Daily Devotion 1 2 2015

[Suzuki Johnny]

Morning Prayer
Lord God, We bless you for this day you have made, and pray that we may spend this day rejoicing in your creation. We pray for your Holy Spirit to fill us with the joy of salvation, so that your light may shine through us into the world, that your honor and glory may be known to all people.
Remind us of your blessings, we pray, with every tribulation we may face, so that we may act with energy, forgiveness and love, ever mindful of the grace You have shown to us. Through Christ I pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we awaken to this new day you lay before us. We thank you for your grace and your great goodness and power in the past and the present. In this time we live, it is you who works wonders on earth and who rules the heavens so that we can be blessed and helped on our earthly paths. We pray for your guidance and goodness for all as we go forth each day. Let your light shine in us and through us and into the whole world. Your spirit gives our lives security now and in eternity. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, be merciful to us. As we go forth to meet this new day, be our strong refuge and help us on all our ways. Help us on the dark and difficult paths we must often travel on earth. Grant that we may see your light, for you are with us. You help us, and you let the power of the life of Jesus Christ be with us so that your name is honored on earth. We come to you, pleading with you in prayer. Give us the light of your Word, that we may hear and live rightly. Give us increasing strength for the fight to which you have called us. Bless us all and lead us through your spirit. Let your light shine into our hearts so that we can carry out all you have promised through your Word. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

When It Seems Like the Bottom Dropped Out
Have you ever been extremely lonely, maybe even when you were surrounded by people? Have you ever felt cut off? Have you ever felt as though your friends abandoned you or that you were completely misunderstood?
If so, then you have a faint idea of what Jesus Christ went through as he agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane. In a way, we all face personal Gethsemanes in life, times when it seems as though the world is closing in on us, times of ultimate stress when the cup that we are supposed to drink seems too much to bear, times when we feel like we can’t go on another day.

We cannot always know the will of God in every given situation. But there are times when we know the will of God, and, frankly, we don’t like it. There are other times when we know the will of God, and it doesn’t make any sense. My friend Randy Alcorn uses the term “Father filtered,” which means that either God did it, or God allowed it.

[Suzuki Johnny]

When it Feels Like God Isn’t Listening to Our Prayers (Matthew 15:21-28)
“And Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region, and began to cry out, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.’ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came to Him and kept asking Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is shouting out after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’ And He answered and said, ‘It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.’ But she said, ‘Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.’ Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, your faith is great; be it done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed at once.” ( Matthew 15:21-28 NASB)

[Suzuki Johnny]

Why We Should be Thankful for Unanswered Prayers (2 Peter 1:5-9)

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9)

This Scripture passage speaks of making every effort to respond to God’s promises and add to my faith moral excellence, and to that knowledge. Then add self-control mixed with patient endurance. And godliness. And brotherly affection. And love for all. The more I learn and grow in those ways, the more useful I will be on earth.

I’ve prayed for many things over the years. Favor on job interviews. A loving partner. Car repair bills to be lower than I expect.
Benign biopsies. Healthy kids. My list of desires can go on and on.
We have a lot to be thankful for.........

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we thank you for letting us walk in your presence on this new day. We want to be joyful and full of faith, full of hope, full of patience, for your mercy leads us on. In all we experience how often we can say, Thanks be to God. He has helped us here, he has helped there, he helps every day in spite of all the evil in the world. We ask you from our hearts to give us your peace. Grant that nothing may take your peace from us, and protect us from all that is evil as we go forth to serve and do your will.
Praise, thanks and honor be to him forever. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, you have brought us to the break of this new day. You are our help and our comfort. We look to you and to your promises. Grant that we may remain full of courage, as we go through life and have faith and hope in you. May we become your people. Grant your Spirit to your people, not only to a few but eventually to many. Lord our God, we pray that your will may be done on earth among the nations; may your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Lead us forth each and every day. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we come in prayer on this new day seeking our strength and our defense from you who is our salvation. We look to you and to your help at every turn of our lives. Remember us, especially when we want to serve you. Stay with us with your Spirit so that everything may work out to further your kingdom on earth. Have mercy on the world, on the many who are unfortunate and who suffer from the widespread evil around them. Remember them. Have mercy on us all as we go forth in our lives. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

