"In the Secret Place," # 20, Emmanuel God with Us

 

lifewords  "In the Secret Place"  #20  Emmanuel  God with Us   It's the very beginning of December and what if every day  we truly live in the reality of knowing Emmanuel, God with us. He is love and He wants to be with us! Remember He created us because He desired relationship with His family. He walked with Adam in the cool of the day, in relationship. We were separated from Him by sin, but in His love He  initiated His redemptive plan to reconcile us to Himself by sending His Son to become a human being.  His Name would be called Emmanuel God with us. This promise if for the entire world. Im so thankful He is with us and will never leave us or forsake us. The Light of the World came to earth to bring us out of darkness and into His light.. The Savior of the World came to rescue us from an eternal separation from God. The Prince of Peace came to dispel our fear and the turmoil of this earth. The King of Kings came as a precious baby who really was born in a stable and was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger or "feeding trough".   One of my favorite things is that manger.   The word is "feeding trough".  Jesus, the Word of God, laying in the feeding trough where the animals would typically come to eat each day.  He is the Bread of Life!  His Word is our daily food.  How we need to come to the feeding trough of the Word of God and find Him there each day. He is Emmanuel, God with us   and is now revealed through YOU and I.  Let's  encounter Him in a fresh new way in the Secret Place. He is Emmanuel, God with us, revealed in us, loving this world through us. Thank you Lord!

 

"In the Secret Place #19 Giving Thanks

 

lifewords  "In the Secret Place"  #19  Thank You Lord   Spending time intentionally thanking and praising our King is the way to enter in to the Secret Place of His presence! A thankful heart pleases God. He delights in His children thanking Him and acknowledging Him with praise. A heart of thanksgiving will keep your faith airborne.  A heart of thanksgiving will keep your eyes on the Lord's faithfulness. Expressing our thanksgiving and praise to the Lord draws us near to Him. It keeps our mind renewed to the Truth of Who He is  and the surety of His promises. Thanksgiving is a powerful defensive and offensive weapon against our enemy. Oh Lord, thank You!!!!!!! Your goodness and faithfulness and love to us is overwhelming! You are worthy of all of our praise. Holy Spirit, teach us how to continually express our thanks and praise.   Psalm 100:4,5 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him; bless His name.  For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations"   Psalm 107:14 "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good."   Psalm 105 " Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His Name.  Make known His deeds among the peoples, Sing to Him, sings praises to Him: Speak of all His wonders, Glory in His holy Name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad."   Psalm 95:1-3 " O Come let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.  Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms"   1 Chron 16:34 "Give thanks to the Lord for He is Good; His love endures forever."   Psalm 97:2 "Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, And give thanks to His Holy Name."   Psalms 86:12 "I will give thanks to you Lord with all my heart."   Lifewords family, I give you a challenge for today and throughout the upcoming month. At five minutes until  the top of the hour, stop and thank and praise the Lord for five minutes, yielding all to Him and asking Him to fill you afresh with His love and presence.  If you are with someone at that time, invite them to join you in this time of thanks.  This will be lifechanging.  I am praying for you now and wishing you a very blessed season of Thanksgiving!!!!!!

 

"In the Secret Place #18 Keeping Watch, Plenty of Oil

 

