Video Bible Lesson - A Prayer of Encouragement for Your Work By Theresa Ceniccola

A Prayer of Encouragement for Your Work
By Theresa Ceniccola

1/2 Hour of God’s Power with Scott Ralls

1/21/2020

01/20/2020

A Prayer of Encouragement for Your Work
By Theresa Ceniccola

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17).
What do you pray for? I pray for my family, my marriage, my health… for friends and total strangers who are going through a difficult experience… for abandoned children and prisoners of war. Those are probably some of the same things you pray for. But I also talk to God about my business. I ask for divine direction and wise counsel.
If God has blessed you with a business or ministry, you should remember to pray for it as well. May this prayer help you remember to keep the faith in the work environment.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the blessing of my business or ministry. I am grateful that you planted a seed in my heart and gave me the resources and opportunity to use my gifts to serve others.
Lord please show me what you want me to do next with the gift of my work. Teach me to make wise decisions and keep my eyes focused on the path you set before me. Help me avoid temptations and distractions that lead me astray.
Lord, please help me to be a better steward of the many blessings you have bestowed on me. Teach me to be financially responsible and generous with my time, talent and treasure.
Lord, give me the courage and faith to follow your call – even when it means taking risks. Protect me from the doubts and fears that prevent me from fulfilling your purpose for me. Help me to trust in you and feel your never-ending love and presence.
Lord, when I’m filled with doubt about my abilities or qualifications, please cover me with your peace and fill me with confidence. Help me to remember that I am serving you through my work and that you will equip me to fulfill your call.
Lord, please fill me with faith and resolve to keep moving forward when I feel like giving up. Remind me of your will for me and give me the patience and endurance to stay the course, despite the many obstacles I face.
Lord, this business or ministry is a wonderful learning experience for me. Please teach me everything I need to know in order to succeed in your plans. Give me wisdom, knowledge and understanding, so that I may please you and glorify you through my work.
Amen

#Jesus, #Christian, #Bible, #Salvation, #Heaven, #God, #HolySpirit

Developing Convictions

Developing Convictions

Dr. Charles Stanley

Jeremiah 17:5-8

An acorn needs nutrients and time to grow into a tall, sturdy oak tree. Likewise, men and women of conviction develop gradually through committed Bible study and prayer. Ready to get planted firmly in biblical truth? Here’s how:

Make a list of issues for which you need to form a conviction. Here are questions to help you get started: Do you consider the Bible true and trustworthy? Do you think that believing in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved? What is the Holy Spirit’s role in the lives of believers and unbelievers? Are we to forgive others in every situation? How should Christians approach finances? What’s your purpose in life? What is your role in the church and at work? How should you think and act regarding social issues like capital punishment, abortion, and racism?

It is my hope that these questions will open the eyes of those who haven’t contemplated how their personal philosophies have developed. It’s time to change that. Study the Bible and make God’s Word the cornerstone of your thinking. A concordance will point you to scriptures that relate to the above topics. Evaluate what the Bible says rather than looking at an issue through the lens of personal preference. Ask, What does God say? rather than What does this mean to me?

Once you know what God says, you have a choice to make: Believe Him and commit to living according to your conviction, or continue being tossed by waves of doubt and indecision (James 1:6). Root yourself in God’s Word and be called one of His oaks of righteousness (Isa. 61:3).

Run the Race

Run the Race
ARLENE PELLICANE

“Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:2-5 (NIV)

When I go for what I call a “run” — jogging around my neighborhood for about 10 minutes — I often take my large Goldendoodle dog named Winston with me (whose favorite pastime happens to be napping).

Unlike some dogs, Winston doesn’t just run right alongside me or in front of me. He needs a little motivation. So I grab a doggie biscuit and hold it like a baton in front of him. He sniffs with excitement and follows me, usually trailing for the first four houses before catching up. He loves getting his biscuit treat after our exercise!

With the reward in sight, he runs onward.

The Christian life is compared to a race in the Bible many times:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?” (1 Corinthians 9:24a, NIV)

“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7, NIV)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7a, b, NIV).

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1c, NIV).

Running a race takes discipline, consistency, effort and movement in the same direction. When we have a reward in sight, like Winston and his dog biscuit, it keeps us motivated, helping us to persevere through difficulty or fatigue. We certainly run for the prize of heaven and rewards like the crown of life (James 1:12) and a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:25) But there are rewards and benefits to enjoy right now in your race!

Our key verse written by David, highlights the benefits of serving God: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:2-5).

David is talking to himself in these verses. He’s encouraging his own heart. He’s reminding himself of the benefits of following God’s commands. He’s giving a “locker room talk” to an audience of one — like a rousing speech coaches give to sports teams before playing a big game.

He’s stirring up praise in the inward man.

He’s remembering what God has done for him that no one can take away.

He’s grateful to be forgiven.

He’s recognizing it is God who satisfies with good things.

This is a glimpse into David’s inner life of praise. It reveals his motivation and what kept him running so strong that he was called a man after God’s own heart. How can we keep running the race faithfully every day after the heart of God?

