Help!

I am in trouble, Lord. Help me! ~ Isaiah 38:14b (NLT)

In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. ~ Romans 8:26 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

The Lord responds to our trouble -- even when we're unable to express our need.

PRAYER:

Lord, I am so grateful for your intervention. I don't know how you do it. Even when I'm beyond words you jump in and hear the cries of my broken heart. All I can say is thank you. I'm going to relax because I know that you are watching out for me. Amen.

Creation reveals

Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. ~ Deuteronomy 10:14 (MSG)

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. ~ Romans 1:20(NLT)

KEY IDEA:

The creation reveals a lot about God and what is important to him.

PRAYER:

It is an honor to know you and serve you, Lord. Thank you for making yourself known, first through creation and then through Christ the creator. I confess, though that I take a lot about the creation for granted. I don't work very hard to preserve beauty or find alternatives to pollution. Help me to grow more sensitive to the needs of the planet -- and through my observations to grow deeper in my understanding of you. I'm going to live as a Christian environmentalist. Amen.

Celebrate salvation!

But let all who take refuge in you celebrate. ~ Psalm 5:11a (CEB)

You have never seen Jesus, and you don’t see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy you are to be saved. ~ 1 Peter 1:8 (CEV)

KEY IDEA: God is the source of our true and unending joy.

PRAYER:

God,

THANKS: Thank you for the joy that you and your salvation brings to my life.

REGRETS: When times are difficult I often look in the wrong places to generate a sense of happiness -- in spite of what you have already given to me.

INTERCESSION: Help me to narrow my focus so that it is on you exclusively. Hit the refresh button on my faith so that it boots up strong.

PURPOSE: I'm going to find my joy in you. 

Amen.

Diet

I can avoid doing the foolish things that bring shame on myself if I continually chew on your instructions. ~ Psalm 119:6 (ABP)

In the meantime the disciples spoke to Jesus, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

Jesus said to them, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”

The disciples asked each other, “Has someone brought him food?”

Jesus said to them, “I am fed by doing the will of the one who sent me and by completing his work. ~ John 4:31-34 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:

The activity which bests nourishes our human souls is to chew on the will of God.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for providing food for our bodies and food for our entire souls. I confess that I eat too much of the wrong things. Help me stay on a Christ-centered diet. I want to spend my life doing the things which you have told us to do. Amen.