lifewords  "In the Secret Place"  #18  Keeping watch, plenty of oil     It's just too good to be true but it is true!  That we can meet with the Lord, the Creator of the Universe,  the Lord of heaven and earth, the Author and the Finisher, our Redeemer, our King, the lover of our souls... in secret.  He says that we will find Him when we search for Him with our whole heart. In that secret place with Him, as we humble ourselves, worship Him, wait in Him, renew our minds with His Word, call upon Him in prayer.....He fills us.   He consumes. He transforms. He teaches us, leads us, guides us He becomes our All in All and teaches us how to live as a branch abiding in the vine. Thank you Lord!   I'm thinking about the ten virgins of Matthew 25 today.  Jesus said the Kingdom ofHeaven is like this, so we know it is a timeless truth for us today. Five wise. Five foolish. They all had lamps, waiting for the bridegroom's return, but the wise were prepared with oil for their lamps. When the bridegroom arrived, those who had prepared with reserves of oil to keep their lamps lit were recognized by the groom and went in with him for the wedding. The others were unprepared, scrambling to borrow oil or try to go buy some.  Their lamps went out. They tried to come late, but the groom replied with some of the saddest words in the Bible,  "I tell you the truth, I do not know you." And He shut the door on those poor unprepared ones. Following the parable, Jesus gives us the  admonition, "Therefore KEEP WATCH, because you do not know the day or the hour."Every time I read the account, in my mind I want those who had oil to please share with the ones who are without.  But here's the truth. Every person has to get their own oil.  Everyone has to keep their own lamp burning. Every person is responsible to be ready and to cultivate their own relationship with the Lord. And the place where we do that is in the secret place of  His presence, in His Word, in worship, in prayer. In the Secret Place we will know Him, and He will know us. In the Secret Place we keep watch, and there is abundance of oil to keep our lamps lit for the day and for the journey and for the return of our Bridegroom.

 

"In the Secret Place #17 Clothed with Humility

lifewords  "In the Secret Place"  #17  Clothed with Humility    I love what Daniel says to the King in Daniel 2:28...... "however, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries."  The Lord reveals mysteries  and secrets to those who will meet with Him in secret. One of the key mysteries of truly walking with the Lord and experiencing His presence is found in 1 Peter Chapter 5, where the Holy Spirit instructs us to clothe ourselves with humility, for God opposes (resists) the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Simple.  We humble ourselves, He gives His grace without measure!. In verse 6 is one of the most important habits we can cultivate in secret.  "Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.  Casting all your cares upon Him because HE cares for you."  In the secret place of prayer we choose to clothe ourselves with humility, knowing that apart from Him we can do nothing.  The Lord does not humble us, we humble ourselves. How powerful that we can get on our face, or our knees, or just simply lift our hands to the Lord in secret and yield completely to Him, repenting of sin, pride, selfishness, arrogance, fear. We can do it early. We can do it now. This is the safest place. Our praying and our life will be powerful in Him. The Holy Spirit will reveal to us the areas of our lives that must be brought into the light of the cross, He gives His grace without measure. He forgives us. He cleanses us. He fills us. He pours out His grace. He exalts us in Him.  Self affirmation is empty.  Self dependence is foolish. Self deception is likely, apart from Him.  He will exalt us above the circumstances of life. "Lord, teach us how to clothe ourselves in humility. Show us how to completely humble ourselves, yield to you, rely on you, trust in you, live in You. Lord, I humble myself now, knowing that apart from You I can do nothing, but with you all things are possible. In Jesus' Name. Amen"

"In the Secret Place" #16 In His Light we see Light

 

lifewords  "In the Secret Place"  #16  In His Light we see Light   You are the Lord's beloved one, and He delights to meet with you in secret! He loves for you to abide in Him, and  allow His Word  to abide in you. Did you know that you can know Truth today? Jesus said, "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) He is Truth! His Word is Truth.  He also said that "when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all Truth; He will not speak on His own initiative but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will show you what is to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine, and disclose it to you." (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth.  Jesus said, "I am the Light of the World, He who walks in Me shall not walk in darkness but have the Light of Life." (John 8:12) As we spend time with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in secret, we will learn to discern deception and understand God's Truth. He will open the eyes of our natural and spiritual understanding.  He will replace darkness with light, confusion with clarity, ignorance with understanding.  Fear will be engulfed by faith in the Living Promises of God and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher, Helper and Comforter.  He is the Spirit of Truth. Honor Him and you will be amazed, for in His light you will see light. There are many voices clamoring for your attention every day. When you spend time with the Lord, at His table, in secret, you will be able to hear His voice above the rest. Thank you precious Holy Spirit.

