7 But if you stay in meand obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love. 10 When you obey me you are living in my love, just as I obey my Father and live in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow! 12 I demand that you love each other as much as I love you. 13 And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends; 14 and you are my friends if you obey me.
Our Prayer:
Father God,
Thank you for reassuring our hearts of your neverending love for us. As we proclaim to be your children, help us to remember that you place Love for one another and for you as the highest laws.
Allow us to see your love in those we meet. May we greet everyone we encounter with your love. We ask all these things in the name of the one who loved us the most, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord. Amen.
Abide With Me
Go in peace and love, while praising and serving the Lord.
In the scripture below, Jesus had just finished telling the adulterous woman, who was supposed to be stoned, to go and sin no more. One by one, Jesus had sent away the accusers of the woman by asking those who had no sin to throw the first punishing stone. He then told of His divinepurpose and nature.
John 8:12
English Standard Version
I Am the Light of the World
12(A)Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, (B)“I am the light of the world. Whoever (C)follows me will not (D)walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Our Prayer:
Father God,
We thank you for your complete sovereignty in every area in our lives. Thank you for loving us and showing us our value, even though we dont always feel valuable. Thank you for illuminating not only our path but also our hearts.
Help us to remember that we are ambassadors of Your Light. If we are to be identified as followers of Christ, we should not have characteristics of darkness. We have been bought with a Precious Price. May we come into the full spiritual knowledge of who we truly are in Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. Amen and Amen.
WALK IN THE LIGHT
Go with God and be the Light Carrier you were called to be. Go in peace while serving the Lotd.
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Father God,
As we remember to pray, the way the Lord taught us, we ask for your help, guidance and protection, as we go through our day today. Keep our spirit aware of any sin that may try to ensnare or entangle us. Deliver us from the hand of the enemy, so that our focus may be on you. Lead our steps away from any temptation that would take our eyes off of you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
May the peace of the Lord be with you always. Go in His perfect peace while serving and praising in His name and for His glory.
2 Let my teaching fall like rain(A) and my words descend like dew,(B) like showers(C) on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.
Father God,
We thank you for the refreshing and renewing that you do each morning. Every day is a new day to glorify and magnify your name in all the earth. Father, you set our feet on the sure ground of your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. You filled us with your guiding Light through your Holy Spirit.
Lord, you have equipped us with so much. Let us not misuse the grace we have been given for the day. In the name of Jesus we do pray. Amen.
Go in peace, Family, while praising and serving the Lord.
Father: We bless your name. There is no one like you. We thank you for holding us close to your heart, Lord. During this time of uncertainty and unrest you are our peace.
From the beginning of time you, Lord, alone have been our source and strength. May our dependence on other things be transferred to our dependence on You. We glorify your majesty and strength. We bow before you’re presence and cry Holy, Holy, Holy are you Lord.
Go with us Lord. Strengthen our walk in you. We humbly come to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
You Are My Strenth by William Murphy
Go in peace while serving, worshipping and praising the Lord.
Luke 5:16 CEV—But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray.
Good morning, Family:
It feels wonderful to be back with you again. Sometimes it is so important to take time away from everyone and everything and connect or reconnect with God all by yourself. That is exactly what I have done for the last two weeks. My heart, soul, spirit and mind needed some concentrated time alone with Jesus.
My church family was and is such an integral part of my spiritual health. Even though my pastor has been so faith to continue services on Facebook, I still missed worshipping corporately with my spiritual family. The effects of the void of church began to take its toll. Hebrews exhorts us in the following way:
Hebrews 10:24-25
New King James Version
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
It is important to realize when you need a spiritual refill. There is nothing wrong with admitting that sometimes you cant pour out to anyone or anything else, until you take the time to get filled back up by Jesus.
If Jesus had to take time away by himself, we most definitely should follow his example. There is a lot going on in the world today. Our mental and spiritual health needs nourishing. Steal away with God to renew and refresh.
I pray that the peace of the Lord is dwelling with you, no matter what your circumstances appear to be currently. In the 23rd Psalm, David cries out to God. It’s not a cry of fear, but a cry standing on Who and What God said he was and would do.
