Daily Devotional from Pastor Mary 3-28-19

March 28, 2019

Psalm 32:1-5 Contemporary English Version

Today is the twentieth day of our 40-Day Lenten Series, “Praying for a Kingdom Heart.”  Lent should be a time of prayerful reflection, repentance, and restoration as we draw closer to the heart of God.  This is a time to deeply reflect upon our spiritual lives and how we tend to wander as God’s children.  To enjoy God is to be real and focused in our quest for him through heartfelt prayer.  Prayer flows from the meditations of the heart.  In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus sets out an example of a prayer for us that touches on the very issues or things for which God knows we need his help (Mat 6:9-13).  Within that prayer, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray about forgiveness.  “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Mat 6:12).  Many times we struggle with forgiving those who have sinned against us, but we fail to realize how essential that very act of forgiveness is to our relationship with God.  Remember, God’s ways are not our ways.  Forgiveness is God’s way of restoring us, taking away the unhealthy remnants of sin, and filling us with Kingdom joy. Do you know the joy of forgiveness in the holy hand of the Restorer?

Love keeps no record of having been wronged (1 Cor 13:5).  Forgiveness means we choose to forfeit our right to hold onto feelings that are not from God; it is a decision that forbids an attitude of resentment or bitterness to take root in our lives.  We cannot serve two masters by trying to say we love God and at the same time refuse to forgive others.  When we refuse to forgive others, we are not serving God we are serving Self.  God is the Great Forgiver who is also the Restorer.  We need God to restore our souls when we sin against him; to obey the conviction of the Spirit and humble ourselves in order for the Lord to restore our fellowship and communion in his love. He wants to take us to a vibrant place of Joy.  We also need God to restore our souls when others sin against us; to allow the Spirit to draw us into extending forgiveness to others in order for him to take the burden off our hearts that is constricting our Joy.  When we forgive others, we are allowing God to deal with that sinner.  David knew about forgiveness; asking God to forgive his sins, as well as forgiving those who sinned against him.  Either way, the topic is sin and forgiveness is the answer.  Let the passage this morning rest in your hearts.

During Lent, we will be using the acronym P.R.A.Y. as we pray for a Kingdom Heart.  P=praise, R=repent, A=ask, and Y=yield.  May God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer today.

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Daily Devotional from Pastor Mary 3-27-19

March 27, 2019

Luke 13:18-21 New Living Translation

Today is the nineteenth day of our 40-Day Lenten Series, “Praying for a Kingdom Heart.”  Lent should be a time of prayerful reflection, repentance, and restoration as we draw closer to the heart of God.  When you pray for a Kingdom heart, you are praying for growth. Let’s reflect on Jesus’ message about the Kingdom. Jesus walked around the region of Galilee preaching and inviting people to listen to him and follow him into Kingdom living.  I am sure as he moved from town to town preaching about the Kingdom of God, some people were thinking, “Jesus, don’t look now, but it doesn’t appear you have much of a Kingdom.  You only have a few undisciplined men following you!” There was no way to view the Kingdom to which Jesus referred. One day the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come and he answered, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. 21 No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).  Do you realize when you pray for a Kingdom heart, you are praying for the lordship of King Jesus to be revealed in the very substance of your life?

Jesus is the Author of small beginnings and he works in hearts that are willing to grow; it requires the faith of a mustard seed.  We may not like small beginnings, but God loves them because there is plenty of room to grow and expand. We must never forget God is Sovereign and his ways are not our ways. Therefore, he declared the Kingdom would begin with a small group of “spiritually poor” people living under the lordship of their King (Mat 5:3).  From that small beginning, the Kingdom that grows through divine life would one day be a place of shelter for all the other kingdoms of the earth (Dan 4:10-12).  The Apostle John wrote about a vision he had of this growth, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). So, my spiritual family, keep praying for a Kingdom heart.

During Lent, we will be using the acronym P.R.A.Y. as we pray for a Kingdom Heart.  P=praise, R=repent, A=ask, and Y=yield.  May God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer today.

Read more