Month: September 2020

Countdown to Downfall (Sep 5)

In many ways the book of Jeremiah
deserves the title: The Life
and Ministry of a Man of God.
Chapters 1-33 center around Jeremiah’s prophetic sermons; chapters 34-52 deal primarily with
Jeremiah’s personal traumas & trials.
Whether in the midst of broken covenants, burnt scrolls or brutal
persecutions, Jeremiah stands
true to his prophetic mission.
Pleading with his countrymen to
go into exile voluntarily, Jeremiah watches as they resist Jerusalem’s collapse and captivity to the end.

Because of sin, Jerusalem was
destroyed, the temple was ruined
and the people were captured
and carried away to Babylon.
The people were responsible for
their destruction and captivity for
refusing to listen to God’s message.
Help us Lord not to ignore sin
for in doing so we invite disaster.
Help us not settle for half measures
in removing sins from our lives.
Help us to Learn Listening to You.
Help us to Receive Your Word.
Help us to Heed Your Direction.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Lord, we will Learn to Listen to You:
I have sent… prophet after prophet
to tell you to turn from your wicked ways and to stop worshipping
other gods, so that you might live
in peace here in the land I gave to
you and your ancestors. But you
would not listen to me or obey.
Therefore the Lord God Almighty…
says: Because you refuse to listen
or answer when I call, I will send
upon Judah… all the disasters
I have threatened (Jer 35:15-17).
Help me to be a good listener to
Your voice speaking to my heart.
I don’t want to drown it out with
the noise and the busyness of life.
Help me to take every thought
captive in obedience to Your Word.
Keep me from entertaining any
unrighteousness in my thought life.
Enable me to be diligent in not
allowing anything into my mind
that does not glorify You. Amen.

Lord, we will Receive Your Word:
The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll.
Jehudi brought it… and read it to
the king as all his officials stood by.
It was late autumn and the king was
in the winterized part of the palace,
sitting in front of a fire to keep warm.
Each time Jehudi finished reading
three or four columns, the king took
a knife and cut off that section of
the scroll. He threw it into the fire,
section by section, until the whole
scroll was burned up. Neither the
king nor his attendants showed
any signs of fear or repentance
at what they heard (Jer 36:21-24).
Lord, we won’t stand over Your
Word in judgment, picking and
choosing what we will read, what
we will obey and what we will reject.
We want our home to be a place
where Your Word is welcomed
and received warmly. Amen.

Lord, we will Heed Your Direction:
Zedekiah son of Josiah succeeded
Jehoiachin as the king of Judah.
He was appointed by King Nebu-
chadnezzar of Babylon. But neither
King Zedekiah nor his officials
nor the people who were left in
the land listened to what the Lord
said through Jeremiah (Jer 37:1-2)
I ask for clear direction in my life.
Help me to hear and understand
what it is. I don’t want to miss
Your instructions to my heart
because I would not listen.
Help me to act immediately on
the guidance You give me and
not ignore it. Show me what to
do and enable me to do it. Amen.

Experiencing God thro Obedience

This week we learn the importance
of Purposing, Standing & Repenting
to position rightly to experience God.
On Monday, we learn from Ezek 2
to Speak the Words of the Lord.
On Tuesday, we learn from Ezek 18
to Repent of Sins and Offences.
On Wed, we learn from Ezek 36
to Follow the Laws of the Lord.
On Thurs, we learn from Daniel 1
and 2 to Purpose Not to be Defiled.
On Friday, we learn from Daniel 9,
to Call On the Lord for Mercy.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.

Call on the Lord for Mercy (Sep 4)

God’s people, a major force among
the Gentiles since days of Joshua,
now find themselves under Gentile
domination. But even world powers
don’t rise or fall without the consent
of almighty God. In a remarkable
collection of prophetic glimpses,
Daniel sets forth both the near
and distant future of God’s
chosen people; a future filled with purifying judgment and blessing.

Lord, we Come to You for Mercy:
But we have Sinned & done wrong.
We have rebelled against you
and scorned Your commands…
We have refused to listen to
Your… prophets (Daniel 9:5-6).
Now, our God, hear the prayers and
petitions of Your servant… We do
not make requests of You because
we are righteous, but because of
Your Great Mercy (Dan 9:17-18).
Do not be afraid Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind…
to humble yourself before your God,
your words were heard… Now I have
come to make you understand what
will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days Yet to come(Dan10:12-14)

Lord, Daniel was an exceptional man
but even him had offended U God.
So in Daniel’s prayers, he took
responsibility for the sins that
he and his people had committed.
Help us Lord to learn from Daniel
not deny our faults but admit them.
Help us to be honest with You God,
confess our sins; so that we can
feel clean, relieved and prepared
to serve You forgiven. Amen.

Lord, I come to You not because
I am worthy but because You are.
You are full of mercy; and I need
Your mercy to be extended to me.
I need help with ball things, but
especially with certain situations
in my life right now. I thank You
that Your help isn’t dependent
upon my good works, but upon
Your goodness, love & grace. Amen.

Lord, help me to wait patiently
for the answers to my prayers.
Increase my faith to know that
when I pray, You hear the cries of
my heart and will answer in Your
perfect timing & Your perfect way.
Help me to continue to pray and
not give up, no matter how long it
takes or how many obstacles the
enemy throws in my path. Amen.

