The Key to Being Humble

Let's remember that the key to being humble is being grateful lest we become proud in our "humility".
-- Dr. Jerry Porter, General Superintendent Church of the Nazarene

We can only truly humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord by thanking Him again and again for the extreme expression of His love towards us and for being grateful for the plans He has for us --whatever those plans may be and wherever those plans may take us.

Think about it. Even at the tomb of Lazarus, we know Jesus was humble, because before calling Lazarus out of the grave, God the Son gave thanks to God the Father for hearing His prayer.

I thank you very much for everything, my God.
In Jesus' Name.
Amen and Amen.

Click here: Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart - YouTube

God, Your name is "Faithful" and my name is...
"Grateful"

To Pardon And Sanctify Me

This verse from the old hymn, The Old Rugged Cross, offers powerful hope for our earthly lives and for our eternal souls:

In the old rugged Cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above,
To pardon and sanctify me.

Jesus died to pardon our sins -- our acts and deeds of rebellion -- and to purify our Sin -- our attitudes and dispositions of rebellion.

But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
-- 1 John 1:9 (NLT)

Lord, thanks for saving and for sanctifying me.
Grateful

You Are Faithful. We Are Grateful.

Let's pray this prayer of assurance together to our Great and Good Holy God:

Our Hallowed Father, Our Holy God:
You are our Righteous Guide.
Yes, You go before us and You are above us.
You are our Reliable Gate.
Yes, You surround us on all sides at all times.
You are our Rock-Solid Ground.
Yes, You are the unshakable foundation under our feet.
You are our Reigning Guarantee.
Yes, Your Blessed Holy Spirit reigns within us, keeping us connected to You and comforted by You.
You are our Rear Guard.
Yes, You have our backs protected at all times.
You are Faithful and we are Grateful.
Yes, in the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Holiness Unto You, Our LORD!
We Are Grateful, Indeed!

Even After He Became Very Rich...

(3-4) When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the LORD and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshiped the LORD. And so the LORD blessed Jehoshaphat (5) and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom. The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, (6) he remained completely faithful to the LORD. He destroyed all the local shrines in Judah, including the places where the goddess Asherah was worshiped.
-- 2 Chronicles 17:3-6 (CEV)

Lord, don't let riches rob us of a right relationship with You. Amen.

Deo Volente.
Grateful

God Blesses The Children

Good people live right, and God blesses the children who follow their example.
-- Proverbs 20:7 (CEV)

Lord, may all who come behind us find us faithful. And may those who come behind us find faith, too. In Jesus' name. Amen.

By Faith! In Faith! (Hebrews 11)
Grateful

Be Faithful to Pray for One Another

A special friend e-mailed me a copy of a prayer he was asking of God on my behalf. I am humbled to know that those who follow my blog are also faithful to pray for me. Here's the prayer:

Father God this morning I ask for protection for Pastor Kerry. Thank You that no weapons formed against Pastor Kerry will prosper. As he dwells in the shadow of the Most High, deliver him from terror, darts of doubt, and diseases. Set Your angels around Pastor Kerry, and let no power of the enemy harm him. Turn aside rumors, gossip, criticism, abuse, and ungratefulness. May inordinate expectations, stress, and fatigue be cast into the sea, and may every need and vision of his be fulfilled. Amen. (Read also Psalm 91.)

Thanks "K" for the prayer. Someone is praying for "me". Humbled.

Click: Someone Is Praying For You - Sam Ocampo, piano

Let's All be Faithful to Pray for One Another as the Lord Reminds Us.

Click - Pastor Nizar Touma- The Global Day of Prayer - Nazareth

God, I Need You!
Grateful

May A Holy New Year Be Ours!

It's almost one-hour into the New Year here in the Eastern Standard Time Zone of the World. A penny for my thoughts? Well, presently I am recalling some powerful thoughts pertaining to the words "happy" and "holy" that are demanding attention in the depths of my mind:

Our temporary happiness is whatever it is at any one given moment in time, but Jesus really was crucified to impute (credit) and to impart (give) to us His timeless holiness -- to truly sanctify you and me in our time, for all-time, and for Eternity.

