encouragement

From Strength to Strength

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10

God, it’s been a rough week, but you have “upheld me with your righteous right hand”. It’s true, every moment felt worse than the last. The onslaught of the enemy was vicious. It was cruel. It was painful. It seemed to go on forever. Yet through it all, you were there. Your enduring and steadfast love was a triumphant sound that shook the heavens. Your banner over me was love, and your peace washed over me time and time again.  

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:1-5

For a long time I’ve known that suffering produces endurance, then character, then hope, but God I really never had a grasp on how it could possibly make me happy, or how I could “rejoice in my suffering”.  Sure, I knew that I should rejoice, but actual rejoicing was a real struggling. I don’t like hurting. I don’t like suffering. I’m not a masochist! Why on earth would I want to suffer?! But I couldn’t reconcile that with how Jesus suffered, or how he willingly went to the cross, allowed himself to be tortured and mocked, and then murdered.  I knew it was because of love, but I couldn’t figure out the joy part. There’s joy in the resurrection, not the suffering, right?

Wrong.

There is joy in both.  One leads to the other.  

 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
    I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.”
Isaiah 48:10

It all hit me this week.  It hit me so hard, it would have knocked me down if I hadn’t been held up by your righteous right hand.  This furnace of affliction was no different than the literal furnace of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo. It was terrifying, but you stood with them, and you stand with me.  Through it all you were there, and you are here now. Amidst all this incredible trial, suffering, and pain, I watched the springs of living water burst forth out of the desert.  Every time I’d falter, you’d raise me up again. Your strength would fill me. Your endurance sustained me. Your joy sprang forth! Your love permeated my steps, and all around me people were blessed.  The peace and strength and joy you gave me to endure, blessed everyone who witnessed it! Everyone! And that brought so much joy.

I remember collapsing onto my bed after so many hours with my daughter in the hospital, and the people who came around me to be with her so I could go home and sleep.  Instead of sorrow, I was filled with joy. You provided and sustained me. And you provided peace and rest. I fell asleep speaking your praises. Your presence filled my vision and my heart.  Your love endured. And as the days went on, and I traveled back and forth to the hospital day after day, you continued to provide: not just for me, but for everyone around us. And you’re doing it still.  Your strength refreshes daily within me.

And so I will go from strength to strength, trusting in your provision of steadfast love, and the strength you provide.  I will rejoice and be glad, because your strength always renews.  And that strength brings rivers of living water to everyone who sees it.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
    each one appears before God in Zion.
Psalms 84:5-7

 

Walking Out of the Garden

Jesus, like Peter I want to follow you anywhere, even unto death.  I want to pray with you in the garden of Gethsemane and hold you while you cry out to God, and guard you while you worship, and sing praises with you in trial.  But, I fall asleep. I run away naked. I deny you. I weep and mourn and anguish. You said it yourself,

“The spirit is willing but the body is weak.”

I’m daily assailed by the torment of the world, but you are faithful, Jesus.  You overcame the weakness of your body even unto death. And because of you, because of what you did on the cross, and because you left the tomb behind you, I am free.  You had victory over sin and death. And that means you have defeated the very things that hold me hostage.

I refuse to continue to look at the past.  I refuse to hate myself for falling short of your glory.  I refuse to think differently of myself than you see me. I refuse to fall asleep or runaway naked.  Because you are God, and your Spirit is in me. It empowers me to act in accordance with your Spirit instead of in my flesh.  The spirit is willing. My body is weak. So I want to look to your example. You showed me what obedience in the Spirit looks like.

In Gethsemane you prayed.  Even though your friends fell asleep, you prayed.  You cried out to God. Even though you were alone. You worshiped Him.  You sought Him with your whole heart and your whole mind. You sweat drops of blood, your anguish was so intense!  You agonized over the road of suffering that awaited you on your journey to the cross. But you took it anyway. It wasn’t what you wanted in your body, you didn’t want pain and suffering and humiliation.  But you wanted victory. And you knew God’s will for you and for me was victory. You knew that God’s will was better than your flesh. You knew that your flesh would be remade. You knew that your victory, though it would come at a hefty price in your flesh, would bring life forever to us all.

So you walked out of Gethsemane.  You willingly took the road of suffering.  The road of blood. The road of pain and scorn.  

You took the cross.

