A Prayer When You Feel Condemned..Emily Rose Massey

 A Prayer When You Feel Condemned

By Emily Rose Massey

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, ESV).  

For many years I was driven by perfectionism and the feeling that I had to work successfully or perform well in life to be loved by other people…and be loved by God. On the outside, I looked like I had it all together- high honors throughout school, hyper-involvement in extracurricular activities, serving in any ministry I was asked to be involved in, star of the high school plays and musicals, head cheerleader, first chair clarinet player in the band, and the list goes on and on. But on the inside, I was so empty and constantly searching for true fulfillment. I knew God was there for me, but somehow, I thought I could be perfect in my own strength on my walk with Him. 

Because we are human, we fail time and time again. We make a mess of things more often than not. Guilt and shame can often push us further away from God instead of closer. For so long as a Christian, I was allowing self-condemnation to take root in my heart, and it weighed me down as I walked around carrying all of the baggage of my past sins and failures, thinking that I had to continue to strive to keep God’s forgiveness. Thankfully, today, I no longer live burdened by a works-based mentality. I find my identity in the finished work of Christ, and I want to encourage you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you should too. Grace is a gift that cannot be earned, and you do not have to strive to keep it, either.

In Romans 8:1, the Bible tells us that we do not have to carry condemnation in our lives when we’re truly in Christ. If you are a born-again believer, condemnation does not exist because the punishment for our failures and sins does not exist. 

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, ESV). 

This means that when we embrace and believe what Jesus did for us on the cross, as He took the punishment for our sins that we deserved, our lives are now hidden in Christ. When we come to God with a heart full of repentance, resting in this glorious, finished work of the cross, we can stand before the throne of God without any shame because Jesus bore all of it for us. The debt we owed has been paid in full- we are free from all bondage.

Jesus took all of your sin and your shame upon Himself and cast it as far as the east is from the west, friend. You no longer have to live with the weight of your failures. You can come boldly to the throne of grace, beloved because it is grace that did the work for you. You can rest assured that God sees you as blameless and perfect because you are in Christ. There is no reason to carry that heavy burden of condemnation you’re your shoulders…surrender it to Christ today. Let’s pray that you learn to no longer walk around carrying the weight of your past and stop striving for perfection. Remember, Jesus is blameless and perfect for you…lean upon Him. 

Let’s Pray:

Father, 
I know that I need to stop running away from You when I fail and sin. You see it all and know that I am going to undoubtedly mess up. That is why You sent Your Son Jesus to earth to live the perfect life for me, to fulfill the law completely for me. His death on the cross paid for my punishment of the curse of the law that I will never be able to uphold. So I come boldly to the throne of grace today and receive new mercies that Christ died for me to have. I lean upon Your strength and grace today and trust that the work that You started in me will continue until Christ’s glorious return or when I meet You face to face. I rest in Your beautiful mercy and cast off any condemnation that may be trying to weigh me down. In You, I am completely free and forgiven!
Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Become a Devoted Student of the Word..Joe McKeever

 02/02/2024

 Become a Devoted Student of the Word

By Joe McKeever

Become a Devoted Student of the Word

By Joe McKeever

"What great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?" (Deuteronomy 4:8)

Late one afternoon, I rested for a couple of hours in the home of friends in McComb, Mississippi before attending a church banquet where I was to speak. I noticed in the living room, shelves contained all the writings of Jan Karon, the novels of John Grisham and David Baldacci, and others. Looks like we read the same stuff, I thought. And another thought occurred…

The reason you won’t find those books on shelves at my house is after we read them, we’re through with them. We pass them on to family members or donate them to Goodwill. But one thing we never do is pull one out which we’ve read before to read again, just to see if we missed anything the first time through. And yet…

We do this with the holy Scriptures all the time. Every time we pass through a familiar chapter or well-known story, we find something new, something we had not seen before. It’s an amazing thing.

This is precisely what the Lord promised would happen. Matthew 13:52 contains the only mention of this in Scripture and it’s a keeper…

“Therefore, every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

Imagine that. A homeowner who goes into his safe or a chest of valuables and counts out all the deeds, money, jewels, and other keepsakes he has owned through the years. But every time he does this, he finds new treasures. A pearl ring this time, a hundred dollar bill the next time, and so forth. He’d come often, wouldn’t he?

