Post by mommadee48 on Aug 1, 2022 14:19:15 GMT -5
OUR DAILY BREAD: (PSALM 143:11/ READ THE WHOLE CHAPTER ALSO).
DARK MOMENTS, DEEP PRAYER.
"I HAD A DARK MOMENT". Those five words capture the internal agony of a popular female celebrity during the [Covid-19] pandemic. Adjusting to a new normal was part of her challenge, and in her turmoil, she acknowledged that she wrestled with thoughts of suicide. Pulling out of the downward spiral included sharing her struggle with a friend who cared.
We're all susceptible to tumultuous hours, days, and seasons. Valleys and hard places aren't foreign but getting out of such places can be challenging. And seeking the assistance of mental health professionals is sometimes needed.
In PSALM 143, we hear and are instructed by David's prayer during one of the dark times of his life. The exact situation is unknown, but his prayers to God are honest and hope filled. "The enemy pursues me; he crushes me to the ground; he makes he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. So, my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed" (vv.3-4). For believers in Jesus, it's not enough to acknowledge what's going on within us to ourselves, to our friends, or to medical specialists. We must earnestly come to God (thoughts and all) with prayers that include the earnest petitions found in Psalm 143:7-10. Our dark moments can also be times for deep prayers---seeking the light and life only God can bring.
In the midst of your darkest moments, how do you typically respond?
Why is it difficult to be honest about your struggle?
NEXT:
OUR DAILY BREAD: (2 TIMOTHY 2:22/ also Read GENSIS 39:11-23).
RUN FROM SIN!
TWICE THIS SUMMER I suffered the scourge of poison ivy. Both times it happened; I was working on clearing away unwanted plant growth from our yard. And both times, I saw the nasty, three-leafed enemy lurking nearby. I figured I could get close to it without it affecting me. Soon enough, I realized I'd been wrong. Instead of getting nearer to my little green nemesis, I should have run the other way!!!
In the OLD TESTAMENT story of Joseph, we see modeled the principle of running from something worse than poison ivy: sub. When he was living in the home of Egyptian official Potiphar, whose wife tried to seduce him, Joseph didn't try to get close---he ran.
Although she falsely accused him and had him thrown in prison, Joseph remained pure throughout the episode. And as we see in Genesis 39:21, "The Lord was with him".
God can help us flee activities and situations that could lead us away from Him---guiding us to run the other way when sin is nearby. In 2Timothy 2:22, Paul writes, "Flee the evil desires". And in 1Cornthians 6:18, he says to "flee from sexual immorality".
In God's strength, may we choose to run from those things that could harm us...
What's your "Poison ivy"' something that can infect you if you don't run from it?
What can you do to run from it?
NEXT:
SANCTIFICATION: GOD's GRAND PLAN: READ (JEREMIAH 29:11).
THE LORD HAS A GRAND PLAN for the LIFE of EVERY BELIEVER, and it can be summed up in the term we looked at yesterday: sanctification. This refers to the process by which something is made holy---in other words, separated from its former common usage and dedicated to God for His purpose.
Every person is born spiritually dead and an enemy of God (EPH.2:1; ROM. 5:10). But the moment we trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, our sins are wiped away, the HOLY SPIRIT comes to live within us, and we're adopted into God's family. From that moment on, we are set apart as God's family. From that moment on, we are set apart as God's children for His sacred purpose.
This means we are here on earth not to chase after pleasure and personal gain but to serve and obey the Lord. And in so doing, we bring Him honor and glory. As members of God's family, we are called to reflect Christ's character. The Lord now calls us saints---a term that shares its root with sanctification--- not because we live sinlessly, but because that's our position in Christ and should be our practice as well. No longer are we to give ourselves to sin; instead, we should present ourselves to God as slaves of obedience.
DARK MOMENTS, DEEP PRAYER.
"I HAD A DARK MOMENT". Those five words capture the internal agony of a popular female celebrity during the [Covid-19] pandemic. Adjusting to a new normal was part of her challenge, and in her turmoil, she acknowledged that she wrestled with thoughts of suicide. Pulling out of the downward spiral included sharing her struggle with a friend who cared.
We're all susceptible to tumultuous hours, days, and seasons. Valleys and hard places aren't foreign but getting out of such places can be challenging. And seeking the assistance of mental health professionals is sometimes needed.
In PSALM 143, we hear and are instructed by David's prayer during one of the dark times of his life. The exact situation is unknown, but his prayers to God are honest and hope filled. "The enemy pursues me; he crushes me to the ground; he makes he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. So, my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed" (vv.3-4). For believers in Jesus, it's not enough to acknowledge what's going on within us to ourselves, to our friends, or to medical specialists. We must earnestly come to God (thoughts and all) with prayers that include the earnest petitions found in Psalm 143:7-10. Our dark moments can also be times for deep prayers---seeking the light and life only God can bring.
In the midst of your darkest moments, how do you typically respond?
Why is it difficult to be honest about your struggle?
NEXT:
OUR DAILY BREAD: (2 TIMOTHY 2:22/ also Read GENSIS 39:11-23).
RUN FROM SIN!
TWICE THIS SUMMER I suffered the scourge of poison ivy. Both times it happened; I was working on clearing away unwanted plant growth from our yard. And both times, I saw the nasty, three-leafed enemy lurking nearby. I figured I could get close to it without it affecting me. Soon enough, I realized I'd been wrong. Instead of getting nearer to my little green nemesis, I should have run the other way!!!
In the OLD TESTAMENT story of Joseph, we see modeled the principle of running from something worse than poison ivy: sub. When he was living in the home of Egyptian official Potiphar, whose wife tried to seduce him, Joseph didn't try to get close---he ran.
Although she falsely accused him and had him thrown in prison, Joseph remained pure throughout the episode. And as we see in Genesis 39:21, "The Lord was with him".
God can help us flee activities and situations that could lead us away from Him---guiding us to run the other way when sin is nearby. In 2Timothy 2:22, Paul writes, "Flee the evil desires". And in 1Cornthians 6:18, he says to "flee from sexual immorality".
In God's strength, may we choose to run from those things that could harm us...
What's your "Poison ivy"' something that can infect you if you don't run from it?
What can you do to run from it?
NEXT:
SANCTIFICATION: GOD's GRAND PLAN: READ (JEREMIAH 29:11).
THE LORD HAS A GRAND PLAN for the LIFE of EVERY BELIEVER, and it can be summed up in the term we looked at yesterday: sanctification. This refers to the process by which something is made holy---in other words, separated from its former common usage and dedicated to God for His purpose.
Every person is born spiritually dead and an enemy of God (EPH.2:1; ROM. 5:10). But the moment we trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, our sins are wiped away, the HOLY SPIRIT comes to live within us, and we're adopted into God's family. From that moment on, we are set apart as God's family. From that moment on, we are set apart as God's children for His sacred purpose.
This means we are here on earth not to chase after pleasure and personal gain but to serve and obey the Lord. And in so doing, we bring Him honor and glory. As members of God's family, we are called to reflect Christ's character. The Lord now calls us saints---a term that shares its root with sanctification--- not because we live sinlessly, but because that's our position in Christ and should be our practice as well. No longer are we to give ourselves to sin; instead, we should present ourselves to God as slaves of obedience.