There are many sinful distractions along the way that trip us up. There’s also a very subtle snare — the trap of forgetfulness. We don’t go off on an evil path. We just slow down and stop remembering all that God has done. We become forgetful, then unthankful. We forget the awesomeness of God. We forget how God has delivered us. We forget why we made the commitment to run the race as a disciple in the first place.

It’s time to awake our souls to remember our God who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. When we remember who He is, we have the power to keep running, jogging, walking in the right direction. So what keeps us running the race? Remembering the benefits of following God. Let’s not forget He forgives, heals, redeems, crowns and satisfies!

Heavenly Father, thank You for being my redeemer and for saving my soul. I remember Your goodness today. You do not treat me as my sins deserve or repay me according to my iniquities. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is Your love for me. I take time now to remember Your greatness. Thank You for having compassion on me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Acts 20:24, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (NIV)

Anything and Everything

Anything and Everything 
by Shawn McEvoy

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

When my children were but ages five and three, they already knew my weakness.

They recognized that it's not ice cream, baseball, or their mom's chili... or even a hug or puppy-dog eyes from them. 

See, none of the above make me cry (although the chili almost did once). Yes, my children have seen their father cry. It's not something I wanted, or intended. I'm a man, after all. I go to work, show my strength. I coach, help, show, point, and guide. I communicate, discipline, and lead. I pray. I do not cry. 

...Except when I read Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree, that is.

>And like I said, my children, who are older now, have known this from early on. And oh, have they twisted that knife. We must own a couple hundred children's books, but if it's a night where Daddy is doing the bedtime reading rather than Mommy, what have they invariangly picked through the years? The Giving Tree of course!

I've been reading this book, first published in 1964, since I myself was a child, and no matter how many times I do, I am unable to de-sensitize. I mean, when I watch the movie Field of Dreams and Ray has a catch with his ghost-dad, that gets me. But if I see the scene over and over within a certain time frame? Nah. No sweat, no tears. But this blasted children's book... well... what's going on here?

First of all, you're probably wondering that very thing if you aren't familiar with the story. A tree and a boy are the best of friends during an idyllic childhood for the young man where he eats apples from the tree, climbs her trunk, swings from her branches, and rests in her shade. Then things change, as things do, and we see the boy approach the tree at all the various stages of his life, caught up - understandably, even - more in wanting and needing than in just being. Every time he has a "need," the tree obliges... and is happy for having done so. She doesn't have much, but gives all she has until eventually, she is nothing but a stump. At the end of all things, however, it turns out a stump is just what the old man needs - a quiet place to sit down and rest and reflect. "And the tree was happy. The end." 

And I am undone... again. 

Is it because I am reading the story to my children, and I know our stories will be very much like that of the tree and the boy, where they are my delight but eventually I must simply become provider as they go out into the world? Yes and no. 

Is it because our family copy of the book - the one I read to the kids - carries an inscription from my wife on our first Christmas as husband and wife that says, "With God's help, may I love you like this"? Yes and no. 

Is it because as my father lay dying I told him of the story (he wasn't familiar with it), and how he had been that tree for me? That's definitely part of it. My mother, I remember, commented that she didn't recall it being a "Christian" book. I didn't really have an answer to that, only to what I saw in it. Which is... 

Complete love to the point of emptying. Unquestioning sacrifice, even for someone who isn't appreciating or understanding what they've been given. A desire only to have communion. An entering into final rest. In other words, a perfect example of the immensity of what Jesus did for me, desired from me, provides for me, and will carry me to. 

That is why I always cry. 

So every time I finish the story, eyes full of tears, my kids look at me wondering if I'm okay. My youngest used to ask, "Why you cry, Dad?" And every time I've explained, I think she has understood just the tiniest bit more. These are tears of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the Giver and the immensity of a gift to a person consumed with self-interest who has forgotten innocence. A short time ago these children opened their hearts to receive that gift. Now I pray that they won't miss the other lesson from the book: all our Giver really wants in return is our time, for us to come to Him as we did as children.

Intersecting Faith & Life: But can any of us actually hope to become more like the tree in the story? Parents know what it means to give every last ounce of everything they are to the betterment of their children. We have reason for doing so. Do you know anyone who empties themselves this way for those they don't have a familial reason to love? What steps can you take to emulate their Christ-like, unconditional love? 

You Don't Need a Degree to Read (and Understand) the Bible

You Don't Need a Degree to Read (and Understand) the Bible
 By Matthew S. Harmon

”All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”  - 2 Tim. 3:16-17

Anyone Can Study the Bible

Sometimes I think we make studying the Bible more complicated than it has to be.

There's a place for in-depth study and using all these remarkable resources that are available to us. But, at the end of the day, the goal is to encounter the living God.

And so as we learn to ask some basic questions of any passage, you don't need to be a biblical scholar, you don't need to have had advanced coursework, you don't even need to have been a Christian for very long. All you need is to be able to ask questions: What do we learn about God? What do we learn about people? How should I relate to God? How should I relate to others?

As we ask some of those very basic, simple questions, I believe the text starts to open up. Sometimes it actually raises even more questions. But oftentimes it quickly reveals things about God and about ourselves.