Lord, help me walk out of the garden.  As you walk with me on the road of suffering, bring people around me to offer me a drink, to help carry my cross, to stand at my side, amidst their own pain, to be with me and show me love, as you love me.  And Lord, let me do the same for others.

“12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:12-14

 

Tears in a Bottle

“You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in a bottle,
Are they not in your books?”
Psalm 56:8

God, I feel like I’m walking through mud.  I’m stuck in all this struggle and I’m overwhelmed and frustrated and sad.  It’s so hard to pick up my feet and take another step. I know you are with me.  I know you care for me. I know I can cast my burdens upon you and be sustained by you, but I’m struggling.  The attack from the enemy is so strong. It is relentless. It is consuming. It’s hard, God.

“My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.”
Psalm 55:4-5

In the onslaught I struggle to hear you.  In the tumult my heart is aching. My eyes are blinded by tears and anger and futility.  I wallow in it. I don’t know why I do, but my heart truly is in anguish within me. I can’t turn around without hearing the taunts of the enemy.  My fear holds me hostage. My anguish paralyzes me.

“But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
    I utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for many are arrayed against me.”
Psalm 55:16-18

You hear me, God, when I call out to you.  You hear me and save me. You long for me to be in peace with you and in my life.  You bring the Prince of Peace to my heart and to my mind. My head rests in your lap and I am comforted.  I am covered by your love and your mercy. You will save me. You have saved me. I am yours. I am saved from the wrath of my own condemnation.  I am saved from the fear of my own failings and doubt. I am free from the lords that once ruled me and molested my heart. I can have peace in your arms.  I can rest in your love.

   “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Isaiah 25:9

 

God is Faithful

“Why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?”
Psalm 2:1

 

God, I just don’t get it.  Why are people so stubborn?  Why do they insist on following false gods and false pleasure and false life that leads to death?  Why do I do these things? Why am I so disobedient?

15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.
17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t.
19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.
22 I love God’s law with all my heart.
23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Romans 7:15-25

I know the answers, God.  Just like Paul knew the answers.  So, yet again I give it to you. I’ll try to trust you and be thankful for your grace.  I will praise you because your love is bigger than mine. Your forgiveness is bigger than mine.  You forgive me even though I struggle to forgive myself. I want to find rest and peace in it, God.  In your grace, I want to find rest. Help me, God. Help my disbelief. Help me to find rest and peace.  Help me obey you. Help me know that following you brings life.

So why do the nations rage and the people plot in vain?  Because we can’t seem to help ourselves, no matter how hard we try. So, thank you that your love is bigger and your mercy is bigger, and your forgiveness is bigger, and your heart is bigger, and your life is bigger.  Thank you.  Thank you that your love endures forever and that your faithfulness is true.

“if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”
2 Timothy 2:13

Jesus is the Victory!

Lord Jesus, you are my hero and my biggest cheerleader!  This morning, after dreams filled with evil attacks of the enemy in undaunted wrath, I heard you declare, “Watch Daisy plough right through them!”  I held onto that joyful proclamation, Jesus!  And I want to hold onto it forever!  You have given me power over my enemies!  Thank you!  

“I myself have commanded my consecrated ones, and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger, my proudly exulting ones.”
Isaiah 13:3

You have consecrated me by your blood.  You have made me and you have blessed me and you have given me your Spirit so that I could overcome my enemies.  You’ve already brought ruin upon them, God!  You have given me victory over sin and death through Jesus!  When he cried out, “It is finished!” it was a cry of victory.  No more slavery.  No more bondage.  No more death.  Our lives have been saved!  My life has been saved!  Sin has no more power over me.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57

I can plough right through my enemies!  You have given me that power!  Your anger is great against your enemies, the Adversary and his minions, and the torment they inflict upon your people.  So, you stretched out your hand from Heaven, and offered deliverance for the people.  Deliverance from our torment.  Deliverance from our fear.  I can walk in confidence as a bulldozing tank of your glory because you’ve given me that gift.  

You are cheering me on, empowering me through your Spirit, to have victory over my enemies over and over and over again.  You defeated our enemies on the cross.  You are victorious.  So, I put my trust in you, God.  I put my hope in your enduring love and faithfulness, because that is who you say you are.  

I will open my heart to your voice because it is a battle cry of victory.  You are a banner of love and righteousness over my head.  You are a my shelter and my comfort.  I can trust you and I can fight and win because of you.  It’s all about you, Jesus!  

