Many people find it easier to set priorities and make decision if they have a set of principles to follow. Many companies and organizations have “Guiding Principles” written down and distributed to their employees and members to help with managing their operations.

Jesus gave us a simple set of principles when asked what was the greatest commandment. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” NIV

So when we are looking for direction on how we should live, or what we should do in various circumstances, we can look to these “Guiding Principles” to help with our priorities and decisions.

Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us this clear direction. Help us to live our lives in in this way. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you ever noticed that with the right tool every project seems to go smoother and get better results. Rotating your tires if you have a couple floor jacks and an air wrench makes the project take less than half the time, having two ovens when cooking for a big party at home, a hand truck (dolly) when moving appliances around, the right paintbrush for those tough to paint moldings, and for those of us in the north, a snowblower! Sometimes a task is impossible without the right tool.

In John 15 Jesus talks about being the vine and us being the branches. He expects us to bear fruit, to go and do his work, spread the gospel, make disciples. In verses 7-8 Jesus says ” If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples..”

So when we come to the difficult projects of doing God’s will, like witnessing, teaching, praying, trusting, he will give us any tool we need for the job, all we need to do is ask.

Dear Lord, when we come to those tough projects in being a Christian, help us ask for the tool we need, whether it is money, faith, determination, love, forgiveness or wisdom, and take on the project rather than seeing it as impossible. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Old Testament tells the similar account over and over again of how God’s people followed him and things were good for them, then they became distracted, turned away from God, became self-centered, and their situations fell apart. A prophet or leader would bring them back to God, and things were good again. This theme continues over and over throughout the Bible, and arguably throughout history to this day.

One of the prophets through whom God spoke was Isaiah. In Isaiah 30:18 Isaiah says “Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love; He will conquer you and bless you, just as he said. For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.” The NIV version puts it this way, “..the Lord longs to be gracious to you”

Think of it like this. Your favorite store is giving away merchandise to anyone who shows up and asks; no charge; no fine print. However, they are not advertising or promoting the event, you have to show up to find out. That is what God is telling us. God is just waiting there for us to come to Him, and he will show us His love and blessing.

Dear Lord, Help us understand and appreciate that you are always there, waiting for us to come to you in faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

The dictionary definition of the word “cleanse” is, “to rid of impurities.”

John writes in 1 John 1:8,9, “If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

For most of us, it is very difficult to admit when we are wrong. I think this stems from the sense that admitting we are wrong makes us feel inferior. However, admitting our wrongs, “confessing” them to God, shows our recognition that we need to be forgiven by God, who is superior. The great thing about this admission is that it makes us better, not inferior. God through Jesus cleanses us, or “rids us of impurities.”

Now is as good a time as any, to make that confession.

Dear Lord, we cannot follow your will and direction, no matter how hard we try. We are guilty of disobedience to you and wronging other people. Forgive us for these failings. We thank you for your forgiveness through Jesus, and the knowledge that we can live our lives confident of your grace and salvation, not because we deserve it, but because of your gift. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Luke 8:22-25 tells about Jesus and the disciples sailing across a lake. “One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?”

We could read Jesus’ question “Where is your faith?” as a rhetorical question, like a figure of speech meaning, “You don’t have faith.”

However, you could also look at the question as Jesus actually expecting an answer. “Where is your faith?” And the answer in this case would be, their faith was in the likelihood of them drowning. They actually said, “We are going to drown.” Using their words, they were expressing their faith.

I think God is trying to get a message to us with this account. When we say things like, “I’ll never lose weight,” or “I’ll never get out of debt,” or “I am always late.” We are reinforcing a belief, (faith) in those statements.

We need to turn things around and put our faith where it should be, saying things like, “with God’s help, I will be on time.” or “By the grace of God I will lose weight,” or “I am confident God will make this situation work out.”

Dear Lord, We all occasionally have lapses in our faith in you to be with us in all types of situations. Help us remember to speak with faith in your ability to make things work out well. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.