"In the Secret Place" #15 Discovering the Holy Spirit in the Secret Place

lifewords  "In the Secret Place"  #15  Discovering the Holy Spirit in the Secret Place   As we follow Jesus' earthly example of meeting with the Father in secret prayer, the Holy Spirit is our intimate Teacher Helper.   Aren't you glad that Jesus came to this world, born as a man, lived a sinless life completely yielded to the Holy Spirit and the will of the Father and demonstrated  to us the love and kingdom of God?   Lord thank You that You paid for our sin by Your substitutionary  death on the cross, redeemed us from death and hell by Your precious blood, rose from the dead to guarantee us eternal life,  and   have brought us back into relationship with the Father!    Our Jesus has made us alive in Him,  and He has brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light! He has reconciled us back to a place of God's sons and daughters! We have been redeemed from the curse! We have access to His presence, no longer separated! We have the assurance of eternal life with Him!  Then, having finished all, before He left this earth to go back to the Father, He gave us instructions to  love our God, love others, be One and preach this Good News to all the Earth. He promised that when He left He would send Another, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, to be with us and live in us forever.  And He did!  Thank you Lord! This was the end game of the Father. He wanted a dwelling place not made with human hands but our very hearts and lives. So Jesus went back to heaven and the Holy Spirit came to this earth to live in us and through us, and prepare  us to be His glorious Church, His Bride.  Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is living in you and me. Jesus is the Head and we are His Body.    Jesus spoke much of the Holy Spirit and He said that the Holy Spirit will fill you,teach you, guide you,reveal truth to you, comfort you,empower you, transform you and demonstrate the Word of God in and through your life. He will give you power over sin and power to be a witness to fulfill the Great Commission given by Jesus. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray. He  illuminates God's Word. He helps us live a holy life, pleasing to God. He causes us to succeed, as we rely on Him through our weakness. He will cause His fruit to be demonstrated in our life.  You will know Him in the Secret Place, and He will show you how to abide in Him, be familiar with His voice and live every day for His glory.

lifewords, secret place, 18 of 30, Psalm 34 Promises

Jesus has instructed us in Matthew 6:6  to pray,  and to have a time each day that we go into a private place to pray to Him in secret and He will reward us openly.  Oh the joy of meeting with our King in secret!  In that secret meeting place He will teach us how to worship, how to receive forgiveness for our failures, how to wait upon Him, how to pray. He will transform us by His Word, impart wisdom, love, joy, peace and all we have need of.  He will fill us with Himself. He will show us great and mighty things that we do not know. Today I want you to be greatly encouraged as you read one of the most powerful "secret  place" passages, Psalm 34:4-10.

 

4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant, their faces shall never be ashamed.

6 In my desperation I prayed, the Lord heard me and saved me out of all my troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

9 Oh fear the Lord, you His saints, those who fear Him have no lack!

10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

 

I pray this verse will greatly encourage you today!  As you make time daily to meet with the Lord in secret, it will change your life!   This verse declares that as you seek Him, look to Him, cry to Him, worship Him, take refuge in Him, revere Him in the secret place each day,  this will result:

He will ........Answer you; Deliver you from all your fears; You will be radiant; You will never be ashamed; He will hear you; He will save you from all your troubles; He will send angels to encamp about you; He will deliver you; He will bless you; You will have great joy; You will have no lack; You will lack no good thing.

 

And He does all this so that we can experience relationship with Him and bring His love Word and presence to this hurting world and set the captives free in His name. Thank You Lord!

 

lifewords, secret place, 17 of 30, Filled with the knowledge of His will

I'm praying for you this morning that Mathew 6:6 is becoming a daily delight to you as you spend time in the secret place with your Father.

 

I am also praying this powerful verse from Colossians 1:9-12 for you and your family, asking the Lord that "you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." This is an incredible verse to pray! Did you know it's possible for you to be filled with the knowledge of His will in your life?  He is your inheritance!  He is your All in All.