“And now my head shall be lifted up,
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.”
Psalm 27:6

 

Not by Power, Not by Might, but by the Spirit!

Lord, you are so pleased to reveal your wisdom to your children!  What an honor and privilege to have the mind of God imparted within me to know your heart and your plans for me!  So often I struggle and stumble around, blind to your wisdom, deaf to your voice.  You hold my hand and yet I still stray, wobbling around from side to side, straying this way and that.  I trip over rubble and cry and you kiss away my tears and bandage my bruised and bloodied knees.  And your thoughts remain within me.   In the book of James you show me why I’m always stumbling and falling away from you.  I get doubtful.  I lose faith.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:5-6

So, God, I’m asking for wisdom.  I’m asking for faith.  I’m asking you to remove the blinders that I’ve put over my own eyes.  Remove the deafening roar of worldly longings and fears.  Let me receive the generous and loving gift of your ample wisdom, freely offered.  Let me take that wisdom with us much freedom as you offer it!  I’m tired of trusting myself!  No matter how smart I think I am, my wisdom is pure folly without the importation of Your thoughts and heart!  I want to trust you!  I don’t want to lean on my own ideas.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I want to walk with confidence along a straight path, with my fingers interlaced with yours, and my head held high with the pride that comes from standing with you in the righteousness you have made me.  I want to walk in laughter, listening to your voice and seeing all the beautiful sites you have laid out before us.  It’s not just a straight path, it’s a beautiful path.  So, God, I’m asking you to renew my mind.  Take away my focus on the world and the death that it brings to everything, and focus my whole being on You and the life that you offer!

9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:9-13

Thank you, God, that all this has been made possible to understand and digest because of your Spirit in me.  Only your Spirit knows your heart.  And you have given me your Spirit so that I can freely know the deepest thoughts you have about me and about the world around me.  I can see what you intended with eyes that are no longer blinded by sin.  I can see the incorruptible!  I can see life as you always intended and hoped.  

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

1 John 4:13

It’s so crazy to me God!  You’ve given me eyes to see the world as you see it!  To see the life you intended in all things.  Satan is such a liar!  He convinced Adam and Eve, the stewards of your creation, that they would be like you by receiving the “knowledge of good and evil”.  But evil is not from you and its only job is to bring death and pain!  To know you is to be brought back to the Garden in the Spirit, where we can walk with you and talk with you about the wisdom and beauty and light of all the things you have made.  All good things.  All life giving things.  I no longer need to be ruled by the knowledge of evil.  It will only bring death.  While you are the bringer of life.  

Thank you for being the Life Bringer, the Life Creator, the Light of the World,  and thank you for being my friend.  I love you, God.  I love you so much!

 

His Hand is Stretched Out Still

Daddy, someone told me yesterday that the first 40 chapters of Isaiah were all about your wrath, and that it wasn’t until chapter 41 that we see your mercy.  He seemed surprised when I answered him with my thoughts on the contrary.  Because Lord, I’ve begun to truly see your compassion and mercy in everything.  It’s like a mighty flood gate has opened and your love and mercy have poured out of it with POWER!  I’m seeing your love in everything!  Especially after hearing a sermon explaining how you define yourself from Exodus 34. God, your love really does endure forever.

You are “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” Exodus 34:6

So, when I was reading Isaiah this morning, and particularly reading in the early chapters that my friend had named chapters of your wrath, all I could see was your great mercy and love!  Wow!  In Isaiah Ch. 9-10 you pronounce the wrath that you will pour out on all things evil that have torn people away from the light and love of your faithfulness.  You promise that you will destroy all the things that have stolen people away from the peace and joy that You provide.  And you warn the people through Isaiah over and over and over:

“For all this anger had not turned away, and his hand is outstretched still.”

Every commentary I looked at said that  your outstretched hand is the hand that will smite the people.  But I just couldn’t make sense of that.  It seemed wrong to me, God.  And so I kept reading.  And sure enough, you showed me the truth.  After the warning of utter destruction you promise, comes your outstretched hand of MERCY.  In chapter 11 you announce that your judgement has a protection clause, and that protection of judgement will come in the form of Messiah Jesus!

