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Praise: The Everlasting Father, the Ancient of Days. "I praise you Lord, as the 'Ancient of Days' (Daniel 7:9), the 'Everlasting Father' (Isaiah 9:6), who lives forever and ever."
Scripture: "So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober." (1 Thess 5:6) At first glance, we might think that Paul is proposing insomnia for all believers, but fortunately not. He previously called us children of the light, children of the day. We are those who live in the light of Christ, we have received revelation or enlightenment through the Spirit so that we need no longer walk in 'darkness' (sin and rebellion) or drunkenness (being out of control or disconnected from reality and morality). But the invitation or call is to live soberly, understanding the times such that we would not be surprised by the 'coming of the Lord'. This is meant to be something we look forward to and for which prepare ourselves.
How do we do that in practice? Paul again references his "threesome" of faith, hope and love. Our heart is to be protected by the 'breastplate' of trust and love. the more we allow ourselves to be loved and accepted by God as his child, perfect in his eyes because of Christ, the less we are likely to be overcome by our fears. Our hope in Christ, his return and the establishment of his kingdom reign, protect our minds from the lies and accusation of the enemy, Satan, the accuser of the brethren. So keep asking that the Lord would enlighten our hearts and minds through the work of the Holy Spirit who reminds us that whether alive or passed through death, we are always with the Lord. Hallelujah!
Prayer: Pray that we would be a community characterized by life-giving fellowship. Pray for genuine care and honoring of one another in unity of spirit and the bond of peace. Thank God for one another and for the grace to love each other as Christ loved us.
A blog to encourage Christ-followers to foster an intimate relationship with Jesus through a daily devotional time of praise, scriptural contemplation and prayer
Welcome! The purpose of this blog is to encourage followers of Jesus Christ to have daily time in which they intimately connect with the Lord Jesus. It includes an aspect of praise to God, some of how I sense the Lord speaking to me, and then a topic for prayer. My hope is that this blog will help you in three ways;
1. A balanced spiritual diet of Scripture reading - Using the lectionary readings for the day, this will give you a balance of passages from the Psalms, the Old Testament, the New Testament Epistles and the Gospels.Don't feel obliged to read all the passages ... unless you have the time and the inclination!
2. An example of Spiritual Journaling - I have committed to write this daily post, not for teaching purposes but as my daily spiritual journal, sharing what I hear from the Lord and how I experience Him with me each day.
3. An online discipler – One of the reasons that so many Christians do not have daily devotion is because they do not have a discipler. A discipler can help them build up this basic element of discipleship when they first become Christians. The best way for you is to have a discipler to walk with you for a certain period of time so that daily devotion become a good habit. Or, you may have a group of 2 or 3 people to encourage and be accountable to each other so that you won’t stop your daily devotion. I offer myself as your online disciple to walk with you daily to enrich your spiritual journey, trusting that you will in time, offer yourself to others.
So let us start this journey with Jesus our Lord . . . click here for today's readings
1. A balanced spiritual diet of Scripture reading - Using the lectionary readings for the day, this will give you a balance of passages from the Psalms, the Old Testament, the New Testament Epistles and the Gospels.Don't feel obliged to read all the passages ... unless you have the time and the inclination!
2. An example of Spiritual Journaling - I have committed to write this daily post, not for teaching purposes but as my daily spiritual journal, sharing what I hear from the Lord and how I experience Him with me each day.
3. An online discipler – One of the reasons that so many Christians do not have daily devotion is because they do not have a discipler. A discipler can help them build up this basic element of discipleship when they first become Christians. The best way for you is to have a discipler to walk with you for a certain period of time so that daily devotion become a good habit. Or, you may have a group of 2 or 3 people to encourage and be accountable to each other so that you won’t stop your daily devotion. I offer myself as your online disciple to walk with you daily to enrich your spiritual journey, trusting that you will in time, offer yourself to others.
So let us start this journey with Jesus our Lord . . . click here for today's readings
I think of this kind of sobriety, as well, as being aware of what it is you have come out of - not being decieved by the World and what it continues to offer, but that you are moving more and more into real life that is in Christ's Kingdom.
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