prayer

Purity and Holiness (part 2)

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“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word.

I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands.

I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees.

With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth.

I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways.

I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word.”

Psalm 119:9-16 (Beth)

With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth. (verse 13)

Remembering- this is the key for the Christian to persevere. We recount God’s faithfulness to mankind through His redemptive work on the cross; we recount God’s faithfulness to us individually through the life story He weaves for us; we remember God’s laws and His promises. Do not forget what God has done, is doing now and what He will not fail to do in the future. Remember and tell others the wonders of our Lord. 

I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. (verse 14)

When we find the Pearl of Great Price, naturally there is rejoicing. The riches of God are true but require faith and patience to take hold of. In Christ the believer is rich and has everything he needs. Yet these riches are not the material possessions the world treasures. To be rich in the Lord first means you have found forgiveness of your sins, eternal peace and fellowship with God through Jesus. Second it means that the Lord will be faithful to help extract you from the vanities of this world. We begin to truly see for the first time, our satisfaction, joy and purpose is in God alone. Thirdly, it means Jesus will give us Himself to imitate as He tenderly guides us on our pilgrimage. He gives us His fruit to cultivate in our own hearts which slowly manifests in our thoughts, speech and actions over the course of a lifetime. So be deeply happy Christian- Jesus is yours and you are His. No person was ever richer than the one who belongs to God. 

I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways. (verse 15)

To meditate and consider a matter is wise. Such a thoughtful person will look at an argument from all sides weighing the outcomes. When we study God’s Word we cannot approach it as a purely academic exercise. One will only gain head knowledge, neglecting to allow the words of God affect their hearts. This is where change takes place, in the inner man. We need God’s Spirit to help us know how to think about Him and His will. Our prayer each day can sound like David’s psalm, “Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long (Psalm 25:4-5). How can we know the path He has charted for all His children? Look to the Scriptures. The King’s royal words are true and for our own good. They will not fail you because God will never fail you.

I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word. (verse 16)

To delight and neglect are opposite in desire. We delight in what we hold dear, our treasures, our hopes and interests. We neglect what seems dull, hard or irrelevant- it does not captivate us at all. This is the challenge placed before each child of God. We can go to Him, asking for His help in our unbelief, when our faith is shaken or stagnant. The more we read and comprehend truth, the more our belief and love contain the proper nutrients to grow. The flame of our heart’s desire will burn brightly as discipline welcomes delight in the duty of seeking the Lord our God.

Who is God in this passage? (Psalm 119:9-16 Beth)

God is our Teacher. He helps His children live according to His Word. His Spirit ignites the flame of love and belief in our hearts. God says to seek Him and love Him above all else because He knows that HE is the very best for us. The Lord is the Pearl of Great Price.

 

Grace upon grace,

April  

 

Grow deeper: Matthew 13:44-46

Purity and Holiness (part 1)

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“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word.

I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands.

I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees.

With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth.

I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways.

I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your Word.”

Psalm 119:9-16 (Beth)

 

Verse 9 is the main question for the rest of this octave. The psalmist shows how our faith is to be daily active and very practical. Christians are called to reflect the beauty of God’s commands, His holiness, and His character. This is what it means to become like Christ. 

The psalmist lists a number of actions to take as believers discipline themselves under the delight of doing God’s will. Most of the actions are things we do positively in pursuing a life according to God’s Word. But there are negative activities we must avoid as well, as a resolve to not displease the Lord: 

 

I seek You with all my heart; (verse 10a)

This is a positive action. Do I seek God each day with all my heart? Is He my treasure and delight? (Deuteronomy 6:5)

do not let me stray from Your commands. (verse 10b)

A plea to not let the psalmist stray from the truth. Our hearts are prone to wander, looking for love, identity, or satisfaction in someone or something other than our Heavenly Father (Isaiah 55:6-7).

I have hidden Your Word in my heart (verse 11a)

Hiding God’s Word in our hearts is a result of treasuring Scripture. When we love His Book we learn more about God- who is He? who am I? The Bible tells me I am a sinner saved by the blood of Jesus. He is patiently and tenderly transforming His saints by His grace, through the help of the Holy Spirit. 

that I might not sin against You. (verse 11b)

A desire not to sin blossoms from a regenerate heart as he gazes intently on God’s law. He sees how he has fallen short, failed God, but is also aware of the great cost to win us back into fellowship with Him. The deep deep love of the Father sent His Son Jesus to pay the price meant for us. Christ inherited our just judgement, we inherited merciful righteousness. Pray we will not grieve the Spirit over careless words, thoughts and actions! 

Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees. (verse 12)

The Holy Spirit is our Teacher. The psalmist did not have this permanent blessing as we do today. Praise You Father for this wonderful gift! Anything we learn from His Word is because God has graciously revealed it to us. The Lord gives us eyes to see, ears to hear, a soft heart to respond and obey. As He teaches, our love for Him will grow. Bless You Father. 

Grace upon grace,

April 

 

 

Becoming who you already are

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Do I love Him?

Do I love Jesus deeply? Is He becoming what I treasure most?

