“Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.” -Proverbs 3:30NKJV
There are many things that are worth fighting for, and yes, there will be battles to be fought such as fighting injustice, standing your ground for truth, resisting temptation, and defending what is right.
It is, however, fruitless to argue or have needless fights over trivial matters because trivial matters are not worth fighting over. Save your energy to battle for the things that really matter such as fighting against sin, opposing the lies of the enemy, and contending for the faith.
“Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.” -Psalm 24:3-6 (Berean Study Bible)
“O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart, who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend, who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath, who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.” -Psalm 15:1-5 (Berean Study Bible)
ABBA, let me climb Your holy hills because that is where You are, and help me to know right from wrong, to keep my hands clean and my heart pure before You. LORD, I need to hear Your voice, to receive Your instruction and counsel, to learn Your ways, to know Your Word and Your commands. LORD, Your will is all that matters and Your righteousness is what I seek. There is no other god before You, and nothing compares to You for You are glorious, arrayed with splendor and majesty. Let me climb Your holy hills, LORD, where you dwell, and make my feet like the deer so I am able to climb these mountain heights. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” -Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for Your Word which is like honey on my lips, and Your Word is true and stands forever. Your Word goes forth to accomplish the purpose for which You have sent it.
Thank You, Lord, for giving me Your Word so I can hide Your Word in my heart so I might not sin against You. May my words be pleasing to Your ear as I resolve to solely live for You, the Only Faithful and True Living God, because nothing and no one compares to You.
Your promises are lasting. Your Word is Truth, and You, O God, are faithful to me. Let me stand steadfast on Your Word always, and may the foundation of my life always be Jesus Christ for He is the Sure Foundation and Chief Cornerstone.
Help me to always remember the Word of the Living God is still alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to cut through joint and marrow and exposes my innermost thoughts. Help me to always remember that I am to study to show myself as an approved workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing Your Word.
Heavenly Father, You are God and You are Lord of All. There is no one and there is nothing that compares to You for You alone are the Almighty Everlasting Father. Above You, there is no other. The new year, O Lord, is just around the corner. Help me to end this year strong and to remain steadfast in the new year 2019. Thank You for guiding me and leading me in Your way. Father, I ask You to continue to guide me in all my ways and to direct my steps as I put my trust in You and acknowledge You in all my ways. Apart from You, O Lord, I can do nothing. In You, I can do all things because You are the One who gives me strength. You are my Hope and You are my Refuge. I cling to You, O God, for You are my Deliverer and Your words sustain me. Father, I delight in You, and because I delight in You, I know You will grant me my heart’s desire. Father, draw close to me as I draw close to You. Help me to remember there is freedom in submitting to You and walking in obedience to Your will and to Your ways. Be the Light which illumines the path I am to walk. Show me the Ancient Path, the good way, that I may walk along the Ancient Path and find rest for my soul. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
As children of God who are walking in obedience to His will and His ways, God does heal. We can be assured our God heals. God doesn’t go against His Word, and God is faithful to His promises.
The confidence that we have is this: If we ask anything according to the will of God, He hears us, and since we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know we have the petitions we have asked of Him.
What are you believing God for today? Are you in need of healing? Are you in need of being saved from an impossible situation? God is able to deliver you. Do NOT give up because God has NOT given you the spirit of fear but of love and of power and of a sound mind.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the God who heals and delivers. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. Thank You for always being there for me. You, O God, have never let me down, and You have never left me alone. You have been my Guide, and You have been my Light. Father, be my Deliverer, as You always have been, in my circumstances. Show Yourself faithful as You always have for You are my Deliverance and my Song. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
You are not alone. The Lord Your God has not left you, and He has not forsaken you. Your God knows you by name, And He hears you when you call.
PRAYER Heavenly Father, You are the God who never leaves me, and You are the God who never fails. I know You are with me and that You know my every tear, You know my every weakness; But, Father, I put my hope and my trust in You because You are faithful, and Your promises are true. Help me to remain steadfast, and constantly remind me of Your promises. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
“He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.
Our Lord is great. He is bigger than any problem or struggle you have. He is the One who catches you, not permitting those who belong to Him to slip and fall. This old hymn of the church says it all, “WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS.”
Remember the Lord hears you calling out to Him. He hears you when you cry out, and anyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS
Written By Joseph M. Scriven In 1855
Copyright Status Is Public Domain
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What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
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Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
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Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
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Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.
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“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'” -Matthew 11:28-30NLT
“…I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice. Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together” -Psalm 34:1-3BSB
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You, O GOD, are the Lord of all Creation.
You are worthy of all glory, of all honor, and of all praise.
You are my Redeemer, my Deliverer, and Friend.
You are my God, and there is no one else like You.
You alone are the Rock Upon Which I Can Stand.
You are the Sure Foundation,
and You are my Savior.
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May Your name, O GOD, be magnified in all the Earth.