We realize that we can really benefit from reading, and it doesn't take complicated methods or techniques. It simply requires asking the right kinds of questions to point us in the right direction to relate to God and to be transformed by who God is and what he's doing in the pages of Scripture—realizing that he wants to do similar, transformative things in our own lives.

A Prayer for a Thankful Heart

A Prayer for a Thankful HeartBy Debbie Przybylski

“I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Psalm 7:17-8:1)

It is not easy to give thanks in every circumstance. But when we choose to thank God in the midst of difficulty, it defeats the forces of darkness in the spiritual realm. When we thank God for every gift He has given us even when things are hard, the enemy loses the battle against us. He is stopped in his tracks when we come to God with a thankful heart.

Learn to be thankful for every blessing from God in your life. It is of great significance to Him if in the midst of great trials, we can be thankful. There is a way of looking at life from the standpoint of eternity. The reality of eternal life and eternal glory that far exceeds this life is a priceless treasure. Our afflictions are working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

A Prayer for a Thankful Heart

Lord, teach me to offer you a heart of thanksgiving and praise in all my daily experiences of life. Teach me to be joyful always, to pray continually and to give thanks in all my circumstances. I accept them as Your will for my life (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I long to bring pleasure to Your heart daily. Break the power of the enemy in my life. Defeat Him through my sacrifice of praise. Change my outlook and attitude into one of joyful contentment with my present circumstances. I thank You for… [Name a difficult circumstance in your life presently and thank God for it.]

Jesus, I want to be like You who obeyed the Father without complaint. You embraced the chains of humanity when You walked this earth. Convict me whenever I complain or compare myself with others. Give me Your attitude of humility and thankful acceptance. I want to be like the Apostle Paul who learned contentment in every circumstance. I choose to continually offer You a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that give praise to Your name (Hebrews 13:15). I long to bring a smile to Your face. Teach me the power of a thankful heart. I know that Your truth dwells in a thankful heart.

New Beginnings

New Beginnings

"Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel."

Joshua 1:2

Joshua was a faithful servant to Moses and God for years. Moses had died and Joshua watched as all his contemporaries, except for Caleb, die in the wilderness over a period of forty years. It was a new generation and there was a changing of the guard! Joshua was to take up the mantle of Moses and move God’s people forward into the promised land. The old was fading in the distance and there before him was the door to the future. No doubt fear was present, and questions arose by doubters as to his ability to fill the shoes of Moses. After all, Moses had been used by God to do incredible things; things never seen before such as the plagues of deliverance from bondage, the parting of the Red Sea, healing from the deadly snake bites, manna from the sky, water from a rock, taking a tree and making the bitter waters sweet, constructing the tabernacle, the tent of meeting where God would speak to him face to face, the battles fought and the giving of the Ten Commandments.

Who could fill such shoes? What lay in store for him by following God? What new battles lay ahead? Moses had buried his wife during his leadership; along with countless others and he lost the privilege of taking the people into the promised land after wandering with them for forty years. If Moses had paid such a great price just to lead them to the desert, what cost would Joshua pay in the future leading them into battle for the land that God had promised?

As the old comes to a close and the new begins to emerge upon us, waves of doubts filled with fear can overwhelm the heart as it contemplates the unknown of what lies ahead. We look back, often with regret, from the days that have now slipped by at the blink of an eye and pray that the next year will be a better one. We often restrict our decisions based upon our limitations rather than on God’s limitless power. I’m sure Joshua’s first thought could have been; "Where do I begin?" But God made it very simple for Joshua, as He does for us. He told him two things to do, yes only two: arise and cross. Joshua could not remain where he was and fulfill the purpose God had for his life. He could not wallow in self-pity, grief or fear, recite a list of excuses, or wait for a more opportune time to emerge. He had to choose to get up, to stir his heart, to act upon the commands of the Lord going forth to obey all that He had told him to do. Refusing to arise and move forward will defeat the child of God who desires to answer the call of God upon their lives. Courage is not the friend of hesitation.

The second thing Joshua had to do was to cross the Jordan River. This river was the only thing standing between God’s people and the land of Canaan. Stepping out into the waters of faith allowed Joshua and the people of Israel to cross over into their calling of God. He could not allow the Jordan to keep him from obeying God, no matter how impossible it seemed to overcome. He had to leave the "how to" to God.

When they stepped out into that water, God dried it up before them. After all, He parted an entire sea for them; surely He could part a river. God takes our Jordan’s and dries them up before us when we move forward in faith with Him. It was the first step of obedience that cleared a path to walk across. If we cannot face the waters of difficulties in the land of comfort, how will we ever face the enemies in the land of war? God will always meet you at your place of obedience.

There are new battles ahead of us, new enemies to face, fears to conquer, new land to tread upon, and walls to bring down. With this New Year before us, beloved, let us say with the apostle Paul, "…One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead" (Philippians 3:13). Arise, beloved one of God, step out into the waters of faith and behold the power of God to bring you into the land!

Take me to the regions beyond the Jordan.