Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am
with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
“Not only that, but we rejoice in
our sufferings knowing that
suffering produces
endurance, and endurance
produces character, and character
produces hope, and hope does not
put us to shame, because God’s
love has been poured into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit
who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5
Before we get to our prayer, let’s look for just a moment at Pentecost.
With the Lord there are no coincidences.
First, Passover is the observance of the time in Egypt when God caused the plague of death to pass over the those who’d taken refuge inside homes where the doorframes were covered with sacrificial lamb’s blood.
And Passover was the day God ordained the crucifixion of Christ, the perfect sacrificial Lamb, and the shedding of His blood so that spiritual death would pass over any who would take refuge in the blood of Christ through belief in Him.
Likewise, fifty days after Passover is Pentecost (which means fifty), also known as the Feast of Weeks, the celebration of the first fruits of the wheat harvest.
It was also the day God ordained to send His Holy Spirit to indwell the disciples of Christ, referred to several times in the Bible as wheat, reaping the first fruits of the harvest of Christ’s work on the cross.
For those of us who believe in Christ and are filled with His Holy Spirit, we are the continued harvest of those seeds Christ planted all those years ago.
Not only is Passover a day to remember that miraculous, joyful time in the lives of the first disciples, but a celebration of what God’s still doing today.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise your glorious name. Thank you for your perfect ways and for the beauty in all your plans.
Thank you for the gift of salvation and of your Holy Spirit who gives us wisdom, teaches us, ministers to us, comforts us, and leads us through the treacherous terrain in our lives. We are forever grateful for your grace and mercy.
Father, we pray you would use us to continue your work, and that many more harvests would come as your Holy Spirit works in and through us. In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. On this Palm Sunday, we praise you for all you’ve done, for sending your Son in fulfillment of the coming Savior written about in the Old Testament of your Word.
That Zechariah foretold His coming in this way – “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey,” and that is just what He did.
And so we praise you, Lord Jesus, and honor and glorify you for coming as the only One who could have saved us, and has saved us from our sins. We are filled with joy that you loved us so much that you came to purchase our souls with the sacrifice of your own life, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
There is no joy like the joy of those who have been saved and filled with your Holy Spirit, that we might commune with you always, and know your love, your peace, and your hope. Help us walk in your joy as we keep in mind all you’ve done for us. In Jesus’ holy and mighty name we pray, amen.
One of the greatest joys of being a parent is watching your children come through childhood, with all its arguments and competitiveness and jealousies, grow up, forgive each other, and become good friends.
To see your children making plans to get together, to sit and have a conversation, laughing and enjoying each other’s company, there’s just nothing like it. Seeing the love between them fills a parent with a delightful contentment.
I imagine this is a tiny fraction of the joy the Lord has when He sees His children maturing and growing in His love and then loving one another, forgiving and accepting one another in the spirit of godly brother and sisterhood.
The apostle Paul, along with Timothy, wrote to brothers and sisters in Philippi, sounding almost as a father writing to his children:
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Philippians 2:1-4
There is nothing so easy to fall back into when surrounded by the world than a worldly, fleshly, prideful, egotistical, argumentative attitude. Kind of like children, right? And the very antithesis of love.
But we don’t need to live that way.
We are filled with the Holy Spirit, the One who makes known to us God’s love.
And daily we have a choice: we can walk in the Spirit, or suffer in the flesh.
When we walk in the flesh, not only do we rob God the joy of an unbroken abiding relationship with us, made complete by seeing His children love one another, we rob ourselves of the joy and the peace we all so desperately want and need.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…”
Galatians 5:22a
Love is the first fruit of walking in the Spirit, and all others depend on it. Love brings joy, and joy brings peace.
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:16
As we walk in the Spirit, we won’t be held hostage by our fleshly attitudes. Yield ourselves to the life God’s given us, day by day, moment by moment, and the Father’s love will flow through the Spirit to us, and through us to others.
What an amazing privilege.
To know God’s love, a love far deeper than any the world can ever know, and to allow ourselves to be a conduit of that love for our brothers and sisters, and even for our enemies who so greatly need Him, glorifying and magnifying the Name of Jesus.
“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.”