God, you bring life and breath to us this day as we rise to serve you. You who has ordained that whatever is to be desired should be sought by labor, and who by thy blessing bring honest labor to good effect, look with mercy upon our studies and endeavors. Grant us, O Lord, to design only what is lawful and right; and afford calmness of mind and steadiness of purpose, that we may so do thy will in this short life, as to obtain happiness in the world to come, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, you are light of the world and light of our human life, we thank you for sending your Word into our hearts. Your Word works within us and allows us to rejoice. Even if we often experience hard and bitter times here on earth, we can rejoice as the world shall rejoice when your will and your Word are fulfilled. Protect us, and keep us pure and free in spirit, that we may be your servants, that we may sometimes be allowed to say a little word in harmony with the great, powerful Word which you have sent into the world.
Your word is like the snow and the rain that come down from the sky to water the earth. Be with us and protect us as we go forth this day. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we pray for commitment and enthusiasm in every good work, showing the happiness and cheerfulness that comes only when we work for you. As we go forth this day let us live in your presence. Give us patience in difficulties, being happy and cheerful as we place our trust in you. Show us how to live in your presence. When difficulties arise, teach us to be patient. Let us resolve to live in peace and be positive and helpful towards our fellow man. May we strive for goodness and your strength to live fully in obedience to your Word. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, on this new day may our hearts find words to praise you together, to ask you with one accord that we may be brought into community with you. We come to you with our whole selves, with all that we have experienced, with all that has been given to us through your leading. For to this day you have shown us the way, guiding us through right and wrong, through the perfect and the imperfect. You have led us all to know that we belong to you. We are yours. You work in each of us to bring about what you have in mind for each one of us and for the many, many who hunger and thirst for justice and truth. Be with us through your Spirit. Touch us through the hand of Jesus Christ.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

What Does Sabbath Look Like for You? (Genesis 2:2-3)

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. - Genesis 2:2-3
Sabbath once was a sacred and protected sacrament. A sabbath is defined as a day of religious observance and abstinence from work. Recently, my kids and I listened to Farmer Boy by Laura Ingels Wilder and were amazed by the strict description of how the Sunday sabbath was observed during this time. Families spend the day enforcing no playing, talking, or doing much of anything. This level of strict observance of a sabbath is hard to imagine in our modern world, where life keeps going full speed ahead, 24/7.

Thankfully, we’ve embraced a more grace-filled approach to our seventh day of the week. This begs the question, “Is the concept of sabbath still applicable to our modern lives?” Are there consequences for pushing ourselves to be “productive” seven days out of the week? Does going harder really mean we accomplish more? Should we protect a sabbath day as a part of our routine? What do we gain when we schedule strategic pauses in our lives?

These are important and practical questions for every believer, as we now live in a culture that is obsessed with optimizing our time and productivity. The fact is how we use our time has real consequences. Time is a finite commodity in our lives. Intentional decisions about how we use our days are an important part of wise-living. We see this truth simply put in Psalm 90:12 which says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, we do not fear this day, for you are with us wherever we might go, your light to shine ahead, your footsteps to lead the way. We do not fear this day, for your word will be our guide. Your strength will sustain us and your love revive us, this day and all days. We do not fear this day, for you are with us. May the God of peace himself sanctify us completely, and may our whole spirits and souls and bodies be kept blameless as we go forth this day. We call upon you Lord to come into our lives. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, send us your light and truth, to keep this day and all the days of our lives. May your hand protect and guide us. Be
our refuge for this day and for each day to come, touch us with the finger of your power. Be our protection and strong defense against all attacks of darkness. Where people look to you out of the darkness, let their eyes grow shining bright with the light from your eyes. Let your light shine within us and around us. Let your light bring your cause to victory, to the final great day of Jesus Christ. In Christ we pray, Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For Inner Peace Today
Lord God, as we rise and look ahead at this day, may we have peace within this day.
May we trust in you God that we are exactly where we are meant to be.
May we not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May we use those gifts that we have received, and pass on the love that has been given to each of us.
May we be confident knowing we are children of You God.
Let this presence settle into our bones, and allow our souls the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. This I pray in Christ’s name,
Amen.

[Suzuki Johnny]

The Unfathomable Sovereignty of God

“To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. - Isaiah 40:25
Every so often, we read a passage of Scripture that we’ve read many times before, yet the truth of it leaps off the page as if we’ve never read it. It catches us by surprise, offering a beautiful revelation of God’s sovereignty and glory.
Isaiah chapter 40 was like that for me recently, as I read through it with a quickening of my spirit motivated by the unfathomable sovereignty of God described throughout.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him? (Isaiah 40:12-13)

[Suzuki Johnny]

Trust the God Who Sees Ahead of You (Psalm 136:13)

Today’s Bible verse is Psalm 136:13 - Give thanks to him who parted the Red Sea. His faithful love endures forever.
Are you worried these days? Do you ever feel if you don’t save up, batten down, build defenses, or control every aspect of the outcome, that you’ll be swallowed in deep waters?
Fearing the future is understandable in a world terrorized by viruses, violence, and sin. In fact, generations of people throughout the history of the Bible were also fearful when enemies approached and situations were far less than preferable.
The shocking accounts of danger and destruction in God’s Word can cloud our vision of his deliverance. From the genesis of humanity, we’ve struggled against troubles, but we’re given the choice to seek (and believe) the One who knows the way through.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer For This Day
Lord God, as we go forth this day may we be strengthened with all power according to your glorious might so that we may have great endurance and patience. Through your spirit help each of us in our own particular situation to overcome and achieve all we face. Let us go toward the great victory that will come when all who are granted your joy will praise you with all their hearts. Be with us by our side to guide and protect us. In Christ we pray, Amen.