Some of the biggest achievements of your life will come from helping others achieve. Unknown
 |
SUFFERING CAN MAKE OUR LIVES MORE HOLY
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 
Hebrews 12:10
Christmas is a time of peace and joy for those who are fortunate enough to celebrate the birth of their Saviour in freedom. For Marko and his two fellow believers it was the fifteenth Christmas that they had to celebrate behind the bars of a prison cell in a Muslim country.
The next day some colleagues felt they had to visit Marko and his friends as an encouragement and confirm to them once again the love of Immanuel—God with us.
Even though they often heard the saying that a prison cell in the Middle East is the closest to hell that you will experience on earth, nothing prepared them for the sense of hopelessness that they experienced in that waiting room of despair.
As the prisoners entered, it was not difficult to recognize Marko and his two friends. Beaming eyes and smiling faces immediately assured them Marko and friends knew they had not been separated from the love of God.
Tears flowed freely as they shared how lonely they were on Christmas day and how joyful they were to know that they were not forgotten.
“It was so difficult yesterday.” Marko spoke softly. “Apart from being Christian prisoners in a Muslim prison, it was also a fast day of Ramadan. We were not allowed out of our cells and we were not allowed to talk to anyone. Fortunately, a week ago the three of us got hold of pieces of a cake and we hid them underneath our cushions especially for Christmas day. Yesterday, when the fast was broken, we simply walked to one another, held the slices of cake together and said “Merry Christmas!”
The visiting hour flew past and soon it was time to say goodbye. Before being marched back to his prison cell, we looked at Marko and asked him a final question. “What are you going to do when you get to your cell and are once again all alone?
Marko smiled and answered, “I will simply spread the wings of my spirit and fly to Jesus.”
RESPONSE: Today I will seek to understand the biblical principle that suffering makes our lives more holy.
PRAYER: Lord, help me, like Marko, to keep my eyes fixed on You regardless of my circumstances.
How to Ask and Receive
By DaySpring
Thanksgiving found me feeling not so thankful. I didn’t have plans to spend the day anywhere, and then I got sick. I spent an entire week in bed. I was miserable. Sick and alone was never what I hoped for. Yet there I was.
For the most part, I actually love being single. But one thing I loathe about single life is making every decision and taking care of myself. When I get sick, it’s just me.
Lying in bed, I rehearsed all the standards lies: I’m alone. I’m unloved. I’m unseen. I allowed the voice of the enemy to grow louder than the voice of God.
Though I would’ve normally kept all my pain and struggle to myself, the Lord prompted me to share about how I was doing with my church and to ask for prayer. Multiple texts and phone calls began to come in to check on me. One friend brought me a Thanksgiving meal. Another brought me homemade chicken noodle soup. I was blown away by the love of God through their care for me.
Reaching out for help isn’t easy, but it’s always worth it. As I received the help from my church family that I needed, I realized how focused I had become on myself and my loneliness. I’d become fixated on lies and unmet expectations, wallowing in them. And without the Lord’s nudging, I probably would’ve continued struggling alone, relying on my own strength instead of on God and others.
But God revealed to me that this was pride and not faith. I falsely believed I had to do it all myself, that I couldn’t depend on anyone. I didn’t even expect Him to provide for me.
I experienced God’s grace that Thanksgiving and learned again how much I need to trust Him, abide in Him, and commune with Him and the body of Christ. I’m not alone in this, and neither are you. There is grace for us all when we humble ourselves, ask for what we need, open our hands, and receive.
Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone – especially to those in the family of faith. GALATIANS 6:10 NLT
Where are you finding God’s strength today?
This is an excerpt from 100 Days of Strength in Any Struggle from (in)courage – a devotional now available on DaySpring.com. Shop all books, journals, and devotions from DaySpring here.
Why Women Need Other Women
Maggie Yow
About a month ago, I was asked to speak at a Mother’s Day Breakfast at my local church. I knew that the audience would be very diverse — all women of all ages. This opportunity was an honor, but it was also a pretty big mountain that the Lord wanted me to climb. As I sorted through my thoughts for a message, one topic stuck out in my mind as being very relevant: women need other women.
In preparation, I got really close with two women in the Bible, Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. I believe their story lays a firm foundation for Christ-centered relationships with other women. It begins in Luke 1 but sends ripples throughout the New Testament and into our lives today.
In Luke 1:5-25, Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, is visited by the angel Gabriel who shares that Elizabeth will become pregnant in her old age. In Luke 1:26-38, this same angel then appears to Mary to share that she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit with the son of God. During Gabriel’s visit to Mary, he shares that her cousin Elizabeth is also pregnant with a child. From the very beginning of Mary’s knowledge that she was pregnant, she knew that God gave her someone who would understand. Luke 1:39-45 is where we find the height of their relationship. After Gabriel leaves Mary, it says that she hurried to Elizabeth’s house. Elizabeth then greeted her joyfully and welcomed Mary into her home where they would share three months of pregnancy together.