2 John 1:4-6
In His Love,
I recently watched Behind Enemy Lines again, and there were so many spiritual parallels I had to share what God showed me.
Even though it’s a 20-year-old movie and surely the statute of limitations for spoilers must have run out by now, I’ll try not to give away anything too important in case you haven’t seen it.
Owen Wilson plays Lt. Chris Burnett, an American naval flight officer stationed on an aircraft carrier in the Adriatic sea during the Bosnian War.
For Lt. Burnett, being a soldier, so far, has been a lot of drills, training, exercises, and routine assignments and he resents it. It hasn’t been the thrill ride he thought it would be, so he’s handed in a letter of intent to leave the Navy to his commanding officer, Admiral Reigart, played by Gene Hackman.
The admiral tries to make him understand the importance of his training, but Burnett’s not impressed. He’s done.
Admiral Reigart decides the lieutenant needs a little discipline, so he assigns him, along with another pilot, to a routine mission on Christmas day, but the situation soon turns into far more than anyone expected.
The title says it all: behind enemy lines.
When we look out at our world today we may feel like we’re behind enemy lines. There is warring all around us, fighting, hatred, violence, attacks on the Christian faith. The whole world seems out of control and we feel like we’re in a place we don’t understand and don’t belong.
And the truth is we are behind enemy lines and we always have been. Much of the world has been experiencing it, and lately it’s become far more apparent to us than it was before. The curtain’s been drawn back a bit and we’re seeing the havoc wreaked by the enemy in the ugliness of the sin in the world on display in our own backyard.
We’re seeing the spiritual warfare Paul talked about in his second letter to the church in Corinth.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…” (2 Cor. 10:3-4)
And because we’re in the midst of spiritual warfare, an object of the enemy of God, we are soldiers in that war. Paul reiterated that in 2 Timothy and in Philemon:
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Tim 2:3-4)
“…to the beloved Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier…” (Philemon 1-2a)
If God has called us into faith through Christ, we are soldiers in a spiritual war that’s been going on since the Garden of Eden.
As soldiers, God’s been training us, preparing us to be strong in the faith, to have courage to weather the battles. We grow from discipline to discipline until we are changed into the likeness of His Son, the perfect soldier, who was our example of enduring warfare.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)
We’ve all read that and maybe, like Lt. Burnett, we haven’t seen how we can have joy in our training, how there could possibly be any purpose in our suffering. We haven’t fully understood that our trials are our testing, our discipline, teaching and training us to be mature in the faith, to persevere in trials, to trust God more and more to give us wisdom and understanding as we face the next hardship, and the next one, and the next… We don’t know what we’ll face, but God does, and He knows what He’s training us for.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” (Hebrews 12:11-12)
Whatever trials we’ve gone through or are going through right now or will go through tomorrow, don’t let them be for nothing. Let them train us. Let us humble ourselves under our Father’s mighty and wise hand to make us disciplined soldiers in His army, fighting His way with the spiritual armor God’s equipped us with.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13
Let us then, in Christ, strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees. In other words, let us put aside our complacency, any weakness of faith, any unbelief or fear, put on our armor and be strong and courageous as we stand to face our spiritual enemy, knowing we’ve been trained and we are equipped, and in Christ we have the victory.
I really hate those times when God feels so far away.
I don’t always understand why it’s that way. Sometimes it might be a sin I need to confess. Sometimes I’m the one who’s been far away, too preoccupied with other things. Sometimes it might be that I just haven’t get enough sleep and I’m feeling grouchy.
And sometimes I think He just wants me to learn to trust Him even when the feelings aren’t there.
I remember the day my dad taught me how to ride a bike down the very sidewalk in the picture. I was about six. My hands gripped the handlebars and I looked back and forth between the concrete sidewalk beneath me and the scenery in front of me while my dad held onto the back of the seat pushing me along. We did that a few times, and the next time I looked back and he was four feet behind me.
I remember the days, too, when salvation was new, and the feelings of God’s closeness filled my heart and soul. When He was teaching me to know He’s always right there with me.
And then He began to wean me from my feelings, teaching me to trust Him even when I didn’t feel Him.