Becoming…

It is a life long transformation. On one side we are instantaneously made righteous, redeemed, adopted. On the other side the Lord is patiently working out our salvation, growing our faith and love for Christ every day.

It’s the broken hallelujah being restored living in the middle of “already and not yet”. Jesus Christ has come and died and rose. My Hope is made real the more I see, the more I love the unseen. My eyes begin to adjust to the Light as I am washed in His Word.

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We have one foot in this world and one foot in heaven. It can be hard at times to live out the resurrected life. But it is ours for the taking. We have the Holy Spirit’s power to wield into our every day lives.

How do we do this exactly? In reading through the Scriptures you start to notice themes and commands that serve as the backdrop to all of life. It goes something like this:

Take your sin seriously because we offend a Holy God. Pursue personal holiness even when trials come. Commit your way to the Lord.

We stumble. Grieve our sin, repent, seek God’s unending storehouse of mercy. We do not live as one condemned. Lean into our freedom as sons and daughters of the Most High. This is the rhythm of Christianity.

Becoming…

You already belong to God as a believer. Jesus made this possible. We live on the other side of the cross, complete with the canon of Scripture to read whenever we want. I need these reminders too. We have to preach the Gospel to ourselves not just on Sundays but every single day of the week.

This is my prayer and offering to you-

Father, 

Let Your truth fall fresh on us. Captivate our hearts and minds with Love so Divine, demanding our soul, our life, our all. Help cultivate within us deep joy and abiding faithfulness today, tomorrow, into the rest of our eternity when we will see You face to face. Our hallelujahs made fully complete.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing in grace

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If you haven’t noticed, on Fridays I’m taking time to post short reflections or prayers. Hopefully you are encouraged by them. This is a prayer from the Valley of Vision. It would make a great Christmas gift for someone, or for yourself 🙂

May you grow in God’s grace today. Blessings to you.

Spiritual Growth

“May I be consistent in conversation and conduct,

the same alone as in company, […]

May I never be satisfied with my present

spiritual progress, […]

May I never neglect what is necessary to constitute Christian character, […]

May I cultivate the expedient,

develop the lovely, adorn the Gospel,

recommend the religion of Jesus,”…

 

 

Grace upon grace,

April

 

 

Because I’m difficult too

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It’s funny how we tend to think of ourselves as “normal” and everyone else as quirky characters. If we could be on the outside looking in, we might see it a little differently. The people in our lives: friends, co-workers, family (especially the people who live with us) either refine or bless us. But there is no getting around that God uses our different personalities for us to personally apply truth each day.

So I have a prayer for you and me as we head into today. Because whatever you do, I’m almost certain you’ll run into another human being which requires you to interact. If you’re like me, this can be challenging, but also a blessing. Usually when I have a perspective shift my attitude toward how I’ll view and treat others changes also. So here are words you might need to say back to the Father too.

Father, 

Today will be hard because there will be people in it.

Let me use those opportunities to be refined like Christ,

practicing self-control over my tongue and heart.

Help me to be gracious in speech, slow to anger, quick to listen, supernaturally loving the difficult or hurtful.

Protect my thoughts from comparison, envy, or self-righteous judgment.

I ask to have the freedom to show compassion and patience no matter how different the person might be.

Bring me to my knees in prayer when I think wrongly of someone else- pray for blessings toward them and not an ill will.

Grant me a humble spirit and a love for You that overflows into my everyday life. 

Let Jesus be the reflection when I look in the mirror.

You cover me in Your grace when I fail and rejoice in those small spiritual victories. 

Thank you for choosing me, loving me even when I’m difficult to love- help me do the same when I meet another face today.

Grace upon grace,

April

Deep breath- it’s Monday

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Part of the goal for Redeemed In Grace is to help you extend grace to yourself, as you learn to do this for others. And let’s face it, Mondays are the worst day to practice grace for most of us. The beginning of another week is a true gift, but it can also feel like the start to the daily grind. In order to help each other shift our gaze from the mounds of paperwork, laundry, phone calls, (fill in the blank), to an eternal mindset I have written a prayer for you today.

Because I believe that when our perspective changes so can our hearts. Gratitude begets a gracious spirit. So while the responsibilities and circumstances of life in general may not change, our attitude toward those tasks can. And hopefully you can discern this as a sincere effort to encourage you and not preachy. Because that is my prayer for you-  to be encouraged here in this little online space.

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Father,

May we rest in our salvation and pursue satisfaction in You.

Knowledge, love and faith are all gifts from Your Hand.

We acknowledge that our greatest gift is Jesus-

Prophet, Priest, and King.

He is worth following, worth living and dying for.

Christ is worthy of our worship at all times

from every nation.

Let us taste the fullness of joy that we already have in Jesus.

May we make You known by our choices, speech and actions so that this world sees the light of truth in us.

Awake us from the things that deaden our spirits and grace Your Church with zeal under the banner of Love.

Teach us to remember Your truth so that we sense Your Presence in this day.

