MORNING MEDITATION

[Godbetheglory]

MORNING DEVOTION - "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee..." (Psalm 63:1)

Scripture Reading: Daniel 9:1-19

Daniel was a devoted servant of God who was able to look and live beyond his challenging circumstances because he had his eyes and his heart fully fixed on God. In 606 - 605 B.C, when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, laid siege to Jerusalem, Daniel and his three friends were included with the first group of Jews dragged from their homes and taken into captivity. From the very beginning of his time in exile Daniel was determined to live his life set apart to the Lord, and to resolved not to become corrupted by this pagan nation - the place God had brought His chosen people to cure them of their own idolatrous practices and covenant unfaithfulness (reference Daniel 1:8).

Daniel was a man of prayer who would not even allow the threat of being thrown into a den of hungry lions to interrupt his daily prayer meeting with the Lord (Daniel 6:10). Daniel was also a man of the Word who understood from his diligent studies that their captivity was almost over. His prayers were in accordance with God's revealed will. Therefore he prayed that God would prepare the people for their coming deliverance. Daniel became God's chosen instrument to intercede for the people of Israel as well as influence the reign of four kings. In Daniel's prayer for the restoration of his people we find a great model for our own prayers for our nation today. Before praying, Daniel prepared first by humbling himself before the Lord: "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes" (Daniel 9:3). He then began his prayer as many of the saints in the Scripture have - with adoration and worship; and acknowledging his fear of, and faith in, God. "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands" (v.4). When we fix our eyes and our hearts on how great our God is, we have no reason to fear man or believe that God doesn't want anything but His best for us. The Jewish people pointed the finger at the wicked people of Babylon for their personal woes, but Daniel recognized that they were responsible for their present circumstance. They had violated God's law and they had refused to listen to His repeated warnings through His prophets. Daniel acknowledged that it was sin that was the cause of all their trouble; therefore he confessed his sins to God, and included himself in his prayer of repentance for the sins of the nation. "We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws" (v.5). God only needed to hear the cries of one faithful intercessor to be able to begin to work on behalf of His people (reference Exodus 32:11-14). God is always ready to pardon sin. When we come to the Lord with humble repentance in our hearts and with true confession on our lips, God will hear our prayers, forgive our sin, and bring the healing and restoration we need. Daniel reminded God of His past faithfulness, and he admitted that they deserved the punishment they were receiving, but, then he cried out for mercy; not for their sake, but that through their restoration God would be glorified. "We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name (vv. 18b, 19)!"

God heard Daniel's prayer and He answered by moving the heart and hand of king Cyrus to issue a decree the very next year, allowing the Jews to return to their land and rebuild the temple (reference Ezra 1:1-4). It was about 67 years after the conquest that Daniel discovered, through studying the writings of Jeremiah, that their captivity in Babylon would last seventy-years. Believing that God would fulfill the promises in His word, Daniel sought the Lord with fasting and prayer to prepare the people for the future. We live in our own modern Babylon, and we are called to Christ to live set apart and "holy unto the Lord" as Daniel did, and not allow ourselves to be corrupted by the world, or conformed to its patterns, but rather be transformed daily by God's holy standards (reference Romans 12:2). The Scriptures tell us to be ready, watchful and prepared for the Lord's return (reference Matthew 24:45; 25:13; Mark 13:35; Luke 12:40). If we are believing and anticipating the Lord's return we should be praying more fervently for the people of God to respond to God's call to return and repent so we can purified and prepared to finish the work that we have been called to do (reference Matthew 28:18-20). We are called to be salt and light in this dark and tasteless world (reference Matthew 5:13-16), so that many will be drawn to Christ and be saved (reference Acts 2:38).

Heavenly Father,
"I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, His works are perfect,
and all His ways are just.
We have acted corruptly toward Him;
we are a warped and crooked generation -
a nation without sense or discernment.
Show us how to be wise in this evil age, and give us understanding.
Judge Your people and have compassion on Your servants.
For there is no god besides You.
You put to death and You bring to life,
You have wounded and You will heal,
and no one can deliver out of Your hand.
Rejoice, O nations, with His people,
for He will avenge the blood of His servants;
He will take vengeance on His enemies
and make atonement for His land and people."
(Deuteronomy 32:3-5, 28, 36, 39, 43)
In Jesus' Name. Amen.

As we meet with the Lord this morning, as we have done for the past 40 days, let us take time to write out our own prayer following the framework that Daniel has given us: (1) Adoration and worship - our worship must be focused on God if we are to be heard (true worship includes the Word of God. Worship begins and ends with knowing who God is and praising Him for being who He is. Search the Scriptures for verses that speak of God's character; Daniel included the words from Deuteronomy 7:9 and 7:21 in his prayer); (2) Confession and repentance - when we begin to worship the Lord with all our hearts and come in contact with His majesty and holiness, we become increasingly aware of the sinful condition of our own heart. Let us lay our hearts bare before the Lord and ask Him to make us aware of any sin that is hindering our prayers from being heard and answered. Let us take time today to confess our sin by name and be willing to turn from any unholy activity or pursuit. (3) Thanksgiving - Let us then offer a prayer of gratitude to the Lord for His forgiveness, His restoration, and for His continued blessings in our lives; finally, (4) Supplication - this is where we humbly and boldly submit our requests for others before the Lord. We begin our prayers by first focusing on the One who hears our prayers and meets our needs, and Who knows our every need before we even begin to pray, and then, after emptying self in our prayers of repentance we turn our attention to the needs of other. This is where Daniel reminds God of His past faithfulness in delivering His people, and asks for the Lord to extend His hand of mercy once again, that the name of God would be glorified. "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness" (Psalm 115:1).


