of every trial and tribulation. We look forward to seeing You reveal Your handiwork on our behalf.

Thought for the Day:

By walking in His Spirit each moment of the day, we stop attempting to rely on self-effort and self-confidence to meet our needs, and we rely totally on God instead. – Romans 5:15-25

In Times of Trouble

 

In this life full of trials and tribulation, we often adopt an angry attitude and walk around with a huge chip on our shoulder. We had noble and worthy expectations coming out of high school; plans and dreams and aspirations of health, wealth and success. How dare life stand in our way? We often blame God for our failures, never realizing the magnitude of blessings He actually, already provided for us. 

We struggle on, hoping that tomorrow will be different; that we get our bonus, raise or promotion soon. We pray for a baby; and when God answers, we wish He’d take it back – sleepless nights and a mountain of dirty diapers were not in our original bargain. Humans are never satisfied, always upset and rarely ever happy. We take out our disappointment on those we love, expecting them to forgive us.

God’s antidote for this poisonous existence is for us to search for Him and His strength, to seek Him in every area of our life (1 Chronicles 16:11). He allows us to struggle and to attempt to succeed on our own. However, He patiently waits for us to call out to Him in our times of trouble. He is anticipating that we will need Him to rescue us. When He comes, we are filled with praise and we give Him all the glory (Psalm 50:15).

There are so many people in other countries that are not reaping the blessings provided for them, which our ancestors guaranteed for us in America (Exodus 20:6). If you think that your life is poor and miserable, take a trip to a third world country. I guarantee that you will return with the high praises of God on your lips. Remember, in the times of blessings in your life, that many people need your help in theirs.

Prayer:

Father God, You reign forever. You established Your throne and You judge the world by Your righteous standards. You govern us with justice and mercy and provide for all of our needs. You are a refuge for the abused and neglected. You are a fortress and you protect us in our times of trouble. Anyone who knows You will put their trust in You, because You have never, ever, not one single time, by no means at all, forsaken those who seek Your will for their life (Psalm 9:7-10).

Thought for the Day:

The Bible has the answers for us, if we only take the time to ferret them out.

Every Thought Captive

We live in this world in our body with all of its carnal appetites; however, our true battle is not in our body. The battle is not earthly or human, but spiritual. The divine power of Christ in us is capable of destroying every fortress, which Satan builds in our soul with his lies. God’s Spirit in us is capable of destroying every assumption and haughty thought, which tries to replace our knowledge of God’s Truth (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

This only happens when we take every thought captive and force it into obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We cannot overcome Satan’s stranglehold in our mind with our carnal resources. His strongholds are catalogued in our subconscious mind through our lifetime of experiences (www.theophostic.com). Our thoughts control what we say and how we act. We need the divine power of Christ in us to set us free.

Do we speak unholy words and do carnal deeds, or is our behavior Christ-like and holy? Do we feel negative emotions fueled by the disappointments and discouragement in our life, or do we feel positive emotions emerging from the mind of Christ within us? Do we pursue God’s will for our life, or are we immersed in our own goals and aspirations?

Do we insist on our own way, treat God like a magic genie and retain the control over our life? God encourages us to ask for what we need (John 15:7), but only as His Words abide in us and we walk in His will. We are the servants, and Jesus is our Lord. We have no rights and privileges other than what He grants to us. He is the potter, and we are the clay (Isaiah 45:9).

As we center our thoughts on Him and His will, we start to think only about what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). God is the beginning and the end of our existence (Hebrews 12:2). We rejoice in Him, as He makes us complete in Him. We are comforted by His presence and we live in peace in His everlasting arms (2 Corinthians 13:11). 

Prayer:

Father God, You keep us in perfect peace as we focus our mind on You (Isaiah 26:3). Through Your power, You produce in us every good thought, word and deed, which pleases You. We trust in You implicitly, and we look to You for all of our needs. We give you all the glory both now and forever (Hebrews 13:21).

Thought for the Day:

God equips us with everything we need to do His will.

- Hebrews 13:21

Our Calling in Christ

The Jews and Romans put Jesus’ body to death, but God brought Him to life again by His Spirit. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, once and for all generations. The perfect and righteous One died for the unrighteous. Jesus makes us acceptable, so that we can approach God with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). In Christ our humanity is dead and hidden with Christ in God.


Jesus is now in heaven and is at the right hand of our Father. The angels, authorities and powers both in heaven and on earth are all subject to Him both now and in eternity (1 Peter 3:18, 22).  Christ is our only life, and when He appears, we will appear with Him in His Glory (Colossians 3:1-4). We are raised in new life with Christ, so that we can seek eternal and infinite pursuits.


God wants us to relinquish any aspirations to be conformed to the pattern of this world. He invites us to be transformed into Christ, by the renewing of our mind, so that we can prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). We set our mind on timeless aspects rather than on the finite issues of life on this earth. We live our life to share the gospel with everyone who will listen.


God enlightens the eyes of our heart, for us to comprehend the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance for His Saints and the incomparable greatness of His power toward all of us who believe in Him (Ephesians 1:17-19). The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give us His spirit of wisdom. He also gives us the revelation of and the full knowledge of Himself.


Now we can share this discovery with the world around us. God calls us to walk in the Spirit on the narrow road of salvation, and to influence for Him the generations, which walk on the wide road leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). He calls us to use our relationships to point people to Jesus and away from sin’s harm. Let us dedicate our life to His service until our dying breath.


Prayer:
Lord Jesus, we take our refuge in You. You keep us from shame and You deliver and rescue us from our oppressors. You turn You ear to our cries and You save us. You are our rock of refuge to which we can always go in our time of need. Your commandments save us from reaping destruction in this life. You are our Rock and Fortress forever (Psalm 71:1-3). We will arise to serve You, both now and throughout eternity.


Thought for the Day:
We are forever redeemed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light in Christ Jesus. - 1 Peter 1: 18-19