“I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian.”—Saint Ignatius
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”—Abraham Lincoln
Friday, December 15, 2023
“What you are is God’s gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.”—Hans urs von Balthasar
“Joy is the infallible proof of the presence of God.”—Madeleine L’engle.
“Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.”—Elisabeth Elliot.
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”—C. S. Lewis
“Christ literally walked in our shoes.”—Tim Keller
December 30, 2023
“10 ¶ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:10-11 NKJV)
The Father was pleased for Jesus to die I am horrified
The Father was satisfied for Jesus to die I am horrified
Jesus had to die because I am a sinner I am horrified
“However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.”—John Calvin
December 29, 2023
“Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5 NKJV)
Jesus bore our grief and sorrow on His shoulders
Jesus was bruised for our sin on His shoulders
Jesus bought peace with God on His shoulders
Prayer is a reminder of the redemptive nature of pain.
December 28, 2023
“1 ¶ Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isaiah 53:1-3 NKJV)
Can I believe the Son of God came to us
Can I believe God took on human form
Can I believe in this “Man of sorrows”
Prayer allows us to experience the wonder and glory of God.
December 27, 2023
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV)
God has presented to us His Son
His Son came into our darkness
To our darkness His Son is Light
Prayer is "bringing the pains of earth to heaven’s door." by Wayne Watson
December 26, 2023
1 Timothy 5:5 Now a true widow, a woman who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. She prays night and day, asking God for his help.
Help wanted to pray
Help needed to pray
Please help and pray
“We might be confined to the house for the rest of our life. But if you have an adventurous spirit, the world will exist in your heart.”
From The Autumn Ballad episode 14
December 25,2023
““Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”” (Luke 2:14 NLT)
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols
play,
And wild and sweet
The
words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all
Christendom
Had rolled along
The
unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from
night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A
chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in
the South,
And with the sound
The
carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a
continent,
And made forlorn
The
households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on
earth," I said;
"For hate is
strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace
on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not
dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall
fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace
on earth, good-will to men."
In some of the worst days of the Civil War Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was carried from despair to hope as the bells declared once again “peace on earth, good-will to men!” Whatever you are facing hear the message “peace on earth, good-will to men!”
This poem is in the public domain. Written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine—then still part of Massachusetts—on February 27, 1807, the second son in a family of eight children.
Thursday, December 14, 2023
December 24, 2023
Colossians 4:13 I can assure you that he prays hard for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
Pray for those you know
for those you don’t know
and others God will know
“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”—Saint Augustine
December 23, 2023
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God.
The Body of Christ is beyond place
The Body of Christ is beyond names
The Body of Christ is beyond time
"Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter." - Francis Chan
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
December 22, 2023
1 Corinthians 11:5 But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head.
Why must she cover her hair
This does not really seem fair
Since God is God so it is fair
“Life is God’s novel. Let him write it.”—Isaac Bashevis Singer
December 21, 2023
Philemon 1:6 And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.
Pray you will give
By God’s blessing
In Jesus Christ
Prayer reveals all we have in Christ and encourages us to share.
December 20, 2023
2 Thessalonians 1:11 So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.
Pray for others
to live worthy
of God’s call
Prayer is asking for others what you also need.
Monday, December 11, 2023
December 18, 2023
Colossians 1:9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
May God reveal His full will for you
May God give you spiritual wisdom
May God give you His understanding
"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." - Chuck Swindoll
Friday, December 8, 2023
December 17, 2023
2 Corinthians 1:11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.
Thank you for praying for me
Thanks God for blessing me
Thank God for all you see
“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”—Oswald Chambers
Thursday, December 7, 2023
December 14, 2023
Romans 15:30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.
Please pray for me
Please join with me
Please love me
"The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments o+
-f deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'” - Billy Graham
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
December 12, 2023
Acts 22:17 “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance.
Can prayer lead to a trance – I don’t understand
Can prayer take me somewhere – I don’t understand
Can prayer change a persons life – I don’t understand
Thanks be to God prayer can and does
"If you believe in a God who controls the big things, you have to believe in a God who controls the little things. It is we, of course, to whom things look 'little' or 'big'." - Elisabeth Elliot
Monday, December 4, 2023
December 10, 2023
Acts 11:5 “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me.
I talked and talked but never heard
I asked and asked but did not listen
That is not prayer, teach me to pray
Prayer is coming to God with a heart to hear and ears to listen.
Sunday, December 3, 2023
December 9, 2023
Acts 10:30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me.
Prayer is an amazing adventure
to where you can never imagine
and people you would not know
Prayer reaches beyond borders and limitations.
December 8, 2023
Acts 9:11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now.
Someone is praying for you now
They may not know who you are
You may not know who they are
Prayer allows us to touch the lives of people we do not know.
Friday, December 1, 2023
December 7, 2023
John 17:20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
The prayer of Jesus is for those who were
The prayer of Jesus is for those who are
The prayer of Jesus is for those who will be
Prayer is within time to a God who created time.
December 6, 2023
Luke 11:1 Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Lord please teach us to pray
so we can teach others to pray
so all Your people learn to pray
Prayer can be deepened through guidance by God and others.
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