Day: April 11, 2019

April 12, 2019

Hebrews 2:10-18 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Today is the thirty-third 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. Did you know the heart of God is to walk with you through all the ordeals of your life?  The ordeals of life are tests and tribulations we all must face; they come to every human being and child of God.  But you and I do not have to face these spiritual battles alone. Battles are opportunities to bring attention to the Lord’s excellence. Our Lord is Excellent in battle!  Christ wants to fight our battles; the battle actually belongs to the Lord because we belong to the Father. Therefore, the Lord has the final word over our lives.  We stand by faith on the Word of God calling for our Excellent Lord to show us a way to escape our temptations (1 For 10:13). Obedience to God’s direction is key; trust in and obedience to God is our part in every battle.  As we submit and humble ourselves before God and resist the devil, he will flee (James 4:7). You and I are from God, we are over-comers because “greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). God has provided armor for our spiritual battles and we must put it on or apply it.  The Apostle Paul teaches us, “Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare” (Ephesians 6:13-18).  A Kingdom heart knows the Lord of every battle.  Are you trusting the Lord with all the ordeals of your life?

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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April 11, 2018

Hebrews 2:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)

Today is the thirty-second 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.  If we are going to identify with the heart of God, we must learn to recognize the Truth from false teaching.  Since the arrival of Christ, Satan has been manipulating and lying to people in order to get them away from the Truth. We must learn to listen carefully to God’s Word in order to know we are in the Truth; otherwise, we will be led astray.  Because God gave us the Word, we must base our faith on it and rest in the eye witness accounts of Christ’s disciples and the miracles of which they wrote. Jesus blesses us for this kind of faith.  In fact he told his disciples, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed” (John 20:29). False teaching rejects the authority and supremacy of Jesus as the Messiah.  Yet, the Word teaches God placed Jesus the Messiah in charge of everything and gave him absolute authority before he ascended to heaven (Mat 28:18). We must connect to Christ, because he promised, “I will be with you always even unto the end of the world” (Mat 28:20).  He is our Lord of Lords and King of Kings.  When you find yourself troubled by current events and worried about the future, do you turn to the Truth of Christ’s authority over all things and praise him because you are in his care? Do you know the power of praying in his name and remaining in a lifestyle of worship?

The author of Hebrews called his readers to listen carefully to the Truth that is written about Messiah, so they would not be deceived by false teachings.  It would be easy to believe since God is love, there is nothing else required for humanity to do; however, there is the matter of believing in the work of Christ as our sin sacrifice. As well, there is the matter of listening to the Spirit of Truth for the purpose of making us holy.  We live in a fallen world that rejects Christ.  Scripture identifies the rising of the evil Anti-Christ in end times who deceive the very elect of God. Jesus prayed to the Father for his disciples, “Father, I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth” (John 17:15-19).

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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