PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• With few exceptions, the term “deliver” rings with excitement and possibilities.
The delivery of a baby is met with joy and happiness…
And on the other end of the spectrum of extremes, the delivery of a pizza may bring its own brand of happiness.
(Especially when you’re on the verge of “hangry!”)
Everyone enjoys a moment of elation when they find their recent Amazon order has delivered and in December, the drivers of FedEx, UPS, and the USPS all enjoy an upswing in their popularity as they make their deliveries.
We get excited about these things.
In 2 Samuel 22, David wrote a song about being delivered.
Consider the first stanza of the song found in verses 2-4 ESV.
“He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.’”
This song was about how God delivered David from Saul who was relentlessly pursuing him in an attempt to kill him.
It’s not likely that you are being chased by an angry king, but you do have an enemy who wants to destroy you.
Satan has despised mankind since he first tempted Eve with fruit in the garden.
He may lure us under the pretense of friendliness, but there is no friendship with the enemy of God.
And God, in His infinite love for humanity, offers us deliverance.
The cross is the symbol of complete delivery from sin, addiction, poor choices, disappointments, hurt, anger, regret, shame, discouragement, hopelessness, and the list goes on culminating in the ultimate deliverance—delivery from eternal punishment in hell.
After we accept Jesus as our Savior, we recognize His deliverance, but time has a way of dulling the joy of that exciting moment.
Jesus spoke these words to the church at Ephesus, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4 ESV).
Jesus, our Deliverer, should be our first love and if we go back to David’s song in 2 Samuel, we find the answer to return to our first love—“I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.”
When we keep praise for our Deliverer on our lips and in our hearts, we are able to stay focused on our first love—The One who redeemed and delivered us with His own blood.
Today, as you pray, give praise to the Savior who is worthy of all praise.
Thank Him for delivering you.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you stay focused on your first love and to not take the delivery from your sins for granted.
Category: Nahum
11.15.18 Praise & Prayer Prompt: An Unexpected Series… Trusting God’s Word
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Yesterday’s Prayer Prompt was based on Psalm 118:8 and we talked about how manmade things are never guaranteed, but our God is 100% worthy of our trust.
After I posted, I started thinking about things and made a list, so…
Surprise!
We have a series on trust!
I don’t do series very often, so I’m as surprised as you are, but the Holy Spirit put several trust-related topics on my heart.
This is officially Day 2 of what will be a 6-day series.
Today, let’s read Hebrews 4:12 which says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Our Holy Bible may be comprised of ancient writings, but this verse is still true.
Our modern world wants to reinvent the Word of God, but every original word is still relevant and applicable to our lives.
There is so much to learn from it, and this isn’t a book you read once and put away.
Yet, people want to question it.
They want to replace things that make them uncomfortable and redefine who God is and what He says.
People will take a textbook, written by man, and hold it up as gospel truth…
The same textbook that will be updated and modified year after year and that another author will eventually discredit and all the followers of Textbook A will migrate like mindless sheep over to the new voice of “authority” who wrote Textbook B.
And let’s forget about books for a minute…
One minute, eggs are bad for you, then they’re not…
One minute, coffee is bad for you and later studies show that coffee drinkers live longer.
It’s so hard to keep up, but we blindly accept “truths” from man, and continue to question God!
It doesn’t make sense, does it?
We have to realize that the thoughts and ideas of man are fallible.
Even this devotion…
I’ve written before: if this devotion or another is your sole source for knowing who God is, put it down.
I’d rather you read the Bible for yourself.
Our words should be secondary, not the first resource you go to.
I pray very hard that I will represent God’s word accurately here, but I’m just a 43-year-old woman in Clemmons, NC who is typing this out on an iPhone before I go to work!
I’m a sinner and have issues with humility and pride and am ridiculously stubborn at times.
While I believe I’m completely right on this topic, my voice and the voices of other Christian writers should never be fully relied on!
We make mistakes!
But the Holy Bible is the inspired word of God, and there are no mistakes.
The Bible is worthy of trust.
The ideas, thoughts, words, and theories of people are not.
Let’s put our trust priorities in their rightful order.
God first.
God completely.
Today, as you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to convict your heart of any misinterpretations you’ve accepted.
Ask Him to help you trust in God’s word as the final authority for all things, trusting that God does not need to be reinvented (and how could He be since He is the Creator of all?!) and God’s word is timeless, completely applicable today, whether modern culture agrees or not.
2.2.18: Prayer Prompt: God’s Greatness
PRAYER PROMPT ••• Day 3 of the flu and I’m tired of being tired.
I’m tired of coughing so hard that I can barely catch my breath.
I’m tired of fevers.
And being in bed.
And blah blah blah.
I don’t like being sick.
I want to go to work and hate feeling like I’ve disappointed everyone because I’ve called out.
I know they understand but I just don’t do sick very well.
Thank you for your prayers.
As frustrating as it is for me to be sick, I know God is great even right now when I feel terrible.
He’s with us in all situations – from sickness to celebration.
From disappointments and heartache to the times when we rejoice.
Nahum 1:7 says, “The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.”
I trust in God and I know He’s great.
He’s not great just when things are going great; but He’s great all the time.
Today, as you pray, thank God for His greatness in all circumstances.
Thank Him for being in control and for His goodness.
Let Him know you trust in Him for all things.