That lesson’s taken longer than an afternoon. Seems I’m still learning it, but I am learning.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7
I’m learning He’s always right there whether I feel Him or not. Whether I see Him working in my impossible situation or not. I’m learning He loves me even when I sin, even when I’ve stepped away, even when life gets overwhelming, and yes, even when I’m grouchy, or not feeling well, or sad, or a hundred million other possible reasons.
Not only is our Heavenly Father with us, He loves us so much He’s given His Holy Spirit to live in us.
No matter what we’re going through, or ever will go through, if we’ve believed in Christ as our Savior, His Holy Spirit is a permanent resident inside our hearts to give us comfort, peace, wisdom, and direction, and He’ll never, ever leave us.
So we can walk and live and follow and work and yes, ride, not by what we see or feel, but by faith, by our belief that God is who He says He is, being confident in His faithfulness and goodness, His constant presence, and His everlasting love.
In Christ,
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you. We praise you for your sovereignty and your holiness. We praise you because you are worthy of all praise.
Father, we always give you thanks, but during this week when we’ll stop for a day to observe all we have to be thankful for, before the turkey and the stuffing and the pie, we want to honor and bless you by thanking you for all you are and all you’ve done for us.
For many it may be difficult to see what there is to be thankful for. Father, give us hearts that are softened toward you and willing to be thankful, even as a sacrifice to you. We pray that throughout the week you would put on our hearts all we have to be grateful for, for every good gift that’s come from you.
Thank you for Jesus and for His sacrifice on the cross that paid for our sins, that He took the punishment that should have been ours. We are deeply and eternally thankful, Lord.
Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit who indwells us and leads us, teaches us, comforts us, strengthens us and fills us with your peace that passes all understanding.
Thank you for calling us your children and providing us with everything we need. Thank you for being with us at all times, never leaving or forsaking us, but constantly shining your light and joy into our lives, especially when it seems as though the world around us is falling apart.
Thank you for your faithfulness to keep every one of your promises, like preparing a home for us with you.
Thank you for the people you’ve placed in our lives, for their love, the spiritual fellowship we share, and the friendship we enjoy.
Thank you for every big thing and every small thing we can sometimes overlook in the busyness of our lives.
Thank you for the sun and moon, clouds and rain, breezes and fresh air, flowers and trees, lakes and oceans, sunrises and sunsets, and even for the pets that make us smile.
Thank you for blessing us so abundantly.
And Lord, thank you for prayer. Thank you for allowing us, through Jesus, to come before you with every need, every desire, every fear, every hope, and for hearing us when we do, and for answering us according to your perfect will.
Thank you, Father. Help us to be a people who are always mindful of your blessings and overflowing with thanksgiving.
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You. We praise Your magnificence, Your glory, Your righteousness. You and You alone are God and You hold us, with grace, in the palm of Your hand.
You have blessed us mightily over the centuries, providing for us in countless ways, teaching us and leading us out of sin, pouring out Your Holy Spirit for revivals, saving lost souls, and letting the light of your truth shine throughout this country.
And in many ways we have taken so much of it for granted. We have taken the glory for ourselves instead of acknowledging You, instead of thanking You for giving us wisdom, strength, and the freedom to prosper, and the victory we’ve needed, over and over, to remain free.
Instead of acknowledging that it’s You who has allowed us to remain a nation with freedoms we enjoy every day and praising and thanking you for it, we have let the freedoms You’ve given us lead us into the bondage of sin, calling evil good and good evil.
Father, we humbly ask for your forgiveness.
You are a God of great grace and mercy, and we know your heart’s desire is that we repent and turn to You to live rightly because You know sin hurts and destroys us. You know what we need to turn back to you, and sometimes that is suffering.
Father, may we turn to you quickly. For those who know You, may we boldly and without fear proclaim Your name, glorifying You with grateful and loving hearts that we may be salt and light to the world around us.
Please pour out your Holy Spirit for revival again, to soften hearts and open the spiritual eyes of those who are lost and those who are backslidden so they will turn to You in repentance, acknowledging and receiving You as Lord, glorifying and praising You, so we can be one nation, united, under Your grace, protection, and blessing.
Our hope is in You.
In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen.
Now may the
God
of hope
fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, that
you may abound in
hope, in the power of
the Holy Spirit
Romans 15:13