Month: March 2024

Spirit of God Empowers Us (Mar 6)

From all outward appearances,
Saul’s selection as the first king
of Israel is an outstanding choice.
His kingly demeanour & imposing
presence make him a promising
candidate fr a human perspective.
But while man looks on the outward
appearance, the Lord looks on the
heart. Saul is anointed by Samuel,
installed as king at Mizpah, proven
in battle against the Ammonites
and confirmed as king at Gilgal.
But the fact remains (as pointed
out by Samuel in his final address
to the nation) that God not Saul
should be king over Israel.

Praise be to the Spirit of God:
Then Samuel took a flask of olive
oil and poured it over Saul’s head.
He kissed Saul on the cheek and
said: I am doing this because
the Lord has appointed you to be
the leader of His people Israel…
When you arrive at Gibeah of God,
where the garrison of Philistines
is located, you will meet a band
of prophets… and they will be
prophesying. At that time the
Spirit of the Lord will come upon
you with power, and you will
prophesy with them. You will be
changed into a different person…
When they came to the hill there,
behold a group of prophets
met Saul; and the Spirit of God
(Ruach Elohim) came upon him
mightily, so that he prophesied
among them (1 Sam 10:1, 5-6, 10)

Lord Ruach Elohim, in You we
put our hope and trust for You
are the Spirit of the living God.
Because of You we can experience
the fullness of God in our lives.
Thank You for imparting the
wisdom of Your Word in our heart
and as You direct our thoughts.
Help us pray with words we don’t
even know we need to pray. Amen

Lord Ruach Elohim, forgive me
for the sins I harbour in my heart.
Forgive me for envy and becoming
ungrateful for all You’ve done for me.
Forgive me Lord when I am jealous,
comparing Your path for me with
the favour You have given to others.
Grant me the strength and help
to keep me from mortal sins in
the future. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lord Ruach Elohim, I ask You to be
ever present in my spirit; and may
Your Holy Spirit dominate my own.
I don’t want to wrestle with fear
or doubt. Instead I want the trust
and rest that come from Your
presence to be evident in my life.
I seek You and Your closeness;
for I need Your presence in all I do.
And help me to know You and love
You as I ought to. In Jesus’ name.

God Is Our Mighty Helper: Inspiring   Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Robert Robinson (1735-1790)
had always been prone to wander.
Apprenticed to a barber at 14, he
spent more time playing with friends
than cutting hair. And as a wild youth
he came to repentance. He became
a pastor and wrote a few hymns.
Come Thou Fount was written in
1757, inspired possibly by 1 Sam 7.
Later in life he wandered from the
Lord and felt he could not return.
But he met a lady in a coach who
shared the hymn Come Thou Fount
to him. He replied: I’m the unhappy
man who wrote the hymn years ago
and I would give a thousand worlds
to enjoy the feelings I had then.”
She responded by telling him:
“Sir, the ‘streams of mercy’ are
still flowing.” And he repented.

Lord, we Call on You for Help:
And Samuel said: Gather all Israel
to Mizpah and I will pray to the
Lord for you… And they fasted
that day and said: We have sinned
against the Lord (1Sam 7:5-6).
(Samuel) pleaded with the Lord
to help Israel & the Lord answered.
Just as Samuel was sacrificing
the burnt offering, the Philistines
arrived for battle. But the Lord
spoke with a mighty voice of
thunder… and the Philistines were
thrown into confusion that the
Israelites defeated them (v9-10).
Then Samuel took a stone… set it
up and called its name Ebenezer,
saying: Thus far the Lord has helped
us. So the Philistines were subdued,
and they did not come anymore
into the territory of Israel (v12-13).

Lord, we realized You are more
ready to hear the prayers of Your
people when they are repentant.
You listened to Your servants’
intercession for divine favour.
We note Samuel’s good practice
of erecting Ebenezer memorial as
Thanksgiving, which reminds us
of Your goodness and power that
we can call on You for help. Amen.

Father, thanks for streams of mercy
that call for songs of loudest praise.
We yearn to be able to erect our
Ebenezer like Samuel & testify of U.
But Lord, we are human, and like
Robertson we are prone to wander.
Cause us to always remember the
Lord has helped us & be grateful.
So, here’s my heart; take & seal it;
seal it for Your courts above. Amen.

Lord, Thou fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God.
He, to rescue me from danger,
interposed His precious blood…
Lord, I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by Thy help I come.
Let Thy goodness like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander Lord I feel it;
prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it;
Seal it for Thy courts above. Amen.

