NOTE: To my readers…I apologize for not posting yesterday. I had a very long training day in body armor (5AM to 8PM) and I fell asleep before I could get this message fully written. Please bear with me as I deal with the hours and still try and get my writings in daily. In Christ, Mark
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Psalm 51
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today (Wednesday) is Ash Wednesday, the traditional start to the Lenten season. The Lenten season (simply called Lent) is a 40 day period which will always lead to the last week in the life of Jesus sometime referred to as the Passion Week.
Lent is intended to be a 40 day period of personal inner reflection and repentance as we prepare for the great sacrifice that Jesus makes on Calvary’s cross through His crucifixion, bearing the weight of our sins to save us. Some people enter into a daily prayer regimen, based on repentance and a concerted effort to address the sins of their lives. Additionally, some people will engage in a fast of some sort, personally sacrificing something from their life for the 40 day period to honor and respect the sacrifice that Jesus made as well as show their dependence on Him to sustain them, particularly when the fast involves a change in diet.
So how do we approach this Lenten season exactly? Does God offer us some word on this to give us a hand?
Well, of course He does. And in the case of this devotion, it comes from the very lips of David who we have been studying.
You’ll remember that David was doing pretty well in his life as God’s selected and anointed king before he set his eyes on Bathsheba…and allowed sinful lust to enter in and consume his heart. For he couldn’t stop himself from sleeping with her even though she was married and after she became pregnant, he took his sinfulness even further by deceitfully trying to pin the pregnancy on her husband, Uriah, before plotting to just have him killed in battle…which is just what happened to him.
Well, David didn’t get away with this, did he? He didn’t because although no one else was onto what he was doing…God was. And you’ll remember that God sent the prophet Nathan with a message for David…one that would let David know that God was definitely aware of his sinful actions and that there would be consequences David would have to pay for it.
And so David, in the midst of his shame over the sin he committed, wrote the words of the 51st Psalm…and in doing so, gave us great guidance in how we can approach Lent, not just this year but any year. Let’s look at some specific steps we should take:
1. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion… Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
The first step we need to take is acknowledging God and His power…a power that can destroy anything including us.
We know God hates sin and we are sinners and yet He loves us…but He doesn’t like the sin within us. And so, we need His mercy and His love and His compassion to survive. God doesn’t need to allow us to live…and yet He does by His mercy. We need to first acknowledge that and enter into an attitude of humbleness before we can proceed any further in personal reflection and repentance.
So how do we deal with the sins we struggle with?
Let’s look at point 2:
2. …blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Now that we have refocused on God being almighty and in charge, we can see that only He can help us in the midst of our sin struggle. Like David, we need to show our reliance on Him, asking Him to help us to blot out our transgressions, wash away our iniquities and cleanse us from our sins…making us white as snow which God did by washing us with the precious blood of His Son Jesus, the Lamb of God sacrificed and slain to cover all our sins.
3. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart…
As we acknowledge God’s almighty power and His ability to rid us of our sins, we also realize that we need to adopt an attitude of change for God to be able to do His wondrous work within us. This requires that we humbly turn to Him with a broken spirit in need of repair and a contrite heart that is truly sorry for allowing sin to enter in and get a foothold. One thing is certain…we won’t be able to fully begin to recover from our sin addiction unless we first admit we have a problem.
So what happens when we do surrender ourselves to God’s control and allow Him to begin to change us from the inside out?
We find ourselves with a pure heart and a renewed, steadfast spirit.
4. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me… Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me…
When we allow God to purge sin from the inside out, then we open ourselves to Him creating a pure heart within us…and experience renewal in spirit that is willing and steadfast because He is willing and steadfast first. And as we gain a renewed and willing spirit, we find the joy of salvation restored to us because we refocus on the source of that salvation, Jesus…who paid the price for our sins on the cross and was resurrected so we could have an opportunity to do the same. For No one comes to the Father, except by Jesus (John 14:6).
So we have reaffirmed God’s power to do all things including the riddance of our sins which comes as result of His cleansing through the blood of Jesus. And as we allow Him to purify us, we gain a pure heart and renewed spirit that draws us back to the joy and source of our salvation, Jesus.
