Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   “"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” - Isaiah 55:8 NLT Father, our hope is built on You alone.  You found us in the darkness and brought us into Your glorious light.  Your kingdom has ways unlike that of the world.  Your ways are not our ways and Your thoughts are not our thoughts.  To live in Your kingdom, we must take on Your way of thinking and behaving.  Lord, we are a people of habit and we tend to fall back on what is familiar and what we know.  We continue to do what we have always done.  But we are not content with how things have been, Lord.  We want more of You.  We seek Your presence and Your likeness.  There before You, crown us with the mind of Christ that we will see our circumstances, our pain and grief through the eyes of Jesus, who counted it all joy to endure rejection, p...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” - Psalm 56:3 NIV   Lord, I have always interpreted this verse to say that when we are afraid, You are faithful and we can trust You.  While that is certainly truth, today I see it through a different light.  When life is going smoothly, we tend to put our trust in things, circumstances and even ourselves.  The embarrassing truth exposed in this verse is that it often isn’t until we are afraid that we put our trust in You. Father, Your Word encourages us to put our trust in You, and we do to a certain extent.  When we are in dire need, our desperation causes us to cling to You, like clawing beggars, for our needs.  We offer pleading, bargaining and manipulative prayers.  Then once we see our desired answer on the horizon, we release our grasp on You to take hold of the answer and place our hope and trust in it.  We trust the answer to...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   “I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to Christ to present you as a pure bride to her one husband.” - 2 Corinthians 11:2 RSV Father, it is coming up on wedding season.  Brides and grooms are preparing for their wedding day.  They are making plans and preparing their spirits, souls and bodies for the joining of two lives and families.  They look toward they day with eager anticipation - the day their beloved becomes completely their own.   Father, we are the bride of Christ.  Jesus, Your only begotten Son, the Lamb of God, is our bridegroom.  We look forward to the day we will become one with Him.  In the waiting, I can’t help but wonder but if we have grown slack in our preparation.  Has the intensity of longing and fervor to see “that day” grown cold with the passage of time?  Your Word says that no one knows the day or hour, not even Jesus.  Only...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” - Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV) It’s a new day and a new year.  Hallelujah!  We praise You, Father, for Your Word that proclaims Your mercy.  Like the aroma of freshly baked muffins from the ovens of Heaven, Your mercy and forgiveness arrive faithfully on our doorstep every morning.  We take You at Your Word, that by the gift of Your only begotten son, our every fault and frailty have been forever erased.  They are as if they never happened. Lord, we have stepped into a new year saturated with hope.  Father, we leave behind our mistakes from the past to move into Your newness.  Show us where we are being held back and restrained from moving forward.  Reveal to us our errant beliefs, truths that we have taken out of context, lack of faith and ha...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   “Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow. “ - James 1:17 Lord, so often the enemy uses turmoil to distract us from You, our purpose and mission.  Today we purpose to fix our eyes on You (2 Cor 4:18).  While the use of turmoil and chaos are common, they aren’t his only tools.  Satan is a crafty thief and will do everything in his power to distract, discourage, steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10). Our blessings, and even the answers to our prayers, can also be used against us if we are not careful.  When we pray over and over, asking for an answer or breakthrough, we are often sidetracked and distracted by the very thing that delights us.  Our delight and focus on the gift can steal our attention from the giver.   Father, I lift up my friend this m...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father! “And because of their unbelief, he (Jesus) couldn't do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” - Mark 6:5 Lord, I have read this verse countless times without making the connection that just like us, Jesus experienced what we call “failure.”  While it likely grieved Him that the people lacked belief and were unable to receive the associated blessing, His self worth was not determined by His popularity or even what we would perceive as success or failure.  His source of fulfillment and delight were exposed in the words, “Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” - John 4:34. His joy and fulfillment came not from earthly successes, but in obedience to His Father, even unto death. The son of a friend was once sitting on his father’s lap while my friend played the piano.  I watched little Mich...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father!   ““And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”” - Matthew 14:28-31 (NKJV) Lord, recently I find myself distracted by so many things.  I will start to tackle one thing, but then get distracted by a string of other things of lesser importance.  At the end of the day, I may have accomplished a good number of things, but those of greatest importance remain on the table, untouched and incomplete. Father, we don’t want our limited time here on Earth to be frittered away on trifling matters, while the things of greatest...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father! “...put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” - Ephesians 4:22-24 Lord, I lift up this one that I love.  Together, we submit their mind, will and emotions before you.  The events of yesterday tend to tint the lenses through which they view the day today.  Your Word says, “Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” - Proverbs 28:26.  Father, they choose to not rely on themselves, but to come to You asking for wisdom.  They lay their life out before You.  Straighten out skewed perspectives.  Clarify their misunderstandings.  Give them insight and compassion for forgiveness.  Remind them of their past, to soften their heart and prompt mercy and humility.  Remind them of Your fait...