“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” – Luke 1:39-45
I believe that we can unpack three major truths from Mary and Elizabeth’s relationship that gives insight into what God desires for us as women:
1. God gives us women who understand.
C.S. Lewis once said, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: “What! You too?” I truly believe this to be the heart of what I have found within Delight Ministry. As we share our stories, we have all experienced those moments where we say “What! You too?” God gave Mary a friend to walk with through her pregnancy. It probably wasn’t the friend that she imagined, since Elizabeth was about forty years older than Mary and pregnant in her sixties. God works beyond our imagination. As we walk through the seasons of life, I encourage you to look to the women God has placed around you. Don’t limit the people in your life to your own expectations.
2. God gives us women to complement each other, not compete.
Scripture says that Elizabeth was so excited to see Mary. The baby actually leaped in her womb with joy. Elizabeth greeted Mary cheerfully and blessed her. Let’s think about this in reality — Elizabeth is six months pregnant as an older woman. Mary had no phone to call ahead and warn Elizabeth that she was also pregnant and on her way for an extended stay. Elizabeth could have easily reacted out of jealousy or inconvenience when she saw Mary. She could have depreciated her pregnancy with John the Baptist when she realized that Mary was pregnant with the Son of God. Comparison is the thief of joy. Elizabeth recognized that Mary’s ministry of raising Jesus did not minimize her ministry of raising his cousin. As women, our lives are going to look and grow differently. However, God did not intend for us to focus on competition with others when we are in similar places. We so often put up a “no trespassing” sign instead of a “welcome” sign. However, we are to complement each other in our efforts of Kingdom building. As women, we each have a God-given purpose that is aligned with God’s will.
3. God gives us women to leave a legacy of faith together.
Elizabeth and Mary raised John the Baptist and Jesus, which were both really big assignments as mothers. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” As we walk alongside each other, let us not forget that we are running our own race while also preparing for the next generation of Kingdom workers at the same time. Hebrews 12:1b says, “Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us.” Since I ran track in high school, I visualize this as a relay race. Imagine you are approaching the finish line and running hard with a steady rhythm. As you finish your race, you are to pass the baton off to the next woman in line. This may be a child, a family member, a friend, a mentee, or even a complete stranger. In a relay race, the most effective and efficient way to pass off a baton is for the second person to join in the same stride and rhythm of the runner. Therefore, when the baton is finally passed, there is no time lost in the transition. This is how I envision our ministries to be as women.
I pray that as we run this race, we embody the spirit of Mary and Elizabeth.
I pray that we look among other women to see that they are running the race as well, and they understand what we are going through.
I pray that we let others join our rhythm and our stride as complements and not competition.
I pray that we pass our batons off to the next generation in line.
For when we pass these batons in Christ-centered rhythms, we have nowhere to go but from glory to glory.
This article was written by Maggie Yow, former Delight Ministries leader.
Looking for more inspiration? Check out our Devotional Library and be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter to receive free articles, updates from our Ecard Studio as well as exclusive deals.
7 Sneaky Ways Satan Stops You from Praying
- Janet Thompson
- Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
We start our morning with good intentions to have our devotional or quiet time with the Lord, and then somehow, the day slips away before we ever get around to it. We promise ourselves we’ll make time to pray before bed, but then exhaustion or sleepiness overtakes us, and soon we’re sound asleep.
Satan doesn’t want us praying and listening to our Father in Heaven, so he will use his emissaries to intervene, interfere, or interrupt our conversations with the Lord. Really, prayer is just that, a simple conversation with God. Talking to Him about praises, requests, concerns, feelings, hopes, dreams… and then listening for His still small voice answering us through the Holy Spirit.
The more aware we become of Satan’s sneaky tactics to stop us from praying, the better prepared we’ll be to combat and conquer them. See if any of the following satanic ruses have happened to you, and consider trying some of the solutions offered to victory in praying with your Lord and Savior.
You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. Ps. 97:10 NLT
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/tommaso79
1. Distractions
Slide 1 of 8
A friend shared a quote from David Timms’ devotional Living the Lord’s Prayer that describes so well the nature of our spiritual lives today. He writes, “Spiritual ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) runs rampant among us. More and more of us seem unable to be still, to focus, to wait, or to listen . . . We hurry from appointment to phone call to email—or from school to shopping to sport—living distraction.”
We do live in an era of extreme and excessive distractions. We sit down to have a time of prayer, and the phone rings, or we hear notifications for social media, games, texts, emails, or messages. The next-door neighbor starts mowing the lawn. The dog needs letting out. The timer beeps that breakfast is ready, and before we know it, we engage with the seen more than the unseen. We can’t see God face-to-face like we see the objects of our distraction. So, our time with God succumbs to distractions because we can’t see the hurt on His face or the shrug of His shoulders when we take care of the visible and slight the invisible.
Often, good and necessary things distract our attention away from conversations with God, but our lives would be much less stressful and rushed if we didn’t yield to the tyranny of the urgent. Leave the phone in another room while praying. You can always answer a text later or return a phone call. Schedule prayer time on your calendar as a highlighted important appointment you can’t, and won’t, miss. It doesn’t always need to be in the morning, but it does always need to be daily.
It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. Heb. 11:27
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Tim Robberts
2. Your Mind Wanders
Slide 2 of 8
You start to pray, and you begin thinking about your to-do list or a news report you just heard or read. Maybe what you’re going to make for dinner or a grocery list pops into your mind. A project at work or a problem with a co-worker or neighbor. Satan is not omniscient; he can’t know what we’re thinking. But he does know how to put thoughts in our minds while we’re trying to keep our thoughts on omniscient God.