And this should bring us to a place of celebration.
5. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice… Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
For as we turn once again to the joy and source of our salvation, Jesus Christ, we can’t help but be drawn into gladness and constant rejoicing…we can’t help but sing of His righteousness and praise Him with our lips. For God, our Father, gave Him for us to save us from our bloodguilt…so that through Jesus, we are set free now and forever if we only believe in Him and trust Him as our Lord and Savior.
And so this Lenten season, we can stay properly tuned to what God expects from us in the pay of personal reflection and repentance if we just hold to the words of this Psalm. My prayer is that this 40 day journey will be a blessing for all Christians this year as we again journey with Jesus toward the greatest display of love ever witnessed…the love Jesus showed all creation on the cross of Calvary. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
CELEBRATING AMAZING GRACE
NOTE: As all of my readers know, there are times when I take a break from the walk through the scriptures to share something else that is on my heart. Today is one of those days. Tomorrow, I will resume my writings from 2nd Samuel.
_______________________________________________________________
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
Around 17 years ago, I was walking in a lot of darkness. I was about three years on the other side of a divorce after nearly 10 years of marriage…a marriage fouled by my wife’s infidelity. Being in my early 30’s and a non-drinker, I wasn’t sure how I might even meet another mate to share life together with.
Well, I went through a series of dating disasters (maybe some of you can relate to this) and was about to just give up but something awesome happened that revealed to me the awesome nature of grace. For as I went to the Norfolk VA elementary school that I was volunteering at as a tutor (I was working weekly with two third grade classes), I met a wonderful lady who would change my life forever…a lady who only the Lord could bring.
We had met a few times before that day in January 1992 but never spoke about anything except our professions. In fact, I only knew her by her last name. But something was different on that one special day. For as she was talking to me, she said she was going to the movies that weekend…and I then mustered up enough courage to ask her if she was going by herself. Much to my immediate disappointment, she said she had a date and then added, “But he doesn’t know what direction he wants to go in”. And with that, she was called away over the intercom and I was left wondering what she meant.
Well, as I left the building that day, I felt the conviction to try and ask this assistant principal out on a date. I was stationed on a ship then and was about to go to sea for six weeks. I would only be in the school one more day before that so my window of opportunity was narrow. Still, I was determined to try and so I sent flowers to her and wrote the card so she would know it was from me…and I asked her to go to dinner with me the night before I sailed.
The next week, I went into the school, anxiously anticipating whether my invitation would be accepted. I went to the classes, did my tutoring and never saw the assistant principal. I assumed it just wasn’t to be and so as I finished up my volunteer work, I walked down the hallway and was on my way home when around the corner walked the assistant principal. She stopped, looked down the hallway and then looked at me and said with a big smile on her face, “I loved the flowers you sent me” before adding…”And the answer is yes”.
And so that evening, we went to dinner at a wonderful little restaurant in Virginia Beach and there was no doubt that we were meant for each other. We just sat and talked for so long that the waitress had to insist that we order. It was a magical night…sealed by a wonderful time with a wonderful woman.
Well as we began to talk about beginning our relationship, there was a little bump in the road. After all, any good story has a little drama.
Mine came when I was with this new wonderful woman in my life and let a word of profanity come out of my mouth. That was a bad idea on my part and something that I need to elaborate on.
You see, going through the outcome of a divorce wasn’t the only darkness I was walking through. For I had not walked with the Lord in my life for around 11 years and everything about me showed it…including the words that came out of my mouth. I was living the same false existence that so many people in the world live in. I thought I was a good person and everything was just fine with me. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
And so on that day that I let a curse word fly in the presence of this wonderful woman I had just met, I remember her looking at me in a way that I’ll never forget…a look that told me I should never do that again. She reinforced that look by saying, “Those words are just not acceptable to me.” She then added this and changed my life forever saying, “If we’re going to have a relationship, the Lord has to be first in everything.” I just remember looking at her and saying “OK” when inside I became a raging ball of anxiety.
You see, Satan was already trying to attack me when the name of the Lord was imparted on me. I stood there and was wondering the following thoughts:
“What does the Lord feel about me? After all, I have been away from Him so long?”
