Jesus Is The Light

December 23, 2009

JESUS IS THE LIGHT

 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ~John 3:17

 For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” ~Luke 2:30-32

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. ~John 1:14

 Jesus is our Savior, our Light, our Peace, our Hope, our Comfort, and our Friend.  This time of year can be difficult for many people; they may feel lonely, depressed, or unloved; they may feel as though they aren’t worth any value to anyone else because they don’t have “money or things” like others, or they are so stressed out that they can’t seem to calm down.  Not all of the people described here are lost in the world, there are many Christian brothers and sisters who struggle with feelings like this; that sometimes the oppressive hold the darkness has on them can be so overwhelming and they can’t seem to turn completely to Jesus.  They may feel as though they’d rather crawl back in bed and never come out.  This is not what Jesus wants for us.  His light can conquer any darkness and His word tells us that we are overcomers!

 Jesus said that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  Do you know anyone who perhaps struggles with some of these feelings especially at this time of the year?  Ask Him to show you how and where you can bless someone and bring the Light that prevails against the darkness into their lives; to show them that they are not alone.  If you struggle with these feelings, Jesus is right beside You; His light will pierce that darkness.  Ask Him to reveal His glory in the midst of Your situation and trust Him to do it.  Take it day by day, tomorrow is not promised to us and sufficient for the day is its own worries.  Let Him be your Light.

Dear Lord, we come before You today with grateful hearts.  Your life and death has brought us salvation, peace, hope, comfort, friendship, love, provision and much much more.  Words aren’t enough to express the thanks we have in our hearts that You came down to earth for us.  Lord, we turn our struggles over to You, we lay them down at Your feet and we ask that You show us how to be blessings to others so that we don’t pick up our struggles again.  May You grant us new hearts, new attitudes and let Your light shine through us so that others can’t help but see You.  With Your glory and Your light, help us to overcome the darkness that threatens to shroud us and weigh us down.  As we celebrate the season of Your birth, awaken in us a spirit of revival, a thirst for more of You, a deeper sense of trust in who You are.  Grant us a deeper understanding of Yourself so that we may share You more completely with others who are also suffering. We love You, Jesus!  In Your name, we pray.  Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship:  Make a plan today to think positive thoughts and when the negative thoughts begin to form, ask Jesus to chase them away.  Pray for ways to be a blessing to others today and every day.

Additional Scriptures:  Matthew 6:34; James 4:14

 He illuminates not only the object, but the faculty; doth not only open the mysteries of the kingdom, but opens blind eyes to behold them. ~Robert Leighton

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

Simplicity In Christ

December 22, 2009

SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST

Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.  But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! ~2 Corinthians 11:1-4

“Simplicity that is in Christ.” (v.3) Let’s ponder that for just a moment…As humans, we have a tendency to over think, to over analyze, to complicate the simplest things.  Sometimes as Christians we can complicate the gospel with our big words, fancy analogies, or deep thoughts; while this may be great in some areas, it may not be the best way to share Christ with the lost and confused.  The Gospel of Christ is not complicated as Paul explains in the above scripture.  Christ is Love, Humility, Peace, and Freedom.  He is our Friend and our Strength, our Shelter and our Shepherd.  He wants us to come to Him as little children, filled with wonder, awe and faith. 

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 18:2-3

Dear Lord, thank You for Your friendship and Your love.  Thank You for helping us to understand Your Word, and for Your teaching us to be more like You.  We ask that we continue to become as little children in our trusting of You and our faith, for it is with this childlike wonder and faith that we will see more of You manifested in our lives and in the lives of others.  We praise You for the times in which You have shown Yourself through us, and we ask that You continue to exhibit Your light through us.  We are open and willing vessels, available to You to use us for Your glory.  We give You all the honor and we worship You.  In Your name, Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship:  If you have moments of confusion, or you feel you can’t fully grasp the gospel of Christ, sit with Him for a moment and ask the He open Your eyes.  It’s not as complicated as some may describe.