God was faithful to David and in the 23rd Book of Psalms, David made his prayer a prayer of Faith. David knew that God went before him to make his way straight and God allowed his Grace and Mercy to follow David, wherever he went.
The question for all of us is, “Are we allowing God to lead us, so that His Grace and Mercy will follow us, no matter where we go?”
Psalm 23
English Standard Version
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd; I shall not (B)want. 2 He makes me lie down in green (C)pastures. He leads me beside still waters.[a] 3 He (D)restores my soul. He (E)leads me in (F)paths of righteousness[b] for his (G)name’s sake.
4 Even though I (H)walk through the valley of (I)the shadow of death,[c] I will (J)fear no evil, for (K)you are with me; your (L)rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You (M)prepare a table before me in (N)the presence of my enemies; you (O)anoint my head with oil; my (P)cup overflows. 6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall (Q)dwell[f] in the house of the Lord (R)forever.[g]
Lisa McClendon – The Invitation and Grace, Grace, Grace
Today is a brand new day. Let us give thanks to the Lord, for no other reason but because of who God is and shall continue to be.
Father, we come to you this morning to tell you we love you and adore you. You are great and greatly to be praised. Because of who you are, we worship you alone.
We have talked about santification for a couple of weeks. The title of this devotional is “With Joyful Hearts,” as santification is a journey in love, joy and thankfulness. There is a book by Gary Chapman entitled, “The Five Love Languages.” The book teaches a couple how to communicate and love each other in a way that will bring joy to the other’s heart, based on their specific love language.
Santification and acts of Worship are God’s love languages. The way we live our lives for God are acts of worship to God. As Christians, our manual in how to love God is in the Word of God. The first two direction that were given my God was to Love God and the next is to love others. God has told us the two most important aspect of His Love language.
Matthew 22:36-40
New International Version
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a](A)38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b](B)40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
May we all intention in our hearts to daily worship and love God and love others. Go in peace, while praising and serving the Lord.
May the perfect love of God bless you and keep you in perfect peace. We live this life, as Christians, with the ultimate hope that on one precious day we will get to see the Lord face to face. Until that beautiful day comes, we live in thankfulness of the Grace of Salvation. The outward manifestation of the thankfulness in our hearts is how we live a life of worship.
Praise God, through the grace of salvation our soul’s destiny is secure. While we are living out our salvation, it is our flesh that must also learn to bow to God. In the same way that children have to learn how to walk and talk, our flesh has to learn the same thing. Through studying the Word, spending time in prayer, being around other mature Christians, our flesh learns how to walk and talk this Christian life. Once we learn the foundational truths of God, we have a desire to learn more. God shows us deeper truths and we become more sensitive to His leading and guidance.
When I first started reading the Bible, after I was saved, I started in Psalms and Proverbs. I read them over and over. Then I read Genesis and Hebrews. I continued on and I read Ephesians and Luke. After that, I wanted to know more, I started again with Genesis and read through the Old Testament and New Testament. If there was something I didn’t understand, I would ask the Holy Spirit to make it clear to me. I got in the habit of praying before I began to study. I asked God to illuminate the Word and to teach me the secret things that weren’t on the pages, so that I could seal it in my heart.
In my mid to late teens, I would spend hours and hours locked in my room studying God’s Word, praying, singing, and dancing before the Lord. I could always tell when the Holy Spirit came in the room. My legs would become weak and my whole body would want to bow or lay prostrate on the floor. I would cry and sing as I could feel the Lord working on me.
During those years, I was so hungry for all that I could learn from God. What I didn’t realize was that there were dark forces that would do anything to steal, kill and destroy me to keep me from growing closer in the Lord. I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. It took me several years to recover from my mistakes, but no matter what, God was always there, even when I didn’t deserve it. How precious is the gift of grace.
I learned very quickly how important it was to know about spiritual warfare. I studied Ephesians, Galatians, and so many other books of the Bible. I bought books by great authors and speakers. All of these things were a continuation in my santification.
Then the Lord really took me deeper….
I will tell you more about that soon…
Be abundantly blessed, Family. May the Lord continue to bless, keep and cover you. May the Spirit of God enfold you in Its arms.