“Will I know anything about the bible? I grew up learning about it but it has been a long time. Will I remember the Old from the New Testaments?”
Yes, Satan was trying hard to regain control of me. But it was too late. For the Father was waiting all along for His prodigal to return…and He wrapped His loving arms around me, not in the spirit of condemnation but rather in the spirit of celebration. For I, His son, had been lost but now I was found…and He found me by working toward this magical, wonderful woman He brought into my life.
OK…I know you’ve been waiting for the name of this woman…this incredible blessing that the Lord brought to me and used to snatch me from the grips of sinfulness and bring me to this place seventeen years later…a place that has found the Lord using me in such awesome amazing ways to try and change the lives of others…just as the Lord changed mine back when I met my wife…my amazing Grace.
Why am I writing this today?
Because it is Grace’s birthday…the day when it’s natural to give thanks for the day that God brought he into His creation…but an additional celebration for me to honor the woman who allowed the Lord to use her to save a wretch like me…to help this man who was lost to become found.
Indeed, grace is amazing and my prayer is that everyone experiences it as fully as I have been able to. If this devotion touched you in a special way, why don’t you share your own testimony about God’s amazing grace in your life. Leave a post and bless others with your story.
I pray you have a blessed night in the Lord.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: If you would like to send Grace a Happy Birthday message, her e-mail is GODS4ALL@aol.com.
PS #2: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
_______________________________________________________________
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
Around 17 years ago, I was walking in a lot of darkness. I was about three years on the other side of a divorce after nearly 10 years of marriage…a marriage fouled by my wife’s infidelity. Being in my early 30’s and a non-drinker, I wasn’t sure how I might even meet another mate to share life together with.
Well, I went through a series of dating disasters (maybe some of you can relate to this) and was about to just give up but something awesome happened that revealed to me the awesome nature of grace. For as I went to the Norfolk VA elementary school that I was volunteering at as a tutor (I was working weekly with two third grade classes), I met a wonderful lady who would change my life forever…a lady who only the Lord could bring.
We had met a few times before that day in January 1992 but never spoke about anything except our professions. In fact, I only knew her by her last name. But something was different on that one special day. For as she was talking to me, she said she was going to the movies that weekend…and I then mustered up enough courage to ask her if she was going by herself. Much to my immediate disappointment, she said she had a date and then added, “But he doesn’t know what direction he wants to go in”. And with that, she was called away over the intercom and I was left wondering what she meant.
Well, as I left the building that day, I felt the conviction to try and ask this assistant principal out on a date. I was stationed on a ship then and was about to go to sea for six weeks. I would only be in the school one more day before that so my window of opportunity was narrow. Still, I was determined to try and so I sent flowers to her and wrote the card so she would know it was from me…and I asked her to go to dinner with me the night before I sailed.
The next week, I went into the school, anxiously anticipating whether my invitation would be accepted. I went to the classes, did my tutoring and never saw the assistant principal. I assumed it just wasn’t to be and so as I finished up my volunteer work, I walked down the hallway and was on my way home when around the corner walked the assistant principal. She stopped, looked down the hallway and then looked at me and said with a big smile on her face, “I loved the flowers you sent me” before adding…”And the answer is yes”.
And so that evening, we went to dinner at a wonderful little restaurant in Virginia Beach and there was no doubt that we were meant for each other. We just sat and talked for so long that the waitress had to insist that we order. It was a magical night…sealed by a wonderful time with a wonderful woman.
Well as we began to talk about beginning our relationship, there was a little bump in the road. After all, any good story has a little drama.
Mine came when I was with this new wonderful woman in my life and let a word of profanity come out of my mouth. That was a bad idea on my part and something that I need to elaborate on.
You see, going through the outcome of a divorce wasn’t the only darkness I was walking through. For I had not walked with the Lord in my life for around 11 years and everything about me showed it…including the words that came out of my mouth. I was living the same false existence that so many people in the world live in. I thought I was a good person and everything was just fine with me. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
And so on that day that I let a curse word fly in the presence of this wonderful woman I had just met, I remember her looking at me in a way that I’ll never forget…a look that told me I should never do that again. She reinforced that look by saying, “Those words are just not acceptable to me.” She then added this and changed my life forever saying, “If we’re going to have a relationship, the Lord has to be first in everything.” I just remember looking at her and saying “OK” when inside I became a raging ball of anxiety.