Jesus said a scribe–that is, someone considered an expert on the Scriptures–who gets saved now returns to the Scriptures that he loves and where he has found all these precious truths and insights. He finds them there, all the riches he has loved over the years. But lo and behold, every time he comes, he makes a new discovery. And so it is with opening the Word of the Lord.

There are so many reasons for God’s people studying and living in the Scriptures. Jesus called it our bread (Matthew 4:4). Job said it was more than his necessary food (Job 23:12). David called it a lamp unto his feet, a light unto his path (Psalm 119:105). Paul said it’s the source of faith (Romans 10:17).

If you call yourself a sincere disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no excuse for not becoming a devoted student of His Word. Keepsakes he has owned through the years.

The Darkest Thought..Meg Bucher

 The Darkest Thought

By Meg Bucher

“Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” - Proverbs 28:26 NLT

The darkest thought. The one that wants us to give up, stop trying and throw in the towel. The darkest thought will try to convince us we cannot live like this anymore. It will hold us hostage in sleep when we would normally wake and hostage awake when we would normally sleep. The darkest thought plagues us, pricking at our thin skin and picking open fresh wounds. There are days we don’t want to do life; it’s as simple as that. The enemy comes for all of us, one time or another, with a dark proposition. See it for the lie it is. And seek the help which surrounds us via counselors and medical professionals to help us heal when our nervous systems have broken down.

Life peels back like layers as we grow closer to God. As we become familiar with His voice, the darkest thought loses its volume. The Creator of the Universe assures us we are here for a reason, each one of us. He knew us before we were born. We are living the greatest love story of all time, in which He sent His only Son to save us. He will never leave us. We are never alone. He understands and meets us where we are at. No unmet expectations or disappointed glances …just unconditional, accepting, sacrificial, unfailing love. The loveliest thought. 

What Are We Thinking?

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” - Proverbs 4:23 NLT

This means more than just the actual organ beating inside of our chests. Often when the heart is mentioned, it represents the central seat of all we are, including our conscience, wisdom, will, and emotions. The Hebrew translation, in this case, and many others in the Old Testament, define the heart as “inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; seat of courage.” The details further define it as the inner part, midst; heart, soul, mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory, inclination, resolution, determination (of will), conscience, heart (of moral character), as seat of appetites, as seat of emotions and passions.” That’s an all-encompassing definition of what the writer of Proverbs is trying to convey by using the terminology, “guard your heart!” 

Literally, we are to guard our innermost being, will, heart, understanding, soul, mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory, inclination, resolution, determination, conscience, moral character, appetite, emotions, and passions! “Guard your heart above all else,” Solomon wrote, “for it determines the course of your life.” Solomon was renowned as the wisest man on earth! He was King David’s son. He had everything he could have ever wanted in life and knew it meant nothing if the heart was tainted and unguarded. 

Guarding our hearts means taking the thoughts we notice and making them obedient to the Word of God. If a thought doesn’t line up …we don’t have to continue thinking about it! “It is the mind’s natural tendency to drift restlessly from one thought to another, moving between memories, imaginings, goals, and plans,” Leigh W. Jerome, Ph. D., wrote for pyscology.com, “the average person has about 6.5 thoughts per minute, or about 6, 200 thought per day (Tseng & Popping, 2020).” Though we cannot control every thought which comes into our minds, we surely have control over them when we notice them. By the power of Christ Jesus in us, we have the power to hold our thoughts captive to the Truth of God. In other words, we have power and authority in Christ Jesus to guard our hearts …above all else. 

“…for it determines the course of your life.” The darkest thought of taking life into our own hands and removing it from the face of the earth most certainly determines the course of our lives. This thought is important to hold captive to the Truth of God and get it out of our minds as quickly and efficiently as possible. Declaring, in the name of Christ Jesus, the darkest thought has no power over us. The darkest thought is a lie. A seemingly easy way out but a tragic loss for all who border that life here on earth. This, coupled with seeking professional counsel for the medical healing our nerves and minds sometimes need, leads us back to literal life. 

Intersecting Faith and Life:

“We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 10:5 NLT

Thoughts are just thoughts. They are not in charge. God is in charge, and He has given us everything we need to fix our thoughts on Him …and on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. There’s no easy way around what we have to do. 

