Praying to Jesus, we do not pray to One who is distant and unaware of our feelings and temptations. He has suffered and been tempted, yet without sin. He is well acquainted with our griefs. Do not try and overcome temptation alone. Cry out to the One who cares. He understands and will help.
Regardless of our circumstance we can “call to mind” the Lord’s love and mercy, reminding ourselves of His steadfastness and faithfulness. While the night may seem overwhelming and dark, the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. Remember the Lord and have hope again.
There is a connection between sharing our faith with others and our own spiritual understanding. Answering the questions of faith for a seeker or new believer reminds us of what we believe. Often they ask a question we can’t answer and so we search more diligently than we would even for ourselves in order to help them. Sharing your faith causes it to increase in you!
“Know” – in the imperative, it calls us to acknowledge that the Lord is God and to seek an abiding understanding and a foundational grounding that He is both Creator and Owner of all, including us. This knowing is not just transcendent, but immanent, for it calls us to not only know that He is Lord over all, but also personal, familial and shepherd to us. We can know about Him, but better yet, we can know Him personally and relationally.
How to live in this “present age” while we wait for the One who will inaugurate the next. Paul lived with an awareness that Christ could appear at any time. This gave him a holy urgency to live in view of Christ’s return and of the coming age. Although much has changed since Paul’s day, much remains the same. We still live in the age before Christ’s return. When? Soon, and very soon.
Paul viewed his role as preacher as being both a trust to steward and a calling to obey. I’m often asked, “How did you know that you were called to preach?” My answer? How does a woman know that she is pregnant? There is a growing awareness that something new and different is taking place within. Ultimately, there is a state not easily ignored and a message that cries out to be birthed. As Paul also said, “Woe to me if I do not preach!” (1 Cor. 9:16).
The Psalmist calls us to sing, bless, tell, and declare the Name, salvation, glory, and works of God to all nations. Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19). So, which one(s) are you doing (singing, blessing, telling, declaring or discipling)? I like doing them all!
This is the way that the Lord wants us to influence our generation. Winning the argument will not win the lost. We overcome with kindness, patience and gentleness. This does not mean withdrawal or surrender to the world’s system. But it does mean that we fight the battle with spiritual, not worldly weapons.
The powerful, world-changing strategy of multiplication discipleship! Paul told Timothy to disciple others in the same way he had been discipled. We all need a Paul to mentor us. A Barnabas to walk along side as a peer to encourage us. And a Timothy that we can invest in and disciple. Do you have these three powerful relationships?
This psalm, attributed to Moses, encourages us to be aware of the fleeting nature of life and to determine not to waste our days. This is not a morbid instruction, but one that faces reality. We have a finite number of days appointed unto us on planet Earth. Number them, be aware that each day is a gift from God and a holy stewardship. The promise of eternal life should not release us to waste this season, but should pull us toward investing every moment we have for God, so that we store up riches in heaven.