You see, Satan was already trying to attack me when the name of the Lord was imparted on me. I stood there and was wondering the following thoughts:
“What does the Lord feel about me? After all, I have been away from Him so long?”
“Will I know anything about the bible? I grew up learning about it but it has been a long time. Will I remember the Old from the New Testaments?”
Yes, Satan was trying hard to regain control of me. But it was too late. For the Father was waiting all along for His prodigal to return…and He wrapped His loving arms around me, not in the spirit of condemnation but rather in the spirit of celebration. For I, His son, had been lost but now I was found…and He found me by working toward this magical, wonderful woman He brought into my life.
OK…I know you’ve been waiting for the name of this woman…this incredible blessing that the Lord brought to me and used to snatch me from the grips of sinfulness and bring me to this place seventeen years later…a place that has found the Lord using me in such awesome amazing ways to try and change the lives of others…just as the Lord changed mine back when I met my wife…my amazing Grace.
Why am I writing this today?
Because it is Grace’s birthday…the day when it’s natural to give thanks for the day that God brought he into His creation…but an additional celebration for me to honor the woman who allowed the Lord to use her to save a wretch like me…to help this man who was lost to become found.
Indeed, grace is amazing and my prayer is that everyone experiences it as fully as I have been able to. If this devotion touched you in a special way, why don’t you share your own testimony about God’s amazing grace in your life. Leave a post and bless others with your story.
I pray you have a blessed night in the Lord.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: If you would like to send Grace a Happy Birthday message, her e-mail is GODS4ALL@aol.com.
PS #2: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Saturday, February 14, 2009
WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO NEED TO KNOW THEY’RE LOVED?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
Valentine’s Day is here once again, a day we focus on love. The Love we have for each other. And the love we have for God the Father and His Son Jesus who He sent to truly show us what love was all about…that love sometimes requires the deepest kind of sacrifice imaginable.
And because He loved us so very much, we know how we are to love one another…because He IS love.
So this week, I’m getting prepared for the day.
Dozen roses. Check.
Love themed jewelry. Check.
Card that expressed my love feelings for my beautiful wife. Check.
I seemed to have everything together to make the day special.
But then, I received a mailing from World Vision, one of the four organizations that Grace and I sponsor children through. The flyer spelled out the reason for the mailing…and changed my perspective for this Valentine’s Day…to include this message.
What did the flyer say?
“Crisis in the Horn of Africa. Urgent: 3 million children face starvation.”
My heart that was buoyed up so much from all my Valentine’s Day celebration sunk.
3 million children facing starvation.
Those words ate away at me and I felt so much sadness because in the midst of celebrating love and using the blessing of the Lord’s abundance to lavish gifts on my spouse, I was reminded that there are so many others who won’t be celebrating this day…so many who aren’t feeling so loved. In fact, many this day are feeling pretty lost…abandoned…alone…hopeless.
Are we thinking about them as we celebrate the blessings of love in our own lives?
And those who are feeling less than loved this day don’t just include the hungry. For many have lost loved ones since last Valentine’s Day. Still many others have suffered relationship break ups, children have become orphaned or abandoned or abused and neglected.
Yes, not all are necessarily feeling loved this Valentine’s Day. So what do we do about it?
I would encourage all of us to take a moment today to pray for those who are in the midst of any hardship that makes them feel less than loved. Let us pray that they might be able to feel the arms of their Father in Heaven wrap around them to comfort and console them…arms that will never leave them alone…arms that will always love them.
I also would encourage you to consider to make a donation for the cause of any organization that is making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Many are doing God’s work in underprivileged nations and although we maybe can’t go to these countries and help physically, we can make a difference through the money that the Lord has blessed us with. And what better investment can you make than to help save a life…for 3 million children are starving this very day just in the Horn of Africa. How many other millions are suffering likewise?
If you are interested in child sponsorship, I highly recommend giving it a try. We’ve done it for 16 years now and have been so richly blessed in knowing we are making a special difference in the life of a child in need. What a better world we would live in if we all invested in just one child who was in need. We could defeat this problem of world hunger and improve the health of all of God’s children…one child at a time.
