On guard

“So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.”           Mark 13.23

Jesus has given His disciples – and us – a clear warning. He warns us all to beware of false prophets and deceivers. He also tells of the conflict that will come upon believers – from local authorities, synagogues, governors and kings (the nations), and even family (brother against brother, parents and children at odds). He says “Be ready!”

We will not avoid misunderstanding or persecution. There are many signs of this already in the world today. Natural disasters which Jesus also alluded to are being experienced in present times. Whether or not these are the “last days”, the disciples of Jesus must be ready. We are called to stand our ground, declare the faith, and fight the good fight.

Jesus gives a further warning for watchfulness and this one is for the Lord’s return. As guarded as we must be about trials and persecutions brought on us by this world so must we be watchful for the second, glorious and victorious, inbreaking of the Son of Man and Son of God. No one, save the Father, knows when He will return. What wonderful reason we have for celebration in the knowledge that He will return – and maybe soon!

Lord Jesus, I’m ready. The world certainly needs You. Come soon.

And so, I take note of the double caution – to be on guard for the trials and tribulations, and to be watchful, ever alert for the return in glory of our wonderful Lord. I feel humbled, and oh so privileged to be in this position. Praise the Lord!

Lord Jesus,

I thank You for this forewarning. May I be ever alert in Your Holy Spirit to the two issues, one  of threat from the world, and also the imminence of Your glorious return.

May all that You need to be done prior to the return be effected in fullness and without delay.

I pray for any part You may have for me to play in these present times. I am willing. I ask You to take me and use me. Yet not my will but Yours be done.

I rejoice in You. You are truly Alpha and Omega to me. You are where I begin and all of my endings are in You. I release myself anew and afresh to You today. I look to the day ahead with great excitement at what we will do and share.

O Holy One, that I can consider sharing with You. Forgive my presumption, but please bless my desire. Let us go forward together. Lead me into this day. I love You! I pray that love will grow even stronger. I ask also for many opportunities to share Your love. Receive my prayer, in Jesus’ Name I ask.                                                                                                         Amen.

Declaration and affirmation

I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.

 Psalm 119.58

NIV Study Bible (p. 914) describes this psalm as ‘a devotional on the word of God’.  It is the most wonderful affirmation of the security, joy and peace that is found in relationship with God, and the pointers to good relationship that we find in His Word.

Much stress is made by the psalmist on the laws, statutes, decrees and commands of the Lord. I see these not in a legalistic way but, rather, as those covenantal stipulations that lead us into a better, surer, safer place with God. The psalmist emphasises this for me when he says: Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law (v.18).

The psalm is filled with positive declaration by the psalmist that I can only gently envy. He hastens to obey God’s commands without delay. How I wish I might echo this. But I know I cannot!

Yet he also seeks God’s assistance, and this encourages and helps me:

...give me understanding to learn your commands...teach me your decrees...save me for I am yours...sustain me according to your promise.

In all of this I join with the psalmist:

I long for your salvation, O LORD,

and your law is my delight.

Let me live that I may praise you,

and may your laws sustain me. (vv. 174,175)

I join with Jesus and echo His prayer with all my being:

Not my will, but Yours, Lord.

Hear me.

    Take me.

        Make me Yours.

                                                                        Hallelujah!

                                                                                                  Amen.

Cut free

But the LORD is righteous;

he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked.            Psalm 129.4

There is universal truth in this verse. God is the only righteous one and my hope and salvation is in Him – only in Him, and always in Him.

I think of times when I might be downcast, maybe even downtrodden. As I think about it now these are surely times when I begin to get enmeshed in the cords of the wicked. As I consider such possibilities I want to write in large letters: DON’T GIVE UP!

For precisely at these times I may start to feel self-pity and even hopelessness, perhaps a questioning of God, and the familiar “He’s forgotten me!” or “He doesn’t care about me!”

My heart knows that God cares very much for me. He cares, and He is righteous. He is always available, indeed ready at all times, to cut me free from the cords of the wicked. The times when I am tempted to give up and turn from Him are the very times I need to rush headlong into His arms. This reminder comes strongly to me from this verse.

Lord God,

I am reminded once more of Your faithfulness. O, that I could be as faithful.

Show me, Lord. Lead me, I ask, into deeper faithfulness. Let me know, truly know, that You are there at all times and I can turn to You in whatever circumstances I find myself.

I do not want to be caught in the trap of the wicked. I know I do not have full control over this. But I know You do, and my response is to turn to You, to seek to walk always with You.

Lord God, lead me in this day. Let us walk together. Show me Your grace and glory today. Let me enjoy You and even be used by You.

Come, Lord, in Jesus’ Name I ask.                                                                             Amen.

Extreme

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”                Mark 11.9

Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph. The crowds clamour for Him, throwing tributes at His feet. Yet, before the week has ended, this same crowd will be shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

This extreme illustration brings to my mind those today who joyfully receive Jesus as Saviour but, somehow, fail when it comes to making Him Lord of their lives. In time they fall away and it is as if they had not come to Him at all. Indeed, one is tempted to question if they ever knew Him. In a way they crucify Him.

My prayer today is for these people, for their lost salvation and for the hope of reconciliation. I pray also for those who haven’t yet come into any sort of relationship with Jesus. May God’s Holy Spirit work powerfully all over this world, seeking and saving the lost.

Lord God,

I rejoice that I know You, that I have firmly embraced You as Saviour and Lord.

I pray for those who, at some point, have made a decision for You but then slipped away. I ask for forgiveness for them. I pray for God-sent opportunities for them to be re-united with You in Spirit and in truth. I pray You will minister to them and draw them back to You.

 I ask also for those who have never shown any interest in You. Touch them, Lord. I pray for powerful God- encounters for them. Let them see the reality of Your love. Move upon them such that they accept Jesus and move forward in discipleship.

I offer myself to be used by You. My desire is for this to be done in Your way and not with any measure of my will in it.

Have Your way in me, Lord. Show me Your way and guide me in it, in Jesus’ Name I ask.

                                                                                                                                            Amen.

All

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”                      Mark 12.43, 44

Jesus asks for my all. I like to think that I am willing in this, yet I sometimes wonder. The story of the poor widow is a startling reminder. This dear soul gave all she had.

It is interesting that Mark first notes the large amounts that the rich people put into the temple treasury. Yet, at the end of the day, they were still rich. The widow, on the other hand, gave all her worldly means – and was left with nothing. Nothing, that is, of herself or what the world could give her. The rich presumably continued with life, looking to their own means for support and provision. The widow had no means left. She had emptied herself fully of herself and her hope of self-provision. Now she was totally available. God could now come into her life in divine majesty and splendour and endow her, as He pleased, with the riches of heaven.

There is really no comparison between the self-preserving rich of this story and the all-sacrificing poor widow. How do I fare in this scheme?

Lord God,

I want to serve You with all of my being, to surrender my all to You, yet I am greatly apprehensive of losing the necessities for living. I try not to hold on, but I don’t always succeed in letting go.

I commit to You anew. I will myself to surrender. Take me, Lord, and make me Yours. Help me when I struggle to hold on. You are my provider. I know this and I thank You. Let me give myself into Your provision, trusting You for all that I need and allowing You to have Your way in me.

Receive me, Lord. Lead me. I want to go the way You would have me go, the way that is totally pleasing to You. Hallelujah!

                                                                                                                                       Amen.