God Restores Me

When we drift, we most likely will experience some sort of spiritual crisis. No matter where we may find ourselves in such a painful season as this, we must always remember God’s love for us never changes. His love is perfect and completely independent of our humanity.

As we turn back to Him, we may find there are consequences for stepping out of His will. However, as believers, we can take comfort that there is never an eternal penalty for our sin. The Lord is always mighty to cover us with His comfort, grace, and mercy. And, He alone is the sustainer of our soul and spirit.

When we repent and draw near to The Father, He offers forgiveness, restoration and spiritual renewal. And regardless of the circumstances, He can repurpose our pain. He will equip us to realign our lives with His will, all for His glory. We must have faith and trust Him...as we wait for Him to generously return us to joy of our salvation.

Lamentations 3:40

Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the LORD.

Psalm 51:2

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Luke 15:20

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

Deuteronomy 4:29

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

Psalm 13:5

But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

Psalm 54:4

Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

Psalm 51:12

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”

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God Is Faithful to Complete the work He Began

Father God,

I pray that today and every day we will be more fully persuaded and have a renewed confidence in this truth: You are a God who completes!

Lord, You lack nothing and we know that You do not not abandon ANY work You have ordained. For, You are The All Sufficient One and You are only capable of complete perfection!

Father, thank You for beginning the work of Grace within us and for comforting us with Your Truth. You alone will see through to completion Your work in us...according to Your Will...in order to accomplish Your Perfect Plan!

Thank You, Lord, that Your Promises include for us an everlasting life. We humbly praise and thank You for the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, so that we may dwell with You for eternity.

Father, we pray for strength of endurance as we set our eyes on Your Kingdom and we give You all the Glory!

In the name of our holy and righteous Savior, Jesus Christ,

Amen!

 

Replacing Lies With Truth

Emotions are tied to our thought life. Have you ever stepped back and listened to your thoughts? Have you been surprised by them and wondered where they were coming from? In his book ‚Wild at Heart,‛ John Eldredge wrote, ‚We are being lied to all the time. Yet, we never stop to say, ‘Wait a minute who else is speaking here? Where are these ideas coming from? Where are these feelings coming from?‛ Satan is at war with God’s children.  He is a crafty one and a deceiver; and, he knows if he were to show up as a dark, scary figure, with a pitchfork, we would immediately flee, sensing danger. So, instead, he uses our fears, hurts, and insecurities to influence us through our thought life.

The enemy knows that if he can control our minds, he can control our behavior; and, what is his most used weapon to do so? Lies! When we believe Satan’s lies, rather than God’s truth, it leads to faulty ways of thinking and wrong behaviors that enslave our souls. The only defense we have to protect our minds from being lost in the darkness of lies, is the truth: the inerrant Word of

God’s word gives a detailed combat strategy for defeating the enemy. We are to pull down strongholds (rooted lies) and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Simply put, we must replace Satan’s lies with God’s truth. If your thoughts are telling you that you are not good enough; that you are unworthy; that you are ugly; that you will always live in fear; that you will never heal; or that you will always live in bondage, stop for one moment and ask yourself, ‛Whose voice am I hearing? Who is it that is telling me that?‛ God’s word tells us that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and His sheep hear His voice and His voice protects them from the thief who wants to destroy them.

Our beloved Savior would never harm His sheep by speaking such lies. If you hear that you will never amount to anything, that’s a lie from the enemy; choose, instead, to listen to your Shepherd who says, ‘For I know the thoughts I have towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to bring you a future and a hope‛ (Jeremiah 29:11). The enemy is a liar and cannot stand against God’s truth.

Think on These Things

It is so easy to let our thoughts run away from us. You know, the inward chatter that goes on all day. The voice when you get up in the morning, the musing on the drive to work, the stewing over events on the way home. Inner thoughts are powerful.

They create emotions which in turn cause actions. Paul is saying that we have to take ownership of our inner dialog.