Additional Scriptures: See above passage

“The Gospel that represents Jesus Christ, not as a system of truth to be received, into the mind, as I should receive a system of philosophy, or astronomy, but it represents Him as a real, living, mighty Savior, able to save me now.” ~Catherine Booth

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

The Custom Of A Lion Tamer

December 21, 2009

THE CUSTOM OF A LION TAMER

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home and in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. ~Daniel 6:10

King Darius had signed a decree that stated that whoever worshipped anyone other than the king would be fed to the lions. The other governors and satraps that served with Daniel were jealous of the favor Daniel had from King Darius and they sought to kill him, and so they used his worship and praise of God against him. Daniel, knowing that he risked being fed to lions, did not let this decree sway the custom that he had developed early on in his life – to humble himself before the Lord, on his knees, and to pray and give thanks to God. We are told he did it three times that day and that it was customary.

As Christians, we serve a mighty and protective God; He’s a God that cares, and a God that loves. He desires the best for His children and He desires for us to grow more and more in the likeness of Jesus. Daniel was being persecuted for his love of God and for his devotion and worship, but Daniel did not let persecution stop him because He knew the God that he served. He knew that God was well able to save Him from the lions, if that was His will; He knew that God was bigger than any piece of paper. He knew these things because he had developed the custom of kneeling before the Lord since he was young. He brought his supplications, his prayer, his praise, his thanksgiving before the Lord often every day. He knew God.

You know, we live in a hurried and rushed society, we are freely able to worship, yet we would much rather worship in private and during certain days and times because we can’t stop moving long enough to be humble before the Lord. We will tell others our prayer requests and what we are thankful for before we get on our knees and speak with Jesus about them. We ask for others to pray for us and not often with us. While none of this is bad in and of itself; if we are not careful, we will have others doing our praying for us and we will have missed many opportunities to get to know God ourselves. We need to get before the Lord with our prayers and thanksgivings first before we ask others to join us. It should become a custom for us as it strengthens and feeds our spirits.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessing of another day! You are so majestic and beautiful, You are faithful and full of mercy that You have granted us another opportunity to glimpse Your glory through Your creation and to share Your love with those who don’t know You! Lord Jesus, help us to develop customs that place You first in our lives, may You be the first person we speak with every morning and the last that we speak with every night. May Your hand be the one we hold when we hear bad news, and the one we grasp when we have joyful news to share! May we learn to have others join us in bringing our supplications to You instead of allowing them to always do our praying for us. May we draw closer to You and may we see more and more of You revealed to us! Father, Jesus, Spirit, we love You! We desire to bring You glory, honor and praise! In Your sweet name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship: Develop customs that place God first. Instead of running to your best friend or whomever when you have a problem, or have been ridiculed, persecuted or slighted, run to Jesus first. Pour out your heart to Him, He can take it.

Additional Scriptures: Philippians 4:6,7; Psalm 5:3; Psalm 55:17

"Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him. ~Hudson Taylor

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

Dirty Feet

December 18, 2009

 DIRTY FEET

 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” ~John 13:3-11

 Jesus washed the feet of His disciples before He was taken and crucified. This is an excellent passage for teaching the servant leadership of Christ and the example that He set for us. But that is not what I want to look at today. Jesus says “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean” – Jesus is talking about His shed blood and the payment for our sins. When we accept Him into our hearts, it is by His blood that we are washed clean and white as snow. He has cleaned us! If we were not to have let Him into our hearts, we would have no part with Him because we would not be clean.