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Faith to Kill a Giant

All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. . . . And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:24, 26, ESV)?
When you hear the name “Goliath,” you picture that hairy giant of a guy that the shepherd-boy David brought down with a slingshot, right? That whole battle scene inspires us—because we know how it ended.

But if you had said the name “Goliath” to any soldier serving under King Saul, you would have seen pure terror in his eyes. Every day for more than a month, the troops had witnessed this arrogant, bullying enemy challenge their army. “And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Samuel 17:10–11).
Enter young David, delivering lunch to his big brothers on the battlefield, when Goliath came out for his daily taunt.

Now, David knew the same thing that Saul and his army should have known. David knew that God had promised to protect His people, and his faith in the living God flourished—even when the rest of them cowered, paralyzed with fear. When David heard Goliath’s proposition, he thought, Now let me get this straight. All I have to do is fight him, and this showdown will all be over? That’s it?

But before David did his famous slingshot routine, he had to overcome a few major obstacles. The most obvious one stood right in front of him. Was there anything, humanly speaking, that suggested he was the guy to take on Goliath? No. But David didn’t see what everybody else saw. If David had walked by sight, he would have noticed a much stronger opponent with more battle experience, more weaponry, more raw killing power.

Too often, we fail to win the victories that God would have us win because of the simple obstacle of sight. Do you see what everybody else sees, or do you see what God sees? Like Saul’s soldiers, have you been paralyzed for forty days by seeing only a giant, listening to his taunts hammer your hope and injure your heart? The problem is vision: you’ve got your eyes off the Lord and on the giant. When David looked up, he asked a bold question: “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” His words reveal a simple fact: David had his eyes on the Lord. Everything hinged on this.

Are you facing a giant today? Forget what you see. Get your eyes back on the Lord, “for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

JOURNAL

What are some “giants” you’re facing today?
Contrast what you see with your eyes to what you see by faith. How can you face your giant with your eyes squarely on God?

PRAY

Lord God, You are a warrior. You are mighty in battle, and You always win. When I face my giants in life, help me to fix my eyes on You alone. When I stare at the giant, my vision deceives me, and I feel afraid. When I look at You, my courage grows, for You are the living God, slayer of giants and sin and death. Teach me to “walk by faith, not by sight.” Thank You that because of Jesus, my ultimate, eternal victory is secure. In His matchless name I pray, amen.

[Godbetheglory]

[Godbetheglory]

Sufficient for You
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV).
When we study Scripture, we don’t want to get buried in the details of the Hebrew and Greek texts so we miss the meaning. But every now and then, a little nuance in the original language changes everything. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, the word order in the original Greek provides us with a lightning insight we don’t want to miss. In English the verse reads, “My grace is sufficient for you.” In the original Greek, the verse reads, “Sufficient for you is the grace of Me.” Notice the subtle difference. Essentially the Lord told the Apostle Paul, “I am the grace.” He didn’t say, “I send you grace.”

“I am the grace.”


God does not dispense grace the way a pharmacist fills a prescription: “Here, take two of these, and call Me in the morning.” He is the grace. He is the strength. His presence is the power. All we need comes through intimacy with Him. No matter what we face, He is the complete answer. “Sufficient for you is the grace of Me,” He promises. He doesn’t hand us what we need and then go somewhere else, off to solve someone else’s life crisis. He comes to stay. “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20b).

Here’s how that plays out in your life: perfectly and powerfully. “For my power is made perfect in weakness,” God explained to Paul, and to us. “Perfect” means fulfilled, accomplished, completed, finished. It’s the same as Jesus’ final word on the cross: tetelestai, “It is finished” (John 19:30b). God brings Himself to the relationship, and all His sufficient, powerful grace; all we bring is weakness. And all of this is grace, because we can never do anything to deserve what He does for us.

God’s grace is completed in your weakness. And until you realize you’re weak and you recognize the need for His grace, you can never fully experience it. Even that understanding of your own need is a gift of grace. The perfect power of Jesus’ grace can’t be fully realized until weakness is rightfully acknowledged. The moment when you’re overwhelmed by your absolute helplessness is the moment you are ready to hear Jesus say, “Sufficient for you is the grace of Me.” In other words, “I am all you need.”

If you want to live by God’s sufficient grace, you won’t catch it falling from the sky as you rush off to your next task. You won’t receive it as your mind drifts off to your plan for how to solve your own problems. You won’t get your dose in the drive-thru line at the spiritual pharmacy.