God Cares About Our Concerns

The period of the judges is nearly
at an end. One last judge remains:
Samuel, a man of godly character
and integrity who will guide the
nation from judgeship to kinship.
Samuel is the offspring of barren
woman and the answer to fervent
prayer. And he is consecrated
to the Lord’s service from birth.

Lord, we cast our cares for You Care:
Hannah was in bitterness of soul,
and prayed to the Lord and wept
in anguish. Then she made a vow:
O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed…
give Your maidservant a male child,
then I will give him to the Lord all
the days of his life (1Sam 1:10-11).
As she continued praying… Hannah
spoke in her heart; only her lips
moved but her voice was not heard.
… So Eli thought she was drunk.
But Hannah answered: No my lord,
I am a woman of sorrowful spirit.
I’ve poured my soul before the Lord..
Then Eli answered: Go in peace
and the God of Israel grant your
petition which you’ve asked of Him…
So the woman went her way, ate,
and was no longer sad (v12-18).
I asked the Lord to give me this boy
and He has granted my request.
Now I am giving him to the Lord,
and he will belong to the Lord
his whole life (1 Sam 1:27-28).

Lord, Hannah struggling with
heartbreak of infertility & taunting,
poured out her heart to You God.
After she did, she ate something,
and her face was no longer sad.
Here we see a woman who knew
how to give her worries to God.
Help us Lord learn from Hannah
to cast our worries over to You;
for after all You care for us. Amen.

Lord, Your Word says in 1Pet 4:7
to Cast all our anxieties on You
God because You care for us.
Yet sometimes we take back the
worries we claim to give to You.
Help us Lord learn from Hannah;
help us to rest the full weight of
our worry in Your capable hands.
Help us know You care for us and
thanks for the peace You give. Amen

Lord, although we are not in the
positn to bargain with Almighty God,
You may choose to answer a prayer
that has an attached promise to it.
You God keep Your promises and
will expect us also to keep ours.
Help us Lord to be earnest by
asking ourselves whether we will
follow thru on the promise we make
when God grants our request. Amen.

God Overwhelms the Impossible

Gideon, Israel’s fifth judge, receives
God’s call while hiding in a wine-
press secretly threshing wheat.
Midian’s oppression is indeed
severe and Gideon is God’s man
to lead the people in throwing
off that yoke of bondage – a task
that Gideon is not keen to accept!
But once convinced of his calling
through two miraculous signs,
Gideon leads a humble army of 300
men, equipped only with torches
and trumpets, in a stunning victory
against the mighty Midianite forces.
Israel’s weapons and rather unusual
battle plan leave no room for doubt:
The victory is the Lord’s.

Lord, You Love Impossible Odds:
The Lord said to Gideon: You
have too many warriors with you.
If I let you fight the Midianites,
the Israelites will boast to me
that they saved themselves by
their own strength. Therefore,
tell the people: Whoever is timid
or afraid may leave and go home.
22,000 of them went home,
leaving only 10,000 who were
willing to fight (Jdgs 7:2-3).
But the Lord told Gideon:
There are still too many!
Bring them down to the spring
and I will sort out who will go
with you and who will not (v4).
Then the Lord said: By the 300 men
who lapped I will save you & deliver
the Midianites into your hand (v7).

Lord, when we face overwhelming
circumstances, it is a perfect
position for You God to intervene.
For it is in those times that we
like Gideon can learn to trust You.
Many times we have felt there
was no way out in the circumstance;
only to discover later that You Lord
was actually making a way for us.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Lord, facing overwhelming odds
can be frightening as Gideon felt.
You God understood his fear but
didn’t excuse Gideon from his task.
Instead You led Gideon to slip into
the enemy camp and overhear a
chat that would give him courage.
You God indeed can give us the
strength we need for any situation.
Help us Lord to listen to You and
be ready to take the first step;
for after we begin to obey will we
find the courage to move on. Amen.

Lord, Your Word alone is sufficient
Promise of the ultimate victory.
We just need to simply trust You
and carry out Your instructions.
Thank You for being our warrior.
Thank You, when I am in a battle,
You’ll shine in midst of that battle.
Thank You for giving us victory
when it seems just impossible.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Adoring God thru Thanks & Praise

The purpose of the book of
Judges is to show that God’s
judgment against sin is certain,
and His forgiveness of sin and
restoration to relationship are just
as certain for those who repent.
And the purpose of the book of
Ruth is to show how three people
remained strong in character and 
true to God even when the society
around them was collapsing.

On Monday, we learn from Jdgs 3/5
that God Answers Prayer In Peril.
On Tuesday, we learn from Jdgs 6
that the Lord of Peace Is With You.
On Wed, we learn from Jdgs 7 that
God Loves to Do the Impossible.
On Thursday, we learn fr Jdgs 9-11
to Respect the Sovereign God.
On Friday, we learn from Ruth 1-2
to Praise the Faithful God.
On Saturday, we learn from Ruth 4
to Praise the Kinsman Redeemer.

Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face. Help us O God
be Christ’s disciples who Adore You:
For You are worthy of our Thanks
as You as Lord of Peace Is With us
& Answer Prayer when we’re in Peril;
For You Love to do the Impossible
and we respect Your Sovereignty;
For You are worthy of our Praise as
You as Father are always Faithful
and Lord Jesus is our Redeemer.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

 

Praise the Kinsman Redeemer

Set in the context of unrest during
time of Judges & faced with famine,
Ruth a young widow, travels with
her mother-in-law to Bethlehem.
There she gleans in the field of
Boaz, who grows to love her and
becomes her kinsman-redeemer.
In their marriage, Ruth and Boaz
become ancestors of Jesus.
With twin themes of faithfulness
and redemption, the book of Ruth
shows God’s love to mankind.

Lord, You are Our Redeemer:
The kinsman-redeemer said: Then
I cannot because I might endanger
my own estate. Buy it yourself…
Then Boaz announced to the elders… Today you are witnesses…
I bought from Naomi and
the property of Elimelech…
and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife,
in order to maintain the name
of the dead (Ruth 4:1-12).
 Boaz married Ruth… the Lord enabled her to become pregnant and she gave birth to a son.
The women of the town said to Naomi: Praise the Lord who has given you a family redeemer!
 May this child care for you in your old age. They named him Obed.
 He became the father of Jesse and
 the grandfather of David (v13-17)

Lord, You showed Your kindness to
Naomi, Ruth and Boaz by bringing
them together for Your purpose.
Just as Boaz showed his kindness
by buying back land to guarantee
Ruth and Naomi’s inheritance, so
Christ showed His kindness by dying
for us to guarantee our eternal life.
Grant that Your kindness motivate
us to love and honour You. Amen.

Lord Our Redeemer, we learn the
story is never over until it’s over.
For what looks hopeless can turn
around when You God is at work.
For God who loves us with His
redeeming love & in control will work
out His good purpose in our life.
So we trust in You in times of pain
and whenever facing challenges.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, in Ruth we see You At Work
behind the scene orchestrating
events and working thru willing
people towards Your perfect plan.
Although we may not know exactly
the future,but we can Trust God
who does and You care for us.
And we know all things will work
together for good according to
Your purpose. In Jesus’ name.

Praise The Faithful God

Set in the context of unrest during
time of Judges & faced with famine,
Ruth a young widow, leaves her
native land to travel with her
mother-in-law to Bethlehem.
There she gleans in the field of
Boaz, who grows to love her and
becomes her kinsman-redeemer.
In their marriage, Ruth and Boaz
become ancestors of Jesus.
With twin themes of faithfulness
and redemption, the book of Ruth
shows God’s love to mankind.

Lord, we see Your Faithfulness:
                   When she heard the Lord helping
his pple by providing food, Naomi
& her daughters-in-law set out to
Judah. Then Naomi said: Go back
to your mother’s home… But Ruth
clung to her: Don’t urge me to
leave you…Where you go I will go.
Your people will be my people &
your God my God (Ruth 1:6-16).
Boaz said to Ruth: Do not glean
in another field but stay close by…
She said Why have I found favour
in your eyes? Boaz answered;
it has been fully reported to me
all that you have done for your
mother-in-law since the death
of your husband. The Lord repay
your work and a full reward be
given you by the Lord God of
Israel, under whose wings you
have come for refuge(Ru 2:8-12)

Lord, we see in the love story
 that Ruth’s life was guided by
 faithfulness toward God and
showed itself in loyalty towards
 the people she knew. And through
the story we can also perceive
Your faithfulness to Your people.
Help us to be loyal and loving by
 imitating Your faithfulness in our
 relationships with others. Amen.

Lord, during difficult times,
                                    in the current troubled world,                                 it is easy to be inward looking                           and
 not to be faithful to one another.
             We are inspired by the loyalty
                               of Ruth whose affirming words
                greatly encouraged Naomi.
                              Lord, we need your empowering
                         of courage so that we can be so
faithful to one another. Amen.

Lord, we see Your loving care and
protection over the lives of Naomi
and Ruth. For Your supreme control
over circumstances brings security.
For You guide the minds and action
of people to fulfill Your purpose;
like impressing Boaz of Ruth’s
loyalty that he gave her favour.
Grant us the faith that no matter
how tough our situation may be,
our hope is You God for Your power
and resources are infinite. Amen.