John 14:26 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.”

Ooh, my memory, or lack thereof, scares me sometimes.  I know I can remember things because I memorize music for one of the groups I ring handbells in, so why do I forget so much?

I know I am not alone in this quandary.  Many of my friends seem to struggle with remembering things too.  Whenever we are making a date to get together or talking about a specific time, the phones and calendars come out immediately.  We use the tools we have at our disposal to help remind us of things that are important to us.

There is no better reminder that the Holy Spirit.  He is with us wherever we go, we cannot forget to bring him and his battery never needs charged.  We can tune him out but, even then, he will make his voice known when it is important.

Each morning I sit practicing quietness in the Lord.  I love to feel God’s presence without distraction.  I seek his voice resonating in my heart and soul.  Do I always embrace the message of the Spirit?  Do I love to be reminded of the words of my Lord regardless of my thoughts at the moment?  I am still working on that but in the depths of my soul, I remember God’s love and mercy in those moments and I embrace and enjoy them.

Lord,

You are here with us in every moment, every day, everywhere.  Help us receive your guidance without distraction.  Open our ears to hear your teachings and reminders clearly.  Soften our hearts to do your bidding.  When we live in you, we live for you.  In this, we love as you taught us to.  Thank you for your Spirit, Your love, and your grace.  Amen.

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Humility is something we do not see much of in society today.  There is a lot of talk about being proud of whom you are.  Finding value in ourselves is a big thing.

We are all a work in progress, I am no different.  Does James think we should walk around feeling worthless and useless?  I think not!  God will lift us up.

He tells us to draw near to God, cleanse our hands and purify our hearts.  He tells us to mourn and weep and to humble ourselves before the Lord.  God will exalt us.

Regardless of our own self-image, God sees us in truth.  He created us to be his beloved children and on this journey of life that is our task, to live as his children.  So I come to the Lord.  I draw hear to him.  I wash my hands as a sign of seeking cleanliness and ask the Lord to purify my heart once again.

As I pray for my own soul, I lift up the churches around this nation and the world.  I ask the Lord to cleanse them and purify them once more.  I lift up this nation, built with God as the center, and ask him to cleanse us and purify our nation once more.

We all fall short of God’s glory.  James gives us tools to move back into the grace of God.  Humble ourselves before the Lord.

Lord,

Thank you for using us to do your work in the world.  Help us give credit where credit is due.  Keep us becoming something different than you designed us to be, your children.  I pray for people and churches across the world and this nation as well.  Cleanse us, purify us and draw us near to you once again.  I ask all this through Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

Isaiah 64:7-8 "There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."

Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real you could not convince your heart it was only a dream?

I had a dream like that last night.  When I woke I knew the dream could not be true but I still keep asking myself, what if?  My dream left me feeling betrayed and abandoned and when I woke up enough I had the phrase “I am yours and you are mine” going through my head.

The state of the world seems like a bad dream.  We live in a world of cold betrayal.  There are lies and deception on every corner; in every heart.  What we see is not always what we get and if we put ourselves out there we are just as likely to get burned as to be affirmed.

Maybe this is a bad dream and not reality.  Maybe reality is not truth.

I read this passage and these verses resonate so deeply.  I take courage knowing there are some who call on the Lord, some who take hold of him.  I hold the truth that he is our Father; we are all the work of his hand.  I pray to him for cleansing, purification, renewal and revival.

Lord,

You are mine and I am yours.  You are my Father, I am your child.  You are the potter, I am the clay.  I pray for all souls today, Father.  I pray you will turn us toward you, cleanse and purify our souls and then fill us with your truth and love.  Compel us to reach out, calling your name and taking hold of you from this day forward until you come again.  I ask this through Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.  Amen.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.”

Family time is an easy time for rejoicing in my world.

Getting together for food, fellowship and fireworks is priceless! As I laid in bed with the pain in my back and the fireworks still shooting off it was a bit more difficult to rejoice.

The sun came up and my back pain is the same. I rejoice that it is not worse... my kids slept well and are bright-eyed and bushy tailed; I rejoice. There is war, poverty, sickness and brokenness in the world... I rejoice. Yes, I rejoice in the peace, wealth, health and wholeness that is offered to the world in place of all the other things. I will rejoice that this is not our forever home and that the journey of struggles teaches us much, draws us in closer to God and his Divine presence.

I am scolding my kids, disgruntled with my spouse, grumbling about my chores, am I praying? Maybe, but is it what the Lord wants to hear? Does he want to hear me grumble and whine and complain? Maybe.