It is so easy to be negative, anxious, angry, doubtful, bitter or carnal in our thinking. Instead, we need to be responsible for what we think and deliberately focus on true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praise worthy thoughts. What a difference this discipline would bring to our life.

Father, I give you my thought life. I want you to be Lord of both my conscious and unconscious part of my being. You know my thought process. You know my habitual thinking patterns. I bring them to you. I ask that you help me today, begin a habit of focusing on true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praise worthy thoughts..

In Jesus Name, Amen

Never Alone

Heavenly Father,

We praise You for the promise of Your refuge and the covering of Your comfort...for the promise of Your balm on the broken hearted and crushed in spirit.

Lord, we claim the victory that we are never alone, never orphans...that You have prepared a way for us to dwell with You eternally...and we pray for Your guidance and protection in our temporary dwelling place.

Lord, we praise You that You are always near, and we call upon You in truth for healing in our hearts...in our homes...in our communities...in our world.

Lead us by still waters and bless us with strength and endurance; keep us on Your ordained and anointed path of light and love...and we praise You that because of Your plan, we have purpose!

Jesus, we need You every minute of every day! We pray for Your Kingdom...for You to remove all sorrow and wipe the tears from our eyes...for the day when every knee bows to You, Almighty Father God! For You are worthy!

Thank You, Lord, for deliverance and for making Your home in our hearts. Cleanse and purify us, according to Your will.

In The Name of Jesus Christ, our precious Savior, we praise You and pray these things, Amen.

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit

Psalm 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Psalm 145:18

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

Psalm 73:28

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.

James 4:8(a)

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

Romans 14:11

It is written: "As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God."

Revelations 21:4

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.

Our Merciful God

How merciful God is. He could look at our behavior and condemn us. He could read our mind and reject us. He could exact a thousand different punishments for all that we have done, but instead He has chosen to see us through the eyes of His unfailing love.

It is so hard to imagine what that really means. It is so foreign to the way we operate. We hold grudges, seek revenge, or at least try to get even. But not God. He does not give up on us. He sees us desperately in need of His grace.  And even when we are unlovely, thoroughly lost because of our willful disobedience, He shows us the way back.

What makes this so tragic is that we don’t really believe it. We still think we need to wear the mask of our false self. You know, the self that thinks it earns God’s approval. the self that tries to please God through vain attempts at righteousness.

Today throw the mask away. You don’t need it. God sees you through His unfailing love, and He loves what He sees.  As we go forth, commit to accepting His love and let Him direct your path.

Lamentations 3:22-24

The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies, we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" (NSAB)

1 Peter 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (NIV)

Psalm 25:7-8

“Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O LORD. The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray.” (NLT)

A prayer for restoration of peace

LORD God,

I pray that today and every day Your peace will rule my heart...

I ask Your forgiveness for the things I have allowed to steal my peace - envy, guilt, self-centeredness, pride, bitterness, fear, and doubt. I choose to unite with You, to put away these things, and replace them with Your Fruits of The Spirit...

Father, I surrender my mind, will, emotion, and conduct to You, and pray that The Prince of Peace will reign supremely in my heart. In The Name of Jesus, I ask for deliverance and strength to resist the enemy in his desire to wreak havoc on my emotions and thought life. I pray for discernment of Your Will and Truth, and I invite You in to purify my heart and sustain me as I keep my thoughts captive in Christ...

When I feel violated, I will forgive;

When I feel envious, I will edify and bless;

When I feel bitter or resentful, I will extend love and grace;

When I feel the need to vindicate, I will show mercy;

When I am afraid, I will be faithful and trust in You;

When I am skeptical, I will cling to Your Truth;

When I feel prideful, self-centered, or a need to control, I will surrender to Your Will;

When I feel guilt or shame, I will seek Your forgiveness and remember there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

I thank You and praise You, Father, for the comfort of Your promises and Your gift of eternal peace. I pray that today and every day I will walk in the peace I am called to and honor You in my thoughts and actions. 

In The Name of Jesus, my precious and beautiful Savior, I pray these things,

Amen!

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Colossians 3:15

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Philippians 4:7

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.