DAY 311--LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
2009-01-19

I'll start out with the last prayer for the President-elect and his cabinet (last, because the next prayer will be for the new President) from the Presidential Prayer Team site.

For God�s leading and guiding to be with President Elect Obama and every part of his administration as he takes the oath of office
Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.
�Psalm 25:5

O Lord God, You are supreme over all things and all persons and all powers. We proclaim Your glory and Your authority and might. You have put all things in place, and You rule in truth and beauty.

Inauguration Day is upon us, Holy God, and President Elect Obama is about to be sworn in to office. This is a time of great transition and newness for our nation and the world. You are a God of certainty, whose control is sure, whose ways are perfect. Therefore, we ask in faith that You anoint and bless President Elect Obama and his administration. May they serve our country well and with the highest integrity. As these leaders enter the White House and all the echelons of our government to lead our nation into the future, I ask You to be powerfully present in their lives and to bless them. In the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, amen.



Psalm for Today: Psalm 147

Great is our LORD, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
Verse 5



Day 311 in The Message//Remix:Solo

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

What kinds of small, inconsequential things have occupied your thoughts in the last few moments and hours, throughout this day?

Were they about finances? (Not exactly "inconsequential," but in the big picture, our earthly finances are but a grain of sand.) Were they about which celebrity was getting in trouble today? Who's going to win American Idol this year? (It will be a girl.)

Now think about your life in the scope of God's Grand Plan. Here's what Paul says about us in this brief passage. "...so loved by God! God picked you out as his from the very start." "This is the life of the Spirit he invited you to..." "...you get in on the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ." He "reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence."

Did you see the Trinitarian nature of ?God in that? God's plan of salvation, the life of the Spirit, and the glory of our Master, Jesus Christ. Yes. We are immersed in the life of the Trinity! And the fellowship of the Trinity is unmatched by anything human beings can even imagine!

I think the part that captivates me the most is (no surprise here) that we were "picked out from the very start." Anyone who knows me knows that I am a firm "Calvinist." I believe that we were predestined before the foundations of the earth to be united in Christ. God picked me out from the very start. And then he lavished this love on me and "surprised me with gifts of unending help and confidence."

So, let's take all of these "mundane" events that have been clogging our minds and hearts over the last 24 hours and apply these truths to them. Which ones really matter? I don't know about you, but I'm feeling quite a bit better right this second.



Father, I thank you and praise you that I was chosen in Christ before time began. Your wisdom and grace and mercy in this event is beyond my comprehension. I believe it in faith. I also thank you that we are "so loved by" you! I praise you that you reached out to us in love. You have lavished such love and blessings on us!

I pray that you help me to look at all the events of each day in light of your "plan of salvation." If I put each thing in the context of your Grand Plan, it all seems pretty small. Help me keep my eyes on your plan, on your workings. Let every conversation I have for the rest of this day be seasoned with this reality.

Most of all, let me experience the fellowship that you have in the Trinity. Let that be the driving force in my total existence.



Paul closes this passage with some encouragements.

Take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high.
Keep a tight grip on what you were taught.

Then, finally, a prayer for us..."May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech."

I pray that for us, as well. May you savor the truths of God today.

Grace and peace, friends



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