 

I love Colossians because it contains incredible insight to God's plan for how are to live in Him right now. I believe much of it relates to a lifestyle that the Lord desires and makes available to every believer, but that  only those who spend time in the "Secret Place" of prayer and the Word will experience.

 

In verse 1:23 Paul gives a strong admonition for us today... that we are to "CONTINUE in the faith, firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard..." Every day our circumstances, our own thoughts, the things of this world have the potential to move us away from the hope of the gospel and even cause us to waver or get off course.  But we don't have to!  We can stay firmly established,  strengthened by His presence, We continue in the faith to the degree we spend time with Him in prayer and in the Word!  Let's stay alert, steadfast, understanding the times we are in, desperate for His presence. Be greatly encouraged today! M66

 

lifewords "Secret Place" series, 16 of 30 Jesus says Come!

How amazing that the Lord, our  Creator, Redeemer and King,  invites us  to come to meet with Him continually.  We understand that He lives in us and desires that we practice a lifestyle of abiding in Him, filled with His presence, but He invites us and teaches us to meet with Him in the secret place. (Matthew 6:6)

 

The Lord invites us to come to the table of His grace and be seated there, not just for our own lives but because of the lives He wants to touch through us. We can be transformed there! Psalm 23 says that "He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies."  In the midst of all that is  happening in our lives, we can come be seated at that table and receive from Him our daily needs, hear His instructions and be transformed to His likeness.  If we are to look like Christ, we must spend time with Him. Come to Him daily, and make time to stay long enough to be changed.

 

Jesus invites us to Come! Remember in John 7:37 He says, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink". We should be the most refreshed people!

 

Jesus invites us to Come!  Remember in  Matthew 11:28 He says,"Come unto Me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest".

 

The Lord invites us to Come!  Remember Jeremiah 29:13,14. "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  And I will be found by you, declares the Lord." Although He was speaking prophetically through Jeremiah to the Israelites in exile in Babylon because of their disobedience,  I believe that the message of these words, the principle of these words, is for us today. He beckons us to come into the secret place of His presence, close the door on all the clamor of the world, and meet with Him, pray to Him, worship Him, wait on Him, receive from Him through His Word. His will is for us is Christlikeness. He is your All in All. Don't allow anything to keep you from accepting His invitation daily!

 

Secret place, 15 of 30 Staying anchored

I'm praying for you this morning that Matthew 8:8 is becoming a reality in your daily life!  Our consistent time in the "Secret Place" with our Lord is the key to living in His presence and continuing steadfast in the faith. 

 

This is an unprecedented time of spiritual warfare, a time the Bible warns us that many will fall away, even the elect can be deceived, distracted or spiritually asleep. Oh, but the joy of meeting with our Father in secret...delighting in His Word, learning to pray His will into the Earth, receiving all we need from Him, fellowshipping with Him, waiting on Him, worshiping Him!  This will keep us from drifting.  God's Word  speaks of our potential to "drift" away.

 

Colossians 1:23 says, "if indeed you continue in the faith, firmly established and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard..."  We are to continue! We are to stay firmly established! We are not to drift away from the Word we have heard!    

 

It is easy to drift, we must stay alert! Did you ever see a piece of DRIFT WOOD washed up on the shore.  It's called drift wood because it was detached from the tree and began to drift, little by little, from its original purpose and place of flourishing as a connected part of the life source of the tree.  Hebrews 2 says,"for this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we DRIFT AWAY from it."   

 

 

Let's not drift from His presence and His will for our lives!  The Word is our anchor to keep us from drifting.  As you spend time in the Secret Place, in His light you will see light. The Word will anchor you in Truth. You will call upon Him and He will show you great and mighty things that you do not know. He will fill you, He will teach you, He will guide you, He will love this world through you. Time in the secret place with the Lord is a sure anecdote to keep you from drifting! We have been brought near by the blood of Jesus, His forgiveness covers our failures that would try to disconnect us from Him. Stay connected and abiding daily.  Every day is a new day, His mercies are new every morning.

lifewords "Secret Place" series, 14 of 30, fullness

As you passionately and intentionally pursue spending time with the Lord in the "secret place" of prayer and in His Word, Jesus will teach you how to pray and you will begin to understand more clearly why you can pray with great faith and confidence and joy in believing. In that place of meeting with Him, we will discover that He is our All in All! Because He lives in us and we live in Him, He is our sufficiency in all things and He is always more than enough.

