Sunday Worship

Psalm 107:1-3 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.”

Oh, how we long for our sons and daughters to have a testimony of God’s redemption in their lives. Maybe one day soon they will sing the words of the hymn below…until then, let’s sing our own testimony of God’s goodness to us!

Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Fanny Jane Crosby

Saturday Review

As we wrap up our week let’s continue praying for the wanderer and prodigal. God is able to do more than we ask or think and remember, the Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know what to pray.

The Father longs for our wandering sons and daughters to turn to Him. Let’s lift our heavy hearts to Him.

If you missed our study this week on praying for the prodigal, you can watch the youtube video here: How To Pray for A Prodigal Child It might be a great place to start your Saturday Review.

Pray that:

• Our sons and daughters would mourn and lament their sin.

• That the Lord would open the eyes of their heart to see how grievous their choices are and how much their sin and rebellion distances them from God. 

• Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.

• Hearts are broken over pride, selfishness and rebellion.  

• That they see their path only leads to death and they are terrified by it.  

• Pray that our sons and daughters know life and freedom in Christ.  

• Pray for the change that will turn their eternity into one of hope, joy, light and life.

• Pray the armor of God over  our sons and daughters, and then pray for the Spirit to intercede on their behalf and work in ways that are beyond what we might imagine for them.

Then, finish by reading Psalm 77.  As we pray these words to the Lord, let’s use them to remind ourselves of His goodness and faithfulness and His promises that never fail.

Pray without ceasing.

Psalm 77

“I cried out to God for help;

    I cried out to God to hear me.

When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;

    at night I stretched out untiring hands,

    and I would not be comforted.

I remembered you, God, and I groaned;

    I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.

You kept my eyes from closing;

    I was too troubled to speak. 

I thought about the former days,

    the years of long ago;

I remembered my songs in the night.

    My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

“Will the Lord reject forever?

    Will he never show his favor again?

Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

    Has his promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be merciful?

    Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:

    the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

    Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

I will consider all your works

    and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

Your ways, God, are holy.

    What god is as great as our God?

You are the God who performs miracles;

    you display your power among the peoples.

With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, God,

    the waters saw you and writhed;

    the very depths were convulsed. 

The clouds poured down water,

    the heavens resounded with thunder;

    your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,

    your lightning lit up the world;

    the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

    your way through the mighty waters,

    though your footprints were not seen.

You led your people like a flock

    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”

The Battle of the Mind

Philippians 3:18-21  “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,  who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

Here’s a startling statement: either we live for Christ, or we are His enemy.  

What does it mean to be an enemy of the cross?  That word, enemy, in the original Greek means hateful, hostile, at enmity with God (1).  Often we think of hate as the act of rebellion and venomous speech, resisting and fighting against something with every ounce of physical and emotional strength.  But hate can be a passive hostility, a rebellious spirit or a hard attitude against something or someone.  Hate is a mindset.  It won’t dissolve without a change.  Unless the mind is convinced, the heart won’t follow.

And here’s the thing.  The battle is all in the mind.  Satan is the great deceiver.  He will convince us, beyond a doubt, that his lie is the truth.  He will deceive us into thinking that the darkness is where we will thrive.  He will convince us to drink his poison to satisfy our thirst only to laugh and watch us choke on his evil.  He will invade our minds and thoughts to keep us from submitting to God and will, rather, convince us that we can and should be our own god.  Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”  

We need to fight this battle right where it’s happening.  We need to ask the Lord to intercede in the minds of our sons and daughters and redeem them from the grip of the Enemy.  We need to pray scripture to fight Satan.  When Jesus was tempted, he answered Satan with scripture, He fought the battle of the mind with the very words of God.  Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Today, let's take time to pray scripture over the minds and hearts of our sons and daughters.  God is able to intervene and turn enemies of the cross into faithful followers who love Him with their heart, soul, mind and strength.

Pray without ceasing!

1. G2190 - echthros - Strong's Greek Lexicon (kjv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2190/kjv/tr/0-1/

Praying for Change

James 4:7-10

 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

What is it that we want most for our sons and daughters who are wandering...or straight up running away from the Lord?  We want change.  Honest, about-face, change of heart, mind and loyalty.  But let’s dig in deeper.  “Change” is a nebulous word.  Let’s get specific.

What is at the root of their wandering or living as a prodigal?  Often it’s rebellion, pride and selfishness.  Our human nature rebels against God’s authority.  We want to make our own rules and follow our own path.  We refuse to see how God’s boundaries are really the lines within which we will thrive and flourish.  The fertile soil, the protected land, the best irrigation and nourishment all lie within the boundaries God set for us.  He’s marked off the very best ‘land’ for us to enjoy.  Yet, we look longingly over the fence at what appears to be greener pastures.  And we insist on pressing against the fence until it gives way.  We want what we want….and we tell God “You’re not the boss of me!”.  Oh, but He is.

We run, we laugh and mock, we revel in our ‘freedom’ only to find that we are lost, hunted by the  Enemy and losing our ability to meet our own needs.  It is dark, empty and the smell of death surrounds us.  We reap the consequences of our ‘knowing better’ only to realize that we don’t.  But sometimes, sometimes we are so prideful we refuse, even then, to admit our fault.  We would rather sit in our own stench than submit to God.

But the remedy is simple and the change it brings is dramatic.  All we need to do is submit to God.  Submit and we will have the strength to resist the devil -he will flee!  Submit and God will draw near to us.  Submit and He will make us clean.  Oh that our sons and daughters would see the benefits of following the Lord.  But if they’re outside of God’s boundaries, they’re likely blinded to what is good and right because the Enemy has them in a stranglehold and bound in darkness.

Today, let’s pray that our sons and daughters are confronted with the awfulness of their sin and that they are grieved by it.  Pray that their hearts are broken over their pride, selfishness and rebellion.  Pray that they see their path only leads to death and they are terrified by it.  Pray that they truly mourn their slow death of sin.  Because scripture says, blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted Matthew 5:4.

Jesus brings life.  Jesus brings change!!  Oh that our sons and daughters would embrace that change by submitting to God and letting all that He holds for them become their inheritance.  Pray that they know life and freedom in Christ.  Pray for the change that will turn their eternity into one of hope, joy, light and life.

Pray without ceasing!!

Don’t forget to join us tonight for our final Bible Study connected to the Without Ceasing devotional book!! We’ll be digging deeper into Scripture and talking about how to pray for a prodigal child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83ssz_JqEQ

Just go to the link and join us at 8pm EST. Can’t join us then? No worries, the video will stay on youtube and you can watch it later…and share with a friend!

Sorrow over Sin

2 Corinthians 7:10  “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

This week we’re focusing on prayer for the wanderer and our scripture is aligned with the live teaching that will play tomorrow night (October 19) at 8pm.  There are SO many things we can and should pray for our sons and daughters.  Today, we’ll pray for sorrow over sin.

God wants us to see our sin for what it is… rebellion and disobedience against Him and His will for our lives.  It’s a selfishness that puts our fleshly desires above those spiritual boundaries and expectations that God put in place.  When we see our sin for what it is, we see that it breaks the heart of God.  If we truly love God, we’ll be broken over our selfish rebellion and we’ll desire to be back into right fellowship with Him.  Worldly sorrow only leads to death. It doesn’t bring that heart change that leads us from darkness into light and brings salvation. Worldly sorrow is drenched in darkness and has no power to transform us.

Pray that, if our sons and daughters are not walking with the Lord, the eyes of their heart would be opened to see how grievous their choices are and how much their sin and rebellion distances them from God.  Pray that Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation. Pray that they truly mourn and lament their sin. 

Pray without ceasing.