Lord, as we look ahead to a New Year, beyond being happy, that is, beyond being temporarily satisfied, let us seek first and foremost to be holy, that is, to seek the pinnacle of Your will for our lives -- to be truly sanctified. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
-- Words of Jesus John 17:19 (NIV)

May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (24) The One Who calls you is faithful and He will do it.
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV)

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without Holiness no one will see the Lord...
-- Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

May a Holy New Year Be Ours!
Grateful

Exit History! Enter Mystery!

Last evening was our night to undecorate our 2010 Christmas tree. The 8-foot Fraser Fir with its twinkling lights and colorful ornaments brought a glorious glow to our home and to our hearts during the sacred month of December.

Each morning during the Advent Season when I arose from a night's sleep for my morning quiet time, the first thing I would do was switch on the tree lights so I could sit in its light as I communed with my Lord. (My daily quiet time prayer chair sits in the same room that we set up our Christmas tree year after year.)

Anyway, last night the tree came down. Our son helped his mom carefully remove the ornaments and I took the lights off one strand at a time. Once the tree was bare, I loosened the bolts in the tree stand, firmly grabbed it out of its' anchored position and through the back French doors the tree and I wildly went. Mission accomplished. Out with the old (once wonderful, but now withering) Fraser Fir. It's leaning against the back of the house now awaiting it's final resting place at the county dump. I'm a tad sad.

This morning as I arose from a night's sleep and walked into our living room, I must confess, I really missed the sacred December ritual of switching on the lighted Christmas tree. The room seems somehow less inspiring and light deprived. I'm still sitting in my prayer chair, looking out those French doors and realizing that like 2010, this year's 8-foot Fraser Fir is all but history. Yes, it's about to be 2011, and in my mind I hear this invitation:

Out with the old -- it's now history, and in with the new -- it's all mystery!

Friends, let's pray together that we can somehow begin to place yesterday where it belongs -- in the backyard, yes, in the rear view mirror. It's now time to focus forward. Surely, we can take comfort in knowing that our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In other words, He is more than capable of handling what is now our history and He knows how to move us onward toward the future. What we see as mystery is not mystery at all to Him.

Yes, our God is an out with the old and in with the new kind of God. His name is I Am, meaning He's our ever-present Peace in whatever time or place we find ourselves in. He's been Faithful. He is Faithful. He will Be Faithful.... forever and forever and forever! How long is that?

This link to a Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir song inspires:
Click > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdO2cRXVHII

Here are three soul-glowing passages to closely consider as December 31 races for the finish line and January 1 is rising on the horizon before us:

(25) Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. (26) Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. (27) Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
-- Proverbs 4:25-27 (NLT)

(1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. (2) We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on Whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy He knew would be his afterward. Now He is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven.
-- Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

(6) And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.
-- Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

Time to exit our history and enter His mystery! So help us, God!
Grateful

I Hope To See My Pilot

The Willis family celebrates Christmas together each year a few days before Christmas. It allows us to come together without the pressures of rushing through our immediate family time so everyone can hit the road to be present at other extended family gatherings. This year was no different. On December 20, 2010, Mom and Dad along with my brothers and their families were present at our home for about seven sacred hours together.

There was one touching highlight of the evening that crested above all the others. It was when Dad stood in front of the Christmas tree and read his favorite poem from a seven-dollar book I gave to him as sort of an extra "little personal gift" of Christmas.

When Dad reached the last two lines of the poem he began to cry. So did the rest of us. It was a good cry. A cry of Hope for the future to our Faithful God of the past and the present.

The poem is a piece of English literature that my sea-captain-fisherman Dad has quoted aloud from memory throughout all the years of my life. Here it is:

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

The poem is Alfred Lord Tennyson's Crossing the Bar.

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow!
Grateful

Faith or Fanaticism?

