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.

Whosoever Does These Things Will Never Be Shaken

111 Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
2 The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. Psalm 111:1-4, 7-9 (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

There is little to fear from knowing too much, but there are many strips stored up for practicing too little of what is known. The worldly persuasion of our day is full of godless communications from education, news, entertainment, social media, and daily conversations. The counsel of worldly wisdom is to trust only what can be seen with its pillars being science, money, and self. To rely on any of these things rather than on the living God is to trust in an arm of flesh. With strong muscles and a brand new brain, it’s easy for the young to trust the popular messages of the world. Blessed are the ones who wake up and turn from the bait of vanities offered by this world before they get hooked. The young are taken captive like fish on a hook without the knowledge of God, and the older they get the more happiness eludes them. All power belongs to God. It is vain to look for answers on how to live this present life anywhere else. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone. God never fails, but we limit God by the little trust we place in Him. A little trust and we get a little salvation. Trust God completely and we are saved to the uttermost. If we want to enter by the straight gate that leads to enteral life, we must learn to trust in God wholeheartedly. 

Question

We are called to be salt in this world. How doe salt lose its saltiness?

Answer

Rather than seasoning and cleansing what it is added to, it becomes conformed to all that is around it instead, then it has lost its saltiness.

The Fear of the Lord Is the Beginning of Wisdom

111 Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.
2 The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
3 His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
7 The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. Psalm 111:1-4, 7-9 (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

Know for certain that once you choose to make faith in God the rule for your life, every persuasive thought and feeling to doubt does NOT come from the one who has called you. Don’t think this strange. Both physical and spiritual strength are developed by training with resistance. Even the highly favored and extremely talented among us must be willing to suffer the discomfort of time under tension if they are to become fully developed. We have been given the gift of eternal life and freedom from the bondage of sin by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Having been translated into the Kingdom of God by Christ, we no longer have to slavishly obey the evil desires of the flesh. We are now free to choose to obey God. Free to choose to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. Dearly beloved of the Father, know that you are among the elect of God. The devil causes only the elect to doubt the truth of their calling. Resist him by standing firm in faith. There is a sure victory awaiting all who are willing to fight the good fight of faith. This too is by grace, to the glory of God, whose mercy endures forever.

Question

What do we mean by fear of the Lord?

Answer

An act of worship inspired by love, which creates a willingness to do what is pleasing to God out of respect and reverence for Him.

My Help Comes From the Lord

121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalm 121 (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

Spontaneous thoughts arise from our spirit. Our spiritual faculties can be influenced by both good and evil. Love thinks no evil, neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. A flaming arrow shot from the shadows is a predictable tactic of the enemy. By suggesting one wrong thought, feelings are ignited that cause a cascade of similar thoughts and feelings that lead the mind away from God. The enemy knows that as long as he remains hidden he will not be resisted. Why do we fret when things don’t work out? Why trust in our own feeble plans and remember not the power of our God? The Bible tells us to consider it all joy when tempted with these flaming darts designed to kill, steal, and destroy. Learning to diligently resist these thousands of little things with patience develops spiritual maturity. Keep your faith in God Almighty. Do not cast away your confidence in the Word, for it will never fail. Rather cast away the faithless thoughts and imaginings the enemy slings your way. God has promised not to allow you to be tested with more than you can resist. So instead of fretting, praise God! Instead of getting upset, rejoice! Stand firm in the faith that God works all things for your good and darkness will have to flee. God has predestined us to know the truth of this liberty that is in Christ Jesus. Glory be to God Most High! Fight the good fight of faith and let the whole earth praise His holy name.

Question

Which thoughts are we to resist and cast down?

Answer

Every one that does not originate from love or smells of rotten fruit.

God Listens to My Prayer

16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Psalm 66:16-20 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into my heart your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

Thinking right is always the next step along the beach of righteousness. Vain thoughts are often the cause of stumbling. Ignoring the aliment is the same as refusing the treatment. Consider a mature faith to be like a sea-washed lighthouse, anchored on the Rock, and thereby firmly withstanding the ebb and flow of life. The tides of life change from high to low, going in and going out. This will sometimes cause training, diet, wellbeing, and best of plans to be fractured in the process. This too will pass, but refuse to allow what you can’t do right now to stop you from doing what you can. Remember that even a few loaves and a couple of small fish are enough to feed a multitude with God. The grace of God is more than sufficient for all things, but be sure you are not just seeking to do your own will and asking God to supply His power just to help you get your own thing done. Deny self, pick up your cross daily, and follow Jesus. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to conform your will to His, and then go to work with gusto to glorify our God. 

Question

What is success in life?

Answer

Traveling through this world in such a manner as to be well prepared to enter into eternal life in the next.

Joyful Are the People Whose Strength Is in You

4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Psalm 84:4-10 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into my heart your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

Our God reigns! Every knee shall bow and every mouth shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. All things are in the hand of God. The axe cuts down the tree, but the axe is secondary to the hand that wields it. Watch and pray. Why get angry because of the rude person in your way? God uses such small things to train us to be able to maintain His peace. And if you only do good when others can see, you limit your reward to the applause of men. Receiving praise from people may be sweet to the ears, but pleasing God is far more satisfying. Refuse to react to the unedifying feelings of the flesh. Let go of the lesser desires of the cardinal mind in order to obtain the more abundant life in Christ Jesus. Press on toward the upward call of God, which is to know our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a part of the glorious ministry of the Holy Spirit to the saints. It is more than having knowledge about Him, it is rather to know Him through lived experience. This happens the same way we get to know any other person, and that is by spending time in His presence and listening to His voice. This is the promise of the Gospel of Christ. There are five steps filled with faith and intention for appropriating this one needful blessing: 1) we must first have the knowledge that it is the will of God for us; 2) we must long for it to be so for us; 3) we will have it to be so for us; 4) ask the Lord to make it so; and 5) Wait for the settled inner conviction that it is so. Do not force step 5. It is important not to claim it until the witness of the Spirit gives the assurance that the grace has been bestowed. Rather than claim it prematurely, give thanks and look for it with an eager expectation of the manifestation of the faithfulness of God. Watch and give glory to God. Though it tarry, wait for it. It will surely come.

Question

Now that you know how, the only question is when?

Answer

This too the Scriptures have answered abundantly. Wait on the Lord, trust His perfect timing.

Show Us, O Lord, the Light of Your Countenance

80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Psalm 80:1-3 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into my heart your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

God alone is sovereign. This means that God alone is in control. With just one email, just one phone call, or just one text message, God can completely change your life. Nothing is beyond the control of the Most High. Therefore, remember the love of your heavenly Father always. Because He first loved us, we can love Him. We are adopted as sons of the Most High, taken up, and seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. As dearly loved sons, strive to now think, desire, and do what is pleasing to Him. We love and obey Him because we know it is His will. By faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we do enter into the grace needed to do all that pleases Him. 

Question

How do we get rid of worry?

Answer

When we open the door to trust in God, worry is forced out the window.