Your Promise, and My Prayer

““No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:24-33 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

I come to you this morning both to give thanks, and to pray for Your continued guidance as I begin the week ahead;

You know my needs Lord, as You know each hair on my head and every yearning in my heart.  Help me Father; aid me in seeing through the veil of my own perception of need, that I may clearly discern Your direction and desire for my life, and embolden my heart to embrace those opportunities that lie along that path You’ve laid.

As I endeavor to clear my thoughts today Lord; casting aside the “noise” around me to better gain Your presence, I pray You find me receptive; willing and driven to bring Your voice into sharp focus with everything I say and do, and allowing the deceptions of this world to fade into the background.

And as You guide my steps Lord, please help me share that joy with others; shining Your light from within that they may know the peace You bring, even when the world appears to be crashing all around us.

For it’s in Your name I pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

I Choose Contentment

This morning I wanted to share the great devotional message I read in the Joyce Meyer reading plan I’m following on YouVersion…

“Living with Contentment and Satisfaction

The Bible says that godliness accompanied with contentment is great and abundant gain. What I take from that is, a godly person who is content is in the very best place he can possibly be.

Joy doesn’t come from having your circumstances in order and under control; it comes from what’s in your heart. For example, the world is full of people who have what they think they want, and they’re still not happy. In fact, some of the most unhappy people in the world are people who seem to “have it all.”

Contentment is not about fame or being well-known, how much money you have, your position at work or your social circle. It’s not found in your level of education or what side of the tracks you were born on. Contentment is a heart attitude.

There’s nobody happier than a truly thankful person, a truly content person. The word content means ‘being satisfied to the point where nothing disturbs you no matter what’s going on, but not satisfied to the point that you never want any change.’

We all want to see things get better. But where you are right this minute doesn’t have to disturb you. You can choose to believe that God is working and things are changing, and you will see the result of it in due time.

Life is all about the choices we make, so choose contentment and satisfaction every single day of your life. You won’t go wrong when you do.

Prayer Starter: God, I want to be content and satisfied with where I am, right here, right now. Give me the strength to choose to be content every single day.”

I choose to believe God has all my situations well in hand, and that He’ll lead me where He wants me to go… I choose contentment through Him.

Not Captives of Fear

Dear Lord; Happy Thursday Father!

They consume me sometimes Father;

Worry…

Fear…

Anxiety…

Painful reminders of the persistent earthly chains that fight to wrest me from Your side.

And yet Lord, against these restraints You reach for me…

Drawing me to You, and anchoring my heart to Your Heavenly foundation.

For in our very design, You fashioned us to resist that pull;

To live our lives as children of faith, not captives of fear.

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)

I cast my cares at Your feet Lord;

Torn from my breast and washed in Your blood that my heart may pursue You unencumbered…

Embraced by Your love Lord, and emboldened through that union.

For it’s in Your Holy name that I pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil

Mending the Chasm

“For God in all his fullness

was pleased to live in Christ,

and through him God reconciled

everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth

by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” – Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT)

When sin entered our world, it painfully corrupted the harmony between creation and Creator.  Through the blood of Christ, that chasm was mended, allowing us to enjoy the intimate and personal relationship with God that we were intentionally designed to have.

Into the Heart of the Potter

Dear Lord; Happy Thursday, and Happy New Year Father!

To begin the New Year on the right foot Father, yesterday morning I began a new Bible Reading Plan on YouVersion.com called “The Essential Jesus”.  It’s a 100 day reading schedule, focused specifically on the prophecy, teachings, ministry and life of Your Son as written in Scripture.

The first reading covered the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 1 through 18; and while the entire passage gave me pause for prayer and reflection more than once, one verse in particular really spoke to me…

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.” – John 1:10 (NLT)

Ouch.

How many times Lord…

How many times have I rejoiced at something wonderful that’s happened in my life, but neglected to give You the glory…  Or marveled at the beauty of the sun boiling away as it sets behind the trees, yet failed to remember that those colors are fresh from Your divine palette…

If I’m honest with myself Father, I allow the world to captivate my view far more than I recognize the Hand that shaped it.

Therefore Lord, my prayer today is a simple one:

Open my eyes Father; let every image I see and every sound I hear rush You to my heart.  Help me see past the beauty of the pottery, and gaze instead into the heart of the potter.

Lift that earthly veil Lord; help me realize Your presence in every part of my life, and through that divine acknowledgement to love in Your name with abandon…

So that when others observe my life Father, they recognize You in it.

Inhabit me Lord… Come into the world through me…

That in my words and actions Lord, Your presence shines for all to see.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen.

~Phather Phil