The good news is that we have the power within us to overcome the mind attacks of the enemy trying to invade our thoughts. One way is to write down your prayers in a prayer and praise journal. Writing keeps your mind engaged in actively recording your prayers. I like to put a line down the middle of the page with dated prayer requests on one side, and praises and answers to those prayers on the other side. Periodically, review your requests and note on the praise side how and when the Lord answered. This is an encouragement to keep praying because sometimes we forget we even prayed about things or, unfortunately, we forget to thank God and give Him the glory for His answers.
Also, keep a notepad nearby to jot down those to-dos or project ideas so you won’t forget them, and then continue praying.
Another way to keep your mind from wandering is to say your prayers aloud. Literally, have a conversation with God that doesn’t become one-sided. Stop at times and listen to what He might be saying back to you.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Rom. 8:5-6
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Maria Korneeva
3. Interruptions
Slide 3 of 8
If children in the house or other family members need your attention while you’re praying, it can be frustrating. Susanna Wesley was the mother of 19 children, ten of which lived beyond infancy including future Methodist pastors John and Charles Wesley. The story goes that when she was young, she promised the Lord she would match any hours spent in entertainment with hours of prayer. But with such a large family to manage, there was no time for entertainment so she then promised God to devote two hours to prayer daily. Susanna trained her children that when she sat in a chair with the Bible in her lap and put her apron up over her head, mommy was praying so don’t interrupt until she’s done, unless it’s a real emergency.
Helping family learn to respect and honor your prayer time is a fabulous way to demonstrate the sacredness of prayer. You can also encourage family members to pray with you, teaching children or grandchildren the value of praying at an early age.
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Pr. 22:6
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
4. Chaos and Noise
Slide 4 of 8
This sneaky way might be a hard one to overcome, too. I know it is for me because it involves the first of Satan’s sly ways we discussed: distractions. I’m easily distracted. I need silence when I’m writing or doing my devotionals. I must find a quiet place to pray. Some people refer to this as their prayer closet. For others, it means rising before the rest of the family or waiting until after they’ve all gone to bed to pray. If the weather is nice, you might go outside, but the key is to have a quiet place for you and the Lord to meet each day. Even “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16).
Turn off all electronics and allow yourself the blessing of uninterrupted time with your precious Lord and Savior. Some people like to play praise music while they pray, and that really infuriates Satan because he cannot be in the presence of worship, which is why most churches begin their service with a time of worship in song. It not only prepares our hearts for the pastor’s message but also clears Satan out of the sanctuary.
Another way to overcome this sneaky, noisy attempt of Satan to invade our prayers is to pray about everything in the moment. We long for a concentrated, quiet time of prayer with God, and we should have those extended prayer conversations, but we can also pray in the midst of the noise and chaos. I once heard a pastor suggest that we send up two-minute prayers to God throughout our day. While we’re eating breakfast, getting ready for work, showering, driving, cooking, working, cleaning the house, working in the yard, doing laundry, exercising… offer short prayers and praises to God continuously throughout our day.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess. 5:16-18
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/FG Trade Latin
5. Doubt
Slide 5 of 8
Doubt is the antithesis of faith and is a favorite tool of Satan. Starting in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent asked Eve that famous question that caused her to doubt God’s goodness, “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1), Satan has used doubt to come between God and His people ever since. But a powerful truth is that if we grow our faith, our doubts will wither.
When it comes to our prayers, Satan will twist some truths to plant doubts in our minds, but God’s Word always counters Satan’s lies.
When Satan questions: How do you know God’s listening or will answer?
Now this is the confidence that we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15
Satan: You don’t know how to pray.
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. Rom. 8:26
Satan: God already knows what you need so why bother to pray about it? If He wants to give it to you, He will in His own time. He can read your mind.
In Matthew 6:7-8 Jesus assures us, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
Then Jesus gave us The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 instructing exactly how to pray. When in doubt, follow this format.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Ridofranz
6. Guilt
Slide 6 of 8
A favorite ploy of Satan is to fill our hearts and minds with guilt over our past sins, decisions, or maybe even current events in our lives. As Christians, we know God doesn’t use guilt to motivate us. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, ask for forgiveness, and repent from our sins, God wipes our sin-slate clean (1 John 1:9, Is. 1:18). But Satan likes to remind us how bad we once were. Prayer is the perfect weapon to cast both Satan and the guilt out of our minds and hearts, especially when he whispers in our ears some of these taunts.
Satan: You are weak, and your sins make you unworthy to pray.
Our response: It’s true there is no one righteous or worthy, but praise God, there is grace. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Rom. 3:23-24 NLT
If we’ve sinned recently, we confess our sins to God in prayer. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Satan: Why would God listen to you?
Like Nehemiah, we pray earnestly: “O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you.” (1:11 NLT)
Like David, we praise God for He answers all our prayers.
What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
for you to answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you.
Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
you forgive them all. Ps. 65:1-3 NLT
Satan: You don’t have enough faith for Go
“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” Matt. 17:20 NLTd to pay attention to you?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
7. Exhaustion or Laziness
Slide 7 of 8
There’s a difference between exhaustion and laziness. Sometimes we fall asleep while praying, and that’s okay because we’re tired. God understands our need for rest and refreshment. If this happens often, it could be Satan trying to block your prayers, so don’t pray lying down and start earlier in the evening or as soon as you wake up in the morning.
Laziness and a nonchalant attitude about praying is definitely a work of the enemy to keep you from using one of the most powerful weapons Christians have against Satan: prayer. God says the gate into heaven is narrow. Few understand the significance of that statement. He also says that the weeds of the world will overtake the gospel seed planted in some hearts. Don’t let that be you! You want to have hearts of flourishing gospel seed. Prayer is like water and fertilizer to the maturing of your faith.
Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Mark 4:8-9 NLT
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Ridofranz
Join a Prayer Group or Have a Prayer Partner
Slide 8 of 8
God hears the prayers of each person, but if you find yourself struggling in your prayer life, consider asking a friend or relative to be a prayer partner with you. Set aside specific times where you can be together to pray either in person, on the phone, facetime, or even zoom. I recently joined a Monday morning MyFaithVotes Zoom prayer hour where we come together from all over the nation to pray for the nation. What a powerful way to start the week.
Maybe God is calling you to start a prayer group at your church or neighborhood where you meet and share your prayer requests and praises. Our church is small enough that we actually have a time of corporate prayer and praise during the service, and we receive prayer lists to pray for each other during the week. There’s also a time of prayer on Thursday afternoons, and everyone is welcome to join. We begin our Couple’s Bible Study group with a time of praying over requests and praises.
Start your prayer time with a prayer something like this: In Your Name, Lord Jesus, I claim protection against any distractions, thoughts or emotions, interruptions, chaos or noise, doubt, guilt, laziness, or exhaustion inserted in my life by Satan. I seal off any opportunity for them to influence or affect any part of me or my prayer time. I declare myself spirit, mind, emotions, body, and will, totally open to your voice and totally available to do your will alone.
Kylie Jean Tannehill reminds us, “The devil isn’t creative; he’s just strategic. You don’t have to fall for his tactics; they’re old as time. We already have the game plan for the tactics of the enemy; it’s time to recognize the authority we carry in Jesus!”
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the Lord answer all your prayers. Ps. 20:5 NLT
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Khanchit Khirisutchalual
Janet Thompson is an international speaker, freelance editor, and award-winning author of 20 books. Her passion is to mentor other women in sharing their life experiences and God’s faithfulness. Janet’s new release is Everyday Brave: Living Courageously As a Woman of Faith available at Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes and Noble, and signed at author’s website. She is also the author of Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness; Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten; Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby?; Dear God They Say It’s Cancer; Dear God, He’s Home!; Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter; Face-to-Face Bible study Series; and Woman to Woman Mentoring: How to Start, Grow, & Maintain a Mentoring Ministry Resources. Janet is the founder of Woman to Woman Mentoring and About His Work Ministries. Visit Janet and sign up for her weekly blog and free online newsletter at womantowomanmentoring.com. Join Janet on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.
Unshakeable – Easter Devotional
Unshakeable
by Skip Heitzig
Did you ever wonder about that stone at the tomb of Jesus? Why was it moved? It wasn’t to let Jesus out; Jesus could get out of the tomb as easily as He entered the Upper Room later, without using the door. No, the reason the stone was rolled away was not to let Jesus out, but to let the disciples in so they could see!
And what did they see there? They saw that the body of Jesus was gone, but the grave clothes were still there, lying undisturbed. In John 20:1-8 there are different Greek words used for “saw.” When it says Mary and Peter saw, it means they noted. When it says that John saw, it means that he saw with understanding, with comprehension.
Peter entered the tomb. “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed” (John 20:8). When John saw the grave clothes, he thought, “I get it!” He believed that Jesus was alive, based on what he saw.
Then John adds something that seems puzzling at first. Verse 9 says, “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.” They saw an empty tomb and empty grave clothes, and they formed their beliefs based on that. They knew what they saw.
But by the time John wrote his gospel, they knew the theology of Christ’s resurrection. Their faith, once based on physical evidence—the open tomb, the body gone, the clothes intact (as good as that was to convince John at that moment)—wasn’t enough to sustain a person through life. “This is what we saw, but we didn’t know the scripture yet” points to the fact that there’s something even better to base your belief and knowledge upon, and that’s the objective, inerrant prophecy in the Word of God.
Observation and personal experience aren’t enough! The Bible predicted that Christ would rise from the dead. What Peter called “a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV) is a more sure foundation.
So how do you know that you know? You could say, “I know because I saw or I heard.” But here’s something better: “What I saw and what I heard was predicted long ago in the prophets.” So now the subjective experience is bolstered by the objective prophecy of the Bible—and that’s unshakeable.
That’s what I want you to see here—the fundamental importance of the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
The experience which we have with Christ is valid only as it is tied to something that is outside of our experience, something that is objective—the inerrant Word of God. With that, we can face anything.
If you just have the inerrant Word of Scripture but you don’t have an experience with God yourself, then it’s not personal. If you have your personal experience but it doesn’t match what the scripture says, then it’s not reasonable. Put them both together, it’s powerful. It’s unshakeable.
