Matthew 6:32-33 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
When Elianna was two years old, we wrote this devotional fifteen years ago that I believe is relevant especially as we celebrated Father's day around the world.
We have a cord-free, battery-free alarm clock -- we call her Elianna. Like clockwork, at 6:45 each morning our 2-year old daughter, Elianna wakes up and begins calling for us to come and greet her good morning. At this point, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that those 8-hour sleep nights we used to enjoy just aren't going to happen again --at least for a long, long time.
What's interesting to me though, is that when Elianna wakes up, she doesn't wonder if we'll come to her. She waits eagerly and expectantly to see us walk in, sleepy-eyed and morning-haired as we may be. Elianna doesn't wake up worrying about what she'll wear today and if she'll be warm enough. She expects that she'll be changed and dressed up nice and warm when it's cold. She doesn't worry about if or what she's going to eat. She expects that we'll know she's hungry and will serve her a yummy nutritious breakfast. When Elianna falls down, she immediately looks toward us, holding out her hands to receive our hugs and kisses so it will be "all better". She doesn't question whether or not we love her. She's sure of it! Elianna has no worries. She expects that we will take care of her every need.
Don't you wish you were a baby sometimes? No worries -- getting pampered and hugged and kissed. Well, I have good news for you -- you are a baby! You are the Lord's baby! We are His children and He loves us with an everlasting and perfect love. He cares for us just like we care for our little Elianna -- in fact, much, much more than that!
From this morning on, let's start coming to the Lord as we are -- His children! We needn't worry about anything. Our Father awaits the time when we will totally put our trust in Him. He loves us and He knows every one of our needs before even a word is on our lips! Let's practice putting our worries aside and determine to expect our Heavenly Father to meet our every need. And don't forget to take some time out today and say -- Abba, thank you for loving me!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]From the beginning of Genesis (Genesis 4:4) to the end of the Bible (Revelation 22:3), there is a common theme — the Lamb! In Revelation 6 we read about the Lamb who sits in the midst of the throne — worshiped by all of heaven because the Lamb was worthy to take the book and open the seals therein. The most harmless of creatures — the object of sacrifice, becomes the authority of heaven. Isn’t it interesting that the focal point of heaven is a Lamb?
So often in ministry, the Lord deals with my own spirit, saying – “You need to step back and get refocused!” And we all know how hard it is at times when we get so busy with the normal every day stresses of life tugging at our limited time.
Throughout the United States today, everyone will be celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — a document through which leaders of the colonies in the New World broke free from the King of England.
The Hebrew expression in this verse from Isaiah is rich with meaning. The root “nus” (from the expression “raise up a standard”) is related to or sounds like numerous words which mean “sign”, “miracle”, “to drive away”, “to flee”, “cause to disappear”, “a waving flag”. This abundance of meanings in Isaiah’s poetic style reveals the multiple dimensions of God’s revelation; in this case, the way he deals with evil. The assertion in this word is that the Spirit of YHVH will be powerfully activated when evil comes.
The word contrite in Hebrew is ‘dakah’ which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a ‘living sacrifice’ holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day!
Recently, I’ve been impressed by the Lord to address the anxieties many are feeling about the future– how to be strong in the face of the intense opposition we’ll be facing as believers. One of the founders of the modern state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once said, “Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage.”
For a season, I worked in Washington, D.C., for one of America’s largest Christian political organizations. Sometimes I saw how politics could get ugly and, more often than not, how it changed people — not for the better…but usually for the worse!