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Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 1 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Persistent Prayer”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Is prayer a first resort or a last resort?

Is prayer regular or irregular?

Yes and no.

If I am honest with you about my prayer life, it is a first resort at times and at times a last resort.  I go through seasons of regular prayer, but too often it is irregular.

So I have opportunity to grow in this area.

Daniel was a godly man of wisdom and prayer.  In fact his habits were so predictable, it was the only way his detractors had a chance to get rid of him.  His opponents got King Darius to sign a decree that for 30 days people could only worship or pray to the king.  Any other prayers to any other gods would be punishable by time in the lions’ den.

Daniel’s response when he heard about this decree?

Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

His prayer life didn’t change because of the decree.  He continued his habit of praying to the Lord, and praying to him as a first resort, not a last.

What a great example of a persistent pray’er!

So how can we develop a habit of prayer?  Here are a few suggestions:

Create a habit by setting a time or times for prayer.

Daniel had three times a day that he set aside for prayer.  My guess is whether the day was busy or slow, he would take these times to connect with the Lord.

What times might you set aside?

Maybe start with one set time a day.  Morning routines are beneficial to set the tone for your day.  Evening routines bring closure to the day (but if you are like me, I often fall asleep if I wait until my head is on the pillow to pray!).  Perhaps a midday break allows for time of reflection and prayer.

Build a habit of prayer by engaging a prayer partner.

Habits are built with partners.  When I know someone is counting on me to show up, I am more likely to show up.  How about choose a prayer partner with whom you connect every day.  For some, that may be prayer time with your spouse.  Maybe it is a family prayer time which has a scheduled time to come together.  A phone call with a friend to connect and pray through your day can be beneficial.

Use your device to remind you of your prayer time.

Electronic devices can be a good way to set a reminder to pop up on your screen or watch and remind you to pray.  Apple watch vibrates when it’s time to stand up, or get ready for bed, or when an appointment is coming up.  Why not set daily reminders to remind you to pray?  Try it and see how it works for you.

Prayer is not about “checking the box” to get it out of the way.  Prayer is a privilege that the Lord desires us to enjoy and take advantage of.  A habit of prayer ensures we are enjoying the blessing of prayer regularly in our lives!

Apply:  Choose one of the above mentioned ideas and begin to implement it today.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for always being present when I pray to you.  Give me the resolve and the discipline to make conversations with you a habitual part of my day, week, and month.  AMEN!

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 1 of “Compelled – Living the Value of Persistent Prayer”  (LISTEN HERE).

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What is important to you?

While a simple question, it causes one to pause and seek to figure out the answer.  You can look at your calendar and see where you spend your time.  You can look at your finances and see where you spend your money.  You can audit your social media use and see what you keep watching.

But maybe when you do these “life audits” you realize that what you say is important and what you are doing are two different things.  As a result, you may seek to adjust and align what you do with what’s important.

As a church, we can SAY things are important.  But again as we evaluate our activities individually and collectively, the audit might say something different.

At Crosspoint, we want to be intentional about prioritizing the things we value most.  We have determined seven values for our congregation to embrace and put into practice.  The next seven weeks will introduce those values.

As a devotion reader, don’t check out on us, but rather journey with us…I think you will find many of the values we are seeking to embrace and put into practice are ones that will be a blessing in your life, and perhaps your church as well.

Before we get into the specifics, there is a “heart” behind all of these values.

Really all that becomes important in life is because God made us important in his eternal plan.  It’s his grace, underserved love, that valued us first that motivates, in facts COMPELS us to live for him.  The Apostle Paul captured this reality in 2 Corinthians 5:14

2 Corinthians 5:14  For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

All we value in life becomes valuable because of the love of Christ.  Period.

None of the things we do in life are driven by fear of punishment, but by gratitude of grace.  That’s just what the love of Christ does.  It leads us to value the things that are valuable to God.  As a result, here is the value of values:

• They define how we desire to live the love of Christ!
• They encourage positive actions which will bless our church family and ministry effort and discourage action that would cause harm
• They impact how guests and others experience our ministry.
• They are to guide us personally, not just institutionally.

We pray the values we put forth for our Crosspoint family and all who will engage with them will better serve to reflect the love of Christ to the people with whom we interact and to whom we minister.

This week, we will explore the value of Persistent Prayer along with spiritual and practical encouragement to become a persistent pray’er!

Apply: What values do you have as an individual?  How do the play out in your life?  If you haven’t thought through your personal values, perhaps this series will give you opportunity to do that!

Prayer: Lord God, thank you for giving us value by investing the life of your Son in us.  Teach us to value what you value so every day of our lives we can show the world how valuable you are to us!  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 6 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Temptation & Evil”  (LISTEN HERE).

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“For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen.”

Did you know that these words which we commonly use to conclude the Lord’s Prayer were not part of the original teaching from Jesus?

In dusting off my church history, I found that this doxology (statement of praise) was included in The Didache which was perhaps one of the first catechisms of the church written in the late first to second century AD.  It seems this doxology was accepted much earlier in the eastern part of Christianity and then much later in the western church.

While perhaps its history of use is a bit vague, it is certainly appropriate to end a prayer with the content and magnitude of the Lord’s Prayer with this statement of praise directed to the Father.

Consider all the petitions prayed prior to this statement:

• Hallowed be your name
• Your kingdom come
• Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Give us today our daily bread
• Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us
• Lead us not into temptation
• But deliver us from evil.

None of these requests would come to reality unless our heavenly Father is also the ruler of all (yours is the kingdom).  In making this statement, the pray’er is acknowledging the reality this is God’s world.  His kingdom is the rule of the Gospel in the hearts of people and his rule over all things on behalf of the Church, his people.  Without the Lord being the King of kings, the ability for these petitions to be answered would fall apart quickly.

