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

Standing Firm in Our LIberty

 

The Liberty, which comes from Christ, sets us free from the penalty of sin, the power of sin and the presence of sin in our life (Galatians 5:1; Romans 6:14). We are truly free from ties to this earthly realm and given the power of the godhead in the spiritual realm (John 8:36).

We stand firm in our liberty through the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and no longer allow the law of the spirit of sin and death to rob us our place of right-standing with God (Romans 8:2).

The truth of God's Word continues to set us free from bondage to sin and makes us bond servants to the righteousness of Christ in us (John 6:18, 8:32). We reap the rewards of holiness and inherit eternal life (Romans 6:22).

We belong to the body of Christ, raised from the dead to bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4). His Spirit even gives us life in our mortal body (Romans 8:11) and heals our soul - our mind, will and emotions (Psalm 23:3).

Since this life is only temporary, and what is unseen is eternal, we focus on the unseen spiritual world, regardless of what occurs around us on this earth (2 Corinthians 4:18).

In this world we have tribulation and experience many negative events full of suffering; yet, the Lord delivers us out of them all (John 16:33; Psalm 34:19). He turns our sorrow into gladness and we dance before Him in joy (Psalm 30:11).

God gives us His eternal wisdom, which is pure, peaceful, gentle, reasonable, without hypocrisy, full of mercy and produces good fruit. We sow this seed of righteousness in peace and reap peace in return (James 3:17-18).

We walk in God's love, which frees us from the condemnation of sin and gives us hope for an eternal future (Romans 8:1). We stop focusing on this world and the content of our life here and now. We dwell in the Spirit and interpret life through the Spirit (Galatians 5:15-25).

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that through Your wisdom and love we assist Your Body, meeting the needs of each member through serving in ministries in our local church family. We also reach out into our community; making a larger impact on our world by changing lives one at a time. As we serve those considered least in our world, we actually serve You (Matthew 25:31-46).

Remind us to maintain an eternal focus and not to pursue worldly gain during our lifetime, but to store up our treasures in heaven by walking in Your will for our life through each moment of our day (Matthew 6:19-21). We love You with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind and thank You for setting us free in the liberty, which only Christ can give (Luke 10:27).

Thought for the Day:

Through the perfect law of liberty, we serve God and the world around us by the direction of God's Holy Spirit and in the perfect will of God for our life. 

- James 1:25; Galatians 5:13; 2 Corinthians 3:17 

Many thanks to Matt Milligan for sharing his photo.