“Those who trust in themselves are fools,” Proverbs 28:26 reminds us, “but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” (NLT) 

Paul wrote to the Corinthians the method by which we are to put our trust in the Lord by capturing rebellious thoughts and teaching them to obey Christ. 

Everyday life throws 6,200 thoughts into our minds! We know what we have to do and how we are to do it. When we are in the word of God daily, we will be able to better identify thoughts that don’t align with what the truth of God says. The Bible is God’s truth. Prayerfully, we can ask for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to help us develop the wisdom and astuteness we need to make sure we aren’t led down a rabbit trail of lies. Our minds are powerful! God made them that way and gives us everything we need to live wise lives with guarded hearts. 

Further Reading: 

• Colossians 3:2-5
• Romans 12:2
• 2 Timothy 1:7

A Prayer for the Mind of Christ..Jessica Van Roekel

 A Prayer for the Mind of Christ

By Jessica Van Roekel

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to your own interests but also to others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:3-7, ESV)

I’m talented at imagining worst-case scenarios. I see frowns and imagine they are directed at me, and then spend far too much time wondering what I did to cause it. If I ask someone if something’s wrong and they say nothing, I struggle to believe them. It’s easy to imagine offense, and when I spend too much time dwelling on thoughts like these, I get stuck in a me versus them cycle.

Living life on the defense can be a self-focused way of living. Boundaries are one thing, but constructing thoughts that build walls between other people and us are dangerous. They keep people out, and we stand alert, waiting for an attack. This defensive stance leads to imagined offenses—on our part for wondering what we did wrong and for interpreting another person’s actions and words through the lens of “they’re out to get me.”

Jesus is our great example in so many ways. One of the areas where we can learn the most is his demonstration of humility and meekness. Humility is not thinking of ourselves in a high or debased way. It is understanding that our strengths and gifts come from God, and we owe all of them to him. Humility allows us to assert that we are the object of undeserved redeeming love, and without God, we have nothing. We are not our own, but God’s through Jesus Christ. This is having the mindset of Christ.

When we view other people through this humble lens, our defenses lower, and our worries about offenses cease. We’re able to lay aside the worst-case imaginations of “What did I do wrong?” and “Why do they react to me that way?” This mindset allows us to consider others better than ourselves because we’re secure in who we are in Christ. We’re able to lay aside the petty selfishness that grows from self-protection and choose to serve one another with a generous heart.

Jesus served the people around him. He taught his disciples, he healed many, and he brought people to life. His final emptying came when he allowed himself to be beaten and hung on a cross to die. He stayed silent when the court flung accusations against him. He refused to play Herod’s game when Herod demanded signs to prove who he was. All for you and for me.

In Jesus’ own words, he said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13, NIV). We can live this example when we put someone’s needs or wants before our own. Love inconveniences itself. Serving others and having the mindset of Christ means we will experience disruptions where we can practice servanthood. It will mean that we think the best of others instead of the worst.

The mindset of Christ helps us lay aside our worst-case scenarios and view other people through the lens of humility so we can discover the power of God at work in them and us.Let’s pray:

Holy God,
Without you, I have nothing, but with you, I have everything. Help me lay aside my selfish ambitions and the vain conceit that sets me up as defensive toward others. I want to have your attitude and mind. Help to serve others with gladness and joy, knowing that as I do so, I am reflecting your mindset to the people around me. When I’m inconvenienced by a request, help me to rejoice that I get to serve. When I struggle with selfishness, help me surrender to the refinement that comes when I say “yes” to the work you’re doing in me and through me.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Tilling the Soil of the Heart: Thankfulness ..Craig Denison Ministries

Tilling the Soil of the Heart: Thankfulness

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

This week we'll look at a vital spiritual practice to all those seeking to grow in God:tilling the soil of the heart. Jesus spoke in Matthew 13 of two different types of soil—hard and soft. God longs for us to till the soil of our hearts that we might be receptive to the seed of his word and bear fruit. May your heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God this week as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture:“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