In this hour it is crucial we understand who He has made us to be in Him and that He has given us all things because He lives in us. Did you ever truly think about this verse?

 

"For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace" John 1:16

Oh if we could just understand the fullness of Christ that is already ours as believers! We are not trying to obtain this, we already possess it. I see so many believers striving to obtain what is already freely theirs in Christ. When you invited Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord,He not only forgave you but He made you a new creation in Christ. Then, He actually came to live in you. He lives in You. Thank You Lord! Let us thank Him every moment for this miracle! This is the mystery that once was hidden but now revealed.....Christ in Us the Hope of Glory. If you understand He lives in You, then you will surely understand He is your All in All and you are lacking nothing! It will change how you live life. You will discover this in the "secret place" of His presence. Love lives in you. Victory lives in you. Truth lives in You. The living God has chosen to abide in YOU and invites you to abide in Him. As an act of our will, daily, we yield to Him, we submit all to Him, we allow the daily infilling of His presence

 

One of the most important verses we must understand and walk in is in Galatians 2:20. It is the most accurate picture of being filled with His fullness."I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

 

When we receive Christ and He comes to live in us, we don't receive part of Him. He lives in us and becomes our life. He lives in us in His fullness. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. He has made us a new creation and now lives in us. We are lacking nothing! Now, to the degree we yield to Him and to His Word and renew our minds to the Truth of His living Word, and obey His Word is the degree this fullness will be manifested in our life. It is in the secret place of prayer and the Word that we understand that He is our All in All and because of what is already ours in Him, we can begin to pray with much faith! Our lives become a conduit of His love, life, truth and victory to this world. Of His fullness we have received, grace upon grace. Lord, help us to live in the reality of this Truth!

 

lifewords "Secret Place" series, 13 of 30

We have been talking about the instructions Jesus has given to us to Meet with the Father, in secret and pray to our Father, in secret (Matthew 6:6) It's so awesome to think the Father wants to meet with us! And He will hear us and He will answer us. Hebrews 4:16 says that we can "come to the Throne of Grace with confidence, to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." I love 1 John 5:14-5 that says we have assurance, we can be sure, that when we approach God and pray according to His will, He hears us. And because He hears us, we can know that we can receive His answers! It's so amazing!

 

I want to continue to encourage you to make a time and a place to meet with the Father in prayer, in worship, in hearing from Him as you read His Word. It is His will for you!

 

A also want to encourage you that you can abide in this "secret place" throughout your day. You can take moments to step away from the activities of your day and meet with the Lord in secret every hour! You can stop wherever you are, in all that you are doing and meet with the Father in prayer and worship. This is having a "pray without ceasing" lifestyle. Jesus says in John 15 that the Father wants us to learn to live our lives as a branch abiding in the Vine , in continual fellowship with Him. He says that if we "abide in Him, and His Word abides in us, we can ask whatever we will and it shall be done."

 

I love Psalm 91:1, "He that dwells (remains in) the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." He is our Refuge and our Fortress, a very present Help throughout every moment. The Holy Spirit will guide our praying, moment by moment, as we practice listening to Him.This is how we can "Trust in the Lord with all our hearts, not leaning on our own understanding. In all our ways we can acknowledge Him and He will make our path straight." Prov. 3:3,4.

