June 3 –– Keeping Us From Evil

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NASB)

The Bible tells us that Jesus, the Son of God is praying for us in heaven. We might wonder what He is asking God do to for us and we might find some answers to that question in the last prayers which Jesus prayed before he was arrested and crucified.  Recorded by John in chapter 17 of his gospel account.  Jesus prayed for His disciples as He was soon to leave them. He knew what they would face here in this world. He knows what you and I face and he knows the increasing antagonism that Christians are facing these days.  The evil one is active and we do need God's help to overcome the influences just as the disciples did. We believe that this is in part what Jesus is praying for us today. As long as we live here on earth we need God's help and God the Father does help us and answers the prayers of His Son Jesus.  This is a promise that God will keep us from the evil one.  God's way of keeping us is to preserve our souls even as we face difficulty in this world. Trust Him today!

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January 31 – Building With Faith

“ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” Jude 20-21 (ESV)

The letter by Jude is short with only 25 verses. It’s not one of the most read books in the New Testament yet it’s message is necessary for building our faith. Jude, a half-brother of Jesus Christ, wrote this letter to believers urging them to contend for the faith and to guard against and condemn the apostates. He called for discernment on the part of the church and for a rigorous defense of biblical truth.  The basis for our Christian life is our faith which is a gift from God. We became members of God's family by His grace when we believed in Jesus Christ as our Savior. It is God's desire that our faith grow stronger as it should be constantly increasing. This happens as we trust God in more and more areas of our lives. This growth in faith is the point of these verses. It is our responsibility to build ourselves up in our most holy faith. As we pay attention to what God teaches us about Himself through the Holy Spirit from what we hear taught in the Bible taught by preaching and study, we will be building ourselves up in our faith. 

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July 2 – At All Times, All Kinds

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”  Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

In this letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers assembled in Ephesus, he gives instruction regarding the spiritual armor we are to put on - The Whole Armor of God.  This promise in the form of an admonition and instructs us in what to do once we have put on that armor (see the note*).  We are not called to just dress up in the armor but to put it to use and to do that requires prayer for all things and all people.  God wants us to be active in the spiritual battle in which we are involved while we live here on earth.  We therefore are encouraged to pray as part of that battle and to be praying in the Spirit.  This means that we must allow the Holy Spirit of God to guide us in our praying.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior Gods sends His Holy Spirit to abide in our hearts to be our guide.  One of the ways he guides us and helps us is in our praying.  What we pray for is therefor according to God's will if it is in the Spirit.    

* The Whole Armor of God

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January 26 – Whatever In His Name

“In that day you will ask nothing of me.  Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”  John 16:23 (ESV)

During the last evening and meal together with His disciples Jesus taught them many things.  This promise was given by Jesus when He was explaining how He would soon leave them and return to heaven.  He wanted them to know that God would not abandon them and that that God would answer their prayers as they would pray to God in His, Jesus', name.  We believe that these words of promise can be applied to our prayers today.  We have the wonderful privilege of praying to God, expressing our requests in the name of Jesus.  He is our Savior and He is our Lord.  When we pray in His Name, His Father in heaven accepts our prayers and responds by granting our requests.  Let's believe every day what Jesus promised in our verse. 

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June 3 – Keeping

“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15 (NASB)

The Bible tells us that Jesus, the Son of God is praying for us in heaven. We might wonder what He is asking God do to for us and we might find some answers to that question in the last prayers which Jesus prayed before he was arrested and crucified.  This prayer was recorded by John in chapter 17 of the gospel account he wrote.  Jesus was praying for His disciples as He was soon to leave them. He knew what they would face here in this world. He knows what you and I face and he knows the increasing antagonism that Christian are facing these days.  The evil one is still active and we do need God's help to overcome the evil influences just as the disciples did back in that time. We believe that this is part of what Jesus is praying for us today. As long as we live here on earth we need God's help and God does help us in answers to the prayers of His Son Jesus.  This is a promise that if we let Him, God will keep us from the evil one.  God's way of keeping us is to preserve our souls even as we face difficulty in this world. Trust Him today!

February 24 – Oneness Together

“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” John 17:9  (ESV)  
“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” John 17:11B  (ESV)

The Bible tells us that Jesus the Son of God is praying to His Father about us. These verses are part of a prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples and can give us an idea what He might be praying about for us. We believe that Jesus is praying for you and me today and every day, if we are His followers. He will pray for us because he loves us and just as he prayed for his disciples whom he loved as well. Jesus is praying for God protection over us in our daily lives. He reminds His Father that we belong to Him and that the Father had given us to the Son. He wants us to be partakers of the divine nature. He prays that the Father will keep us in His name and Jesus lays claim on us. He wants us to enjoy the oneness together in the same way that the Father and the Son enjoy oneness.  That is a marvelous promise that needs some thinking about. Let's carry this promise with us today and consider what it means to each of us.

January 15 - Building Ourselves Up in Faith

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,” Jude 20 (NIV)

The letter by Jude is short and has no chapter breaks. We realize that the basis for our Christian life is our faith. We became members of God's family when we believed in Jesus Christ as our Savior. After being saved by faith we continue on believing and living by faith. It is God's desire that our faith become stronger and it should be constantly growing. This happens as we trust God for more and more aspects of our lives. This growth in faith is what our verse talks about. It is our privilege and our responsibility to build ourselves up in our faith. God gives us many opportunities to exercise our faith to help it grow. One way to do this is to pay attention to what God teaches us about Himself in the Bible. It is a promise that as we hear the Bible taught and preached and we pay attention, we will be building ourselves up in our faith. God is with us and His Holy Spirit is in us to teach us. 

November 10

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. …so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,” Colossians 1:9a-10 (NIV)

If we are true believers we will want to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. We are told that we can please the Lord by producing fruit and by growing in the knowledge of God. Now these last words can inspire a question for us. How can we grow in the knowledge of God? Do we do that by reading what the Bible tells us about Him? That would give us an intellectual knowledge of Him. We need to go further by allowing Him to show us how true these teachings are. To grow is to experience His love, His faithfulness, His power and His nearness. That is how to please God. 

June 21

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,” Jude 1:20 (NIV)

We remember that when Jesus was here on earth His disciples asked Him on one occasion to increase their faith. Jesus reminded them of what they could accomplish if their faith was as small as a grain of mustard seed. Today’s verse reminds us that we are responsible for using the faith we have. Our faith is in God and in His power, His love and His care for us. As we put our trust in Him and not in ourselves, our faith then is holy and pure. As we continue to use this faith our spiritual lives are built up. As we live by faith we will experience spiritual growth and growing to be more like Him.

June 19

“Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love. Let them know that it is your hand, that you, Lord, have done it.” Psalm 109:26-27 (NIV)

David was praying for God’s help. He wanted God to help him, but then he also wanted God to get credit for answering his prayer. We sometimes pray and then when we get the answer we give ourselves the credit because we prayed. We forget to thank God for hearing us and for showing His love and faithfulness to us. We have heard people say that “prayer changes things.” It would be more appropriate to say that God changes things in answer to prayer. It should be that when we pray we desire that God, in answering, will show that He is the one doing it. Like David said, “Let them know…you, O Lord have done it.”

May 10

“The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.” 2 Chronicles 30:27 (NIV)

Do we as a nation need to pray to God? If we do will it make a difference? Remember what happened on an occasion when a nation turned to God in the days of King Hezekiah. There was much singing and praying during those days of turning back to God and there was much joy and rejoicing. And “God heard them for their prayer reached heaven.” This can be true today if we would pray sincerely in the name of Jesus – our prayers will reach heaven and God will hear and answer.