That’s my prayer for you at this Easter season, that you will have an unshakeable faith, based on the sure word of prophecy and a personal, vital relationship with Jesus Christ, the risen Redeemer!
For more from Skip Heitzig, visit ConnectwithSkip.com, and listen to today’s broadcast of Connect with Skip Heitzig at OnePlace.com.
CrossCads
A Morning Prayer to Count Your Blessings – Your Daily Prayer
A Morning Prayer to Count Your Blessings
By Alicia Searl
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8
If I were to be honest with you, I am not a morning person. In fact, I stay up way too late, which totally affects my morning routine. I startle out of bed, usually rushing around getting kiddos ready for school, packing lunches, and then jumping into the car only to zoom off to this school or that school. Yep, I am the mom with three kiddos and three campuses, making my mornings a bit hectic.
I know I need to prep the night before and go to bed earlier, but the evenings are the only time I get to be fully present with my hubby. Not to mention an actual quiet moment to sit and just relax. So, it’s time worth savoring. Yet, I guess it’s also worth mentioning that having two teens has made evenings more difficult as those “peaceful” and relaxing moments have gotten pushed back later and later. Meaning that my bedtime gets pushed back…later and later. Hence the reason for the hectic mornings, and evenings.
Yet, somehow, after the hustle and bustle of my usual morning routine, and after I drop off that last kiddo at school, it’s as if God always has a way of quieting my heart. Sometimes I will have praise and worship music on, or it will be so quiet in my car that it is a welcome reprieve and practically prompts me to get still and notice … that no matter how crazy this season of life is, there is always room to count the many blessings God has so graciously provided.
So, here is my question to you…Do you have space in your morning to count your blessings? Oh friend, it’s so easy to get caught up in our daily lives and busy schedules that the morning flies by without even a notion or head nod to our Almighty God. Sadly, I can relate. I may jump out of bed and say a quick “Morning, God!” but He rarely gets my full attention and heart.
That said, I invite you to join me in taking a pause in your morning, even if it is after all the kiddos are in school (or you have to hide in your closet), so you can truly honor God for all His goodness and faithfulness. Because the truth of the matter is that when we give thanks to God in the morning, it sets the tone for our day and gives way for us to praise Him throughout it.
Let’s pray:
Gracious Father, I thank you for another day. You are such a good and merciful God who meets me wherever I am in this journey of life and brings forth so much richness and goodness that I want to give You my full heart of gratitude. I want to thank You for each and every aspect of my life. I want to thank You for everything!
O God, there are countless reasons to be thankful to You today. I start with Your unwavering love and unfailing grace. I thank You for Your precious Son, Jesus, and what His life means for me and my salvation. Thank You, Jesus, for Your gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of me, as it brings forth so much comfort and a way to seek truth when the world is loud. Thank You for leading and guiding me and extending forgiveness when I fail to recognize You and Your amazing love.
My heart explodes with thankfulness for the precious relationships You have placed in my life. I thank You for my spouse and children. I am thankful for my family and friends. You have been so kind and gracious in providing fellowship and a community of believers to grow with spiritually.
I am thankful for Your provision and protection and the peace that it brings. You continually show Your compassion and love for me and my family. You offer hope and healing through Your presence and Word. Thank You for granting me a safe place to reside and seek refuge.
Lord, I am overwhelmed by Your generosity and the way You are moving in my life; may I see it all as joy. You are such a good Father, and as I count my many blessings, I hope to live a life that honors You. Thank You – for everything in my life! Amen.
Photo credit: Unsplash/Hannah Olinger
Alicia Searl is a devotional author, blogger, and speaker that is passionate about pouring out her heart and pointing ladies of all ages back to Jesus. She has an education background and master’s in literacy. Her favorite people call her Mom, which is why much of her time is spent cheering them on at a softball game or dance class. She is married to her heartthrob (a tall, spiky-haired blond) who can whip up a mean latte. She sips that goodness while writing her heart on a page while her puppy licks her feet. Visit her website at aliciasearl.com and connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
Teach Us to Pray is a FREE prayer podcast hosted by iBelieve writer Christina Patterson. Each week, she gives you practical, real-life tips on how to grow your faith and relationship with God through the power of prayer. To listen to her episode on What to Pray in the Morning for a Worry-Free Day, click below!
Now that you’ve prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below!
Visit iBelieve.com for more inspiring prayer content.
7 Undeniable Qualities of a Peacemaker
Meredith N Mills
Author
How can Christians promote peace in a world filled with conflict? What qualities characterize those who work for harmony and reconciliation?
The theme of peace weaves through Scripture like a golden thread. Jesus left his disciples with the promise of peace (John 14:27). Ephesians describes the good news of our faith as “the gospel of peace” (6:15) and God calls Christians to “live in peace” (2 Corinthians 13:11).
But what is this peace the Bible describes? Is it the absence of hardship or avoidance of conflict? Can everyday Christians experience it, or is it reserved for a few “super saints?”
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/sakepaint
What Is Biblical Peace?
God’s concept of peace far exceeds pleasant life circumstances. The Engedi Resource Center explains, “We tend to understand it as the absence of war or as calmness of spirit. But along with these ideas, the Hebrew word shalom also carries a greater connotation of well-being, health, safety, prosperity, wholeness, and completeness.”