I look back to the scripture – rejoice always... hmmm. When I am complaining and whining that is certainly not rejoicing. I come to the Lord as I am, happy or sad, content or disgruntled and as I talk with him, listen to him and sit with him, I am slowly brought to a place where I can rejoice in him.

I am reminded to remain in him and I know if I do, I can follow these directions.

As I pray for my family, people traveling, the churches and our nation, I am able to rejoice in the Lord.

Step into his presence, soak in his peace and love and rejoice, rejoice always! Pray and rejoice...

Lord,

You know our hearts, draw them into your presence so we are more able to rejoice. Help our words, thoughts and deeds be a prayer of rejoicing, thanksgiving and offering to you. I lift all to you this morning. Amen.

John 8:31-32 “Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”

Today we celebrate Independence Day – the day we remember the freedom we have that was fought for long ago and in some ways is still fought for today.

Our founding fathers wanted independence from the rule of England.  The pilgrims wanted to worship God the way they felt they should, not the way the church in England was deeming they should.  They fought for this freedom, some to the death.

In Deuteronomy 13 Moses tells the Israelites “The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast.”  This passage warns against worshiping other gods, listening to the voices of false prophets.  Whose voice do we hear today?

I cannot imagine living in a country without freedom but I wonder how free our country really is.  We have a lot of freedom to live as we want to but that can easily lead to slavery of a different kind.  I turn to the words of Jesus, “continue in my word... know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

As I celebrate our nation’s freedom, I seek truth for my soul.  Even more than my physical freedom I celebrate spiritual freedom through Christ!

Lord,

We put on our blinders, we close our eyes and our ears and we believe we are free.  I pray for this nation, its leaders and its people.  Remove the covers of deceit, the blinders of lies and help us all move into truth through you.  Draw us all into your arms of love and protection; make us truly one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.  Amen.

Psalm 62:8“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

Hearts can be hardened like stone and we have all heard the term” heart of ice.”

As I sat pondering this verse these are the things that came to me:  We are called to pour out our hearts before him but how can we do that if our heart is like ice or stone?

Ice can be warmed and melted with heat from the sun.  Stone can also be liquefied by a much higher heat from the center of the earth.  Melting ice or liquefying stone takes time; it is a process and if they are allowed to get cold, they will harden once again.

Let the warmth of God’s love heat and melt your heart of ice, let the deep warmth of God’s love liquefy your heart of stone.  He is our refuge and trusting in him, we can become like a glass of clear refreshing water; his living water flowing in our hearts.  We can become like lava, liquid rock on fire with the love of our Lord God.  Soften your heart and allow God to cleanse and purify you.

When we put our trust in Him He is our refuge.  Whenever we need to come back into his loving arms for renewal, for forgiveness, for protection from the storms, He is there.  Come into His presence, trusting in Him.  Pour out your hearts as I pour out mine knowing we will be changed and blessed because of it.

Lord,

Strengthen my trust in you.  Sometimes I come in trepidation and fear; you are an awesome God.  Your word tells us over and over about your love for us.  Soften my heart, remove the fear and damage, and melt me completely so you can transform me.  Liquefy my heart for you Lord.  Amen.

Zephaniah3:11-12 “...I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and youshall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly.  They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord-“

A call to all nations; a call to all hearts:

A few months ago I spent a day in silent retreat and Zephaniah was the book I was led through.  It is only 3 short chapters but there is much to learn from the words in this prophet’s writing.

Zephaniah was warning the people of Israel, we could stand to listen to his words of warning today.  You can look at any nation and see the need to repent and turn to the Lord.

I recently received a prayer request to join with many in seven days of prayer for our nation and our churches.  This request falls right in with this passage of scripture.  I pray to be cleansed of any evil lies that blind and deceive me, drawing me away from truth and light.  I pray for the light and love of God to fill the churches renewing them in his truth and moving them into new and deeper service to his glory.  I pray for this nation, that it would return to true faith in the one living God of all, serving and honoring him in all its actions.

As I often start with prayers for the nations, I am instantly reminded that the nations are no worse off than I am.  We all fall short of the glory of God and when we are together, the group falls short as well.  I pray that each of us, individually, and corporately, will repent and turn to the Lord until he comes.

Lord,

Forgive my sins; cleanse me of all unrighteousness through the redeeming blood of Jesus, the Christ.  Protect me from deceit, destruction, and evil.  Help me magnify you and your holy name.  Cleanse and renew our churches and our nation, drawing us all back into your holy arms of love.  Make us new so we are able and willing to serve you in truth and in love.  I ask all of these things to your glory and honor, Almighty Lord.  Amen.