Devotional:Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools in making our hearts both soft to the seed of God's word and filled with abundant joy. Thanksgiving aligns our thoughts and emotions with the reality of God’s goodness in a world wrought with lies about the character of God. It breeds joy and trust rather than entitlement and negativity. With each declaration of thankfulness you dig a shovel into the hard, rocky soil of your heart and churn it over until it becomes receptive to the fullness of God and filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

The Bible is laden with commands to be thankful. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” But my favorite command on thankfulness is Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” 

You see, it's important to understand that the Bible doesn’t suggest that we give thanks, but rather commands us to always be thankful. And in God’s command he reveals his heart. We learn in Psalm 107 that our thankfulness is meant to be a response to the steadfast love of our heavenly Father. Thankfulness is meant to be the overflow of remembering, encountering and mulling over how our God is abundantly faithful and filled with unconditional love for us.

I used to read Scripture commanding me to be thankful and think, “Sorry God, I know I need to be more thankful. I know I'm so provided for and loved. I'm sorry for not thanking you more.”

But after meditating on Psalm 107:1, I realized that my lack of thankfulness is a symptom of not spending enough time encountering God’s wonderful character rather than a core issue in and of itself. Tilling the soil of my heart through thankfulness requires that I set aside time to simply experience God’s goodness and love. Because everything he does is by grace, my natural response to his character will always be one of thanksgiving.

Take time today to reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father. Allow his goodness to cause thankfulness to well up within you. May your time in guided prayer be filled with a transformational encounter with God and cultivate good soil that bears the fruit of an abundant life.           

Guided Prayer:

1. Reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:28

“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.” Psalm 103:1-5

2. Now respond to God's character with thankfulness.Take Scripture and thank God for who he is. Look at your life and thank God for any good gifts he’s given you. Allow his goodness to stir up thankfulness within you.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

3. What changed in your heart as you engaged in thanksgiving? Journal about the power of thankfulness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see how God is at work in your life today and offer thanksgiving in response.

If you start to feel your heart begin to harden because of something that happens today, simply reflect on the goodness of God and give thanks. Negativity and sin have an incredibly harmful effect on our hearts. Decide to put away any form of slander, impurity and anything negative at all, and instead focus on the goodness of what God is doing. Choose to love today and align your thoughts and emotions with faith and trust in who God is. To walk in relationship with God is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times. If you get off track for a bit, simply ask the Spirit to lead you back to the perspective and posture of heart he desires for you! God's grace is abounding and powerful. He longs to walk in relationship with you all day today. May your day be filled with peace, joy and a passionate pursuit of bringing his kingdom to earth all around you.

Extended Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Walking in Sustainable Faith..Meg Bucher

 Walking in Sustainable Faith

By Meg Bucher

“As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” John 6:66 (NASB)

Can you picture the scene? After Jesus preached that He was the only way to the Father.

Earth-shattering and …in the minds of those who did not believe He was the Messiah, blasphemous speech. It was too much for many to wrap their minds around. And I believe that’s where they went wrong. Our minds will never be fully capable of comprehending Jesus.

Faith kicks in to cover what we cannot comprehend.

We are purposely not privy to all of the answers. But that doesn’t mean we can’t live a life full of the tremendous purpose God has intentionally placed upon all of our lives.

It’s all in how we walk. Where we walk. And Who we follow.

The original translation of walked in this verse is, peripateo, meaning to make one’s way, progress; to make due use of opportunities. (Strong’s.) 

We walk in the life of our steps.

“Jesus had already made clear what discipleship meant, and many were not ready to receive life in the way he taught.” NIV Study Bible Notes

There are many rounds of pain we are promised to go through in this life. Rounds of physical pain, mental pain, relational pain, and tests of our faith. God is not surprised by any of them. What will we chose to do in each round? Will we remember that He’s in our corner, and continue walking …continuing fighting on in faith with Him at our side. With the Son and the Spirit that He sent to help us and build a bridge into His arms everyday we are alive.

Or will we walk away from the fight? Will we turn around when it’s too much for us to understand …bear …or carry? Life is too heavy for our backs, but fits perfectly in His arms.

Father,

Praise You for carrying us through pain. Thank You for Your faithfulness and compassion for us. Forgive us for walking away, making life in harder to bear. Remind us in the moments when life seems impossible …that it is. And that’s why You are the only One capable of carrying us through it. In

Jesus’ Name,

Amen.