The Hope of the Faithful

16 Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. Psalm 16:1-9 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, our Father, Thou Searcher of human hearts, help us to draw near to Thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of Thee be natural. Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. based on the West Point Cadet Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

Our strength flows from the heart. Let the heart be established by grace and guarded by faith. Faith always counsels what is best and leads to strength. One of the inner tempter’s devices is to get us to focus on fear or worry instead of faith. When faith is left unattended, it can be plucked off like a feather from the wing and then blown about and tossed in the wind. If you choose faith, consider the decision settled forever. Never look back, and faith will never fail you. Focus on faith and let fear starve to death. Let the love of God be a purifying fire in your heart. The lukewarm of heart, not really awake, not really dreaming, breeds only murmuring, suffering, and unhappiness. The way of the burning heart on the other hand, is like a champion rejoicing to run a difficult race. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to be champions of anything. It is God who has made us, who heals us, sustains us, and leads us. To Him be the glory and power forever. 

Question

How can we get rid off worry and fear?

Answer

Control attention, focus, and re-focus. Faith must take worry and fear to the Savior and leave them there with Him. If they come back, give them over to Him again and again as often as necessary.

To You, O My Strength, Will I Sing Praises

59 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.
15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. Psalm 59:1-2, 15-17 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, our Father, Thou Searcher of human hearts, help us to draw near to Thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of Thee be natural. Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. based on the West Point Cadet Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

Happy is the soul that walks in the Spirit and lives in the Kingdom of God. Thoughts, mental images, feelings, and deeds are the food, drink, rest, and training of the soul. Why envy those who only prosper themselves in this world? It’s not the pretty, nor the smart, nor the rich, but the cleansed vessels that are of great worth to God. An employer seeks to know a candidates skills and qualifications to determine his or her fit for a particular job, but God isn’t concerned with our talents and skills. God looks at the heart. God is not merely handing out jobs, He is enlarging His family. You don’t need a polished resume for the Lord, just come as you are and give Him your whole heart. Listen and you will hear the Lord say, “My son, give me your heart.” Blessed is the one who replies, “My heart, O Lord, do I give.” Trust the Lord. It is His will that we be holy, and if we choose it, He will make it so. We are made holy by earnest prayer and by faith in the blood of the Lamb. Be still, know that He is God, and praise His holy Name. All power belongs to God. Give God the glory and you will see the salvation of our Lord.

Question

How is the fight of faith like sailing?

Answer

Grace is the wind, physical circumstances the current, belief the sails, and faith the rudder. Trim the sails, hold steady the rudder, and sail straight ahead allowing the current to be as it may.

O Lord, May We Walk in the Light of Your Presence

14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.
16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. Psalm 89:14-18 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, our Father, Thou Searcher of human hearts, help us to draw near to Thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of Thee be natural. Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. based on the West Point Cadet Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

“Mo money, mo problems” said the rags to riches mega-supa-dupa-rap-star when he was on the top of the charts. A truth so profound and simply stated about how more money and more free time only ruins those who seek more fun and more pleasure. Money by itself is neither good nor bad. What more money will do is make a person more of what they are already. If a mean person, more money will make them meaner. If an unhappy person, more money will make them unhappier. If a kind person more money will make them kinder. And if a generous person, more money will make them more generous. Better to have the little of the righteous than it is to heap up piles of gold only to end up losing the soul. The love of money is to love this world death. To love life is to be fully devoted to Christ, fighting the good fight of the faith. Wait on the Lord. The promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit will be granted to you if you ask, believe, and wait with eager expectation for His manifestation. Keep the iron of your expectation red hot with prayers of thanksgiving and praise. Don’t depend on feelings before you will believe that you have the Spirit. Depend on the truth of the word of God and refuse to doubt it. Get busy extinguishing all the fiery darts of the wicked one with the shield of faith. Believe first and stand firm in faith. God has promised to confirm, settle, and establish you. He will suddenly come to His temple and then you will know.

Question

How does having more money reveal a person’s character?

Answer

By providing more time and opportunity for its expression.

The Lord Strengthen You

1 The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;
3 Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.
4 Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.
5 We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions.
6 Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call. Psalm 20 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, our Father, Thou Searcher of human hearts, help us to draw near to Thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of Thee be natural. Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. based on the West Point Cadet Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

It is so easy these days to spend hours glued to the tube, thrilled at the cinema, or gaming until the cows come home. Our money flows towards satisfying our desires stimulated by what captures our attention most often. Therein lies the insidious danger. It’s bad to give up of our money for things we don’t need, or to waste our time doing what amounts to nothing, Worst of all though, is being conformed to the likes, dislikes, and standards of this fallen world. You avoid junk food, and that is good. Be even more careful about what you feed your mind. You are free to choose whatever entertainment the world offers, but know there are some things that leave you worst off for having seen and heard them. Watch yourself while you are watching TV, listening to music, or scrolling through social media. All so called entertainment that draws the soul away from God are better to be scrapped off into the garbage rather than savored in the mind. It takes a conscious choice and diligence if the mind is to properly guard the heart. Let only what is of faith, hope, and love remain. Against such things there is no law. Pray in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, and live in the Spirit.

Question

How should we live?

Answer

We are spiritual beings in a physical body. Orient the mind towards the spiritual life or we end up enslaved to the material world.