Who I Am In Christ Devotionals

The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one’s life; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise. (CSB) Psalms 19:7 https://my.bible.com/bible/1713/PSA.19.7 I need wisdom. Badly. I need His holy wisdom today, not a made up idea of what wisdom is supposed to look like. I need the wisdom that only He gives. In James He says: “If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord. He’s a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. (NKJV) Here’s another one; maybe my favorite verse, my most go-to verse lately: For God has not given us a Spirit of fear but one of power, love, and sound judgement. 2 Timothy 1:7 (CSB). And the verse above from Psalm 19. And the book of Proverbs. How can I get this wi

  First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior.1 Timothy 2:1-3 *Note: I used https://biblicalexegete.wordpress.com/2014/12/06/a-closer-look-at-four-different-types-of-prayer-in-1-timothy-21/ for Greek language help in this devotion. I am a believer, therefore by definition I am a praying man. That doesn’t mean that I’m very good at it yet. I have a lot to learn. I’m saying that believers pray. It is what they do. Prayer is wonderful. I get to enter the presence of the king of glory and talk to Him. What a privilege! God hears it all. He even hears me when I don’t get it to come out of my heart correctly. He translates it for me. And He wants me to keep getting better. He’s like that loving dad that loves watching me play baseball. He loves seeing me get a

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Psalm 20:1‭-‬5 ESV Blessings start with the words, "May the Lord..." The bible is full of them (there are seven of them right here).  Blessings aren't commonly spoken among believers today in my experience. The closest we get is to say, "I hope..." Though not always the case, "I hope," for us is more like saying, "Good luck." And we say that too.  Is good luck a Christian thing to say? I'm not saying that you're not a Christian if you say it, but I'm just suggesting that it needs some rethinki

For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9-14 *I learned how to do this from Donald Whitney’s Book Praying the Bible . I am a man who can easily pray shallow prayers. Over and over. Snore.  And it’s not that they should be filled with poetry and King James language like I used to hear in my youth when people pray

Note: The audio podcast here is a RambleCast and was recorded before the blog piece was written, so it does not match word for word. Not even close.  I sought the Lord , and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them.  Psalm 34:4-7 (CSB) Some days I really beat myself up. Things not going great. Get so down that I get down for being down. And guess what? I don't ever have to do that again. I don't have to. I don't. I can always turn to Jesus. I have the Holy Spirit living right inside of me, right? I am His temple. I get to stand on that. I must.  And that's what the Psalmist of Psalm 34 knows. He owns it.  "I sought the Lord and He answered me." Hey, I could stop right there and think on just that for a thousand years or mo

  But as for me, Lord, my prayer to you is for a time of favor. In your abundant, faithful love, God, answer me with your sure salvation.  Psalm 69:13 CSB My son asked to borrow my car. I paused, thought about it, and threw him the keys. I want to give him good things. And we get to ask God our Father for good things. We get to ask Him for His favor. It feels weird for us to ask. I’m not talking about one of those half-hearted prayers that puff through our cheeks like so much exhaust. No, I’m talking about asking Him like a son when he needs the car. A son has a hopeful expectation of an answer. He looks his father in the eye and waits for a response. Our prayers should be at least that sincere. I mean, it’s no fair to not (really) believe that God answers if we don’t ask expect an answer. But that’s what we've done so many times. This Psalm was written by David and he has every expectation that we should approach God like this too. He wrote it to be sung and memorized. To b

  When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him. 2 Chronicles 18:31 CSB Jehoshaphat is one of the great names in the bible. I just had to say that. By the way, it means Yahweh is judge. Okay. Jehoshaphat was a king of Judah, and he was a mixed bag as kings go. He did some really good things, and he did some dumb and dumber ones too. But I’ll let you look that stuff up. It’s great bible history. And Jehoshaphat was right in the middle of one of his not-so-smooth moves when the events in this passage happened. He was in a battle. And it wasn’t even his battle; it was Israel’s King Ahab’s fight. Jehoshaphat was along for the ride, a ride he should have never taken. If the name Ahab doesn’t ring a bell, remember this: he was Jezebel’s husband. For many, her name is synonymous with evil. So Jezebel’s husband, King Ahab asked Jehosha