 

As we spend time in the secret place of prayer in the mornings, we will be able to continue abiding in Him throughout the day and recognize His leading. We can stop and listen. We can stop and give thanks. We can stop and worship. We can stop and pray. We can develop a lifestyle of continually walking with the Lord, not worrying about anything, but praying about everything. In Luke 18:1 Jesus said we should pray always and never give up . We can cultivate a secret life of prayer that will result in His manifested presence in our lives, His love demonstrated through us and powerful prayers that bring His will to this earth. Lord, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, in us and through us. We thank You, We praise You and we love You!

lifewords "Secret Place" series, 12 of 30

As we make time to meet with the Lord in prayer and in His Word each day, in response to Matthew 6:6, He promises to instruct us in His will, guide us on His path and direct our steps according to His purposes. Wow! The precious Holy Spirit will meet with us there in that secret place with the Father and Jesus! In Psalm 16, David speaks of setting the Lord continually before him, taking refuge in the Lord. I love the truth of verse 11, "You will make known to me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of Joy."

 

In verse 12 the Holy Spirit reminds us that as we worship the Lord, He will instruct us in the way we should choose. "The secret of the Lord is for those who worship Him and He will make then know His covenant." In Psalm 32 David speaks of the Lord being His hiding place, and He is our Hiding Place today. The Word promises in verse 8 that" He will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go. He will counsel us with His eye upon us."

 

Jesus spent much time alone with the Father, receiving from the Father all that which was necessary for the day at hand. When He told the disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread," He was telling them that each day would require a fresh supply from the Father, of grace, wisdom, strength and direction. He will instruct us in His path for our life each day! I am praying Colossians 1:9-14 for you right now with much faith and excitement.

 

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light."

 

We can be filled with the knowledge of God's will for us and have spiritual wisdom and understanding from Him, we can know how to please Him and increase in our knowledge of God as we spend time meeting with Him. He will strengthen us and give us all we need for the day. He is our All in All. He is the Light of the world and in Him is no darkness! Thank You Lord!

lifewords "Secret Place" series, 11 of 30

I'm praying for you this day that as you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength in the secret place of prayer and His Word, that you will begin to experience His manifested presence in an unprecedented way. As you Pray in secret, He promises to reward you openly. God's rewards are good! Here are some rewards that I am praying in agreement with you for your life. Receive these promises regarding His will for you. I pray that in the secret place today you would be

• Strengthened in your inner man (Eph. 3:16)
• Rooted deep in love and founded securely in love (Eph. 3:17)
• Able to grasp God's love - the breadth and length and height and depth of it. (Eph 3:18)
• That you would be filled through all your being with the fullness of God.(Eph 3:19)
• That you may "know" Him and the power of His resurrection. (Phil 3:10)
• That He would might grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation. (Eph. 1:17)
• That the eyes of your heart be flooded with light. (Eph 1:18)
• That you might know the greatness of His power in you. (Eph 1:19)
• That you may learn to sense what is vital and of real value.(Eph 1:10)
• That you may be filled with the fruits of righteousness. (Phil 1:11)
• That He will protect you from the evil one. (John 17:12) (Jesus' prayer)
• That you may know God's will. (Col. 1:9) and walk in His light ( John 8:12)
• That His joy would be in you (John 15:11)
• That you may be strengthened with all power, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks. (Col 1:11-12)
• That you would receive His wisdom (James 1:5), being transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you might know the will of God, (Romans 12:2)
• That HE would instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. (Ps. 32:8)
• That you would be on the alert, standing firm in your faith, acting like a man or woman of God, strong in Him and that all you do would be done in love. (1 Cor 16:13)
• That you would be ignited with His love and power to do what He has commissioned you to do......pray, share His love, speak His Word, minister to the hurting, preach the gospel, set the captives free, make disciples, do the works of Jesus, destroy the works of the enemy, (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:15-18), I John 3:8) and live for His glory.
• In Jesus' Name!

 

lifewords "Secret Place" 10 of 30, Jesus with the Father

Mark 1:35 "And in the early morning , while it was still dark,He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there."