“In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remains of his people”

Isaiah 11:11

You extend your hand of mercy!  You offer your hand for protection from selfishness and evil intent.  You are offer your hand to any who will take it.  Your judgement comes and

You will say in that day;
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 12

Your outstretched hand is the hand of mercy and love.  Your hand is extended for all to find cover and protection from the destruction that awaits any who would rather stand on their own, apart from you.  You keep telling us that we cannot save ourselves when the destruction comes.  Only the one who made us can save us.  So, Lord, help people to see that your way is salvation, not destruction.  Your mercy and love will have their way and you will put an end to evil.

“He will raise a signal to the the nations”

You said that “He will raise a signal to the the nations” (Isaiah 11:12) so I’m asking you to burn that signal brighter, so that people will see your love and your offer of protection and be saved.

Amen.

(Sermon Link: What God says about Himself)

Jesus Laughs

I keep hearing your laughter, King Jesus.  It has brought me so much comfort and joy and peace.  I can’t help but laugh along with you.  Your laughter has turned my fear, my tears, my struggles into joy.  This makes no sense in human terms.  I can’t begin to understand it.  I’ve tried.  I don’t know how it works, except that your laughter is contagious.  It is full and vibrant and rings out across the nations!  All who have an ear to hear it rejoice and are glad!  You have set us free!  You made the day and saved the day!  You saved me so we can laugh together!

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What an incredible feeling!  You laugh because you have won!  You have brought the victory.

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
   the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
   and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
   on Zion, my holy hill.”

Psalm 2:4-6

God, when the enemy tries to destroy me.  When the enemy taunts me with shame and guilt and fear, you LAUGH!  And when you laugh I laugh.  You have made me glad.

Mankind walks through life tempted by the promises of the world.  We are tempted to think that fame and glory and power and money will bring us joy, but we all know that it will all leave us feeling empty.  Wars are fought across the world because of money and power and glory.  The innocent are oppressed because of greed and power and lust.  Bodies are ruined, hearts are broken, and yet greed is kindled and hatred kindled along with it.  It is a fire of destruction that leaves the world in ruin.

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

Psalm 2:1

You have made a way in the desert.  

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  

Isaiah 43:19

In this cacophony of destruction you have made a way!  And the lies that feed the hearts of humanity are broken beneath your great love and mercy.  You have utterly destroyed the power of this world!  But because of your great love for us, and because of your heart’s desire to make the nations your inheritance, you wait a little longer to reveal yourself in majesty completely and stop the power of this world once and for all.  

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
   today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
   and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
   and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Psalm 2:7-9

Utter destruction awaits the things of this world that have destroyed the hearts, souls, and bodies of humanity.  Famine, war, lust, greed, power, death…you name it, if it brings pain and torment in anyway it will be destroyed by the light of life offered by the King of Kings!  It will all be dashed to pieces.  

My heart is like yours, my Lord, my God.  My heart longs for people to see that the only thing that can bring healing, hope, peace and joy is you.  Lord let the people hear your laughter.  Let them feel your joy and peace.  Let your laughter infect their hearts so that they may find healing, even if they don’t know how.  You will teach them.  You will show them.  You will give them all the beautiful things that the world has promised but lied about.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 2:10-12 

Your final wrath against the enemy of this world that spews his lies to kill, steal and destroy, will come soon.  May every soul see through the lies and fall into the laughter and love of your gentle mercy and forgiveness before it’s too late.  

Amen.

Preparing for Battle

Image result for armor of god

The armor of God has always been one of my favorite passages, but Lord when I’m fighting I seem to forget almost every bit of it!  In the heat of the moment I run into the fight without being prepared.  I let the confidence in my faith replace my faith.  Lord, renew my mind.  Renew my thinking.  How can I be strong in You if I am focused on me?  How can I fight with my hands when You are the one “who has trained my hands for war and my fingers for battle”? (Psalm 144:1)

Lord, be my strength and my armor.  The only way I can stand against the schemes of the enemy is by Your power.  If I have been made the righteousness of God, then let me walk in that righteousness and not my own!  I’m not fighting a physical fight.  I’m fighting a spiritual fight.  A fight that never ends, but one that I can endure through your power.  I know it’s not against flesh and blood that I fight.  So, Lord, help me not to fight in flesh and blood.  Help me to fight in spirit!  Clad in your salvation, your righteousness, your peace, your truth, your faith, and your Word.

