Come let us now down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God and we are the flock under His care. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts… Psalm 95:6-8a NIV
First thing every morning I make my coffee, find my Bible and sit in the same chair to pray. But commendable as it is to be consistent, real worship isn’t about the position or our words. Worship begins instead only as we listen with softened hearts, ready to hear what God has to say.
He is our Creator. All we are and have came from Him. He never asks us to give anything that didn’t come from His hands.
He is our Shepherd. We belong to Him and He will never lead us anywhere that He will not go. Our Good Shepherd has committed Himself to His sheep and true worship is simply a reflection of His great love! So this morning without fear or second thoughts let’s give Him praise!
Dear friends I want to thank everyone so much for their prayers and encouragement as we have been working towards the reopening of nursing home ministry here in Florida. Wow God has really been opening doors especially for the holidays. We have now a monthly outdoor meeting, though only with those in independent living apartments. But we also have Christmas caroling for two facilities approved for those on the inside! In addition I was able to finish writing a 30 day Large print Christmas devotional and our small group took an offering to purchase 35 to give out. This Saturday we’ll be giving away the first half of those at Sunshine Christian Village and the rest next week t a different facility.
Most encouraging to me personally, is the many people including some of the residents who are joining together with us to make this possible. I have seen over and over again how God is at work even when things frustrating and hopeless. Please don’t stop praying because at this point I have no idea how long the doors will remain open. That is why we must give our best doing what we can in the here and now. We should never reserve our forces for doing what’s perfect tomorrow when God has given us today to do what is possible.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14
When you think about prayer; have you ever stopped to consider all the prayers of the Bible that God is still answering? Maybe it would help to think about them somewhat like going out to eat or stopping at the grocery store to buy milk and eggs. The first thing that happens whenever we start out in the car is that my wife begins rummaging through her purse for coupons. Somehow, whether we are going to Olive Garden, Pizza Hut or Walmart she finds one that we can use, then she looks to see if the date is still valid. Prayers in the Bible are somewhat like those coupons. We only get to take advantage of them if we ask to redeem them and the good news for us is that there is no expiration date!
This morning as I was reading Paul’s prayer of blessing for the Corinthian church I stopped and went back over the words realizing that in my own life I desperately need the grace, love and fellowship that Paul asked for. These blessings are much more than just words on a page or the sound waves generated by our pastor as he prays them over us at the end of a Sunday service. This 2,000 year old prayer is a valid coupon, redeemable in our prayer closet to whoever presents it by faith to God.
God still wants you and I to experience the Grace of Jesus Christ every day. The love of God is more than a gift given long ago; it is valid and waiting for us to experience it this morning. And just as they say on television; “But wait there’s more!” remember that in these days of stress, fear and change; the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a gift that God longs to put into our hearts if we will only ask.
So why not put aside a moment right now as you are reading and ask God for:
Grace for every weakness, sin and sorrow
Love for all people you will meet in every place and hour
Fellowship In every conflict, disappointment or disaster
These are God’s precious promises; still active in the words of this ancient prayer. They never die but they wait on our faith to remember and believe!
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