The doxology acknowledges that the Lord has all power.  How else can we pray with confidence if the Lord does not have power to provide our physical needs, power to forgive our sins, and power to overcome sin and evil?  He does.  Here’s just a couple passages that acknowledge the power of God.

Jesus to those skeptical of his power to forgive, showed his power to forgive by also healing: Luke 5:24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 

He overcame the power of the devil. Hebrews 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

The doxology acknowledges that all glory is directed to and deserved by the Father as well.  After all as the one who is willing to hear this prayer and answer it for our benefit on this earth and eternally in heaven, why wouldn’t our almighty, gracious God NOT deserve all the glory in the world?

And then we end with a confident, “Amen.”  Yes, it shall be so.

Just as we started, so we acknowledge that as earthly fathers know how to give good things to their children, so our heavenly Father, to whom we pray, knows how to give us all good things.

For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever, AMEN!

Apply: As you think of God’s kingdom, power and glory, how has each manifested in your life?

Prayer: Father in heaven, thank you for your Son who taught us this prayer.  In your mercy, forgive us when we have made the Lord’s Prayer and empty statement of words.  In your grace, keep in our hearts and minds all the realities for which you invite us and encourage us to pray.  Yours truly is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever, AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 6 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Temptation & Evil”  (LISTEN HERE).

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The best way to win a conflict is to be better prepared and have better weapons than the enemy.

Earlier this week we identified the real enemy – Satan.  The better you know his tactics, the better equipped you are to defeat him.

But what are the weapons we have?

The Apostle Paul outlines the armor of God that is given to God’s people in Ephesians 6:10-18.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Here are some aspects of the armor of God that stand out to me.

1. The armor is worthless without the power of God. Finally, our strength to overcome evil and Satan’s influence is with the power of God.
2. You have to put the armor on. Armor laying in a locker does no good.  Recognize each day is a spiritual battler.  Having the armor of God is vital for every Christian every day!
3. Remember you are battling Satan and his forces not people. The battle against evil is the battle against sin in our own lives and that of others.
4. Evil will come. It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when.  When evil comes it is too late to prepare.  Preparation must be beforehand…every day.
5. The belt of truth will overcome the lies of Satan.
6. The breastplate of righteousness will defend against temptations to walk away from the will of God.
7. Boots of the Gospel…ready to bring the good news of forgiveness and salvation to souls troubled by despair and doubt.
8. Shield of faith, which covers us with the protection of the Lord against anything Satan would send our way.
9. Helmet of Salvation protects our mind and our head to keep clear on who we are as children of God and where we are headed because of the salvation won for us by Jesus.
10. The sword…swing away with the truth and promises of the Word of God.

Every day…put on the armor of God and be alert.  Satan is prowling around looking to devour your soul.

The final aspect of victory is to stand with the champion warrior.  The ultimate deliverance from evil is an eternity in heaven because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  His work on our behalf guarantees the present evil age is not our experience for eternity.

Galatians 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Stand with Jesus, fully equipped with the armor of God and when the day of evil comes…and it will come…you will be able to stand.

Apply: What is the spiritual battle you are fighting today?  Which piece of armor perhaps needs to be put on or strengthened to win over the evil Satan is bringing your way?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the armor you provide.  Remind me each day to put it on and use it for the eternal protection of my soul! AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 6 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Temptation & Evil”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Deliver us from evil…

Evil is the result of sin…directly or indirectly.

The news parades evil and its effects on lives daily.

We experience it ourselves.

So we pray, “Deliver us from evil.”

We want to be free from the effects of sin.  We want to live without trouble or hardship.  Who wouldn’t?

Perhaps as we pray this petition, we may think, “I don’t think God is listening or answering.”  On the surface it may be hard to see sometimes, but as we seek to understand God’s way of delivering us from evil, his answer becomes more clear.

Here’s how Martin Luther understood this petition:

What does this mean? We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation, and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.

Ultimate deliverance from evil will come when we are with the Lord forever, but how does he rescue us or overcome evil in our lives today.  Here’s two.

First, evil is overcome when we do not hang out with evil.

The Apostle Paul quotes one of the Greek poets in 1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (For those that listened to my sermon, I incorrectly put this in the Proverbs.)  Even secular society recognizes that all too often evil character will corrupt good character.  King David penned, Psalm 141:4 “Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.”  The Lord delivers us from evil when he leads us to not hang around evil!  Like Joseph in yesterday’s devotion fled from the temptation of Potiphar’s wife, so at times we need to flee from the people we are with so we are not drawn into and affected by the evil they perpetuate.

Because we have a sinful nature, we need the previous petition as well, “Lead us not into temptation”  Delivering us from evil is when the power of the Holy Spirit leads us to distance ourselves from those bent on perpetuating evil.

Second, evil is overcome by good, not more evil.

Too often, we conclude that the way to overcome evil is with more evil.  If someone wrongs me, my initial reaction is to “teach them a lesson” and wish or activate evil upon them.  Trying to overcome evil with evil is like trying to fight a fire with gasoline.  It just makes it worse!

Jesus taught, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).

The Apostle Paul reiterates in Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. As hard as this direction is, it is the advice the Lord gives to over come evil and be delivered from it.

Remember that the answer to prayer is often in the simple, not supernatural (although it could be that as well).  God delivers us from evil when we distance ourselves from evil and repay evil with good.  See how that works for you today!

Apply: What situations are you facing that in order to avoid evil you should a) flee or b) repay with good?

Prayer: Lord, deliver us from evil by giving us the strength of faith to walk away and the strength of character to return evil with good.  AMEN.