Like a puzzle with all its pieces in place, shalom means things line up with their intended design. A peacemaker, then, is someone who works to restore what is broken or incomplete — especially in the context of relationships.
Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker. Isaiah prophesied of the coming Messiah as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and Ephesians 2:14 tells us Jesus is our peace. His life, death, and resurrection made reconciliation with the Father possible for all who come to him in faith (Romans 5:10). Engedi clarifies, “This is the Hebraic understanding of salvation, not just that we will go to heaven when we die, but that we have an unbroken, loving relationship with God here on earth.”
Biblical peace, then, is rooted in our peace with God — beginning at salvation and growing through our ongoing connection with him. According to Jesus, we can experience this inner rest even in times of trouble and pain. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Elle Mundus
1. Secure Identity
Since we have peace with God through Jesus, we can experience a growing peace with ourselves — regardless of our past mistakes, our current struggles, or the opinions of others.
He’s given us a new identity:
– Well-loved children (1 John 3:1)
– Wanted family members (Romans 8:15-16)
– New creations (2 Corinthian 5:17)
– His masterpieces (Ephesians 2:10)
– Friends of God (John 15:15)
– Citizens of his kingdom (Ephesians 2:19)
– Ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20)
– People who are being transformed (Philippians 1:6)
He’s lavished us with good gifts:
– Reconciliation with God (2 Corinthians 5:18)
– His indwelling Spirit (Romans 5:5)
– Confident access to his heart (Hebrews 10:19-23)
– Abundant favor (John 1:16)
– His goodness credited to us (2 Corinthians 5:21)
– Loving care for our needs (Matthew 6: 25-34)
– Provision to live out our callings (2 Peter 1:3)
– Wisdom learned through relating to Christ (Colossians 2:2-3)
This describes our identity as God’s children — regardless of what our emotions or other people tell us. As his acceptance takes root and we learn to own our God-given identity, we can extend his peace to others. We can live loved instead of needy, at rest instead of striving, secure instead of desperate for others’ approval.
When our hearts are at peace, we’re free to live as peacemakers.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/92251238
2. Welcoming Attitude
A welcoming heart forms the core of peacemaking. In Romans 14, God tells us how to relate with Christians who practice their faith differently from us — with acceptance. Blue Letter Bible explains that acceptance involves extending friendship and granting access to one’s heart. It’s like leaving the door unlocked so our friends can walk on in. It’s the kind of welcome that’s easy to offer those who are like us, but hard to extend to those who are different.
And yet, because God has accepted us, we’re called to welcome others in the same way (Romans 14:3).
To live as peacemakers, we must understand how God welcomes us, because when we live accepted, we have acceptance to give others. This welcoming heart equips us to promote peace in our relationships. It helps us communicate with curiosity and a desire to understand. It teaches us to cultivate healthy conversations where people feel heard and not shut down — even around subjects where we disagree.
3. Intentional Purpose
In Luke 1:78-79, we read that Jesus guides our feet into the path of peace. To guide, as Blue Letter Bible says, involves removing any hindrances which block the path toward someone. Jesus took away the obstacles which stood between us and God. He paid for our sin and purchased our freedom so we could draw near to the God of peace (Ephesians 3:12).
As his followers, we have the privilege of guiding people to God, too. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). When we help people overcome the obstacles blocking their path toward God (both non-Christians and believers), we are living as peacemakers.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/belchonock
4. Humble Heart
Humility shows up repeatedly in Bible passages talking about Christian unity. (See Romans 12:3-18, Ephesians 4:1-3, Philippians 2:1-11 for starters.) Often misunderstood, humility isn’t self-deprecation or self-hatred. On the contrary, humility holds an accurate opinion of oneself. Romans 12:3 instructs, “Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
Jesus used humility to describe himself (Matthew 11:28-30). Philippians 2:6-8 shows what this looked like in his life. He knew his divinity but chose not to “use it to his advantage” (Philippians 2:6-11). Instead of holding himself aloof, he became one of us. He served in both menial and miraculous ways as he brought his peace to earth.
When we, like Jesus, are secure in our God-given identity, we can love, honor, and serve others from a heart of humility. We’re free to work for peace, regardless of the response we may receive.
5. Healthy Boundaries
We can only love well, however, when we maintain healthy personal boundaries. Jesus modeled boundary setting as he lived for his Father’s pleasure alone. He prioritized secluded time in prayer. He didn’t heal every sick person in Israel, and he didn’t allow the crowds to dictate how he conducted his ministry. Through his example, we see that healthy boundary setting is rooted in obedience to God (John 5:19,30; 8:28).
Knowing our limitations, being committed to God’s call on our lives, respecting ourselves as images bearers of God – these essential choices help preserve the peace of our own souls. Only when our hearts are at rest can we live as effective peacemakers.
This takes deep reliance on God’s Spirit to help us discern when to sacrifice and when to say no. As we learn to live for his pleasure, graciously refusing to be controlled by others’ expectations, we’ll have his peace to extend to others.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/coffeekai
6. Life-Giving Speech
“The tongue has the power of life and death,” Proverbs 18:21 reminds us. As peacemakers, life-giving speech forms a crucial aspect of our calling. Through our words, we can help others find peace with God and live in harmony with each other.