It seems so obvious God.  You don’t just cover me with the armor of your own body, you fill me.  You and I are one if only I would let you rule in my heart!  You have given me “a new self, a new life, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24)  

So, God, I’m asking you to keep me clad in your robe of righteousness.  Keep me clad in your full armor, day and night, so that I am indeed ready for the siege of the enemy.  He is relentlessly barraging me with arrows, but your Faith is enduring.  It doesn’t fail.  It doesn’t falter. Help me not to partner with the darkness and the desires of my flesh.  Help me instead to partner with you, in your light and love.  Help me to honor all that you have done for me by taking the time to be obedient to your requests so that I can conquer the enemy day in and day out through the power of your Spirit.  

It’s not rocket science, God.  It’s so simple.  It’s so honest and gentle and perfect because that is who you are, Jesus.  That is who you are.  So, in order to be perfect as you are perfect, I must let you lead me in all things.  I need to diligently relinquish myself to the desires of my sinful nature, and fully embrace the gentle cleansing and perfecting of Your presence in me.  You create in me a clean heart.  You restore my soul.  You wrap yourself around me and place your tent over me to protect me.  No weapon formed against me can stand against You.  

I will pray at all times in the spirit, and keep alert with perseverance, because you have made me to endure and to persevere.  I will stand and boldly proclaim the gospel for which I am an ambassador.  Then people will see you and know you through me.  And you will be glorified.  And you will be exalted.  And you will truly be the king of my heart.

I love you, Jesus.  I will keep trying.

God’s Poetry in Us

 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10

 

Heavenly Father, God, Creator of all things, you hear me and love me and know my heart.  You know me in my innermost being.  You made me.  You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  You created me to be your masterpiece of love and joy.  In all the world, in all who have been made and walked the other, there is no one else like me.  I am completely unique.  Like every star in the sky.  Unique and special and made for a purpose.  Lord, thank you for making me.  Thank you for gifting me with all good gifts.  Your love has made me your servant for eternity, but not just to serve you but to be a part of your family, to be an heir to your kingdom along with Jesus.  Therefore, Daddy, teach me your ways, show me your path, guide my steps in the right truth of your covenant made with Abraham, so that I can be a part of all that you wanted from me and hoped for me from the beginning of Creation.  I marvel, my Lord, at what you have done in me, and at the miracle of who I am and what you have hoped for me from the very start of time itself.  

I want to serve you, God.  I want to worship you.  If all I do is sing your praise then I am satisfied, so long is that is what you ask me to do.  I pray Lord that all people, all nations, all kings and princes, all beggars and soldiers, all oppressed and oppressing would know you with the same intimacy that you have given me.  The same intimacy that you have given all your children through the divine power of the Holy Spirit.  What an incredible gift!  To have such intimacy with you!  And that is all you have ever wanted from humanity, for each and every one of us, to be your FRIENDS, to be your partners.  You chose us all from the very beginning.  What joy that is.  What peace it provides!  How could anyone doubt the truth of your intentions?  Because all you have ever wanted is to love us and know us.  

In you is no darkness.  Not one shadow can exist in the light of your presence.  Not one evil thought can endure.  Not one evil deed can succeed in your Holy light.  So, deliver us from the darkness of this fallen world and from the powers and principalities of this present darkness.  This world doesn’t belong to them.  We claim it for you once more, Father God.  For the sake of your son and for His sacrifice, we lift up Jesus as our King.  We are no longer slaves to fear and doubt, to the evil and corruptible things of this world.  We stand in your light and are not consumed because you have saved us!  You have defeated the enemy!  

Give me joy in the battle, Lord. You will rescue me from every evil deed.  I will find you in the waiting and know that you are my God and that I am your daughter and a joint heir with Jesus.  Jesus has asked for the nations, Lord.  Give them to him!  Increase your Kingdom!  Cleanse this place once and for all.  

Give strength to your workers and endurance for the days to come.  Darkness thinks it is winning.  There is darkness everywhere today, Lord.  Darkness on every street corner.  In every place.  The human condition has been tainted, Lord and all are lost.  But you have saved us through your son.  You have brought light into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it, no matter how hard it tries.  Help us to hold onto that promise as the days grow dimmer and dimmer around us.  Help us to be your light and life.  Shine through us, as we allow your Spirit to have dominion over our hearts.  Let us all be well equipped to be your light bearers, wherever we go.

I long for your peace, Lord.  I long for your rest.  Give us endurance.  Give us peace and rest.  Come Lord Jesus, Come!  Return to your people once again.  Restore your Kingdom.  Amen.