In the strong Name of Jesus,

Amen

A prayer to persevere

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A prayer as you enter this week, a new season, or stay put right where you are. May you cultivate a heart of contentment and gratitude in the joys, the struggles, the ordinary. I offer this to you to live fully in the present, not looking over past mistakes or future worries. Jesus said today’s troubles are enough. He gives you peace, He is your peace.

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Father,

Keep Your Beloved humble, aware of Your set and unfailing love over us.

Let our love for You continue to grow as the hope we have in Jesus becomes deeply rooted to the very core of our being.

May our spirits be inseparable with Yours so that others can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.

Transform these restless, half-hearted desires to love what You love.

Let our private worship be the same as our public adoration.

We pray to never be ashamed, but always willing and ready to share the blessed hope that is ours through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Give us urgency in the Gospel for souls that are lost, wandering, angry, indulgent, apathetic, asleep, dead.

We need compassion and patience toward their unbelieving hard hearts.

Help us remember that they cannot act contrary from their given nature.

All of us were once against You too, as objects of wrath.

We confess that the costly effects of our depravity often escape us, when we take our salvation for granted.

Forgive us when we become prideful because of our spiritual gain. Puffed up in knowledge without love. Given to our sentimentalism without doctrine.

Open the eyes of the blind. Give life to what is lifeless. Establish freedom and peace for those who have yet to taste the real thing.

Only You can move and redeem and transform.

 

Forgive us when we don’t live like You changed everything.

We are often distracted by the baubles of this world, choked by the trials, asleep to the needs of others.

Make Your family worthy of the calling: Image-Bearers and Ambassadors for Your Honor.

Help us remember all You have done for Your Bride –

You are rich in mercy,

Filled with grace,

Demonstrated untold kindness,

Faithful,

Pouring out Your love.

By Your power, in the Spirit’s strength, enable us to remember, imitate, remember.

We pray to be the most humble, grateful and joy-filled people in all the earth!

Let us live into the identity You created us for since the beginning of time.

Grace upon grace,

April

 

Jesus our Rest

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Here is a little prayer I wrote for you and for me. I can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the unraveling of society in the anti-Christian culture we live in, along with so many other daily distractions that threaten the believer’s focus. When I find myself in a fog, I sit quietly and ask God to realign my thoughts…once again. Maybe you have been here too and need a prayer like this. Blessings to you today.

 

Lord of heaven and earth,

 

Free my mind from the cobwebs of lethargy,

complacency and spiritual stupor.

Help me to see You again clearly,

eagerly.

I pray You remind me of the simple

truths I know so well and still

forget each day.

Let me walk in Your footsteps,

as a child trails behind a parent –

trusting and unafraid.

 

You are Light covered in flesh.

How amazing that Hope met us

in our desperate, hopeless state!

Transform and purify us in joy,

eager to do the good works

You redeemed us for.

Help us recognize grace upon grace today

in thousands of ways,

multi-faceted like a million

diamonds on the jeweled sea.

 

Jesus is our treasure and delight.

We find God in His rich Word

which feeds the Beloved

like sweet manna –

bread from heaven.

The simplicity of the gospel

is deep seated

in mystery, wisdom, and beauty.

Help us to comprehend the sacred

privilege of salvation

and walk in this hour

with confidence in who we are,

resting in Jesus

our Eternal Sabbath.

 

Amen.

 

Grace upon grace,

April

To the God who sees me

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Sovereign Father,

 

Sometimes I think You don’t care

and You must not be listening.

I get swallowed up in a

sea of humanity

and my troubles seem so

insignificant

in the grand scheme of things.

So I sorrowfully resign

that You must be too busy

to notice.

 

But then I remember

the many times before

You have proved Yourself

Faithful and Loving

even though

I am small in the cosmos.

Not only do You care,

but You love Your Beloved deeply.

You weep when I do.

You rejoice at my happy news.

 

El Roi,

The God who sees me.

Our fellowship is unbreakable,

sacred, a work of grace.

Forgive me when I doubt

Your Goodness.

Help my impatient spirit

to wait

when You seem far away.

 

Let Your Truth take root

in my mind,

as Your peace washes over

my anxious heart.

Because You are

the God who sees me

when I run after You

and when I stray.

Hold my gaze steady on Jesus

in the certain and uncertain times.

I will put my trust in You, El Roi.

 

Amen.

 

Grace upon grace,

April

 

Further devotion: Genesis 16

Let us not become weary in doing good: a prayer

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God our Father,

 

Let us not become

weary in doing good.

Let us not assume

Satan has won the war

and give up the fight.

Let us make Your Name

Famous

above all other names.

Help us remember who

we are

the seal of approval over us;

Redeemed, it says.

Forgiven proclaimed.

Adoption confirmed.

 

Keep us low

filled with praise and awe

over incomprehensible Yahweh.

Give us our Daily Bread

in Jesus

and let us not be ashamed

of the Gospel.

Raise up mighty warriors

in Your Powerful Name.

Equip this generation to

march boldly and joyfully

sharing the Hope within us,

spreading Light until

no darkness is left to hide.

 

You are our Treasure.

You are our Delight.

Strengthen us for today,

arm the beloved for warfare.

Go before us we pray.

Lead in grace.

In Jesus’ Name we pray,

Amen.