What does this look like? It’s seen when we’re slow to argue (2 Timothy 2:23-24). It shows up as we prioritize listening and understanding, with an aim toward harmony (Romans 14:19, James 1:19). It leads us to respect and honor one another (Romans 12:10, 1 Peter 3:15). It helps us to pursue justice, to love mercy, and to walk in humility (Micah 6:8). It marks our speech with kindness and truth (Proverbs 3:3, NASB).
All these actions come from the empowering, transforming presence of God’s Spirit within us. As we live connected to the Prince of Peace, he forms his character in our hearts, giving us peacemaking words to share with others.
7. Doing What We Can
Romans 12:18 reminds us that ultimately, making peace is bigger than our personal choices: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Peacemaking always involves more than one party. Just as it takes two or more to disagree, it takes two or more to create harmony. God calls us to do our part — to extend welcome and work for peace, to walk in humility, set healthy boundaries, and speak in life-giving ways.
Sometimes, though, others are unwilling or unable to meet us in a place of peace. In these situations, we can rest, knowing we’ve done what we can. We can pray for harmony, wholeness, and restored relationships, and then entrust our circumstances to the God of peace.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/PeopleImages
Peacekeeping or Peacemaking?
Keeping the peace and living as peacemakers are two very different lifestyles.
Keeping the peace looks like avoiding conflict, dodging hard conversations, or ignoring broken situations. It sacrifices healing for surface happiness and often leads to shallow friendships and the absence of real connection.
True peacemaking, however, prioritizes God’s kind of peace (Romans 14:17-19). Peace rooted in restoration with God. Peace that promotes wholeness. Peace that mends and leads to flourishing.
As we walk with God, he’ll teach us to discern the difference and show us how to work for his kind of peace.
When Life Isn’t Peaceful
Even though we’ve been reconciled to God, enjoy a new identity, and are equipped to spread his peace, sometimes our own hearts are in turmoil. How do we live as peacemakers when difficult seasons overwhelm us? When circumstances break our hearts? When we or others set in motion events that cause deep brokenness?
The Psalms are full of raw prayers from people wrestling with similar questions. David cried out, “My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?” (Psalm 6:3). The sons of Korah wrote, “My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:3).
Right now, we live in the space between the cross and Jesus’ return. He’s building his kingdom in hearts around the globe. He’s restoring and mending and making things new. But life here is still broken. Creation still groans. Humans still wound one another. Sickness and death still invade without warning.
https://omny.fm/shows/your-daily-prayer/a-prayer-for-everlasting-peace-2/embed
Jesus’ promise of peace beckons us back to the Prince of Peace. He calls us to bring our authentic selves — pouring out the thoughts and emotions, the questions and doubts, the anxiety and agony raging in our souls. This honest place can be holy ground as we can experience Immanuel — God with us — in the middle of our pain (Psalm 116:7, Hebrews 4:16).
Psalm 42 gives a beautiful example of the psalmist processing his inner turmoil in God’s presence. He acknowledges his pain to the Lord (verses 3, 9-10). He asks himself probing questions (verse 5a, 11a). He remembers God — who God has been for him, and the love God has lavished on him (verse 6-8). And as the psalmist pours out his heart, hope once again takes root in his soul (verse 5b, 11b).
As we allow God to care for us in the deepest part of our being, mending our brokenness and forming his character in our lives, we’ll experience growing peace in our souls. This peace in us will overflow through us, equipping us to bring his peace to our everyday spaces.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Prathan Chorruangsak
the snake at your feet
devotionals daily
There’s a Snake at Your Feet
Today’s inspiration comes from:
by A. J. Swoboda
Editor’s Note: The enemy is good at his job. He uses our desires against us, persuades us, tricks us, and lies to us all so we reach for that thing we think we need. He tells us God is holding out on us, but A. J. Swoboda reminds us in his new book, The Gift of Thorns, to be aware of temptations and fix our eyes on Jesus. Enjoy this excerpt.
*
Was the tree of knowledge of good and evil bad? No, God created this tree. It was a good tree.
Still, it was dangerous, and humans weren’t to eat from it. Satan’s appeal, then, was that the fruit of this tree was “good for food,” “pleasant to the eye,” and “desirable for wisdom.” Notice that Satan’s appeal to the humans is to take something that was good. The tree was good — just off limits for the humans.
This is often how temptation works. We are tempted to take good, beautiful, and glorious things and use them in unintended ways. Food, sex, and pleasure aren’t bad. But they can be dangerous, and their boundaries must be honored.
- Just because something is desirable and good does not mean it is for us.
Satan is good at arousing human desire to use good things in ways God does not bless. This is why the ancient author of the Shepherd of Hermas said the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” aroused within humans something called “overcuriosity.”1 Satan was piquing interest.
The importance of this, in part, lay in us developing a maturing awareness that God can (and does) create good things that simply aren’t for us. Just because something is beautiful and desirable doesn’t mean it is for our desire’s consumption. The temptation for more than what’s been provided is how the serpent deceived the man and the woman — and how he often deceives us. There’s a reason the Sanskrit word for “war” is “desire for more cows.” Our world is ravaged by a desire for more. One could say it is the reason for most wars.