“Do not present an animal with defects because the LORD will not accept it on your behalf.” -Leviticus 22:20(NLT)
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The Levitical Laws, more specifically in this case the ceremonial laws, were a foreshadow of what was acceptable worship and what was unacceptable worship. In order for an animal sacrifice to be made, the animal had to have NO blemishes, NO defects, NO sickness. The animal had to be perfect. If there was the slightest flaw or imperfection in the animal being presented, the animal sacrifice would be rejected by God as shown in this verse, “…the LORD will not accept it on your behalf.”
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As I found myself reflecting on this passage of Scripture this morning, I was reminded of another passage in Romans 12:1(NLT), which states, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
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We’re told in the Word of God to be perfect as He is perfect, to be holy as He is holy. When we keep that in mind, we will be careful how we live our lives because ALL that we do is worship to God. Our sacrifices must flow out of hearts consecrated, wholly devoted to God.
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REFLECTION: The LORD will not accept less than the best. We cannot present the sacrifices of our talent, time, praise, effort and the like to the LORD if we are living lives defiled by pretense and hypocrisy. We cannot present ourselves in worship to the LORD if we are half-hearted in our obedience to Him. When our sacrifice to the LORD is blemished and defective, like the animal sacrifice spoken of in Leviticus 22:20, then we will be the kind of sacrifice He rejects.
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Our LORD is the King of kings. For all of Who God is and for all that He has done, how can we present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices if we are defiled with sin? Sin cuts us off from God, and therefore, when we recognize our sin, we must come before God with humility to repent and turn from our wicked ways, aligning our thoughts with His, so that we will be the kind of living and holy sacrifice He will find acceptable.
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Our God will forgive us and restore us when we come before Him with the spirit of humility, bowing before Him. His Word tells us in 1 John 1:9(KJV), “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
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PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You are worthy of my very best, and I’m sorry for giving you leftovers rather than giving You my very best. I humbly ask for You to forgive me, and remind me always that I am to be holy as You are holy. Father, before You, I have no excuses, and I am asking that You cast me not away from Your Presence but renew a right spirit within me. I give myself into Your hands, committing myself to You and to Your ways. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him..” -Mark 1:12-13 (NLT)
Temptation always comes, and while being tempted is not a sin, giving in to the temptation is a sin. The Word of God goes so far as to say that if we are tempting someone that is sin as well and states, “…Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting,” (Matthew 18:7 NLT). We are never to use someone’s weaknesses against him/her to tempt him/her to commit sin against God. In other words, look out for the best interests of others and encourage them to progress in their walk with God.
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We are not to rejoice when someone trips up and falls into temptation. We are, however, to spur each other on, not play on the weaknesses that the other has.
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With all that being said, Jesus gave us an example of how to handle temptation and what we should do when faced with temptation. We are to respond with “It is written,” which is why it is so important to daily be in the Word of God studying, thinking about the Scriptures, applying the Word to our lives, and hiding God’s Word in our hearts in order to combat temptation and to live a life pleasing to God.
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Let’s look at how Jesus handled temptation:
“Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ Jesus responded, ‘The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” -Luke 4:9-12
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Jesus made it very clear for us to know that the devil is the father of lies and no truth can be found in him, and that is recorded in John 8:44 (NLT), which states, “He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
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The devil twisted the Scripture to tempt Jesus when he said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.'” Jesus knew the Scriptures well and knew Satan was twisting the Scriptures. God does protect, and that is truth. God will command His angels to watch over and guard us; However, we are not to take the promises of God lightly nor should we ever be so careless in thinking that if we jump off a building that God will keep us from going splat on the ground. Jesus, rightly dividing the Word of God, gave us this clear demonstration of how to wield the Sword of the Spirit when we’re faced with temptation. Jesus responded by saying, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.'”
REFLECTION:“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You,” (Psalm 119:11 BSB). Do you have daily time reading and studying the Bible? Do you truly know the Bible? Do you walk in obedience to the Word of God? The bible is not a buffet where you can choose what you like and what you don’t like. You need the entire counsel of God, not just some of His counsel. The Word tells you how live a holy life, tells you everything you need to know to inherit eternal life, and the Word of God teaches you how to handle temptation, and instructs you as to what God has given you to overcome whatever may come your way. “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth,” (2 Timothy 2:15 NLT). As a child of God, hiding God’s Word in your heart and clinging to His truth will help you in your life. However, it is absolutely vital for you apply the Word of God to your life, to live the Word of God out loud in your life, not just when temptation strikes. It is not enough to be exposed to the Word of God. It is not enough to read the Word of God. You must be applying the Word, and you must be living out the Word in every aspect of your life. You must be obeying God’s commands especially if you claim to love God and claim to be His child. When you truly know the Word of God, you will know when half-truths come your way and know if someone is twisting the Scriptures. Hide His Word in your heart so you might not sin against Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the God of all Truth. I ask You to help me remain steadfast in You, to keep my feet from slipping. Lord, teach me Your ways and Your truth. Help me to always rightly divide Your Word. May I always hide Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda A. Knowles
“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.” -Isaiah 50:7 (NLT)
Stained Glass Confessions 