Pray for President Obama today as he has his regular security and economic briefings with key advisors, asking God to guide him with wisdom and blessing. Pray also as he and Mrs. Obama host a festive Cinco de Mayo celebration at the White House, asking that all who attend will experience great joy...
Pray also for President Obama and his advisors as he must now choose a replacement for Supreme Court Justice David Souter who announced last week that he will retire at the end of the Court's term in June. Pray for God's best choice for this important appointment...
Pray also for President Obama today as he continues to work with advisors on how best to prevent the spread of H1N1 flu. Pray for him and each member of his team to seek God's wisdom as they work to prevent the spread of this illness...
Pray for our troops and Iraqi security forces as there has been a sharp uptick in violence this week with over 135 killed in separate attacks. Give thanks that a key al Qaeda leader has been captured...
1-9 Applause, everyone. Bravo, bravissimo! Shout God-songs at the top of your lungs!
God Most High is stunning,
astride land and ocean.
He crushes hostile people,
puts nations at our feet.
He set us at the head of the line,
prize-winning Jacob, his favorite.
Loud cheers as God climbs the mountain,
a ram's horn blast at the summit.
Sing songs to God, sing out!
Sing to our King, sing praise!
He's Lord over earth,
so sing your best songs to God.
God is Lord of godless nations�
sovereign, he's King of the mountain.
Princes from all over are gathered,
people of Abraham's God.
The powers of earth are God's�
he soars over all. (The Message)
I love this Psalm in The Message. "God Most High is stunning!" Indeed, he is!
"...all who would be reckoned among the children of God ought to seek to have a place in the Church, and to join themselves to it, that they may maintain fraternal unity with all the godly."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Chronologically, the "Pastoral Epistles" record events probably occurring between Acts 28 and Paul's death. 1 Timothy was probably written in the mid 60s. Timothy was quite a bit younger than Paul and was "one of his most trustworthy companions."
As this letter opens, Timothy has been left in Ephesus to combat false teachings from some of the leaders in the church.
Week 3/Monday "Does He Care?"
Ephesians 5:10
and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
"The good news of the gospel is that God's grace is available on our worst days." This does not mean that he doesn't care of we obey or not. Scripture clearly speaks of us grieving the Holy Spirit through our sins, and God does discipline us if we refuse to repent. But he is no longer our "Judge" in that sense. "Through Christ He is now our heavenly Father who disciplines us only out of love and only for our good."
Here is a very important statement, and it stays with the theme of this book, which I am truly loving because of this. "If God's blessings were dependent on our performance, they would be meager indeed."
"Your worst days are never so bad that you're beyond the reach of God's grace." Do you see that, Andy? And you, Cherrygash. No matter how bad we get, we are never outside of the reach of His grace. This is a truth that I grapple with frequently, too, because I have often felt that I have stepped over an imaginary line that God won't cross. But that's simply not true. There is no line.
But there's another side to this..."your best days are never so good that you're beyond the need of God's grace." So don't anybody ever be thinking that they've gotten good enough...never gonna happen!
To me, this is some of the best news ever! This is truly the Gospel!
I pray for my friends who struggle with their sins, that they might know that your grace is always right there with them. Rain down your love on them, God. Flood them with grace and mercy. And if they need healing, heal them.
I am overflowing right now, God. Let it continue.
Grace and peace, friends.