Just prior to Jesus being betrayed and arrested, he prayed that he might be spared from the suffering he knew was coming, but he end his prayer, “..nevertheless not my will but thine, be done.” Luke 22:43

Proverbs 3:5,6 tell us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

If you are like me you try to figure out what you have to do to accomplish the things you want. We need to turn this around, and seek what God wants for us, and trust him to lead us there. We don’t have to figure it out, just submit, trust and follow.

Dear Lord, Thy will be done. Amen.

One of the primary tools of any magician or pickpocket is to get our attention focused on an object, and then use that object to draw our attention away from what is really happening.

A similar deception happened on occasion over the 2000 years of Christianity. Teachers begin with the message of the good news of Jesus Christ, but then they would focus on some peripheral idea and drift the emphasis away. Pretty soon the doctrine they were teaching did not resemble the Good News of Salvation from the Bible, at all.

Paul writes in Colossians 2:8, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.”

There is an incredible amount of wisdom in the Bible, and we should be regularly reading, studying and meditating on the messages, but at the same time always remembering that the one message that is above all others is, as Paul wrote in Romans 3:22, “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.”

Dear Lord, We know that we cannot make ourselves right with you. Our hope and salvation come from confessing our failure, and putting our faith in Jesus Christ, son of God, who takes away our sins and makes us right with God. Help us remember that all other messages should lead us back to this good news. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There are devices used in many manufacturing plants, and probably other places that require people to lift and move very heavy objects around throughout the course of their work. The devices are called a “lift assists,” and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. When attached to a heavy object like an engine, the lift assist allows one person to raise the engine up and move it into position for installation into a vehicle on an assembly line, with a relatively small amount of effort.

I think this is a way to illustrate God’s power working through us. Paul writes in Colossians 1:29, “This is my work, and I can do it only because Christ’s mighty energy is at work within me.” TLB

We have to put work in to do what God desires. However, when we put in what we can, God’s power multiplies our capabilities giving us truly supernatural results.

Dear Lord, Your power is beyond our comprehension, but help us remember that you will provide us this power if we begin with what we have. You will be our “lift assist” allowing us to do much more than we could on our own. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There are many promises in the Bible. God promises to answer our prayers, to be with us, to protect us, and most importantly to save us for eternity. However, we do not always know exactly how he will fulfill the promises.

God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many, at a time Abraham and his wife Sarah were unable to have children. Many years after this promise, when Abraham and Sarah were well past the age they could naturally have children, they had Isaac.

Hebrews 6:14-15 writes, [God said] “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.’ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”

God has a plan for us, and timing to go with it. “Waiting patiently” as Abraham did, is often part of the plan God has for us. Part of being faithful is maintaining our faith and hope with patience while we wait. Often our prayers are answered when we finally relax and surrender to God’s timing.

Dear Lord, Your view of our situation is complete, and ours is limited. Help us remember that you care about us, our desires, and you hear our prayers. Help us be at peace with your timing. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Do you read biographies? You can find the stories of many famous and historic people in bookstores and libraries.

I heard an interesting description of the Book of John in the Bible, calling it, “the fourth biography of Jesus Christ.”

Though we may not typically think of it this way, the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are biographies of Jesus Christ.

The final two verses in, John 21:24-25 write, “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

The Bible is part, history book, part biography, and part instruction book, inspired by God to bring us to Jesus. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ”

Dear Lord, How wonderful it is to have the Bible, your path to hearing the Good News of Salvation. Help us never forget that the Bible is Your words, written by men. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.