“To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:
Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.”
Jude 1:1b-2
Tag: peace
Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Peace
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your mighty name, oh LORD. We ascribe to you all glory and strength. Holy and Righteous is your name.
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:1-4
Father, we lift up Israel to you and pray for the salvation of your beloved people. May you deliver them from their enemies, both seen and unseen. May you pour out your Holy Spirit that He might give ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to receive Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, Jesus the Messiah. It’s in His name we pray, amen.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
Cry out, ‘Save us, God our Savior;
gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise.’
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.”
1 Chronicles 16:34-36
If you need prayer, please let me know.
In Him Who Saves,
Dorci
What God’s Doing – Joy, Peace, and Hope are Possible
I thought it would be fun to start a new Sunday thing where we share what God’s speaking into our hearts through the teaching we heard at church or in our own studies.
It’s so good to encourage each other, reinforcing those lessons and convictions, and cheer each other on as He heals us along the way.
This morning, after celebrating what God’s done in the last few years to enlarge our church, first the building, which made room for new people, (yay, God!), our pastor’s teaching centered around these words of Paul:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
I don’t know about you, but sometimes joy, peace, and hope can seem hard to come by. The fires of trial and suffering just want to suck those right out of you.
BUT, “by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
That word power is no wimpy power. In the Greek it is dunamis, where we get our word dynamite. It means force, miraculous power (by implication a miracle itself), ability, abundance, meaning, might, strength, violence (as in the violence or fury quenched by our brothers and sisters in Hebrews 11:34).
God wants to do so much in and through us, and if we continue abiding in Christ, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and keep on praying continually – about EVERYTHING, at ALL TIMES! – and praise Him through the fire, we WILL walk through the valleys with that deep down miraculous joy of our salvation, know His peace, and have hope.
What greater testimony is there to an unbeliever, or even a struggling believer, than to walk through the flames with inexplicable joy and peace.
I needed that. And if you do, too, I hope it encourages you to remember God is ready, willing, and able to give us everything we need to walk in victory. Just hang on.
Now, what is God speaking into your heart?
PS – If you need prayer, please let me know.
Heavenly Father, help us keep our eyes off the flames and onto You. And we ask, in your perfect timing, when the flames have done their job and burned off the dross, we ask that you would quench them and bring times of refreshing. In the meantime, as we hold onto Jesus, we pray for a generous measure of the miraculous joy, peace, and hope that only you can give. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
The Battle for Our Minds
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-
think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
This is not an inspirational thought or a suggestion, this is survival. This is a weapon God gives us for the battles that wage in our minds and in our hearts. What are some of these things you think about?
Sunday Praise and a Prayer for God’s Glory
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
John 21:25
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your holy Name. You are salvation, and all power and glory and majesty are yours. May we never stop singing your praises, our Abba, our Adonai, our Immanuel.
Even in my own life, I feel these words of your servant John are true. You have saved me, protected me, provided for me, blessed me, and done more for me than I could ever fully express, or even know myself.
Thank you for all you’ve done, all you are doing, and all you will do for your children, to care for us and mature us until we meet with you face to face. May your light ever shine through us, and may the words of our testimony always be seasoned with salt.
May we remember your amazing grace and mercy, especially during times of trial. When we can’t understand, may we lean on your understanding, on your eternal plans, which are far greater than we could ever fully grasp.
May you always be our life, our hope, our peace, our constant presence. May we get rid of those things, those bad habits, the ungodly attitudes, anything that could keep us from being filled to overflowing with your Holy Spirit who will mature us and enable us to do all you have for us.
Father, the world so desperately needs you. Use us for your glory. We desire to bear orchards and orchards of fruit and lay up our treasures in heaven. May you make it so.
In the glorious name of Jesus, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Friend, amen.