To dream that God will do this and that because we wish that He would is not faith but fanaticism. Faith can only stand upon truth (what God has promised). -- Mrs. Chas. Cowman

Exodus 12:25 (NKJV) -- ...just as He promised...

Lord, I want to live by faith and die in faith. I want to be faithful not fanatical. Find me for forever and today standing only on Your promises, my God. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

The Same Faithful Forecast

With our Faithful God, yesterday's forecast of faithfulness will be repeated today, again tomorrow, and for forever:

God the Father -- reigning. God the Son -- shining. God the Holy Spirit -- blowing the breath of Heaven, Hope, and Holiness into every open soul.

But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and He shines forever without change or shadow.
-- James 1:17 (TLB)

Great is His faithfulness; His loving-kindness begins afresh each day.
-- Lamentations 3:23 (TLB)

...You are near, O Lord; all Your commandments are based on truth. I have known from earliest days that Your will never changes.
-- Psalm 119:151-152 (TLB)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
-- Hebrews 13:8 (TLB)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

A Grateful Heart

It has been suggested that Satan's seeds of despair cannot thrive in a heart that is always overflowing with gratitude.

A few years ago, I cried out loudly to the Lord: Your name if Faithful and my name is Grateful! The suggestion above gives me a whole new perspective as to why my soul may have actually cried out loud to the Lord so specifically -- My name is Grateful.

Truly, my soul sings aloud with the songwriter who penned these words of praise: Give thanks with a grateful heart...

An old out-of-print version of the Holy Bible translates a portion of 1 Chronicles 9:33 like this: Employed to sing both day and night. (Remember Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to the Lord at midnight. Acts 16.)

What do you think?

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

No Greater Adventure For Any Man

It has been said that every man needs an adventure to live. I say there is no greater adventure for any man than that of bringing glory to God by loving and raising his children and romancing and loving their mother over life's long-haul. Sadly, too many men prove not to have enough courage and longevity to complete the great adventure of being a loving daddy and a faithful husband until the end.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

"Help My Unbelief!"

It was just before midnight. Because of snowy roads, I was driving my 22-year-old son to his night shift at the local radio station in my four-wheel-drive. We had a sacred and soul-searching talk about the Lord as we rode. Just before I dropped him off, and in light of our conversation about faith, my son asked: Dad, why do we tend to struggle trusting God concerning the future when He's always been so faithful in the past?

Mark 9:24 (NKJV) -- Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

This is my prayer and desire for me and my family, Lord:

For Your present and future favor, we ask!
In Your past and present faithfulness, we bask!

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Refused to Rest?

I recently read a line in a book written by a Messianic Jewish author. It wasn't my book, so I cannot retrace the author's name but I have not forgotten the line:

In the beginning God created Paradise, but the man and the woman refused to rest.

Refused to rest? How sad is that!

Lord, you say in Luke's Gospel that "the Kingdom of God is now within us." Sounds an awful lot like Paradise to me. Lord, help me to live in the atmosphere of Your Holiness. I want one of the undeniable proofs of Paradise within me to be that I don't refuse to rest in You. After all, if Your Kingdom is really within me, and I believe it really is, then surely You are my King meaning You are both resident and president within me. You have recreated Your Paradise within me. Let it never be said of me, ever again, that I refused to rest in Your Paradise. Lord forgive. Lord forbid. Your Name is Faithful. My name is Grateful. I'm exhaling NOW! Amen.

Luke 17:20-21 (NIV) -- (20) Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, (21) nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you."

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

He Will Be Faithful!

This song blesses my heart today. It is based on Philippians 1:6:

He Who began a good work in you...
He Who began a good work in you..
Will be Faithful to complete it!
Will be Faithful to complete it!
He Who started the work,
Will be Faithful to complete it in you!

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Rejuvenate Me!

These four words written in Psalm 119:50 echo joyfully, yes, gratefully, even desperately from the depths of soul to my Faithful Lord today:

...Your promises rejuvenate me! (The Message)

ALL JOY!
Grateful