 After the initial scrubbing of Christ, we begin our walk with Him. As we walk the path before us, we will walk in some mud puddles, fresh grass, streams, fields, deserts, valleys, rocky terrain, slippery ground, you get the idea…and what happens to our feet? They get dirty! Walking around with dirty feet is not healthy. When our feet get dirty, if we don’t clean them right away, we will get lazy and the next thing you know, the filth has spread up our legs and can consume us. It is when the dirt has consumed us that our spiritual health begins to wane. It is sin in our lives that gives us dirty feet. Jesus is full of mercy and grace in that He gives us a way out of the sinful temptations. Every time that we confess and repent of our sin, we are allowing Jesus to wash our feet and if we are hanging tight to Jesus, we will only need our feet washed. How? By addressing and accepting the convictions of the Holy Spirit when we sin, then confessing and repenting of our sin. Just because we walk with Jesus does not mean that we will never sin again, we are human and subject to human frailties. Jesus knows this and this is why He said He will always be with us.

 We are all prone to wander and prone to slip, but by accepting the fact that we are sometimes going to have dirty feet and allowing Jesus to wash them when the need arises, it will be a much healthier walk!

 Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus! Thank You for the blessing of another day, for the sunrise and for our heartbeats; for the breath that we take and the water we drink. It is because of Your grace, mercy and love that we are able to make it through this day! Forgive us if we have been prideful and not allowing You to wash our feet. Jesus, we want to have a part with You, cleanse us, scrub us, remove the filth from our toes. May we accept the conviction of the Holy Spirit and repent, receiving Your forgiveness, and may we be quick to forgive others. Jesus, let us not walk around with dirty feet! We give You all honor and glory! We worship You and we long to gaze upon Your beautiful face! We lift our hands in praise and adoration of who You are! You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and we magnify and exalt Your holy name!!! It is in Your name, Jesus, that we pray. Amen.

 Today’s Attitude of Worship: If you have been treading through some mucky and filthy terrain, stop, sit down and listen to Jesus speak to You. Confess your sins – doesn’t matter what they are, whether pride, selfishness, arrogance, rebellion, anger, defensiveness, addiction, meanness…confess and repent. As you do, let the towel and water of the Lord cleanse you and wipe away the stains of the road you have traveled down. Open your ears and your heart and allow the voice of Jesus to minister to you while He washes.

Additional Scriptures: Matthew 28:20; Psalm 51:2; Psalm 119:9; Galatians 6;15-16

“In the Kingdom of God, service is not a stepping-stone to nobility: it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized.”  ~T W Manson

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence Ramos

Walk In Him

December 17, 2009

WALK IN HIM

 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. ~Colossians 2:6-10

To walk in Christ we have to take root, build ourselves up and establish our faith, be grateful.  How do we do this?  We will take root by fertilizing our mind and spirits with the word of God, we will be built up and establish our faith with prayer and fellowship.  Testimonies to what God has done and is doing will teach us to be grateful. 

There are ravenous wolves out there preying carnivorously on the weak Christian and on the compromising Christian.  They will scratch the itch in the ear and they will bring a gospel that is conformed to the world.  Watch out for Christianity disguised as philosophy.  Beware of a worldly gospel.  Christ is simple, not complicated.  He came to save the world, He did not conform Himself to it. 

Feed yourself daily the Word of God.  Ask Him to teach you, ask Him to show you, ask Him to guide you.  Drink deeply of His living water so that His river flows through You.  Test the spirits, don’t believe everything you see, hear, or everyone you meet without bringing it before the Lord first.  Jesus is coming soon, are you ready?

 Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You for fertilizing and watering us with Your Word.  Thank You for pruning us and shaping us.  You are our Gardener and we want to blossom into beautiful flowers for You. Let our ears remain steadfast and true to Your word and Your purpose.  Grant us discernment to perceive that which is not of You.  Help us to test the spirits, rebuke the worldly gospel and give us strength and tenacity to bring Your gospel out into the world.  Open our eyes so that we may watch, purify our hearts and minds and help us to be transformed.  As we walk in You, guide our steps and illuminate our paths. We are forever grateful to You for Your love and salvation.  We give You the glory.  In Your name, Jesus’, AMEN!

 Today’s Attitude of Worship:  When Jesus walked the earth, He was a man.  But even still, those whose eyes and ears were spiritually tuned knew exactly who He was, even as a babe.  As Christians, we ought to be so filled with Jesus that others recognize Him in us without us having to say anything.  When we strive to look and sound like the world around us, we are doing more harm than good to those who don’t know Christ.  They will never recognize Him if we wear the mantle of the world on our shoulders when we approach them.