Our Savior, perfect, sinless and magnificent as He was, knew that His time meeting alone with the Father was the most important. He knew that the demands of the day that He would encounter would require the strength and power that even His sinless humanity could not provide. He is our example and shows us how essential our alone time with the Father is! For there in secret, the Father would speak to Him of the day. Jesus knew the truth of where His strength came from. He heard the instructions of the Father. He only spoke what He heard the Father speak. He did the works the Father showed Him. He demonstrated to us the life of the branch connected to the Vine that He speaks about in John 15. From this daily practice, He instructs the disciples to do the same in Matthew 6:6, "But you, when you pray, go into your room and close the door, and pray to Your Father in secret. And the Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you openly."

 

As we have this daily practice in common with our Jesus, I believe we will begin to look like Him and do what He did. There we can meet with the Father. There, the Holy Spirit will reveal Truth to us and fill us afresh with His presence. There, in the secret place are infusions of grace, love, courage, wisdom. There, we become familiar with His voice. We will decrease, He will increase. Like the recharging of a battery, we receive what we need for the day. Each day needs grace of its own. Today let us delight in following our Lord into that secret place of prayer with the Father, where we will know Him, receive of His fullness, and go forth to do His will and works. All for His glory!

 

lifewords "Secret Place" , 9 of 30 Christ our Life

Good morning! In today's "lifewords" I would like to share with you a powerful quote from Charles Trumball. In the secret place of prayer, Christ will become our life, and it will be no longer we that live, but Christ living in us. Colossians 3:3 says "For you died,and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

 

"Jesus Christ does not want to be only our Helper, He wants to be our LIFE. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us. When our life is not only Christ's but Christ, our life will be a winning life, for He cannot fail. And a winning life is a fruit bearing life, a serving life. We must bear fruit in character and in service. If Christ is our life, surrender absolutely and unconditionally to Christ as Master of all that we are and all that we have, telling God that we are now ready to have His whole will done in our entire life at every point, no matter what it cost. We may have Christ, yielding to Him in such completeness and surrender of self that it is no longer we that live, but Christ that lives in us."

lifewords "Secret Place" series, 8 of 30

I want to keep encouraging you in Matthew 6:6. Jesus charged His disciples, "But you, when you pray, go into your room (or closet, or secret place) and close the door, and pray to your Father Who is in secret. And your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you openly." David said in Psalm 17:8. "When You said, 'Seek My face, my heart said to You, Your face Lord I will seek." Do you sense the Lord is beckoning you to meet with Him often in secret?

 

Jeremiah 29 contains God's declaration to Israel, inspired by the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah. This was a very devastating time as they had been taken into captivity and sent into exile to Babylon. The passage contains a promise of hope that, after a season of time, although the Israelites had disobeyed God, He would be faithful to fulfill His covenant promises to them. Jeremiah 29:11 is a very familiar verse that God knows the thoughts He has for us, to give us a future and a hope, to do us good and not evil. Although these words in context were given specifically to Israel at a specific time. I believe that through them the Lord reveals His character and His commitment to His Word to His people today. His unchanging redemptive nature, steadfast love and His promise to respond to His people who will seek Him are expressed in Jer. 29:12.

 

"Then you will call I upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find me when you search for Me with all of your heart. And I will be found by you, declares the Lord."

 

I believe the Holy Spirit wants to ignite these Words in our hearts now, Jesus taught, Ask and you will receive, SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND, Knock and the door will be opened. With steadfast love He invites us urgently.....Dear one, Call upon Me in prayer, come to Me! Seek for Me now, Search for Me in My Word WITH ALL YOUR HEART! Seek for Me in your worship! Seek for Me in the stillness! Seek for me as you obey my Word. Search for me with all your heart and I will be found you. When we truly begin to find Him in His Word and prayer, and live in Him and in the reality of His presence, He will not only reveal Himself to us but He will reveal Himself to the world through us. In our secret time with Him, He will consume us with His love, transform us by His Word and strengthen us in our journey. He reveals His secrets to those who choose to seek after Him and who are close enough to be familiar with His voice.

You are His beloved one and I am praying for YOU, Amy