God's Grace and Light to You...

May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face shine on us, 
                                                          Selah
so that your ways may be known on earth,
   your salvation among all nations.
Psalms 67:1-2 (NIV)

Father, we need your grace and your blessings upon us. We need your face to shine upon us. All our hope is in you. Shine through us and show your grace to the world around us. Praise be to you in us today!

Comfort and Protection in His Light

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

II Peter 1:19

I was watching a survival show last week and the situation was a guy stranded on an island for ten days. The first thing he did was set up shelter and make a fire. He said he needed the fire at night not just to keep warm and see but to protect him from the wild animals at night. The Bible not only gives us guidance but protection.

One of the actions the survivalist took was to stay near his fire at night. The fire provided the warmth and protection he needed. Reading the Bible on a daily basis is not about works, it's about staying connected to God. It's about staying near the comfort and protection of living by faith Christ. Having a time with God is not about being able to say to God that he owes you because you pray and read the Bible daily, it's about being reminded that God hears your prayers, that God is faithful, that he doesn't always answer what we want to hear but he will never leave us nor forsake us. We pay attention to his light because we need to stay connected to our Lord and Savior. 

Father, help us to pay attention to the word of the prophets mad more certain in Christ. Praise be to you in us today!

REPRESENT!/Titus 2:10

"and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive." 

Titus 2:10

I have always been pretty upfront about my Christianity. Some people don't like that. But, whether they like it or not I don't want them using my life as an excuse not to believe in God. Only one or two of the people I have worked under have been Christians. I am sure that for most people it is the same. Since there is a spiritual battle always gone on, whether or see it or not, we need to remember that we represent Christ.

It is up to God to deal with peoples' hearts. There will be people who will find fault in you no matter what you do. But, that is because within themselves they are fighting against the Spirit of God and they can't admit God works in anyone in any way or else they will have to consider Christ. Every faithful moment of working as unto Christ is a testimony to those who don't believe. 

Father, make our lives attractive advertisements of your gospel to those who don't believe. Use us to build your kingdom. Praise be to you in us today! 

HELP IN THE FOG: PSALM 43:3-4

"Send forth your light and your truth,
     let them guide me;
 let them bring me to your holy mountain,
     to the place where you dwell.
 Then will I go to the altar of God,
     to God, my joy and my delight.
 I will praise you with the harp,
     O God, my God."
 Psalm 43:3-4

Have you ever driven in the fog? It doesn't matter what time of day  it is, if the fog is bad, you can lose sight of the lines on the road and next thing you know you are off the road. If you are driving in unfamiliar territory, then the problem is amplified! 

That's kind of what our Christian walk can be like sometimes, isn't it? We  sometimes find ourselves in a bit of a fog and we not only are we unsure of where we are going,  we are a little unsure of where we are even on the road at the present time. That is where our faith becomes real. 

I grew up in the mountains and we had a lot of fog. I knew the roads pretty well. One time a friend from college was driving and I was sitting shotgun going up the mountain. It was pretty foggy. I was telling him the whole way up, "left, right, big left...hard right". He was If I stopped telling him, he would slow down to nearly stopped. He would say, "Keep telling me what's coming up!" I knew the roads. It isn't just the Christ knows the roads of our lives, he sees the dangers and problems too. That is why we look to him to light our way and tell us the truth about life, abundant life. 

Look to Christ and his word. He will lead you and guide you on your way. His truth will protect you. When you can't see the end from your vantage point,or maybe even the road just ahead, trust in Christ, he does!

Father, send forth your light and your truth. Help us to trust in you! Praise be to you in us today!