Because He is the grace, you need Him. He will go with you every step of the way. He is a faithful friend, always with you. When a trial threatens to overwhelm you, when you feel a keen sense of your own weakness and insufficiency, remember His promise: “Sufficient for you is the grace of Me.”

He is the grace you need.

JOURNAL

The perfect power of Jesus’ grace can’t be fully realized until weakness is rightfully acknowledged. In what ways are you weak?
God doesn’t send us grace, like a FedEx overnight shipment. He is the grace. Why is that such a powerful promise? How have you experienced it to be true?

PRAY

Father God, what an amazing thought that Your grace is not separate from You—I can’t experience Your grace without experiencing You. You deliver grace personally, and Your constant presence in my life is grace. I acknowledge my weakness. I need You. I’m insufficient; You are sufficient, powerful, and perfect. By faith I believe that no matter what I face, sufficient for me is the grace of You. Not “just enough” or “barely enough”—You are more than enough for me. Thank You for grace. Thank You for intimacy with You. I pray in the name of Jesus, whose power rests on me. Amen.

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MORNING MEDITATION


"Blessings crown the head of the righteous."
- Proverbs 10:6a

The Crown: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." - Colossians 2:9-10



Beloved believer, as we embark on this new 40 day journey together, we are all aware of the seriousness of the hour that is upon us. I rejoice that in this day of headache and haste we are coming together to heed our heavenly Father's invitation to closer communion with His Son, Jesus Christ. How blessed we are, as the dearly beloved of the Most High God, to be invited to sit as the honored guests at His abundant banqueting table to feast on the richest of fare. The portion He has prepared for our plate in this season is a delicacy beyond compare - the Majesty of God! May we bask in the warmth of His smile, and rest in His loving embrace, as He opens the door of His treasury and reminds us of the riches of His grace which He has stored up for us in Christ Jesus and has placed at our disposal through the channel of prayer. "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans 11:33).

Our Savior took off His royal crown and His robe, and stepped down from His throne in glory, so that His church could be arrayed in robes of righteousness and a garment of salvation, and have the crown of glory placed upon her head. "And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way" (Ephesians 1:22-23). The heavenly Father has placed the royal crown upon the church and provided her with a Head "who is over every power and authority" (Colossians 2:9). All things have been placed in our Lord's hands and under His feet. He is seated on His throne of government in the position of authority, giving motion and guaranteeing stability. "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3). We can rejoice and have confidence in the knowledge that the One who holds all things is the One holding up the church! "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty of heaven" (Hebrews 1:3). The blessed Head of the church is seated at the right hand of God in the heavenly realms, and "God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6-7). The door of the storehouse of heaven was opened up to us at salvation so that we could enter into the greatness, immensity, and infinitude of God and enjoy the fullness of Him who fills all things. May we recognize the divine responsibility we have in being raised up with Christ to that place of power and the high privilege we have been given in prayer and lay hold of heaven's blessing for a world in need.

Our Lord has infinite spiritual riches to bestow upon His Bride, but we have barely begun to scratch the surface of His vast treasury because we are so attached to the world and have allowed ourselves to become content with so little of the wealth of His Kingdom. Let us take time in this season of prayer and fasting to lay aside every fear and excuse that has kept us from entering the Holy of Holies of intimacy with Christ. Let us draw near to the Lord in His sanctuary and learn to be still in His presence as we lift up the holy and majestic name of God and bask in the beauty of all of His wonderful attributes. Charles Spurgeon has said, "when we crown the Head the whole Body gets the honor." May the glorious Head of the church be set on a high throne in all men's hearts in this season and the church be set aflame with holy love!

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory
and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things.
In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name."
(1 Chronicles 29:11-13)

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[Godbetheglory]

CROWNED 40 Days (Day 2)

The Crown: "The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and His name the only name." - Zechariah 14:9

The call to fasting and prayer is a call to deepening intimacy with God. These protracted seasons of prayer provide us with a divine opportunity to separate from the busyness of our lives and set apart time to seek God more earnestly. God desires that we know Him personally and intimately, and there is no better way to do that than to meditate on His wonderful name. As we open up the Word of God these next 40 days and focus our attention on His majestic and sovereign name, may we experience a fresh encounter with the Lord that will rekindle the flame of holy love in our hearts and lead us to approach Him more boldly and confidently in prayer.

The Scriptures reveal over a thousand different names and titles for God, and each one provides deeper insights into His character and His love. In ancient times an individual's name summed up his whole person; however, because God is infinite, one name cannot contain all that He is. His name reveals His attributes and He shows us that He is holy, powerful, righteous, merciful, gracious, and just. We cannot exhaust all that He is and all that He has done, for "the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written" (John 21:25b). There is even more that He has not revealed. "He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself" (Revelation 19:12b).

In the Old Testament, God's Name was associated with a place. "But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put His Name there for His dwelling" (Deuteronomy 12:5). But in the New Testament, His name is associated with a person. "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11). Our access to God is not dependent on a place, but on the person of Jesus Christ. May we recognize how privileged we are to be able to draw near to our Savior and dwell in His presence. Let us worship Him in the beauty of His holiness this morning and praise Him simply because He is. "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:19-22).

"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"
(Psalm 8:1)
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