And so I invite you to take a look at World Vision (www.wvi.org), Children International (children.org), Compassion International (www.compassion.com) or Food for the Hungry (www.fh.org) as well as Steven Curtis Chapman’s adoption ministry, Shaohannah’s Hope (members.shaohannahshope.org). Any or all of these organizations are doing the Lord’s work and I’ve been richly blessed in my affiliation with them.
Jesus, in His parable of “The Sheep and the Goats” said:
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.
Then the righteous will answer Him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?”
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”
Matthew 25:35-40
Today, as we celebrate love and, in doing so, celebrate the One, Jesus, who taught us the definition of love, let us honor Him and the love sacrifice He made for us by sacrificing a little for those who are the least...those who are in need of love.
And never let us rest until we ensure that every man, woman and child in this world know that they are loved. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Valentine’s Day is here once again, a day we focus on love. The Love we have for each other. And the love we have for God the Father and His Son Jesus who He sent to truly show us what love was all about…that love sometimes requires the deepest kind of sacrifice imaginable.
And because He loved us so very much, we know how we are to love one another…because He IS love.
So this week, I’m getting prepared for the day.
Dozen roses. Check.
Love themed jewelry. Check.
Card that expressed my love feelings for my beautiful wife. Check.
I seemed to have everything together to make the day special.
But then, I received a mailing from World Vision, one of the four organizations that Grace and I sponsor children through. The flyer spelled out the reason for the mailing…and changed my perspective for this Valentine’s Day…to include this message.
What did the flyer say?
“Crisis in the Horn of Africa. Urgent: 3 million children face starvation.”
My heart that was buoyed up so much from all my Valentine’s Day celebration sunk.
3 million children facing starvation.
Those words ate away at me and I felt so much sadness because in the midst of celebrating love and using the blessing of the Lord’s abundance to lavish gifts on my spouse, I was reminded that there are so many others who won’t be celebrating this day…so many who aren’t feeling so loved. In fact, many this day are feeling pretty lost…abandoned…alone…hopeless.
Are we thinking about them as we celebrate the blessings of love in our own lives?
And those who are feeling less than loved this day don’t just include the hungry. For many have lost loved ones since last Valentine’s Day. Still many others have suffered relationship break ups, children have become orphaned or abandoned or abused and neglected.
Yes, not all are necessarily feeling loved this Valentine’s Day. So what do we do about it?
I would encourage all of us to take a moment today to pray for those who are in the midst of any hardship that makes them feel less than loved. Let us pray that they might be able to feel the arms of their Father in Heaven wrap around them to comfort and console them…arms that will never leave them alone…arms that will always love them.
I also would encourage you to consider to make a donation for the cause of any organization that is making a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Many are doing God’s work in underprivileged nations and although we maybe can’t go to these countries and help physically, we can make a difference through the money that the Lord has blessed us with. And what better investment can you make than to help save a life…for 3 million children are starving this very day just in the Horn of Africa. How many other millions are suffering likewise?
If you are interested in child sponsorship, I highly recommend giving it a try. We’ve done it for 16 years now and have been so richly blessed in knowing we are making a special difference in the life of a child in need. What a better world we would live in if we all invested in just one child who was in need. We could defeat this problem of world hunger and improve the health of all of God’s children…one child at a time.
And so I invite you to take a look at World Vision (www.wvi.org), Children International (children.org), Compassion International (www.compassion.com) or Food for the Hungry (www.fh.org) as well as Steven Curtis Chapman’s adoption ministry, Shaohannah’s Hope (members.shaohannahshope.org). Any or all of these organizations are doing the Lord’s work and I’ve been richly blessed in my affiliation with them.
Jesus, in His parable of “The Sheep and the Goats” said:
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.
Then the righteous will answer Him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?”
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.”
Matthew 25:35-40
Today, as we celebrate love and, in doing so, celebrate the One, Jesus, who taught us the definition of love, let us honor Him and the love sacrifice He made for us by sacrificing a little for those who are the least...those who are in need of love.
And never let us rest until we ensure that every man, woman and child in this world know that they are loved. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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