 Additional Scriptures:  Romans 12:2; 1 John 4:1; 2 Corinthians 11:3

“You are saved–seek to be like your Savior.” ~Charles Spurgeon

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

The Possibility Of The Impossible

December 16, 2009

THE POSSIBILITY OF THE IMPOSSIBLE

 For with God nothing will be impossible. ~Luke 1:37

 All throughout Scripture we see examples of God’s possibilities; the parting of the Red Sea, the crashing down of the walls of Jericho, crossing the Jordan river where it was made dry, many women late in life conceiving and bearing children, and battles won are a few examples.  But the one “impossibility” that I have always found most fascinating is the humble virgin birth of our Savior.  If our great and mighty God can bring forth His Son onto the earth through a virgin girl, why shouldn’t we think of our seemingly impossibilities as possible?

 God wants to make things possible in our lives today. Is there something that God is trying to do with you, or take you that seems impossible?  Has He been whispering something into your heart?  Let Him do the impossible with you! 

 Dear Heavenly Father,  thank You for showing us that there is nothing too difficult for You, that there is nothing impossible for You.  We give You praise and glory for all the things You have done for us, with us and that You are going to do that look unconceivable and preposterous to our eyes.  Take us today and show us great and mighty things which we do not know, increase our faith, use us.  We can do nothing on our own, we look to You as our help, our light, our guide and our Shepherd.  We Bless You and worship You only.  Glory to You! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship:  Let God do what you think is impossible through you.  It will increase your faith and strengthen your spirit. 

Additional Scriptures: Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27; Jeremiah 32:17,27; Jeremiah 33:3

 “Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.” ~Corrie Ten Boom

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

Oh Yeah…I’m Very Needy!

December 15, 2009

 

OH YEAH…I’M VERY NEEDY!

 

Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; for I am poor and needy. ~Psalm 86:1

 

Have you ever had a need that you found very hard to ask for help for? What was it? Financial, housing, food, clothing, job, mental, marriage, or spiritual?  Did you ask for help?  One of the hardest things for people to do today is admit that there is a need because we live in such a self-sufficient society. In this world, books are written that promise to deliver you from your needs without any type of additional human intervention if you just believe in what’s written.  Other’s claim to have all you need to meet your needs if you send them money and then just believe.  So those who are afraid to ask for help or admit their needs turn to anonymity and seek help by way of self.  This is not what God wants.  This is not showing our Father, Jehovah Jireh, that we trust Him enough to meet our needs and enrich our lives.

 

Bow down Your ear to me, O Lord, I really am poor and needy!  Go ahead, say it yourself, and repeat it again!  Bow down Your ear to me, O Lord, I really, really am poor and needy!  There is not one of us that do not have a need.  Each of us have different needs – we may need love, shelter, financial assistance, food in our cupboards, work, prayer, courage, patience, strength, mental help, a better home and living environment, etc.  The list can go on and on, but until you admit that you are, in fact, a very needy person, you limit the work that God can do for you, you put a cap on His provision in your life.  God wants to work within your weaknesses, within your neediness, within your poverty.  This is where God brings Himself glory and this is where good testimony begins.  He is your Father, swallow your pride.  Bow down before Him, ask Him to bow His ear to you, confess and repent of your independence and acknowledge your spiritual poverty and your neediness.  Allow Him to meet your spiritual needs and in that your physical needs will be met. 

 Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

Philippians 4:19 – And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

Let’s Pray:  Dear wonderful, merciful Father, thank You so much for the love You show us each and every day.  Thank You for the blessing of this day, we pray that we are able to give all we do to You as acts of worship and adoration.  Father, we truly are poor and needy, hear us as we come to You admitting our need.  We know that in our weaknesses You are strong; we give You those needs and weaknesses today to bring glory to Yourself.  We repent of our pride and self-sufficiency, we ask for Your forgiveness.  We pray that when we begin to slip into independence, Your Holy Spirit will remind us of our dependence upon You.  We give You all praise and honor this day.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Today’s Attitude of Worship:  Pride is what keeps us from admitting how needy we are.  We live in a world that demands and exalts self-sufficiency, but what self-sufficiency does is it inhibits the Lord’s work in our lives.  You may think that you are humble and have no pride, but when you can’t admit that you need prayer, or help, or assistance, or whatever it is…that’s a form of selfish pride.  Take a piece of paper and write “Dear God” and then write out a letter telling God all of your needs; admit your pride, repent and ask God to meet your needs, put the date on the letter.  Tomorrow, look at that paper and ask God to show you where He met those needs and how.  Write it down, date it.  Sometimes He meets our needs and we don’t realize it right away, by taking the time to write down our needs and to contemplate when, where and how He met the need, we begin to see just how much He cares for us.

 Additional Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 12:9

 “You can have no greater sign of confirmed pride than when you think you are humble enough.” ~William Law

 In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

No Partiality

December 14, 2009

 NO PARTIALITY

 

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. ~Acts 10:34

If God shows no partiality and desires that all men be saved, why do we show partiality?  Who do we think we are?  A feature that my Bible has is Word Wealth, for the above passage of Scripture it says:  partiality –“a receiver of a face, one who takes sides, showing favoritism, exhibiting bias, showing discrimination, showing partiality, treating one person better than another. While society makes distinctions among people, God’s love and grace are available for all, and can be received by anyone.”  Wow, think about it…in some way, shape or form, we all show partiality towards others.  It may be that we associate with only those who share the same thoughts as us, or the same talents.  Perhaps we show partiality because we are saved and others are not (yes, it does happen) and instead of sharing the love of God, we turn our back on those lost souls.  Perhaps, we show partiality towards those who look different than us.  Maybe we show partiality because we feel we attend the “right” church and others don’t.  Whatever the reason is that we don’t treat everyone the same is something that each of us personally must address.

What if God showed partiality towards us?  What if He decided that because you couldn’t put a coherent and eloquent sentence together when you pray that He wouldn’t bless you?  What if He didn’t like the way you looked?  What if He felt that your sin just couldn’t be forgiven?  What if He didn’t want to talk to you?  If God showed partiality towards us it would not feel good.  Since we don’t want to imagine what our lives would be like without God in them, why should we live our lives thinking others want to.  We need to treat everyone the way we would like to be treated.  No partiality.  No favorites.  God loves us all and as His children, we need to bring His love into the lives of all we come across, whether saved or unsaved.  Not one of us is so great that we are above our brothers and sisters in Christ or those that don’t know Christ, no matter what our gifts or talents are. 

Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You today with grateful hearts that You have shown us mercy and You do not discriminate against us.  We ask for forgiveness as we still struggle with showing favoritism and taking sides.  Clean our hearts, O God, and fill them with Your love and mercy.  Fill us to overflow with Your goodness and love so that we may carry that out into the world and share it with those who don’t know You.  We love You Lord and desire to please You only.  We give You all glory and honor.  Amen.

 

Today’s Attitude of Worship:  If you have been struggling or you know someone who is struggling with showing partiality, get before the Lord today and ask for forgiveness.  Ask Him to open your eyes and heart to see needs and give love the way that He gives love.

Additional Scriptures:  1 Timothy 2:4

 

“Learn to break your own will. Be zealous against yourself.” ~Thomas A. Kempis

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

Get Acquainted!

December 11, 2009

GET ACQUAINTED!

“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. ~Job 22:21

Got things going on in your life?  Get acquainted with God.  By getting to know God, you will get to know His will for you.  By becoming familiar with Him, you’ll know when to move, when to sit, when to jump and when to crouch.  You’ll have peace, comfort, hope and joy.  You’ll be able to withstand whatever adversity comes your way.  If you give yourself time in His presence, speaking with Him, sharing with Him, listening to Him speak to you there is nothing that you will not be able to accomplish.  You will have strength and endurance, and you will be blessed so that you can share.  Most importantly, you will have a desire to share God with others, and you will be more effective!

