The Prayers of Paul

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
(Colossians 4:2 – ESV)

This is what I pray for your new year:

Ephesians 1:16-19
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might

Ephesians 3:14-19
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Philippians 1:9-11
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1:9-12
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Family Tree

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree…
(1 Peter 2:24 – ESV)

People are often very concerned about knowing or having you know about their “pedigree” or “heritage”. Many want to identify with their own “people”. They proudly wear their family crest, or the uniform or letters of their team, school, state, national or ethnic colors, or whatever else signifies something of significance to them. People spend lots of money trying to trace their family line, or map out a historical snapshot of their ancestry in a family tree. Some people actually believe that certain bloodlines and certain families are special or royal or destined for greatness compared to others. We all want to think and believe we are a part of something extraordinary, special, and we look for links that might relate us to someone of notoriety in the past, or some might even believe they were someone great in the past.

Well, whether or not you had some great great great forefather who was great isn’t the point as far as spirituality and destiny and the eternal goes. The truth is that there is a very special bloodline. It is the blood of Christ that makes Christians brothers and sisters. Our forefathers, no matter how noble they were, only gave us spiritual futility, as far as their bloodline is concerned. However, all Christians are blood relatives, a part of the family of God, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).

So stop worrying about trying to be someone great based on someone else’s past greatness, and stop worrying that you aren’t so great compared to someone else. Your natural, human heritage, no matter how privileged, means nothing in the grand scheme of sin and redemption. We all need Jesus. No family line will save you from sin, and no heritage, family, cultural or otherwise, will relieve you from the need for redemption or place you at the front of some line. Instead of trying to be great we should just be grateful. Your brothers and sisters in Christ are far more important than some desire to be from good stock. All Christians are from God stock.

Look at the Cross of Christ, and there you will see the one family tree that truly matters.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

60 Seconds (27)

“LONELINESS”

Several years ago a popular and beautiful young Hollywood star, with apparently everything a young woman would want, ended her life. She left a brief note explaining why. She stated that she was unbearably lonely.

Webster dictionary defines “alone” as, “apart from anything or anyone else; without any other person,” and “lonely” as “solitary or isolated.” Philip Zimbardo, writing in Psychology Today, said, “There is no more destructive influence on physical and mental health than the isolation of you from me and of us from them.” He then pointed to studies that show loneliness as one of the leading causes of depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, rape, suicide, mass murder, shorter life spans, and a wide variety of diseases.

There are several causes for loneliness. Here are a few:

· DEATH. After the death of her husband, Queen Victoria of England said, “There is no one left to call me Victoria.” Even though she was a queen, she knew what it was to be lonely.

· DIVORCE. As a pastor, I have had those who have experienced divorce express that they felt like “a leper,” or “fifth wheel.”

· FAMILY PROBLEMS. King David wrote Psalm 31 during the time of his struggles and heartbreak over his son Absalom. In verse 12, he lamented, “I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery” (NIV).

· INSENSITIVITY. We have become too busy to listen to, and sense the hurts and loneliness of others. Ninety-two percent of the Christians attending a Bible conference admitted in a survey that feelings of loneliness are a major problem in their lives.

Psychologist Eric Fromm once wrote, “The deep need of man is the need to overcome separateness, to leave the prison of his loneliness.” Here are some suggestions for a cure for loneliness:

· FELLOWSHIP. 1 John 1:7 tells us we are to have “fellowship with one another.” The word “fellowship” used here means, “having something in common with another, entering into another’s life, and, if needed, assisting the person.”

· CARING. 1 Corinthians 12:25 admonishes us to “care for one another.” A phone call, email, invitation, or a gentle word are all acts of caring.

· COMFORT. In Colossians 4:11, Paul, during a lonely and struggling time in his life, spoke of those who “have been a comfort to me.” This word “comfort” is where we get our word “paregoric,” a remedy that stops pain.

Philip Yancey tells a story about Beethoven: “Because of his deafness, he found conversation difficult and humiliating. When he heard of the death of a friend’s son, Beethoven hurried to the house, overcome with grief. He had no words of comfort to offer. But he saw a piano in the room. For the next half hour he played the piano, pouring out his emotions in the most eloquent way he could. When he finished playing, he left. The friend later remarked that no one else’s visit had meant so much.”

“You may forget with whom you laughed,
But you will never forget with whom you wept.”

Dave Arnold, Pastor, Gulf Coast Worship Center, New Port Richey, Florida

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©