Purpose Not to be Defiled (Sep 3)

The first 3 chapters of the book
describe the spiritual integrity
of Daniel and his three friends.
Selected for government service,
they resist the pressure to conform
to their pagan environment and
instead take a stand for God.
Whether in diet, truthfulness or
spiritual discipline, the four young
men live out their convictions.

Lord, grant us Your Revelation:
To them the chief of the eunuchs
gave names: he gave Daniel the
name Belteshazzar… But Daniel
purposed in his heart that he would
not defile himself with the portion
of the king’s delicacies nor with
the wine… therefore he requested
of the chief of the eunuchs that he
might not defile himself (Dan 1:7-8)
During the Night the mystery was
revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then
Daniel said: Praise be the name of
God… wisdom are His (Dan 2:19-20)
He Reveals deep and mysterious
things and knows what lies Hidden
in darkness… I thank… You for You
have given me Wisdom and strength.
You have told me what we Asked
of You and Revealed to us what
the king demanded (v22-23).

Lord, don’t let me become so
consumed with the good things
the world offers that I lose the
sense of identity as a citizen
of a holy nation set apart to God.
Help me to obey Your law out of gratitude to Your abundant grace.
Help me place a guard on my heart
to remind me I belong to another
kingdom and another King. Amen.

Lord, it seems that in the middle of
the night problems appear larger.
At those times I am reminded that
You never sleep and I can come
to You and cling to Your presence.
Pray that at those times You will
give me the treasures of darkness,
as You have spoken in Your Word.
Fill my darkness Lord with Your
light and give me peace. Amen.

Lord, I purpose not to lean on my
own understanding; but instead
to look to You the All Knowing One
for understanding and wisdom. For
there are things we can’t know by
seeing or hearing are known by God
& U are willing to reveal them to us.
So Grant me Lord Your wisdom
and strength to handle the tricky situations each day. In Jesus’ name.

Follow the Laws of the Lord

Ezekiel’s emphasis shifts from
the failures of Judah’s past to
the Promises of Judah’s future.
Jerusalem has fallen; and the
prophet’s tongue silenced for three
years is loosened at last to declare
that a new Shepherd is coming.
He will tenderly care for the flock
of Israel, rescue His people from
their scattered homes of exile and
restore them to their covenant land.

Lord, we will Follow Your Laws:
I will give you a New Heart and
I will put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out
and give you a heart of flesh. And
I will put My Spirit in you & Move You
to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezek 36:26-27).
Then you shall dwell in the land that
I gave to your fathers; you shall be
My people and I will be your God.
I will Deliver you from uncleanness and filthy behaviour. I will call for
the grain and multiply it (v28-29).

Lord, Thank You for giving me a
new heart to live the new life in You.
I really need the Heart of flesh,
the kind that You promise to give.
Fill me with Your desires, Your faith
and everything that pleases You.
For I purpose not only to be Your
child but also to be Your worker.
Help me learn from Your Word and
continue to follow Your ways. Amen.

Lord, Thank You that You have
put Your Holy Spirit within me to
Guide me in all things. Give me
the discipline to do what I must do.
Lead me by the power of Your
Spirit so that I will always listen
to Your Word and Obey Your laws.
Help me to Follow Your leading
and not run ahead or behind
chasing after my own ways. Amen.

Lord, Thank You for the promise
to help us clean up our filthy acts.
We know our Christian life can be a
struggle and we go thro bad times.
But thanks that You God is in the
business of making life better for
us on the inside. You will not leave
us where we are but will Help us
get to be what You want us to be.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen

Repent of Sins & Offences (Sep 1)

In a series of visions, Ezekiel
foresees the what, why and how
of God’s judgment upon Judah.
The What: total destruction of
Jerusalem and the departure
of God’s glory from the temple.
The Why: generations of idolatry,
wickedness & spiritual indifference.
The How: through the cruel Baby-
lonians, God’s agents of judgment.
But the harshness of the sentence
is tempered by a tender reminder:
A remnant will survive, receive
sanctuary in a foreign country
and return to the Land of Promise.

Lord, Thank You for New Heart:
Tell the exiles, this is what the
Sovereign Lord says: Although
I have scattered u in the countries
of the world, I will be a Sanctuary
to you during your time in exile…
I will gather you… and give you
the land of Israel (Ezek 11:16-17).
I will give them an undivided Heart
and put a new spirit in them; I will
remove from them their heart of stone & give them a Heart of Flesh…
Then they will truly be my people;
and I will be their God (v19-20).
Rid yourselves of all the offences
you have committed, and get
a new heart and a new spirit.
Why will you die, O house of Israel?
So turn and live (Ezek 18:31-32).

Lord, I pray You will fill me with
Your love; and help me to keep my heart from wandering away from U.
Make my heart be undivided & take away any hardheartedness in me.
I invite You Lord to take charge of
my mind and emotions & help me
to give complete control to You.
Light a flame of desire in me for
You that never goes out. Amen.

Lord, Thank You that when we
become Christians, You did a
miracle by making us new inside.
You took out the hard cold hearts
and put in new & compassionate
hearts so that we are able to
serve, do good and help others.
Help us to have an ear for those
who need counsel or a kind word.
Help us to give practical helps
when someone has a real need.
Help us to intercede for people in
need and live as we should. Amen.

Lord, take away everything in my heart that is not right before You.
And help me Lord to get rid of
bad attitudes and wrong thinking.
Show me anything that has taken
root in my heart that should not be
there so that I can free myself of it before there’s a serious price to pay.
Help me clear the slate & begin again
with a new heart & right spirit. Amen