Humans had plenty. Yet the serpent aroused a desire for more. Upon believing this message, the woman “saw” and “took.” Notice how these two words are used together:
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. — Genesis 3:6
We’re surprised to discover that the man was standing right there, “with her.” The text doesn’t put the weight of all responsibility on the woman’s shoulders. They both were there. The man was there too, watching, observing, and doing nothing. Yes, she saw, and she took. But he just passively watched.
This won’t be the last time seeing and taking are connected in biblical literature.2 When they are, something evil often takes place. For example, when King David observes from his Jerusalem rooftop the beautiful Bathsheba below, he sees and takes her (2 Samuel 11:2–5). And the prophet Samson sees a Canaanite descendent and takes her (Judges 14). Achan does the same thing as he observes the glories of the Babylonian cape, seeing and taking it for himself (Joshua 7:20–21) Time and again, humans see and take what’s not theirs. Perhaps Ariana Grande was reading her Bible when she wrote her famous song: “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.”
- One telltale sign of a world rebelling against its Creator is that its God-given limitations and boundaries are thrown aside.
As Dallas Willard put it, “I will have what I desire.”3 Sinful humanity, in its newfound “freedom,” seeks to take and conquer and steal that which it was not given. This is the essence of sin and the danger of unmitigated desire: seeing and taking what isn’t ours. We see and take when we abuse or weaponize sexuality. Those in power see and take the lands and places of others. All of us see and take when we store up greedily and mercilessly hoard more than what’s needed. It’s the spirit of Julius Caesar who declared in the battle of Zela, “Veni, vidi, vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”). All sin, at its core, is the act of seeing and taking something that isn’t given by God.4
There is no missing out in Jesus.
This story of Genesis 3 can be read alongside Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4. There, Jesus comes face-to-face with Satan and faces three temptations: to turn stones into bread, to jump off a high place, and to bow down and worship Satan so he might have the nations. One of these temptations particularly parallels the Genesis 3 account:
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give You,’ he said, ‘if You will bow down and worship me’. — Matthew 4:8–9
The serpent promises to give Jesus all of the kingdoms, or nations, if and only if Jesus bows down and worships Satan. Go back to the garden where the serpent makes a promise to the woman:
‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’. — Genesis 3:4–5
The serpent promises, “You will be like God.” But there was a catch. The woman had to obey the serpent’s words to receive the serpent’s promise. A thread weaves between these two accounts. What’s the singular problem with offering Jesus the nations? All the nations and kingdoms were already His. What’s the singular problem with offering the woman to be “like God”? She had already been endowed with the image of God from the moment of her creation.
By a simple question, he convinces her that she wasn’t already like God through the mother tongue of the serpent: insinuation.
Both stories put the serpent’s methodia on full display. He offers us the gift of something we already have in God. He often awakens our desires for something God has already provided for us. In short, he awakens our desires by insinuating that we are missing out. This is where our desire becomes most twisted. As Jen Pollock Michel writes, “And here is how desire becomes corrupt: wanting derails into selfishness, greed and demanding ingratitude when we’ve failed to recognize and receive the good that God has already given.”5
There’s a solution: awakening to the reality that there’s no such thing as “missing out” when we are in Christ. As Paul wrote,
All things are yours. — 1 Corinthians 3:21
There is no missing out in Jesus. No, we won’t be fulfilled when we get married because we are already fulfilled in Christ. No, we don’t have to find our own identities because we already have names and love in the One who named us and made us. No, we won’t experience true happiness when we get the job or the paycheck we want because we are already, now, full of the presence and grace of God.
When you begin believing you are missing out, look down. There’s some snake at your feet. The serpent awakens our flesh by trying to convince us that we lack something. This is just his old bag of tricks.
- Shepherd of Hermas, vision III, iii, 1, trans. Bart D. Ehrman, in The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003).
- I would like to thank my friend Tim Mackie for repeatedly highlighting the connec- tion between seeing and taking in his teaching work and ministry.
- Dallas Willard, “Beyond Pornography: Spiritual Formation Studied in a Particular Case,” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 9, no. 1 (2006): 8.
- Robert Jenson once quipped that this was Satan’s method: “Above all, God gives himself among us, Satan’s difference from God is unambiguously exposed. God gives. Satan can only suck reality into the vacuum of his own heart.” See Robert Jenson, “Evil as Person,” Lutheran Theological Seminary Bulletin 69, no. 1 (1989): 39.
- Jen Pollock Michel, Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition & the Life of Faith (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 84. Emphasis mine.
Excerpted with permission from The Gift of Thorns by A. J. Swoboda, copyright A. J. Swoboda.
* * *
Your Turn
Is there something you feel you are lacking? What is it? Name it and place it before the Throne of God. Ask Him to speak to you about your desire and point your heart in the right direction. Ask Him to show you if it’s that old snake hissing in your ear again, pulling his old tricks. Remind your heart that you’re not missing out! ~ Devotionals Daily
Words of Encouragement
God, help me become the person You created me to be, rather than become the person this world wants me to be. Help me to grow in Christ, not in this world.
Dose of Devotion 