I think one thing that many of us get wrong, when we come to God for help with the difficulties in our lives, is complaining and looking for God’s sympathy. We sometimes think if we show God how difficult things are for us, out of pity, he will help us. The problem with that approach is, it is not what God tells he responds to.

God responds to our faith. In Hebrews 11:6 we are told, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

God knows the challenges we face in our lives. In some cases he is allowing these difficulties to occur to bring us closer to him. So complaining to God about these things will not influence him. What he tells us he wants is for us to respond to our challenges with faith. When we want God to help us, we should come to him with a faithful petition like:

Dear Lord, You know the challenges we are facing, whether these are things we brought on ourselves, or they are trials you are allowing us to experience, to make us better, we come to you with no doubt that you will bring us through these trials better, stronger and more confident in your unlimited power. For this we thank you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There are scenes in at least two spy movies, that I know of, showing the main character sneaking into someplace wearing a wet suit then once inside, taking off the wet suit revealing a tuxedo underneath, and the spy proceeds to blend into the fancy event.

Though farfetched, this is the image that comes to mind when I read the passage from Colossians 3:9-10 where Paul writes, “since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

I like to envision that we take off our sinful self, and underneath lies our new self, that God sees as righteous because of the sacrifice made by Jesus to pay for our sins.

Dear Lord, It is only a result of the grace we receive through Jesus Christ that we are able to be seen as acceptable to God. Like peeling off an old outer layer, we can leave our sinful self behind and be made new. Lord we thank you for this grace. 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.

It is pretty obvious to all of us that we have unique personality types. Many of us have taken tests to determine our personality profiles. You may have heard of the Myers-Briggs personality types, or the, well known, “type A” description of high energy, intense, driven people.

It would make sense then that we have different spiritual gifts that fit our personalities. It would also make sense that certain gifts in others connect with us in our Christian development. Some of us love to hear the deep meaning and context of bible stories, and others empathize with the feelings experienced by the people in the stories.

Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 saying, “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.”

God made all of us and knows we are different, we learn differently, teach differently, and love differently. It is important to recognize this to avoid wasting our energy on comparing techniques trying to decide which is “better.” They are all good if they are centered on the one thing that we all have in common, the need for God’s grace and Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord, you have made such a beautiful fabric of people, personalities, and characters in our world. Help us remember that if the focus is on what You did for us through Jesus, the techniques and styles are just different ways you are reaching your people. 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. 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 we 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, foregiveness or wisdom, and take on the project rather than seeing it as impossible. In Jesus’ name. Amen.