When we acquaint ourselves with God, we are also covered under His wings.  What God does for us is more protective and safe than anything we, as man, can do for ourselves.  With God, we have divine protection and His hand at work in our lives, which always leads to good things!  Who wouldn’t want that?

Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for another day!   You are holy and lovely, awesome and true!  We really want to get to know You, thank You for giving us opportunities!  Thank You for giving us desires to draw near to You!  Thank You for loving us so much that You want a relationship with us!  We give You praise and bow ourselves in worship to You!  In Jesus name, we pray.  Amen!

 Today’s Attitude of Worship:  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you… ~James 4:8.   Should you need something today to chase away those blues, that anxiety, those thoughts, get acquainted with God, you will never regret it!!

Additional Scriptures:  Deuteronomy 4:29, 35; Job 5:8; Job 8:5,6; Psalm 14:2; Psalm 15:2; Hebrews 11:6

“God is great, and therefore He will be sought; God is good, therefore He will be found.” ~Author Unknown

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence

Distraction, The New Busy

December 10, 2009

DISTRACTION, THE NEW BUSY

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— ~1 Kings 11:1

King Solomon was a passionate, wise and a man of abundance.  He was also a man who loved and had many wives; wives he wasn’t supposed to have.  God had told the children of Israel who they were not to intermarry with because those tribes worshipped false gods and they could turn Israel’s heart from God.  King Solomon clung to these in love (v.2).  God was right.  Solomon had become distracted by all of his loves.  He had to pay attention to them, keep them happy, spend time with them.  Pretty soon, he was spending more time with them than he was with God, and in that time spent with those he loved, he began to worship their gods with them and forsaking the One True God.

We have to be ever so careful about the things that we do.  While they may be good things, if we are not careful the devil can use them to distract us.  It’s important to keep things in the proper perspective and to seek God at every twist and turn, and before moving forward.  We need to really discern the difference between urgent, important and not so important.  We need to maintain optimal spiritual health through prayer, bible study, praise and worship; by seeking the face of God as often as humanly possible. 

 I recently learned a new technique for reading the bible and hearing from God, so I decided to give it a try.  It’s called SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer.  By incorporating this into my bible study, I have discovered that I was all too often distracted by what I thought was important.  For some time now, I could not mentally sit still long enough to really hear God speak to me, I was incredibly distracted and out of focus.  I spent too much time focusing on things that, in and of themselves are good and necessary, but by focusing on them when I did my heart was in danger of turning from God.  I am so thankful that He has grabbed my attention by such a simple tool! 

 Let’s Pray:  Dear Heavenly Father, thank You so much for blessing us with this moment; this day; this very breath!  Thank You for being our heavenly Father, for watching out for us and for guiding us where we need to be!  Thank You for knowing our hearts, when they are dry, when they are empty, when they are distracted and in need of Your tender care!  Father, help us to be less distracted.  Grant us discernment to know when You are moving us and when the enemy is trying to lure us from where we need to be.  May we be more steadfast and disciplined in our faithfulness to meet with You.  Father, we love You, we desire to please You.  We give You all glory and honor!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Today’s Attitude of Worship:  If you find yourself distracted and unable to focus on the Lord, I encourage you to try the SOAP method.  All you need is your bible, a journal and a bible reading plan that you follow!  Sit before the Lord and begin to read, when scripture speaks to you…write it down, then write down the observation (the context of the scripture), then meditate on it and see how God is speaking to you in applying this to your life, now write that down.  Lastly write out a prayer.  Keep a journal of these! 

 Additional Scriptures:  Luke 10:40

If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence…? You’d be bored to tears in heaven, if you’re not ecstatic about God now! ~Keith Green

In Christ’s Service,

Prudence