  Lord , how my foes increase! There are many who attack me. Many say about me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah But you, Lord , are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. I cry aloud to the Lord , and he answers me from his holy mountain. Psalm 3:1-4 I am a child of the one true king. And He has gifted me with numerous prayers from the bible which can guide me in prayer. In fact, I can use all kinds of scripture to guide me in talking to God.  Today, Psalm 3 is my guide. Lord, how my foes increase! There are many who attack me. Jesus, today, there are many who more and more arrogantly attack your church, your bride. I am a member of that justified body. I need you in these attacks. They call for ungodly and unholy laws and make unrighteous pronouncements. They take your children to court.  Jesus, there are also my own thought foes which I can carry around inside my head. They spring upon me when I am weak. They accuse me. They tell me that you are far

  Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him, and he will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. Psalm 37:5-7 Believers walk with the Lord and they pray. This is the second in a series of devotionals in which I pray through a scripture. I encourage you to find scripture to pray through on your own. You may find that it helps break through the doldrums of tedious prayer. What a tragedy to be bored when I pray! “Commit your way to the Lord” Lord, I commit my way to you. I know that you go before me. It is a temptation for me to not fully commit, to hold something back that you have asked. You have asked for all and I want to only give part. I have wanted to keep something back for myself. Jesus, help me to give you all that you ask. “Trust in Him.” I can commit my way to you when I trust you. And I

Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants. Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord , and he will give you your heart’s desires.  Psalm 37:1-4 As believers in God, we can use the scriptures to help us pray. I like to do this because it helps me know that I am praying in God’s will. It teaches me things that I can pray for that I never thought of before. I originally learned to do this from the book *Praying the Bible* by Donald S. S. Whitney, which I recommend highly.  Let’s use this passage from Psalm 11 to guide our prayer.  “Do not be agitated by evildoers.” Lord, you tell us to not be stirred up by the wicked here. This is something we can only do with your help. Those who mean harm to your church seem to be growing in power these days. But we know that no matter what kind of power they seem to have is but a moment. Jesus, help us t

And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him. I Chronicles 5:20 Trust and Prayer Believers fight a battle. I am a warrior. I forget this, but it is true. I battle my own inner lying thoughts that tell me that I really don’t belong to Jesus. I battle temptations, the snares that Satan’s dark world has designed to trap me. I battle a culture that tells me to go along to get along. And more. So far, I haven’t been in a real physical battle for my life (thank You Lord). May it stay that way! All the battles, the ones in my head and the ones against outside forces need the same defense. Trust in the Lord and prayer. And guess what? Trust and prayer require patience. What is patience? The Dictionary.com definition goes like this: an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with d

Even now my witness is in heaven, and my advocate is in the heights! My friends scoff at me as I weep before God. I wish that someone might argue for a man with God just as anyone would for a friend. Job 16:19-21 His Heartfelt Cry Believers pray for each other. We intercede. We get between the person we are praying for and the Lord and argue for that person! Job was a man of tragedy for sure. His family got wiped out, his wife became embittered, all of his property was stolen or destroyed, and he was struck with a painful disease. But that’s not what Job dwells on. Rather, his narrative poem zooms in on Job’s relationships with his friends. So, it seems we can add another grief to the list. For not only did his friends misinterpret what happened to Job, adding unmercifully to his agony, they did not intercede for him. And they should have. I’m struck by his heart felt cry, “I wish that someone would argue for a man with God…” And notice that he says that after he declares that God is h

  I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. Ephesians 1:17 I need wisdom. Paul wrote this letter to the believers in the city of Ephesus. He is praying for all of them that they would have the Spirit of wisdom.  And James says (James 1:5-6) that if I need wisdom to ask for it. And He will give liberally (but ask in faith with no doubting). You know, I love to see what Paul prays for believers. This very thing that Paul requests for the Ephesian church is something I need too. I need the Spirit of wisdom. And I reason that if Paul prays this for believers, so can I for both myself and others.  See, my thoughts can be so difficult to sort out. I often wonder if I'm thinking clearly. It can all feel so cloudy, varying from day to day. Seeking God's Help Yet I know that challenges to my ability to think clearly are God-ordained. It's these challenges that keep me reaching out to